I firmly believe that there needs to be serious effort directed at ensuring that the population does not smother the planet, I have seen what a country on the brink is like and to picture the world like that is not a happy thought.

Several years ago I spent nearly two years working in Bangladesh, not only a very poor country but a very over crowded one. 125 million people crowded into an area slightly smaller than that of the uk. Forests have been almost completely denuded, any land usable is cultivated, even the coastal tidal areas is in places. As a consequence of this intense cultivation it is not uncommen to have very violent, murderous disagreements between villages over field boundries. Even with intense farming, albeit non industrial Bangladesh still imports huge amounts of food.

If the population continues to grow globaly where will the rest of us import our food from, what will our conflicts over field boundries be like. At the moment in the west we can have large families and still get by, but what of the future if or when, welfare states become overwhlemed. The time when people can say I want a large family is surely over, I see it as selfish, the consequences may not be that pleasant for following generations. This obviously steps on peoples personal freedom but collective responsibilty should not be ignored, we can always blame polititions but we can allways do our bit.

Some out there may think I am being a miserable reactionary sod but Lets face it, all the posts pretty much come from comfy western lifestyles, I don't see many from the likes of Bangladesh.

As for the efforts of the Austrian think tank, tealeaves and crystal balls may give as much reliable info.

Sledge (putting on flak jacket and helmet)