Cancer rates are going down. Increasing life expectancy is reducing the growth in population.
Lots of surprising things going on around us that we often don’t focus on. Check out this video of Ron Bailey discussing some of the items with Reason TV:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbHHXTa5eUw&feature=player_embedded]
What are a few of those things you probably hadn’t heard lately?
Free trade creates jobs. Countries with lots of trade increase their wealth. That is a common topic on my blogs.
The rate of cancer is declining, slowly, but it is declining. About 0.6% drop per year. That’s not a lot, but it is about 100,000 people a year that would have otherwise been diagnosed if the rate was stable, according to the article.
Expect to live longer and have fewer children. Really? Yes. If you expect to live to 70 instead of 50, you will be able to invest enough in your (fewer) children to be sure they thrive than if you won’t be around to see them into their adulthood.
People are getting smarter over time. Why? One factor is wide-spread inoculations. According to the article, research suggests that getting a childhood disease diverts much of your body’s nutrition, energy, and growth into fighting the disease. That diverts nutrition and growth from the brain. Thus, inoculating most children allows lots of kids to thrive more intellectually.
You can read the full article the video is based on – Seven Surprising Truths about the World. Very good article.