Are Falling Birthrates Really a Problem?
Prognosticators are spreading gloom, but…
Stories in the New York Times and the Guardian this week warned of the world population dropping off a steep cliff and painted a gloomy picture of a planet populated mostly with old people by 2100. My reaction to that is: bring it on!
I’ve been reading for decades about the dangers of a population explosion: there isn’t enough food, enough water, enough jobs, enough housing, enough money; human beings are gobbling up all the resources and destroying the planet. So now we get the news that the explosion won’t be happening after all, and we’re supposed to worry about that?
It’s almost as if the news agencies make everything out to be a big disaster just so we’ll be compelled to read/watch/listen to their stories. Oh, wait. That’s their literal business model!
What exactly do they mean by an “empty” planet?
First, let’s be clear about the numbers. “Researchers expect the number of people on the planet to peak at 9.7 billion around 2064, before falling down to 8.8 billion by the end of the century,” according to this story from the BBC.
“Falling fertility rates mean nearly every country could have shrinking populations by the end of the century. And 23…
