02-05 Bangladesh

It is a nation with a population of 168.3 million and adding 2 million a year to its population. The photo of rural Dhaka, the capital city, tells it all.
And it is a nation with limited options. Too many ignorant uneducated people that cannot grasp the bigger picture of a nation that cannot support it burgeoning population and deal with the issues of climate change at the same time.
But one thing Bangladesh has is a sophisticated high tech educated class that drives the nation’s economic growth. And that T-shirt in your drawer. Most likely it was made in Bangladesh.
The government has attempted to encourage family planning and limiting families to two children, but without much success. It is a similar story in other Muslim nations in North Africa and Indonesia.
There is so much tragedy, with life in the rural areas so threatened by issues of water shortages and eroding coastlines. For so many people in Bangladesh the options are an unsafe rural environment or living in the slums of Dhaka.
This is a difficult issue for India, which is dominantly a Hindu society. Bangladesh like Pakistan is dominantly a Muslim society. Oil and water. And yet, necessity is going to drive environmental immigrants from Bangladesh into India.
Bangladesh is not just a nation with an exploding population, it is the most densely populated nation in the world. This usually means over population is linked to inadequate housing and a population that is poorly fed.
Any study of the vulnerable areas of the world to rising oceans, shows the first nation on the endangered list to be Bangladesh. It is an old story. Salt water entering aquifers and contaminating fresh water supplies.
People struggling to reinforce coastlines that are eroding and wiping out local housing. I guess it is off to Dhaka, where there are jobs.