[LINK] Exponential growth [was Microsoft is dead ... were it so!]

[Alan L Tyree]

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:17:48 +1000
Antony Barry <tony at tony-barry.emu.id.au> wrote:

> 
> On 11/04/2007, at 8:05 AM, Alan L Tyree wrote:
> 
> Quoting Ehlich
> 
> > "The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s and 1980s
> > hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any
> > crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can  
> > prevent
> > a substantial increase in the world death rate..."
> 
> 
> The green revolution came along with crops which could resist pests,  
> take advantage of fertilisers and irrigation and were suited to big  
> monocultures.

Precisely. When faced with a very difficult problem, humans used their
strongest resource: intelligence, science, technology, 'engineering' in
the very broadest sense. They prevented what Erlich said could not be
prevented.



> 
> We are losing access to water and thence irrigation because of
> global warming.
> 
> Industrial agriculture won't work when oil and gas run out as we
> will lose fuel, fertiliser and pesticides.
> 
> Insects are evolving which by passour defenses. See this weeks "New  
> Scientist" where Nobel Laureate, Norman Borlaug and the inventor of  
> the Green Revolution is quoted saying "this thing has immense  
> potential for social and human destruction"[1]. Wheat blight is back.
> 
> In almost all areas of the world soil is being lost and degraded.
> 
> We are going to lose the green revolution. We are already pushing at  
> the limits of  photosynthetic productivity [2] and the other inputs  
> are being eroded.
> 
> _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.
> 
> 
> 1. Debora Mackenzie, "Billions At Risk From Wheat Super-Blight," New  
> Scientist No.2598 (2007): p.6-7.
> 
> 2. Bruce Bugbee, Oscar Monje, "The Limits of Crop Productivity"  
> BioScience, Vol. 42, No. 7, Crop Productivity for Earth and Space  
> (Jul. - Aug., 1992), pp. 494-502 doi:10.2307/1311879
> 
> Tony
> 
> phone : 02 6241 7659 | mailto:me at Tony-Barry.emu.id.au
> mobile: 04 1242 0397 | mailto:tony.barry at alianet.alia.org.au
> http://tony-barry.emu.id.au
> 
> 
> 


-- 
Alan L Tyree                    http://www2.austlii.edu.au/~alan
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