I think there will be a significant reduction in the world's population. However, it will come about by the same means as before. Pestilence, famine, war and other catastrophes will reduce the population. We cannot reduce the population rationally because our social system does not value rationality.

Both major parties support the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP) which has loosed fundamentalist Scripture Union beasts of pray on our public school system. The Greens would replace this government sponsored irrationality by trained counsellors. The chaplains are neither equipped to deal with minor mental problems nor to recognize major problems sufficiently to refer the troubled to appropriate treatment.

Support rationality and mental health by getting rid of the NSCP.

Yes Baygon, I agree with you.
I had not heard a closer figure for peak coal than 2025 which was
the date the German study group calculated and a similar figure is in
Richard Heinberg's book Blackout.
As he points out the falling energy content adds to the problem.
Perhaps your date is peak coal energy.

Whichever date it is we will need to be able to use electric power for
farm machinery as diesel will make food too expensive.
There have been suggestions on how to supply the power over large
fields but while the initial expense might be high the running cost
would be quite low.

Do you think the politicians are thinking along these lines ?
Not if you go by my members answer to my question on fuel supply
policy. He answered with a letter all about global warming and how to
reduce CO2. Duuuhhh.

As Katter pointed out we import large amounts, 55%, of what we use.
I wonder if we are borrowing money to pay for our fuel ?
The bill is approaching $30,000,000,000 a year !
Like cockroaches, the best way to reduce the number of people is too
starve them and fertility rates fall automatically.