> ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Brett Coster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Brin-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2002 1:42 AM > Subject: RE: Death of the West (L3ish) > > > > > Then again, a contemporary 80 year old is probably statistically > equivalent, > > health wise, to a 60 year old of just a couple of decades ago. > > > > I don't think so. I have parents who are in their 80s now, who were in > their 60s a couple of decades ago. Their health has deteriorated. Maybe > 50-60 years ago, but that also involved a large number of people who died of > infectious diseases. Plus, we spend a lot more money keeping people alive > than years ago. > > > Of course, one reason for so many more older people being around nowadays > is > > that there have not been nearly as many large scale wars in the last half > > decade. Except for Hitler Jugend and the like, almost all surviving WW2 > > combatants are >75 years old. None of Australia's dozen or so WW1 > survivors > > is less than 100 years old. > >
Don't forget the effects of modern diseases. In addition to birth and death rate, AIDS has now become a factor on modern population growth as well. The disease has decimated the Black and Latin populations of many major cities in the United States. I recall statistics saying that one in every six adult black males were HIV positive in Chicago. (Don't hold me to that #, although it was pretty severe.) Jon
