Cooling Down the Fears of Climate Change

Matt Ridley writes the Mind and Matter column in The Wall Street Journal and has written on climate issues for various publications for 25 years. He is somewhat of a science polymath, having written on a wide variety of science topics – so many that he even has his own Amazon page @ http://amzn.to/V6Qn0E. His latest book, the Rational Optimist (cf. http://amzn.to/VPXE15), is on my reading list for the holidays. His latest WSJ article provides an interesting and informative assessment of empirical climate research:

Matt Ridley: Cooling Down the Fears of Climate Change
online.wsj.com

In The Wall Street Journal, Matt Ridley reports that the latest scientific evidence points to a further rise of just 1°C by 2100-and the net effect on the planet may actually be beneficial.

Actor Gérard Depardieu Surrenders French Passport

Apparently there is a diaspora of rich French citizens surrendering their French passports so as to avoid having to pay a recently passed top marginal income tax rate in France of 75 percent.  Quoting from the article accompanying this video, “French Premier Jean-Marc Ayrault said it was pathetic that people move to another country to avoid taxes after a Belgian mayor said that actor Grard Depardieu was moving to Belgium possibly to pay lower taxes.”

US Birth Rate Hits New Low – A Nation of Singles – Forecasts & Trends

US Birth Rate Hits New Low – A Nation of Singles – Forecasts & Trends According to this article, “the fertility rate needed to maintain the current US population is 2.1 children born to women of child-bearing age… the US fertility rate among women is now only 1.9 children and falling.” Apparently the US is in much better shape in this regard than Europe; e.g., according to a recent Forbes article entitled “What’s Really Behind Europe’s Decline? It’s The Birth Rates, Stupid“, the fertility rate among women in Spain presently stands at 1.4 children and falling.  This and similar “birth dearths” in other Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy and Portugal are contributing significantly to the economic malaise in Europe.  The above referenced Forbes article notes,

“Essentially, Spain and other Mediterranean countries bought into northern Europe’s liberal values, and low birthrates, but did so without the economic wherewithal to pay for it. You can afford a Nordic welfare state, albeit increasingly precariously, if your companies and labor force are highly skilled or productive. But Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal lack that kind of productive industry; much of the growth stemmed from real estate and tourism. Infrastructure development was underwritten by the EU, and the country has become increasingly dependent on foreign investors. Unlike Sweden or Germany, Spain cannot count now on immigrants to stem their demographic decline and generate new economic energy. Although 450,000 people, largely from Muslim countries, still arrive annually, over 580,000 Spaniards are heading elsewhere — many of them to northern Europe and some to traditional places of immigration such as Latin America. Germany, which needs 200,000 immigrants a year to keep its factories humming, has emerged as a preferred destination.”
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US Birth Rate Hits New Low – A Nation of Singles – Forecasts & Trends

US Birth Rate Hits New Low – A Nation of Singles – Forecasts & Trends

According to this article, “the fertility rate needed to maintain the current US population is 2.1 children born to women of child-bearing age… the US fertility rate among women is now only 1.9 children and falling.”

Apparently the US is in much better shape in this regard than Europe; e.g., according to a recent Forbes article entitled “What’s Really Behind Europe’s Decline? It’s The Birth Rates, Stupid“, the fertility rate among women in Spain presently stands at 1.4 children and falling.  This and similar “birth dearths” in other Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy and Portugal are contributing significantly to the economic malaise in Europe.  The above referenced Forbes article notes,

“Essentially, Spain and other Mediterranean countries bought into northern Europe’s liberal values, and low birthrates, but did so without the economic wherewithal to pay for it. You can afford a Nordic welfare state, albeit increasingly precariously, if your companies and labor force are highly skilled or productive. But Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal lack that kind of productive industry; much of the growth stemmed from real estate and tourism. Infrastructure development was underwritten by the EU, and the country has become increasingly dependent on foreign investors.

Unlike Sweden or Germany, Spain cannot count now on immigrants to stem their demographic decline and generate new economic energy. Although 450,000 people, largely from Muslim countries, still arrive annually, over 580,000 Spaniards are heading elsewhere — many of them to northern Europe and some to traditional places of immigration such as Latin America. Germany, which needs 200,000 immigrants a year to keep its factories humming, has emerged as a preferred destination.”