CAN GEO TALKS: EMPTY PLANET

Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson, the authors of the provocative new book Empty Planet, spoke at Can Geo Talks events in Toronto and Ottawa in February on the causes and consequences of global population decline. You read that right — decline. Despite half a century of statisticians, pundits and politicians warning that a burgeoning planetary population will overwhelm the Earth’s resources, a growing number of experts are sounding a different kind of alarm. Rather than exponential growth, they argue, the global population is headed for a steep decline. Ibbitson and Bricker (who spoke alone at the Can Geo Talks event in Ottawa), draw on a wealth of research and first-hand reporting to illustrate the consequences of global depopulation, including worker shortages and a weakened economy. Both talks, like the book, were compelling visions of a future that we can no longer prevent — but one that we can shape, if we choose.