tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post3538646197125812328..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: That Old-Time, Old-Fashioned, Old-Old Senate 2Jonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-36607465391457359622010-05-19T14:22:23.203-05:002010-05-19T14:22:23.203-05:00I'm less interested in the age of our Senate -...I'm less interested in the age of our Senate -- after all, the word comes from the Latin word <i>senātus</i> (senate), which comes from senex, "old man". It seems to be a feature, not a bug.<br /><br />I'm more interested in the aging of our population in general, and what happens when the last of the Baby Boomers (and I'm on the tail end of that demographic) finally go to that great party in the sky. Wish I could remember the guy's name, but there's a new book out now looking at the end of the Baby Boom; I caught part of the author's interview with Jon Stewart a few weeks back. <br /><br />The basic premise is that while things might really suck a lot right now, the population bomb is actually going to defuse itself because globally population numbers are decreasing, and very dramatically. That is to say, younger people are having far fewer children than older generations did, not just in industrialized countries but all around the world. So when all us old folks go off to die, the planet will have far fewer people to carry, which will solve a lot of environmental and other issues.<br /><br />Don't know how realistic that is but it sure is a nice thought. Oh and I just remembered the title, it's "The Coming Population Crash" by Fred Pearce.Southern Bealehttp://sobeale.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com