namely women with education and options. women are literally choosing not to have children, it's not often the secondary result of some other choice. if conditions change in the future, they might make different choices, but it's obvious why it's a better choice right now. even in japan.

most human problems are the results of lack of information, deliberate misinformation, or an inability to project consequences into the future.

people weren't choosing to put a hole in the ozone or kill waterbirds or develop lung cancer. they happened because people wanted hairspray and healthy crops and that soothing sensation. once we realized what was causing those problems, we adjusted.

you can bet we're going to figure it out with obesity and diabetes in the next two generations in the developed world. we might have already started reversing it in the united states...children hitting school now are less likely to be obese than they were five years ago.

for the real big human problems, it's more difficult because the adjustments are so big you have to combat low information for a much higher percentage of the population. that's whats going on with global warming right now.