Brave New World

A recent spate of mass animal deaths around the world has sparked a rash of conspiracy theories and doomsday predictions with many people taking to the internet to have their say, news.com.au reported Thursday.

From the U.S. to New Zealand, from Britain to Brazil, bizarre cases of birds, fish and crabs turning up dead en masse have been reported in the past two weeks and no one seems to know why.

Is this global warming, a government conspiracy, or could it be these animals have just become Overpopulated?

Environmentalists have long been concerned about the resources threatened by rapidly growing human populations, focusing on phenomenon such as deforestation, desertification, air pollution and global warming. But the worst-case scenario for people experiencing overpopulation, according to Lawrence Smith, president of the Population Institute, is a lack of fresh, clean water.

"If the water goes, the species goes," he said.

What are the consequences of overpopulation?

What are the solutions?