Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Great Race
One of the most discussed topics among my readers is the future of the human species under the pressure of uncontrolled population growth. The ratio of the amount of food available per capita is decreasing annually despite vast advances in food production during recent decades. Population growth has outrun these advances, and the distribution of the food supply makes it more available in developed countries where population is not growing as rapidly. The amount of the earth's surface which is suitable for cultivation is finite, and is being steadily reduced by human habitation, diversion to non-agricultural uses, damage and destruction. These trends stimulated some interesting speculation among some of my scientist friends and I about what would be the limits of food production if all paved land was to be reclaimed for agriculture, the deserts were to be restored to green, and organic farming would gradually reduce the salinity and pollution in our seas and water resources. Would the food per capita keep up with the population? Mathematically the answer is no. Once maximum production is reached, the food per capita will begin to decline. Unless we, the "intelligent" masters of the earth impose population controls, starvation, disasters or plagues may do so for us. The present population of our planet is estimated to be 6 to 7 billion and to double within the next two decades. We agreed that the number that would allow survivability under acceptable living conditions does not exceed the present. The implications of that are immense. We should be thinking, and doing something about it now.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
As your science-oriented friends have no doubt taken into consideration, one of the biggest considerations is not just the rapidly expanding reproduction rates but the exploding longevity rates in many societies.
I agree there is no way to take back the destruction of productive land in time to catch up with the burgeoning world population but humans were never "designed" to last as long as many of us can and that will counter nearly any attempt to make things better.
I remember hearing some bleak predictions on overpopulation some twenty years ago. No doubt the Palm Beach County population has enlarged much in the past twenty years, so have Florida and the United States. Our life span has increased. In spite of murderous wars where millions disappeared, humans are procreating at an increasing rate.
The Indian Continent ( India Pakistan Bangladesh) and China are the leaders. The US has less than one fourth the population of China,
Having dinner in a restaurant shows you oversized portions served to well-fed diners and make the notion of starving people and shortage of food difficult to visualize.
Some years ago when we still had young children at home, one of them complained about his dessert of ice cream. “Oh! Vanilla again.” I could not resist saying: “ When I was your age during WW2 in occupied Paris I did not even know how ice cream looked. There was nothing to eat.” After some reflection my young son said:” Then how come you did not die.” Yes, how come?
Maybe at his young age he had that foreboding that like the dinosaurs the human race -ever increasing with diminishing resources- was slowly working towards its extinction.
Post a Comment