'Two more Earths needed by 2050'

Earth's population will be forced to colonise two planets within 50 years if natural resources continue to be exploited at the current rate, according to grim report by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) issued to coincide with the World Summit in Johannesburg.The Living Planet Report 2002, warns that the human race is plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support life. In a damning condemnation of Western society's high consumption levels, it adds that the extra planets (the equivalent size of Earth) will be required by the year 2050 as existing resources are exhausted. The report, based on scientific data from across the world, reveals that more than a third of the natural world has been destroyed by humans over the past three decades. Using the image of the need for mankind to colonise space as a stark illustration of the problems facing Earth, the report warns that either consumption rates are dramatically and rapidly lowered or the planet will no longer be able to sustain its growing population.