Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/02/26

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Re:Italy, population growth etc.
From: Amilcar de Oliveira <amilcar@domain.com.br>
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 21:25:55 -0300
References: <4BCC9822-49E3-11D7-8DF4-0050E42E6E0B@shaw.ca>

Itīs all right by me as long as the population drop is not made through 
a catastrophe and short time economic interests can't reverse it 
(remember the 1930 campaigns for large families in order to produce more 
factory workers?). Let's hope it drops to one or two billion; it won't 
happen overnight, it will be a long transition and in the end there's 
lots of elbow room and less polution.

Cheers,
Amilcar

John Collier escreveu:

> The catastrophic predictions of human population explosion are not 
> turning out to be true. Birth rates are plummeting all over the world. 
> The population is now predicted to peak at 10 or so billion and then 
> start declining. To what is a good question.
>
> John Collier
>
> On Wednesday, February 26, 2003, at 02:59 PM, Amilcar de Oliveira wrote:
>
>> Hmm, couldnīt find Leica content with a microscope. But interesting 
>> enough to de-lurk. My two cents (borrowed from the late British SF 
>> author John Brunner): "The population explosion is unique in the 
>> history of mankind, an event that has happened yesterday but 
>> everybody says will happen tomorrow."  Or words to that effect.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Amilcar
>>
>> Nathan Wajsman (private) escreveu:
>>
>>> Italy does have by far the lowest birth rate in the developed world, 
>>> at the moment 1.1 children per woman, far below the rate of 2.2 
>>> required to keep a population constant (ignoring immigration). Other 
>>> countries in southern Europe, like Spain, also have very low birth 
>>> rates, while countries in northern Europe, especially Scandinavia, 
>>> are actually at or close to the reproduction level. The most 
>>> plausible explanation I have heard is that Italian or Spanish woman 
>>> now want to have a career like their sisters in the north, but the 
>>> society has not caught up with it, so that the men are not willing 
>>> to help in the household, there is very little child care 
>>> infrastructure etc. In contrast, in northern Europe or  the 
>>> US/Canada, where women have been on the labor market for decades, it 
>>> is far easier to be a working mother.
>>>
>>> Nathan
>>>
>>> Henning Wulff wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> I think most developed countries have negative growth if 
>>>> immigration is discounted, including Canada. We generally keep in 
>>>> practice as well, but we usually proceed without any period of 
>>>> 'acquiring a taste'. :-)
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
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>


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In reply to: Message from John Collier <jbcollier@shaw.ca> (Re: [Leica] Re:Italy, population growth etc.)