We Need to Slow Down

By 2050 it estimated that we will add another 2.3 Billion more mouths to feed, that is almost another half world. Even we any stretch of imagination, efforts and human innovation it simply impossible to support this burden. We are already seeing the effect of the stress.

The chart below is self explanatory on the berserk pace at which we have made our ancestors (proud?)... 

Another matter of concern is the demographic distribution of this growth. The population of developed world has almost stagnated, if fact in many region it is negative. The latest data from the Population Reference Bureau shows that there are 20 countries in the world with negative or zero natural population growth. This is unprecedented in history!  Some of the countries are :-
Ukraine: 0.8% natural decrease annually; 28% total population decrease by 2050
Russia: -0.6%; -22%
Bulgaria -0.5%; -34%
Hungary -0.3%; -11%
Romania -0.2%; -29%
Croatia -0.2%; -14%
Germany -0.2%; -9%
Czech Republic -0.1%; -8%
Japan 0%; -21%
Poland 0%; -17%
Austria 0%; 8% increase
Italy 0%; -5%

Japan is the only non-European country in the list and it has a 0% natural birth increase and is expected to lose 21% of its population by 2050 (shrinking from 127.8 million to a mere 100.6 million in 2050). The streets of Tokyo won’t be as crowded in a few decades as they are today!

This extraordinary growth in developing countries is concentrated in the poorest part of the World. Its impact on the quality of population, its productivity and contribution (or lack of) to the World development needs no explanation. 

No doubt, the writing is on the Wall. We not only need to Reuse, recycle and reduce, we need to slow down.....