Growing older isn't just for those who are aging.

In Maine, our aging population of baby boomers is an issue for employers, state and municipal governments, doctors, nurses, longterm care providers, non-profit organizations, family members, housing developers, lawyers, retailers, temp agencies, librarians and school administrators, among many others.

In short, just about everyone in Maine will feel the effects of our aging population.

We're the oldest state in the nation, with a median age of 41.2. As our news staff reported in our recent four-part series, "Maine's Aging Boomers," in 2000, 14 percent of Mainers were 65 and over; in 2030, that number jumps to 26.5 percent of the population. At the other end of the spectrum, the proportion of Mainers 18 and younger drops during that same period from 23.6 to 18.1 percent.

These are big challenges ahead for Maine. Over the next decades, a huge number of us are going to retire, need more health care, want more convenient housing and contribute less to the state's tax revenues.

But there are also big opportunities ahead for Maine. The aging of baby boomers means that the state will have a large population of experienced workers who may be interested in doing other kinds of work post-retirement, including volunteer and part-time work. There will be demand for the kind of in-town housing that could create a market for rehabilitated buildings in our struggling downtowns. Aging drivers will require more public transportation. Maine's growing service economy could see an influx of workers whose hours are flexible, because their family obligations are limited.

All of these challenges and opportunities have been noted by policymakers, the healthcare industry, labor economists, businesses and local governments, as well as advocates for the elderly.

Last year, the Legislature passed a bill to support community planning for the aging of our population. It led to the formation of a group that will report shortly to the Legislature. The bottom line, according to the group's convener, Diana Scully of the state's Office of Elder Services, is that communities are not planning for their aging populations, but that there is a wealth of resources out there to aid them in doing so. It shouldn't be hard to do the planning, once communities make it a priority.

Likewise, Maine is one of only eight states to have been selected by the National Governors' Association to participate in a project that will increase employment and volunteer opportunities for older members of the population, as well as increase support for caregivers. The state's Office of Elder Services is assembling a database to track the needs of the aging population. Employers like L.L. Bean have recognized that older, retired workers are prime candidates for call center jobs.

Health care is the big bogeyman in the picture. Despite the fact that our aging population is healthier than it would have been 50 years ago, the elderly's needs will place increased stress on an already-burdened health care system. Especially as many of those health-care workers are themselves among those who are growing older and retiring.

While Maine is the oldest state in the Union, it is by no means the only one facing an aging population. The country's largest advocacy group for retired people, the AARP, recently released a study on the perspectives of employers, workers and policymakers about the "New Demographic Realities" in all the G7 countries -- United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy and Canada -- that begins with the phrase "The entire world is getting older."

We are indeed getting older. And those of us who are getting older will have greater needs, but also a wealth of skills and experience to share. The challenge for Maine is to profit from the resource our aging population represents, while simultaneously providing the resources that population needs to be able to contribute to society. That way, we will give at least as much as we will take.