> -----Original Message----- > From: brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com [mailto:brin-l-boun...@mccmedia.com] On > Behalf Of Wayne Eddy > Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 1:23 AM > To: Killer Bs (David Brin et al) Discussion > Subject: Re: Scouted: U.S. to collapse in next two years? > > Surely Canada & Australia are both far less densely populated than the > United States?
They are. In my haste in writing I was less precise than I wanted to be. I was thinking about the major developed countries (e.g. Western Europe, the UK and Japan). I know Canada is almost a suburb of the US, with most of the population living within 100 miles of the US (and most living south of Duluth MN, where I grew up). I thought that much of Australia is not suitable for high density populations, but I'll stand to be corrected. And of course, Nordic countries have low population densities in the far north and in the mountains. The point I was trying to make is that the US is far less populated than where most of the rest of the developed world lives. For example, the 4th largest metropolitan area in the US (the Houston Metro Area) has the same population density as the whole of the UK (including the rugged NW of Scotland). Vast swaths of the US have both good farm land and relatively low population densities (e.g. Iowa at ~50/sq. mi.) So, there is a lot of room for the US to increase its population before it approaches Europe. Finally, I have a question for those from Oz. My understanding is that most of the population of Oz lives on the southern coast because the vast center of Australia is not a great place to put a lot of people. Is that accurate? Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
