Geography is not a ‘static’ discipline. Countries are born, i.e. Kosovo, and countries die, i.e. Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and maybe Belgium, soon.

Europe is gradually progressing towards a “unified” Europe, AKA the European Union. Being able to bargain against China, or the United States, is a powerful motivating force for cooperation. The countries of Europe recognize the advantage of their collective power. The question becomes, how does one go about getting people who represent 43 different countries, 39 different languages, and different religions, to cooperate?

There is no answer for that, yet, as Europe is working on coming up with a solution.

Europe’s population is aging which brings with it a host of issues and concerns. What happens when people stop having babies? What happens when the elderly outnumber the youth? How does the retirement system handle an increase the number of people who qualify for benefits? How does a health care system handle older people that generally have more health care issues than younger people? And, who will work? Should we allow more immigration to fill positions that need filling? And, where should these people come from? Other European countries? …Other countries are in the same boat. What about Africa, Southeast Asia, South Asia, China, or the Middle East?

Sound complicated? It is. Sound familiar? It should. Many industrialized countries around the world, Europe, Japan, the United States, and Canada are currently faced with these issues.

Welcome to the World …