M0nica
I thnk a falling population is just what the world wants and needs. Ideally world population should fall to only a couple of billion.
In the mid 1300s, the black death swept Europe, killing a third of the population, a half in some places, it returned less extensively at regular intervals for the next 100 years. The effect it had on the population was nothing but positive. It drove wages up for the survivors, led to innovationin agriculture, poorer lands were returned to pasture.
Why would it be any different today. It is said that 'the past is a different coubtry, they do things differently there', well the future is a different place they will do it differently there as well.
The wolrd is over populated in the long term it is in everyone's interest that it should fall.
The human race is too smart, we have the technical ability to conquered any plague or pandemic with very limited losses.
That why the population has grown to 9 billion, the only real risk now is warfare, migration will accelerate in the liberal western democracies.