
Planet could be 'unrecognizable' by 2050  - hendler
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110220/sc_afp/scienceuspopulationfood
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InclinedPlane
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>

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viggity
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.

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dustyreagan
Planned Parenthood donation page: <http://bit.ly/gDIrl5>

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mediacrisis
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...

