2 ms·

> The overshoot threatens our civilization with crop failures. The only realistic way out of it is immediate phase-out of fossil fuels An "immediate phase-out

> The overshoot threatens our civilization with crop failures. The only realistic way out of it is immediate phase-out of fossil fuels An "immediate phase-out of fossil fuels" would kill a billion people or more right off the bat. Do you not understand that, or do you simply not care? https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/images/US_Corn_Yld_Trend.png https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/images/US... See how corn yield has increased from around 20 bushels/acre to nearly 180? That extra 160 bushels of corn per acre is due almost exclusively to fossil fuels and other modern agricultural practices. That extra 160 bushels is also what feeds a substantial portion of the planet. The same is true of other crops such as wheat. In the last hundred years or so, the Kansas wheat crop has gone from 12-13 bushels per acre to well over 30 (40 in a good year). That didn't happen with a peasant poking animal manure into the ground with a digging stick. It happened with tractors, combine harvesters, and petrochemical-derived fertilizers.

myshpa 3y ago
> immediate phase-out of fossil fuels I meant it not as right now, but as soon as possible. > See how corn yield has increased from around 20 bushels/acre to nearly 180? > The same is true of other crops such as wheat Just 7-10% of that corn is for human consumption, the rest is animal feed and biofuls. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/corn-industries-sustainability-food-prices/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/corn-industries-susta... Corn based ethanol is worse for the climate than gasoline. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-corn-based-ethanol-worse-climate-than-gasoline-study-finds-2022-02-14/ https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-corn-based-e... Most of the world’s grain is not eaten by humans - nearly half of all grain is either burned as fuel or eaten by animals https://web.archive.org/web/20230204130304/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/06/23/most-of-the-worlds-grain-is-not-eaten-by-humans https://web.archive.org/web/20230204130304/https://www.econo... > It happened with tractors, combine harvesters, and petrochemical-derived fertilizers. Yes, that's the destructive part. We should instead switch to local methods of regenerative farming, like syntropic/natural/permaculture farming, which might be more labour and knowledge intensive, but when done right have similar yields, while repairing soils and working with biodiversity, not against it.

myshpa 3y ago

> immediate phase-out of fossil fuels I meant it not as right now, but as soon as possible. > See how corn yield has increased from around 20 bushels/acre to nearly 180? > The same is true of other crops such as wheat Just 7-10% of that corn is for human consumption, the rest is animal feed and biofuls. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/corn-industries-sustainability-food-prices/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/corn-industries-susta... Corn based ethanol is worse for the climate than gasoline. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-corn-based-ethanol-worse-climate-than-gasoline-study-finds-2022-02-14/ https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/us-corn-based-e... Most of the world’s grain is not eaten by humans - nearly half of all grain is either burned as fuel or eaten by animals https://web.archive.org/web/20230204130304/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/06/23/most-of-the-worlds-grain-is-not-eaten-by-humans https://web.archive.org/web/20230204130304/https://www.econo... > It happened with tractors, combine harvesters, and petrochemical-derived fertilizers. Yes, that's the destructive part. We should instead switch to local methods of regenerative farming, like syntropic/natural/permaculture farming, which might be more labour and knowledge intensive, but when done right have similar yields, while repairing soils and working with biodiversity, not against it.