4 ms·

Planet could be 'unrecognizable' by 2050

4 points by hendler 16y ago

dustyreagan 16y ago
Planned Parenthood donation page: http://bit.ly/gDIrl5 http://bit.ly/gDIrl5
- mediacrisis 16y ago
  Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan, but Planned Parenthood won't help impoverished nations with high birth rates. The church allowing condom usage however...
InclinedPlane 16y ago
How is this different from all the doom and gloom predictions of the 20th century? It turns out that it's now quite easy for nations to be self sufficient in food. Many developing nations already are food exporters. The idea that an increase in population will cause resources to become more scarce is silly nonsense. People create resources, very few resources are actually all that limited (even gold). More people and more demand means more resources will be produced. More clean water. More Iron. More Aluminum. More food. And it need not have such a drastic impact on the planet. The US has vastly increased its per capita food production and its population over the 20th century, yet the impact of farming has actually diminished due to improved and more efficient practices. Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon%E2%80%93Ehrlich_wager http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon%E2%80%93Ehrlich_wager
viggity 16y ago
I worked in R&D for one of the largest agricultural seed producers in the world for 3.5 years and I'd like you to know that there is no need to worry about food. Using hybrid breeding techniques, corn has gone from an average of 40 bushels/acre to 180 bushels/acre in the past 60 years. And the bulk of that gain was simply from traditional breeding techniques - they've just barely cracked the door on using genetic data to make better/more informed seed selection and advancement. The industry is currently averaging a gain of 4 bushels/acre per year and that is only going to accelerate with the massive amount of money that is being plowed into marker analysis. And it isn't going to stop with corn either. Big-Ag is expanding BIG into Asia, South America and to a lesser degree Africa and a lot of awesome work is being done on Rice, Canola, Sunflower and Sorghum. Those crops will be making some major gains in the next 10 years. Don't let the Malthusians scare you, everything is going to be alright.

4 points by hendler 16y ago

dustyreagan 16y ago

Planned Parenthood donation page: http://bit.ly/gDIrl5 http://bit.ly/gDIrl5

mediacrisis 16y ago
Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan, but Planned Parenthood won't help impoverished nations with high birth rates. The church allowing condom usage however...

InclinedPlane 16y ago

How is this different from all the doom and gloom predictions of the 20th century? It turns out that it's now quite easy for nations to be self sufficient in food. Many developing nations already are food exporters. The idea that an increase in population will cause resources to become more scarce is silly nonsense. People create resources, very few resources are actually all that limited (even gold). More people and more demand means more resources will be produced. More clean water. More Iron. More Aluminum. More food. And it need not have such a drastic impact on the planet. The US has vastly increased its per capita food production and its population over the 20th century, yet the impact of farming has actually diminished due to improved and more efficient practices. Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon%E2%80%93Ehrlich_wager http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon%E2%80%93Ehrlich_wager

viggity 16y ago

I worked in R&D for one of the largest agricultural seed producers in the world for 3.5 years and I'd like you to know that there is no need to worry about food. Using hybrid breeding techniques, corn has gone from an average of 40 bushels/acre to 180 bushels/acre in the past 60 years. And the bulk of that gain was simply from traditional breeding techniques - they've just barely cracked the door on using genetic data to make better/more informed seed selection and advancement. The industry is currently averaging a gain of 4 bushels/acre per year and that is only going to accelerate with the massive amount of money that is being plowed into marker analysis. And it isn't going to stop with corn either. Big-Ag is expanding BIG into Asia, South America and to a lesser degree Africa and a lot of awesome work is being done on Rice, Canola, Sunflower and Sorghum. Those crops will be making some major gains in the next 10 years. Don't let the Malthusians scare you, everything is going to be alright.