mralstoner,
I agree. France is set to become a Muslim country in a few decades, because it had an immigration policy that overlooked the fact that France was not a Muslim country, and had never been a Muslim country.

France is now set to lose its traditional culture and identity.

The fertility rate in Australia is already below replacement levels, which is what the majority of Australians want, so it seems.

But the population keeps increasing, which is not what the majority of Australians want, except for some real estate agents and property developers.

I have no idea how old Ms Goldie might be, nor have I any inclination to ask.

But this article epitomizes for me the absolute worst of Baby Boomer thinking and logic: "Do not as I have done, nor enjoy what I have enjoyed, but wear hair shirts and deny yourself everything good on this planet".

From her bio:

"Jenny Goldie... is married with five adult children, four of whom are adopted. She lives on 100 acres at Michelago"

A nice, comfortable spot from which to lecture one's fellow humans on how they should behave, I'm sure.

I can understand and empathize with the youngsters who feel somewhat cheated by the evident selfishness and self-indulgence of the supremely lucky and profligate post-war generation. But it sticks in my craw to be harangued by someone who quite clearly has "had it easy", to the extent where she can afford to raise five kids in comfort.

Her argument falls short in a number of areas, primarily in those where her audience can actually exert some influence. If we assume that her "one child policy" wishes are granted, and at the same time all her fears are fulfilled - four degrees of warming (admittedly better than the six she was "predicting" in 2006) and no oil - what will our country look like?

Does she expect the population void to remain unfilled? If not, who will fill it?

Or will there simply be fewer, but abjectly miserable people? If not, what might make their lives bearable, in Ms Goldie's vision of the future?

I put far greater faith in the adaptability of mankind, who has through the millennia encountered and surmounted similar - and also some very different - challenges.

Heaven knows what number of people the world or Australia itself can accommodate, at what life-styles, in the long term. From all the best data at hand, whatever the magic number, it is considerably less than at present; less, due to reasons the author presents, and for others as well.
Those reasons are starkly evident; but there is almost universally no political will to engage with them.

Even more troubling is the minimal degree of public pressure on politicians. In large degree this is due to lack of public awareness of where we are at, in the ever-changing and over-stressed ecological niche upon which we humans depend.

This lack of awareness is not helped by the attitude of those directing our educational institutions: “Imagining a different future means looking within and beyond the walls of individual educational institutions-- ” a commendable opinion of the University of Canberra Vice-chancellor Stephen Parker, declared in the Canberra Times of Dec. 21). Unfortunately, he went on to confine his imagination to the facilitation of continuing growth; and sadly, h is not alone.
We should not expect educational institutions to predict the future; but surely they have a duty, while imparting skills, to alert their students to certain and identifiable barriers to be faced while applying the skills being imparted - barriers which are becoming increasingly evident.

Our educational institutions, where they neglect to impart knowledge of such evident and fast-approaching barriers as part of standard curricula to their students, do society a disservice.

The king of all barriers is the mathematical impossibility of unending growth. Institutions should not foster, in the upcoming generation, a blindness to it. That fundamental barrier is equally important across the whole spectrum of human endeavour: Agriculture, Banking, Business Administration, Economics, Law, Politics, Public Administration, etc..

Unless educational Institutions can imagine the reality of a future in which there is scarcity of oil, a climate altered by Carbon Dioxide, suffering in overpopulated lands, depleted financial capacity - all due to excessive and continuing growth in supplying increasing numbers of humans needs/wants - what hope is there for society

What an odd inverse-ad.hom. posting from Pericles, who presumably chose his nom-de-keyboard because it suggests wisdom. He seems to be suggesting that only the deprived have the right to an opinion on matters of human welfare. Why should Pericles (the Wise) assume that Ms Goldie's home life is comfortable? Why should Ms Goldie's home life have any bearing on her argument (except insofar as she herself uses personal anecdote to add legitimacy to that argument)?

I am sitting comfortably at my desk, the early summer weather is pleasant, the dog is snoring on the verandah. But despite Pericles, and despite my present ease, I am fearful for the future, and I think that Ms Goldie is entirely correct in her assessment of the dangers of climate change and resource depletion. I wish parents well, but today I would think twice before becoming one ...

Colinset,
It is true the education system has done very little for this country, and the education system has become one of the greatest “stuff-ups” in Australia’s history.

Despite increased government spending over the years, it did not produce enough skilled workers, resulting in the necessity to import more through immigration.

Results:-
Increased urban sprawl in cities.
Increased housing costs.
Increased stress on infrastructure.
Increased environmental degradation.
A future where there is a likely shortage of even food.
A multi-cultural society that actually has no culture of its own.

Someone could also have a look at any school as they drive past, and try to find one rooftop that has a single solar panel on it.

I haven’t seen one yet, and while so many academics screech about global warming, they do next to nothing about it. Too busy wanting more and more and more from the taxpayer.

A most cogent and salient article, worthy of deepest consideration.

All would have to admit we live in challenging times, with economic and political crises abounding, food shortages, mass people movement, and wide environmental concerns. Yet, the closest recognition we see by world leaders of the looming resource crisis is a climate-change forum - and even this is taken as an opportunity to strengthen trade relations and pursue business as usual. Global myopia.

It is sobering to contemplate our dependence on oil, and the overall impact of its shortage on so many aspects of the Western way of life. Broadacre agriculture alone consumes huge quantities of oil - as fuel, and as herbicides and pesticides, as well as in the manufacture of heavy farm equipment. Many industries are in a similar position, and in fact our entire food chain, as well as mining, manufacture, transportation, shipping and air travel.

Currently, wide environmental destruction is being increasingly risked for the sake of oil supply, and bio-fuel is being produced at the expense of food supply. Further shortage and fuel price escalation can only exacerbate this already precipitous situation. And, courtesy of global migration, the spectre of scrambling for all manner of increasingly diminishing supplies is coming to a door near you.

Can human intellect prevail and reverse the march to global destruction, or will the drive for capitalist expansion force mankind over the proverbial cliff, with only visions of Easter Island remaining in the wake? When in fact is the developing world going to be apprised of the ultimate cost of continued capitalist expansionism?

Our global village is looking very untidy indeed.