Empty Planet: Preparing for the Global Population Decline

According to the United Nations, the world’s population reached seven billion in late 2011. For many, this landmark was seen as a clear sign of crisis: an indication that humans are reproducing unchecked, leading us into a future of increasing poverty, food shortages, conflict, and environmental degradation. But a growing group of demographers is convinced that the UN is wrong: the planet faces not a population bomb, but a population bust. For most of history, population decline has been the result of catastrophe—environmental events, famine, or disease. Now, however, fertility rates are falling for a different reason: we’re choosing to have fewer kids. “In roughly three decades, the global population will begin to decline,” say Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson in their new book EMPTY PLANET: The Shock of Global Population Decline. “Once that decline begins, it will never end.” Amidst warnings of overpopulation, such a trend might seem like a good thing, especially for the environment. But, a d