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A comment on Why are Europeans so hesitant to have children, and what does it mean for their future and for ours?. Parent comment

Re:Why are Europeans so hesitant to have children, and what ... by gruseom on Sunday June 29, 2008 @12:27PM (#231244)
Birth rate was 11.6 [per 1000 population] for Non-Hispanic Whites

But that's not the unit (average children per woman) that they use in the article, and there isn't an obvious conversion between the two (is there?). So this isn't enough information to compare how the birth rate among Americans of European descent compares to the birth rate in Europe itself... which I agree would be interesting.

Edit: I also agree about it being tiring to even skim that article. I do love it, though, when apocalpytic crises directly contradict each other. Weren't we all going to die because of exponential population growth?

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Re:Why are Europeans so hesitant to have children, and what ... by cia_plant on Sunday June 29, 2008 @01:23PM (#231278)
the conversion factor would be life expectancy * 2, wouldn't it be? So ~160*11.6 / 1000 = 1.86. Overestimate since life expectancy is just shy of eighty.
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Re:Why are Europeans so hesitant to have children, and what ... by speedwagon on Sunday June 29, 2008 @01:33PM (#231290)
The Wikipedia article actually lists fertility rates farther down, and white Americans clock in at 2.0 - significantly higher than the Europeans.

While the Times article certainly has an alarmist tone, American fertility rates are an anomaly in the industrialized world.

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