Births & Deaths

A thought provoking letter in today's DomPost. I can't imagine how I didn't notice it myself!

Why I am very worried

I have this nagging concern. Every morning when I read The Dominion Post, my concern is reinforced. It won't go away.

I have noticed that deaths greatly outnumber births. I kept count over several months and I found that deaths outnumber births by a factor of 6:1. It would be greater but for the surge of births that occur each weekend.

I have noticed a similar trend in my local paper & assume that it's a national phenomenon.

Since I am totally bereft of all mathematical ability, I shall let those suitably endowed do the maths. My gut feeling is that by about the year 2087, New Zealand's population should be zero.

By then I'll be part of that statistic but this nagging concern recognises the possibility of great-grandchildren. Do you suppose it has anything to do with a drop in beer consumption? Or should we be eating more lamb?

I'm very worried.

Derek Quilliam, Clive.