There are soon to be 8 billion of us and counting. Yet while the world’s population is still growing fast overall, in many countries, the numbers are declining or will do soon. Take the three largest. The population of China will begin to fall soon and could halve by 2100. India’s will peak around 2050. And the US population would fall from the 2030s if not for immigration. So there are two distinct issues to deal with: rapid population growth in some nations and population declines in others. Declining populations can be seen as a good thing in some ways – less pressure on wildlife, more space and so on. … Continue reading Must plan for population decline (New Scientist)