This article discusses the near-inevitability of famines, noting (in passing) that the global population continues to grow very rapidly. Having described how horrible it is to die of hunger, does the author suggest we do something to bring down fertility rates before more people are born than can sustainably be fed? Dream on. The ultimate impact of global warming, if it continues at current levels, could be a 2 percent cut in crop harvests each decade—a catastrophe given our rapidly climbing population rates. And these are conservative estimates. On the more panic-inducing side of the spectrum, one NASA-funded study suggests civilization is currently careening toward “irreversible collapse” due to climate change. Humans, the study suggests, are currently exploiting resources more quickly than we’re developing them, dooming all but the wealthiest to a future of scarcity. Depressingly, we can’t just plan on developing technology to take care of all of our needs tomorrow: “Technological change,” the study notes, “tends to raise both per capita resource consumption and the scale of resource extraction” simultaneously—meaning, essentially, that we gobble up as many resources as technology permits, until we max out our resources altogether. slate/articles/health_and_science/feed_the_world/2014/04/climate_change_and_agriculture_global_warming_could_cause_catastrophic_famines.2.html
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 19:00:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015