Population doomers and sustainability freaks fail to think in large scales or long terms.

On the face of it, fewer people seems like good news for the environment. The population of Germany, Europe's most populous country, will shrink by at least 8 million by 2050 and this trend is set to be replicated in many of its neighbours. Remote rural areas, mainly in central and eastern Europe, might become depopulated over time. This should benefit biodiversity as displaced plant and animal species recolonise their old terrain. Given that the world population is still growing by about 200,000 people a day, and the ecological footprint of the human race already lies beyond the limits of sustainability, fewer European mega-consumers will be a blessing for the health of the planet - and fewer North Americans would be even better.

But look a little deeper, and the picture becomes more complicated. Decreasing population does not necessarily promise environmental benefits. The cost per head of population for infrastructure such as sewage systems or electricity supply increases when population numbers go down, making clean water and non-polluting energy even more expensive than they are today.

The central flaw is in the problem statement: the ecological footprint of the human race already lies beyond the limits of sustainability. It's a nonsense assertion for several reasons but mainly in that it assumes a way of living commensurate with historical technological development. We may not be able to clearly foresee development, but all of history assures us that it will happen and that our simplistic extrapolation of short term trends is plainly stupid. It wasn't that long ago that people could not imagine illuminating the night without whale oil.

So can Europe overcome its demographic and ecological challenges at the same time? The solution might be found in a rarely discussed concept: demographic sustainability. . .

A demographically sustainable Europe needs to have a stable or slowly shrinking population as the existing infrastructure operates most efficiently when the number of inhabitants remains fairly constant. . .

Sustainability. What a nonsensical idea. It never has happened, never will happen. Wrong species. Wrong universe. The issue is progress. How fast? Conservatives want a sedate pace, others are impatient and too fidgety to think things through in detail. Conservatives tend to be laggards until the devil of various threats gooses them from behind and forces them to scurry forward a bit, the most impatient and unthinking win Darwin awards for self-inflicted wounds.

The issue isn't having sufficient population to spread the cost of infrastructure such as sewage systems or electricity supply, it is to vastly improve that antiquated, expensive and inadequate infrastructure. It's the whale oil of our time. Population will adjust to circumstances, which includes the psycho-social diseases of the era. Europe is suffering from a memetic plague of sorts which makes them infertile, so they are becoming decrepit and face extinction. I suspect that like other plagues this one will run its course, cull the weak, and eventually the survivors will hybridize with other populations which will add vigor.

Better energy systems will enable better life management systems such as comprehensive sewage reprocessing. With energy that crap is a resource, and that will do far more to relieve pressure on ecological services than reduced population. The equivalence of matter and energy is an abstract Einsteinian truism but a modest application of the idea is that with more energy less matter is needed to operate civilizations. Energy can be substituted for matter.

Conservatives whingeing about sustainability need a kick in the butt. What's needed is progress not drifting along complacently telling boring stories of bygone days. They may have one foot in the grave but that does not absolve them of the responsibility to make continuing contributions to society. They need to have the grit to die with their boots on while doing what they can to to help society.