My intuitive understanding, based on some materials I've come across, is a bit different.
I believe the earth is literally designed to house 10 Billion humans in embodiment.
I believe there are 10 Billion souls that are currently a part of this world, a few billion of which are in between embodiments right now. The way it's supposed to be, is we are all here in embodiment at once, we live much longer lives, and then after a fruitful and wonderful experience here, we ascend to experiences in a higher realm and new souls come in and have their turn.
Once you're here, you'll have to balance karma you've made here before you get your exit pass. There are new souls waiting to come in.
It's time for many to graduate so we can have the game moving higher and room can be made for those whose turn it is to play and grow here.
When there are 10,000 Christ Beings manifest on our planet (more about this later in another thread... much More
), the collective consciousness will shift into the golden age consciousness. There will be no more lack and suffering, literally, we will move past that into a world of wonder and amazement where every one of the souls embodied here, and the extra few billion that will make it 10 billion in the not so very far future, will have the true opportunity to connect to their divine talents and bring forth their creative expressions from the infinite.
People are worried about the ice caps melting.... my understanding is there is a continent under at least one of the polls, and as we move into the golden age, the earth will move back properly on to it's centered access so that there is moderate / nice temperatures on all places of planet earth without the crazy extremes of desert and ice cold lands (not to mention the ancient archeological artifacts of old civilizations we will find under the ice cap(s)). There will be plenty of more space for people under these conditions.
We are headed for a world and life that surpases are wildest expectations, the key to getting there is to become more focused on others than we are on ourselves. That simple, that's how we pass this grade. However, it is more complex, in that it takes a Christ mass of Beings to go all the Way and to be reborn below as they already are above, as the Living Christ. Are you one of them?
(off topic? --> Well a futurist viewpoint for what needs to happen Now I guess).