Last night (Tuesday, April 21) marked the final Meadowlakes City Council meeting that I will chair.
I made the decision early this year that I would not file for re-election. I have been honored to have served the city of Meadowlakes for the last six years.
I love the people who have put their trust in me. In hindsight, the six years flew by. There's a reason. It was only five-and- a-half years because the 2020 election was postponed from May to November when I actually took office.
My successor, Garrett Wood, has all the tools to be a fine mayor and a true asset to the city. He understands the changing demographics of Meadowlakes as seen by the number of younger families that have been moving here.
The undeniable constant in all life’s everyday encounters is change.
Population Changes
Demographics is one of the ongoing measures of change.
In 1960 the 10 most populous states were California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Florida.
In 2020, California still held the title for the largest in population. But Texas has moved into second place, followed by Florida (which passed New York), then New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, and Michigan. Georgia moved into that top 10 and New Jersey moved out.
The real demographic changes, however, are on the international scale.
Figures show the shifting positions of the most populous countries over the next 75 years. The African and Asian countries are projected to dominate. India’s growth particularly will be phenomenal.
It dwarfs China by about 15 million (1.441 billion to 1.425 billion) currently.
It will lead second place China by almost 900 million (1,529,850,119 to 633,368,108) by the turn of the next century. Interestingly, too, Tanzania and Egypt creep into the top 10.
Brazil, Bangladesh, and Russia will drop out. The Republic of Congo (formerly the Congo, and later Zaire from ’65 to ’71) is currently in 15th place, but 75 years hence, it will be the fifth most populous country in the world.
Sitting just outside the top 10 in the 2100 projection are the Philippines at number 12, while Niger, Angola, Sudan and Uganda will occupy the 14th through 17th spots.
These are countries that are never subjects of our everyday conversations, but their growth is expected to be incredible.
These statistics are a constant reminder that change is inevitable.
