What are our brains there for? Why the assumption that we must all sit
like logs and let Nature takes its natural course? With our brains,
without the totally obsolete concept of Cost, or any other Doctrinaire
Economic shibboleth, with all our physical talents and technological
prowess, can we not use our brains and machinery to reestablish the
fertility of the soil world wide, poste haste? What is the obstacle to
such a course of action, except by rote stupidity force fed into all our
minds?
Hyman
Steve Kurtz wrote:
>
> Subject: Re: New paper on Malthus by Catton
> Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 06:22:57 -1000
> From: "Jay Hanson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: "Future Work" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> From: Thomas Lunde <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> >Spreading water scarcity is also slowing growth in the harvest. The
> >fastest-growing grain import market during the 1990's is North Africa and
> >the Middle East. In this region, which stretches from Morocco through
> Iran,
>
> Thanks for the information Thomas. Almost 3 billion people are expected to
> face water shortages:
>
> JOHNS HOPKINS REPORT: WATER AND POPULATION CRISIS LOOMS
>
> Nearly half a billion people around the world face water shortages
> today. By 2025 the number will explode fivefold to 2.8 billion people --
> 35% of the world's projected total of 8 billion people -- according to a
> new report from The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.
> TO SEE AN ADVANCE OF THE FULL REPORT GO TO:
> http://www.jhuccp.org/popreport/m14edsum.stm
>
> -----
>
> Moreover, the loss of productive land is more-or-less permanent:
>
> http://dieoff.com/page114.htm
>
> "Roughly 43 percent of Earth's terrestrial vegetated surface has diminished
> capacity to supply benefits to humanity because of recent, direct impacts of
> land use. This represents an ~10 percent reduction in potential direct
> instrumental value (PDIV), defined as the potential to yield direct benefits
> such as agricultural, forestry, industrial, and medicinal products. If
> present trends continue, the global loss of PDIV could reach ~20 percent by
> 2020."
>
> Typical soil formation rates are ~1 cm per 100 to 400 years. At such rates
> it takes ~3000 to 12,000 years to develop sufficient soil to form productive
> land.
>
> -----
>
> Which job will experience the greatest growth in the 21'st century?
> Gravedigger!
>
> Jay
