We are in trouble. The signs have been there for some considerable time. I think Bob, given his gloomy view on this, should be pleased to learn that he's wrong. From 1960 till 1999, we doubled the world's population. If nothing else, Bob Carr's foray into big-picture politics has sparked a healthy debate about the health of planet earth and according to the NSW Premier, population growth is leading the world to disaster.
Population growth is the driver, it is the multiplier, it is the accelerator.
The world population has doubled since 1960. Population growth is really, in the developed and undeveloped world, the driver of all these factors. It seemed to me to be saying that we'd all be better off if the Third World didn't raise its living standards and didn't industrialise. Emeritus Professor Jack Caldwell claims family planning projects have been curbing population growth for 30 years. Since then, fertility has been falling almost everywhere except sub-Saharan Africa.