Population Rising in U.S., Falling in Europe, Japan
By The Associated Press
Thu, Jul. 06 2006 08:55 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) – As the U.S. population speeds toward 300 million, the growth is producing headaches for Americans fed up with traffic congestion, sprawl and dwindling natural resources.

But the alternatives are pretty scary, too. Just look at Europe and Japan, which are on the verge of such big population losses that several countries are practically begging women to have babies."Europe and Japan are now facing a population problem that is unprecedented in human history – declining population over time with an increase in the percentage of old people," said Bill Butz, president of the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington think tank. the rest