22 July, 2011

Global Population

"The spread of birth control and a desire for smaller families tend to accompany economic growth and development almost everywhere." The Economist,21st July,2011

This fact has led demographers to project world population peaking at 9/10 billion by mid century and then beginning to drop continuously as it would already be doing in the developed world, if it were not for immigration.

To my mind this should encourage countries such as Australia to concentrate their production on energising,feeding and clothing the developing world in the knowledge that lifting countries out of poverty and disease will not only make life more bearable for them, but will have the environmental benefit of stopping global population growth. The sooner living standards are improved in the third world the sooner population growth will cease.

In the interim we'd better concentrate on lifting productivity growth in preparation for the economic challenges we will face when global population starts to decrease. For Australia, a more flexible deregulated labour market would be a good place to start. Unfortunately Julia Gillard as P.M. and Labour Minister has been taking us backwards in this regard.

15 July, 2011

Optimism

In these grim cold days of carbon taxes and incompetent Government,falling confidence and retail sales (David Jones), we all need something to cheer us up. Have a listen to Matt Ridley,The Rational Optimist. It is very refreshing.

05 July, 2011

My Climate Change Position

I just don't have enough basic education to evaluate the technical arguments. My firm sceptic position is more influenced by my view of human motivation, my tendency to want to challenge conventional wisdom and my attraction to the logic of people like Nigel (Lord) Lawson.

When I read the comments of Freeman Dyson (Princeton) and all the other sceptic material, I perceive a very compelling case on the sceptic side.

Then when I listen to the Parliamentary ravings of Wayne Swan, in particular, constantly quoting the Stern Report, discredited by our own Productivity Commission, and suggesting that Australia, with its tiny proportion of greenhouse gases, can change the climate, I smell bullshit!

I liked Tony Abbott's comment the other day- "socialism disguised as environmentalism"