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Ok Malthus. This is exactly what prompted Alfred Russel Wallace to propose his theory of evolution to Darwin (who happened to have the same theory). Given the

Ok Malthus. This is exactly what prompted Alfred Russel Wallace to propose his theory of evolution to Darwin (who happened to have the same theory). Given the number of babies that die, the selection force drives the harmonization of the species to the environment. Wallace compared it to the governor of a steam engine — a cybernetic control system.

harshreality 3y ago
If it were merely a matter of harmonizing our behavior with the environment so we could continue along in steady-state, that would be fine. Unfortunately there's this concept also from control theory called overshoot, that we are almost certainly past the threshold for, by a lot... although how much depends on what near-future technologies become available to reduce the gap between where we are and the Earth's carrying capacity.
paulddraper 3y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusianism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusianism There are two issues: (1) growth rate isn't constant, it peaked 60 years ago (2) resources are not "fixed" when technology is taken into account, which is why estimating peak oil has been so difficult.
- myshpa 3y ago
  > which is why estimating peak oil has been so difficult Peak oil or not, the declining EROI of oil however could make the continued functioning of the industry economically unviable in the 2030s. https://bylinetimes.com/2021/10/20/oil-system-collapsing-so-fast-it-may-derail-renewables-warn-french-government-scientists/ https://bylinetimes.com/2021/10/20/oil-system-collapsing-so-... Energy Return on Investment (EROI) is a ratio used to measure the amount of usable energy that can be extracted from a particular energy source compared to the amount of energy required to extract, process, and distribute that energy source. https://jpt.spe.org/plummeting-energy-return-on-investment-of-oil-and-the-impact-on-global-energy-landscape https://jpt.spe.org/plummeting-energy-return-on-investment-o...
  - paulddraper 3y ago
    Sure. My point is that "fixed resources" isn't an accurate assumption. Resources can grow, in spite of the conversation of matter.

harshreality 3y ago

If it were merely a matter of harmonizing our behavior with the environment so we could continue along in steady-state, that would be fine. Unfortunately there's this concept also from control theory called overshoot, that we are almost certainly past the threshold for, by a lot... although how much depends on what near-future technologies become available to reduce the gap between where we are and the Earth's carrying capacity.

paulddraper 3y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusianism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malthusianism There are two issues: (1) growth rate isn't constant, it peaked 60 years ago (2) resources are not "fixed" when technology is taken into account, which is why estimating peak oil has been so difficult.

myshpa 3y ago
> which is why estimating peak oil has been so difficult Peak oil or not, the declining EROI of oil however could make the continued functioning of the industry economically unviable in the 2030s. https://bylinetimes.com/2021/10/20/oil-system-collapsing-so-fast-it-may-derail-renewables-warn-french-government-scientists/ https://bylinetimes.com/2021/10/20/oil-system-collapsing-so-... Energy Return on Investment (EROI) is a ratio used to measure the amount of usable energy that can be extracted from a particular energy source compared to the amount of energy required to extract, process, and distribute that energy source. https://jpt.spe.org/plummeting-energy-return-on-investment-of-oil-and-the-impact-on-global-energy-landscape https://jpt.spe.org/plummeting-energy-return-on-investment-o...
- paulddraper 3y ago
  Sure. My point is that "fixed resources" isn't an accurate assumption. Resources can grow, in spite of the conversation of matter.