In a visit to Kansas University to talk about overpopulation, Werner Fornos found himself in a sparsely filled room.

The crowd of 50 at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union didn’t phase Fornos, president of Washington, D.C.-based The Population Institute.

“We live in a demographically divided world,” he said, and then pointed out that Kansas, with 82,000 square miles, has 2.4 million people; Bangladesh, with 55,000 square miles, has 135 million.

The world population of 6.1 billion is rapidly outstrapping Earth’s resources, Fornos said, causing deforestation, soil erosion and desertification.

But not all hope is lost. Fornos outlined a few solutions to stabilize population growth and avoid deaths from starvation, clashes over water and environmental destruction.

Fornos’ four-step plan:

1. Eradicate female illiteracy, which could drop pregnancy rates in half.

2. Create full employment opportunities for women with equal pay.

3. Reduce infant mortality, so families won’t have many babies in hopes that a few survive.

4. Provide universal access to the knowledge and means to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

“Slowing down population growth is something the whole world needs to address because there is no acceptable humanitarian alternative,” Fornos said.

Today, Fornos will visit Free State High School and talk with social studies and science classes.

“It’s an opportunity to hear an expert talk about one of the most important issues we face today,” said Peggy Sorenson, a world geography teacher at FSHS. “I’m very excited to have this opportunity.”