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Page added on August 15, 2015
Malthusians v. Cornucopians
Reading Ronald Bailey’s The End of Doom, I was reminded that the debate between prophets of a looming apocalypse and self-styled cornucopians has a long history, the modern version of which can be traced to the writings of Thomas Malthus in the eighteenth century warning that humanity’s ability to reproduce would outstrip its ability to feed itself. The twentieth century saw no shortage of neo-Malthusians, countered by those—such as Julian Simon, Bjorn Lomborg, Gregg Easterbrook, and Bailey himself—with a far more optimistic vision for humanity’s future. By now the combatants know their roles and lines too well. The debate has gotten pretty stale.
It’s not that Bailey’s argument is totally off-base. In fact, I’m skeptical, too, about warnings of apocalypse around the corner and sympathetic to visions of a bright future for people and the planet in the twenty-first century. But securing that future is by no means simple or guaranteed.
In The End of Doom, Bailey takes on a series of issues that he believes have been vastly misunderstood by the neo-Malthusians and their fellow travelers: population, peak oil (and peak commodities more generally), the precautionary principle, worries about a cancer epidemic, genetic modification in agriculture, climate change, and species loss. For each, the argument is much the same. Concern is overhyped. Technology driven by “free markets” has always provided solutions and will do so in the future as well. But Bailey’s analysis never really gets beyond the cornucopian arguments that have been advanced many times before.
St. Martin’s PressTo take one example, Bailey accurately finds that the predictions about a “population bomb” advanced in the 1960s and 1970s were wildly wrong. Advocates like Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren—currently President Obama’s science advisor—warned of a global crisis that might require draconian action such as forced sterilization. History has proved these arguments ridiculous and even unethical. Yet, as Bailey shows, latter-day Malthusians are saying the same things.
But Bailey stands on shakier ground when he argues that the “population bomb” was diffused because of the so-called Green Revolution, which brought high-yielding wheat and other crops to India and elsewhere. Bailey asserts that Norman Borlaug, popularly known as the father of the Green Revolution, “is the man who saved more lives than anyone else in history” through “a massive campaign to ship the miracle wheat to Pakistan and India.” In Bailey’s view, the “massive campaign” arrived just in time to prevent the famine predicted by Ehrlich.
It’s a great story, but it’s wrong.
A more accurate history shows that the specter of a looming famine in India was an invention engineered by President Lyndon Johnson to help sustain the U.S. Food for Peace program, which faced a politically skeptical Congress. Technological advances had led to a glut of crops in the U.S., low prices for commodities, and unhappy farmers. Agricultural aid was also seen as a useful strategy in the Cold War. So Johnson wanted the shipments made. Thus, as historian Nick Cullather writes in The Hungry World, “through the fall of 1965 [LBJ] developed the theme of a world food crisis brought on by runaway population growth.”
In fact, official State Department notes reveal that when Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi visited Washington in spring 1966, one of her agenda items was to get the story straight about a crisis that didn’t exist. The Indian delegation noted that, “The situation in the United States is that to get a response, the need must be somewhat overplayed.” Scientists and the media jumped on the bandwagon, and a mythology of famine was born.
Bailey’s restatement of the Green Revolution mythology in fact gives neo-Malthusians far too much credit, suggesting that they were correct in their forecast of global famine, only to be proven wrong by the wonders of technological and market innovation. In fact, the neo-Malthusians were never right to begin with. Bailey is promoting a solution to a problem that never existed in the first place.
In 2003, the International Food Policy Research Institute asked what would have happened if the Green Revolution in the developing world never happened. They concluded that developed countries would have produced more and trade patterns would have evolved differently, but the situation “probably would not be considered a ‘World Food Crisis.’”
Perhaps ironically, it seems that the cornucopians need the neo-Malthusians to be correct in their diagnosis of potential apocalypse so that they can argue that their preferred solutions provide answers. But what if both sides are wrong in significant respects? Is there room in our debates for a third perspective?
It’s easy to see the end of the world in every technological innovation. It is just as easy to look at the generally improving state of the world and conclude that things will always continue to improve, and that when problems do arise, they will be easily solved.
Our public debates over economics, technology, and political power deserve better than a tired rehashing of Neo-Malthusianism v. cornucopianism. And yet, these polarities remain appealing to many. Bailey recounts a conversation he had with his editor back in 1992, when he brought an earlier version of these arguments to him. His editor said that he’d publish the book, but “if you’d brought me a book predicting the end of the world, I could have made you a rich man.”
The “end of doom”? Hardly. The end of Panglossian optimism? Nope, not that either. The dance of the two will no doubt go on.
Roger Pielke Jr., is a professor at the Center for Science & Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado – Boulder.
Author Ronald Bailey Responds
First, I want to thank all three reviewers for taking the time and spending the intellectual energy to engage seriously with my new book. In general, I think that both Darwall and Easterbrook fairly characterize and explain its contents and goals. Pielke has some reservations.
For the most part, Pielke agrees with me, admitting that he is “quite sympathetic to critiques of apocalypse around the corner.” He is impatient with my chronicling of environmentalist doomsaying over the past several decades, but he should remember that the more than 200 million of his fellow citizens who are younger than he is (46) do not know the sorry ideological history of Neo-Malthusianism. As philosopher George Santayana reminded us, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” By reminding readers of the past, I hope to spare future generations from being duped by doom dogmas. I suspect that even Pielke would agree that that is a worthy aim.
Pielke further objects that I give Norman Borlaug and the Green Revolution too much credit for forestalling the world-spanning famines widely predicted to occur in the 1970s. It bears noting that in 1970, the chairman of the Nobel committee explained why it had chosen Mr. Borlaug for its Peace Prize in this way: “More than any other single person of this age, [he] has helped to provide bread for a hungry world.” With regard to Nick Cullather’s historical revisionism: Revisionists must revise. That’s what they do. By the way, India’s wheat harvest jumped 45 percent in 1968.
I certainly agree with Pielke that securing a “bright future for people and the planet” is “by no means simple or guaranteed.” I do explain in some detail how the technological progress and wealth generated by democratic free-market capitalism makes environmental renewal in this century possible. While Pielke strikes a world-weary pose of intellectual ennui over a supposedly “stale” debate, he oddly fails to mention that there is between me and the Neo-Malthusians one big difference: My predictions have consistently proven right and theirs wrong.
Ronald Bailey is the author of “The End of Doom”
49 Comments on "Malthusians v. Cornucopians"
meld on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 7:04 am
You know 2 of the worst foods for you? Bread and Milk. Yet somehow they are considered staples.
I stopped eating wheat and dairy a few years ago as an experiment. I lost a stone, and feel about 10 years younger.
Kenz300 on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 8:24 am
We can transition to safer, cleaner and cheaper alternative energy sources and away from planet killing fossil fuels.
Global Renewable Energy Roundup: China, Kenya, Turkey, India Seeking More Renewables – Renewable Energy World
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/08/global-renewable-energy-roundup-china-kenya-turkey-india-seeking-more-renewables.html
Climate Change is real….. we need to deal with the cause (fossil fuels)
Listen Up: Pope Calls for the Replacement of Fossil Fuels, Renewable Energy and Solar Subsidies – Renewable Energy World
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/07/listen-up-pope-calls-for-the-replacement-of-fossil-fuels-renewable-energy-and-solar-subsidies.html
ghung on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 8:47 am
These arguments are generally posed in terms of human systems, which, indeed, are under increasing demand and stress born of ever more industrial age magic. Ultimately, it will be the planet which shrugs us off as finite options become fewer and increasingly non-viable. A finite planet will trump infinite hope and growth every time. Continuing to soil our nest at an unprecedented rate can only have one outcome, despite our remarkable cleverness.
Cornucopianism meets overshoot head on in the 21st century. Human hubris will be squashed like a bug.
ronpatterson on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 9:20 am
The author of this article is Roger Pielke Jr. Pielke is every bit as much an ignorant cornucopian as is Bailey. Pielke writes:
“It is just as easy to look at the generally improving state of the world and conclude that things will always continue to improve, and that when problems do arise, they will be easily solved.”
“The generally improving state of the world?” The state of the world is improving? You could have fooled me.
joe on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 10:01 am
These philosophical debates always ignore the inconvenience of facts. Those who predict doom have been proved right on the average, because for every boom, there has ALWAYS been a bust. Humanity entered a centuries long boom when it discovered the use of fossil fuel, which I believe was a consequence of the discovery in the west of the correct use of gun powder, metal foundry for guns, and the start of the exploration of chemistry leading to the age of discovery and reason (which we are beginning to forget). Now we are in an age of extreme hubris where a population of 9-13 bln in the life expectancy of a child born today is not a cause for concern. Ok, tech might solve everything, the problem is that we passed peak tech discovery last century. Computers, robotics, quantum mechanics, oil tech, med tech, all discovered long ago, and we today are merely refining or applying the developments from long ago. Let’s not forget, that social engineering DID happen, just not in the way the cornies or doomers say. Abortions and birth control are widely available in the west and developed economies. The population booms are happening in the backward places who don’t starve because the west sells the food it doesn’t need because they are not growing very fast. That’s your green revolution, not more food, but more condoms. Draconian measures aren’t needed because the people will make choices it feels it can. A few law changes here and there, and people controlled there own reproduction. Population Control DID happen, they did it by giving choices and punishing ‘wrong’ choices. A good book called Freakenomics has an easy to understand chapter on this around abortions and crime. There has to be a sexual revolution in Asia and the middle east if there is to be any hope of saving our poor ignorant apish selves.
Cornies v Doomer is an oversimplification of the reading of history and real understanding of economics.
ennui2 on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 10:08 am
“You know 2 of the worst foods for you? Bread and Milk. Yet somehow they are considered staples.”
You know what the worst food is for you? NO FOOD. This talk above of sorting foods into good and bad is a luxury of the rich.
penury on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 11:15 am
I think the author is correct. The world as constructed y and for humans will continue to improve, everything will be wonderful forever. After all were we not promised by our creator that we are created in its image and will go forth and have dominion over the earth and its creatures. That is another book which has never consulted reality. Malthus was not wrong, only early.
Truth Has A Liberal Bias on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 11:58 am
Malthus died in 1834. He did not anticipate the energy flow humans would obtain from oil. Once the oil production decline kicks in the human population will decrease. There are countless historical examples of what happens when long distance trade slows down and communities have to rely on local production. There are countless examples of what happens to a species that overshoots carrying capacity and depletes its environmental resources. I’m not a doomer. I’m a realist. The cornucopians are naive.
Jerry McManus on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 12:10 pm
“free-market capitalism makes environmental renewal in this century possible”
Um, gosh, that’s funny…, sort of begs the question: Just exactly why does the environment need “renewing” in the first place?
If the debate boils down to:
– Yes, we’ve got big problems, but there’s nothing free markets and technology can’t do
vs.
– Yes, we’ve got big problems, and most of them were caused by unregulated free markets and unrestricted growth in the first place
Then I think its safe to say the takeaway message is: Yes, we’ve got big problems.
Are those problems so big they will eventually overwhelm our collective ability to cope? Will we continue to “debate” those problems up until the moment they cause our civilization to collapse?
Time will tell, but if history is any guide the odds are not in our favor.
Joe Clarkson on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 12:45 pm
Jerry McManus comes close to hitting the nail squarely. If our global market economy is capable of solving all the huge problems looming ahead, why weren’t they totally solved when they were much smaller? It’s easy to imagine a just, stable and benign human society. Why doesn’t it already exist?
Apneaman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 12:50 pm
On the one hand we have guy’s like Baily who are a part of the Cato institute saying shit like – “free-market capitalism makes environmental renewal in this century possible”
On the other hand we have many of the worlds leading experts like, Gerardo Ceballos of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, on the web of life, saying things like – “If it is allowed to continue, life would take many millions of years to recover and our species itself would likely disappear early on,”
The Baily boys argument is based on less than a few hundred years of human constructed “free markets” and technology only made possible through access to unprecedented amounts of easy energy.
The Biologists argument is based on the laws of physics, chemistry, biology, the geo chemical and fossil record of over 3 billion years of life on this planet and the 14 previous extinction periods (5 mass).
What is is even more troubling is that AGW is only an amplifier of the 6th mass extinction, not the root cause – that would be the destruction of habitat through perusing “free markets”, breeding like rabbits and spreading out like a megacancer.
It will truly be miraculous if there are any naked apes left alive in 2115.
http://megacancer.com/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-20/sixth-mass-extinction-impact-humans-study-says/6560700
apneaman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 1:11 pm
Nearly 1 million people face food emergency in drought-hit Guatemala: U.N.
http://news.yahoo.com/nearly-1-million-people-face-food-emergency-drought-155441851.html
Boat on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 1:33 pm
apneaman
Nearly 1 million people face food emergency in drought-hit Guatemala: U.N.
China lost 48 million in one famine in the world history. When will you understand this is part of the destiny of humanity. Give up your computer and send cash for food. Or quit acting like this is some new threat. Hunger is as old as human inception. Will billions more humans do you think the likelihood of hungry will go away? Do not fear reality.
jjhman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 2:32 pm
“This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper”
-T.S. Eliot
penury on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 3:31 pm
Boat, I will be a bit of a
Devils Advocate when i ask a couple of questions. 1. What per cent of the total population of G is 1 million? What per cent of Cs population was 48 million? Anything like Europe during the M. Ages? Remember that a large number of young people from Guatamala have voted with their feet and are now in the U.S. Emmigration in place of starvaation is easier today than ever before in history.
apneaman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 4:17 pm
Boat, what the hell does that have to do with the argument other than proving it’s wrong? None of this should happen in a globalized free market paradise. You constantly brag up capitalism and technological benefits and efficiency boaty, but then when me or someone else provides evidence that shows it ain’t working as advertised you revert to “shit happens” and “always been that way” and destiny arguments. If it’s always been that way then that means it has not worked except for a happy few for 5 minutes. You can’t argue it both ways boat. There are just as many people (as a percentage) living in poverty, now than ever. And now the biosphere is fucked beyond anything humans have ever had to deal with and going to get much worse. Hooray for the free market. The free market is just the latest ape religion/social system. It or something like it was probably inevitable to deal with the increased complexity of maximizing greater amounts of energy, so there is your destiny boat. The true problem is were maladapted – an evolutionary dead end.
Go to this site by James the microbiologist who demonstrates how we have been acting and spreading just like a cancer. Unlike a cancer we are aware that we are destine to commit suicide via the free market.
http://megacancer.com/
Apneaman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 4:52 pm
Dennis Meadows: “There is nothing that we can do”
“FORMAT interviews Dennis Meadows, author of “The Limits to Growth”, about the shocking position of the planet. 40 years ago, Dennis Meadows presented the best seller “The Limits to Growth”. In it, he predicted, not the exact date of the apocalypse, but the U.S. researchers showed by means of computational models, that by mid-century, the resources of planet Earth will be depleted.”
http://churchandstate.org.uk/2013/04/dennis-meadows-there-is-nothing-that-we-can-do/
Boat on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 5:06 pm
Apeanan,
None of this should happen in a globalized free market paradise.
Why do you say that. You make the rules now?
You can’t argue it both ways boat.
Yes I can. Tech and efficiency is helping stretch the life line until the end happens. Long live tech.
Only until the end happens will we be able to see how it plays out.
But mostly the links you put up are just normal earth like/human like behavior except we have a smart phone to record the event.
Quit blaming humans for the future destruction of humans. They are doing the best they can.
Apneaman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 5:18 pm
Compartmentalization (psychology)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Compartmentalization is an unconscious psychological defense mechanism used to avoid cognitive dissonance, or the mental discomfort and anxiety caused by a person’s having conflicting values, cognitions, emotions, beliefs, etc. within themselves.
Compartmentalization allows these conflicting ideas to co-exist by inhibiting direct or explicit acknowledgement and interaction between separate compartmentalized self states.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compartmentalization_%28psychology%29
Boat on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 5:33 pm
The facts are relentless and simple to find. From 1958-1961 10’s of millions died.
While there is death and displacement now there is a bit of a difference. There were around 3 billion humans in 1958.
So in the year 2015 why wouldn’t there be events of death doubled to 100 million?
Then to blame capitalism on famin or death from disease is nuts. If anything you could blame capitalism on increasing human populations by saving those who would normally be dead. Your logic gets twisted as you try to mentaly grope with a life you apparently don’t like.
Truth Has A Liberal Bias on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 7:08 pm
I’ve been tracking Guatemala for a while. It’s the next failed state. When the famine hits they won’t lay down dead. They’re going to head north and kick ‘Boat’ in the teeth and take his surplus. People steal before they starve and famine is one of the prime stimuli for unregulated mass migration leading to state failure. But don’t fear it ‘Boat’. This pattern is as old as human inception. Do not fear reality. (Everyone is a Malthusian until someone kicks them in the teeth and takes off with your moveables)
apneaman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 7:50 pm
Lol, although it’s falling on deaf ears since boat does not even understand the argument. Did you even read the fucking article boat? Boat do you know what a Faustian bargain is? Don’t worry you and everyone you know will soon find out the hard way.
apneaman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 7:52 pm
How many floods will these American cities have in 2030, 2045?
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-08-14/how-many-floods-will-these-american-cities-have-2030-2045
apneaman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 7:59 pm
Study: Climate change could ravage Texas – 10 key outtakes
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/texas/article/Study-climate-change-could-ravage-Texas-6414822.php
Climate Change Linked To Devastating Texas Floods
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/13/3691423/study-manmade-climate-change-texas-floods/
Climate change could devastate the Texas economy
http://www.tribtalk.org/2015/07/28/climate-change-could-devastate-the-texas-economy/
apneaman on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 10:02 pm
How developing countries are paying a high price for the global mineral boom
Soaring worldwide demand for the minerals used in electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops has left a legacy of social conflict and human rights violations across Asia, Latin America and Africa
• Global atlas of communities at risk from mining and oil companies
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/aug/15/developing-countries-high-price-global-mineral-boom
Makati1 on Sat, 15th Aug 2015 10:33 pm
The cliff is fast approaching and if you are not working your way to the outside of the herd, to break away before the herd plunges over, you are already too late.
Kenz300 on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 6:50 am
Every country needs to try to balance its population with its resources.
Endless growth is not sustainable.
ronpatterson on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 6:56 am
@ Jerry McManus
Wish I had said that.
bicycledave on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 4:29 pm
Speaking of doomers and cornucopians, as I’m sure you all know, JMG wrote about a middle ground in his long descent book. I felt his thesis had some merit and followed his blog for some time. I wondered why he seldom mentioned the population issue so I posted a comment on his blog that suggested it might be useful to discuss what kind of global human population level might be sustainable and what kind of humane measures might help move us in the right direction if a serious political movement to address population concerns ever did develop. Knowing his tendency to treat people who disagree with him with a scornful tongue lashing, I tried to pose the question as meekly and non-confrontational as possible – no luck with that tactic!
His Grace replied, in so many words, by suggesting that only a total moron would want such a discussion “… in a world on the brink of cascading crisis.” So, even though he has steadfastly ridiculed doomers, I guess Mr. Greer has joined them and finds no merit in even discussing ideas that might mitigate the difficulties ahead.
Apneaman on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 5:52 pm
bicycledave, wizards are not the only ones who are aware of the enormity of the predicaments and just how late the hour is. Sure there is probably some part of him that is looking out for himself by not stampeding the herd, but what’s the point? Folks are still better off following his advice than not doing anything. People will still need/want to survive as we wait for the inertia of AGW, ocean acidification and the 6th mass extinction to kick in. Then there are the resource shortage and nasty ape responses to it all. There is not going to be any mitigation from TPTB and they never planned any – ever. Just lots of empty promises and funding of corrupt environmental gatekeeper organizations to make the liberals and the other hopefuls think something was being done. Watch the spin from COP 21, then wait a couple of weeks and see that it was just more hyped up hopey BS. The people with real power in this world will slaughter everyone who tries to take it away if they feel under threat. Maintaining their power wealth and status trump every other concern they may have including the future of their own kids, grandkids or even the entire ape species.
GregT on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 6:04 pm
“what kind of global human population level might be sustainable and what kind of humane measures might help move us in the right direction if a serious political movement to address population concerns ever did develop. ”
It is generally agreed upon that a sustainable population of human beings would be around 1 billion people, IF the biosphere were healthy. Which it is not. Reducing the human population by some 6.3 billion people in a humane manner, is not a rational discussion.
We are already in mass overshoot. At this point in time the only solution is to let nature take it’s course. Which it will do. We are not in control of nature. Never have been, never will be.
bicycledave on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 8:16 pm
Apneaman and GregT, I tend to share your general POV and realize that the physics, chemistry, biology, geology, etc of planet Earth support your predictions. I guess a small part of me still hopes that it’s not too late to soften the descent down – admittedly, perhaps a naive hope. It appears that most of folks who comment here totally understand that human population overshoot is the root cause of our predicament – nothing else can compensate for this simple reality. Even if a nasty collapse is baked into humanity’s future, doesn’t it make sense to keep beating the drum about this fact? I keep thinking that we actually are slightly brighter than yeast in a Petri dish and that there will come a time when survival of our species will trump all the bogus ideologies of religion, economics, nationalism, elitism, etc and we might actually use our ability to reason to regain some appreciation of nature rather than trying to conquer it. I harbor no delusions that the current ruling classes will voluntarily decide to let their actions be governed by rationality for the common good. But, I suspect that mother nature will provide a few enlightening opportunities for a good chunk of humanity to rethink their leadership. Maybe these opportunities will simply devolve into utter catastrophe – or maybe not. Do you feel it’s totally useless to discuss human population overshoot – even if it’s only for the benefit of post collapse generations?
apneaman on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 8:52 pm
bicycledave, discussing things is one of the unique features of being a naked ape. Don’t hold back now;)
apneaman on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 9:01 pm
You know when people say I hate to say I told you? I’m not one of those people. I told the corny’s that any so called drought breaking deluge will be short lived because near permanent drought is the new normal.
Severe drought returns suddenly to Central Texas
http://kxan.com/2015/08/13/severe-drought-returns-suddenly-to-central-texas/
It will be the same for California if they get an el nino winter deluge. It will only be a short reprieve and a costly one at that if it happens and it might not even happen this time because we have changed weather patterns – uncharted territory.
apneaman on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 9:03 pm
European river cruises ruined by insanely low water levels
Low water levels in Europe lead to cancellations
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-river-cruise-may-be-about-to-get-ruined-2015-08-05
bicycledave on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 9:31 pm
Apneaman, 10 years ago I thought I was being eco-friendly by only traveling by bicycle in places like Ireland and France (I live in WI). Now, I think it’s irresponsible to burn a lot of jet fuel just for a change of scenery. Today, we do our bicycle touring starting from our front door. The idea of flying to Europe and then shuttling around in diesel powered boats and buses is almost as bad as supporting NASCAR racing. Perhaps “Mother Nature knows best” and is trying to warn about this kind of wasteful vacation practice – but, I doubt many people are listening.
apneaman on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 10:02 pm
People are doing what they were taught is normal. Derrick Jensen once said something about people defending, to the death, the system they believe brings them the goodies. There will be plenty of folks spewing massive amounts of CO2 jetting off to Paris for COP 21 pretending it matters, but truth be told, dopamine/status seeking is what it’s about IMO. Sure everyone wants it fixed, but very few ever change their behaviour/consumption…….because they can’t.
Autopia
http://hipcrime.blogspot.ca/2015/08/autopia.html
apneaman on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 10:05 pm
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Dispatch from the Endocene, #9
“No, I do not think humans can help themselves from indulging in cheap energy. We fly and ride in cars despite the risk of accidents. Even people who claim to know better make excuses to continue to travel, to use electronic technology, and purchase items manufactured from plastic.”
“I have a message for future generations. That is, Please accept our apologies. We were roaring drunk on petroleum…The only fun most humans beings have ever had – any feeling of power or respect – has been driving automobiles. And so they’re not about to give that up.” ~ Kurt Vonnegut, at the Connecticut Forum in 2006
http://witsendnj.blogspot.ca/
Bloomer on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 10:46 pm
It will be interesting to see what kind of technological wizardry the free market will up with to deal with a hot burning planet.
Makati1 on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 10:57 pm
Boat:
World wide deaths this year to date = 37,000,000+ w/ 4 1/2 months to go.
Heart disease: 11,000,000+
Cancer: 5,000,000+
Diarrhea: 1,400,000+
Nutrition: 300,000+
Leprosy: 3,400+
Births to date: 88,300,000+
Abortions: 26 million plus (not in death totals.)
http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/live-world-death-totals
Interesting site.
apneaman on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 11:20 pm
http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/pauldouglas_1437494509_1.jpg
apneaman on Sun, 16th Aug 2015 11:52 pm
Doomsday clock for global market crash strikes one minute to midnight as central banks lose control
China currency devaluation signals endgame leaving equity markets free to collapse under the weight of impossible expectations
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/11805523/Doomsday-clock-for-global-market-crash-strikes-one-minute-to-midnight-as-central-banks-lose-control.html?fb_ref=Default
Apneaman on Mon, 17th Aug 2015 12:52 am
Whales Are Dying Off North America’s West Coast — And it Could Signal Trouble Deep in the Ocean
“As one marine ecosystem researcher tells VICE News, the whales found bobbing in the water or washed up on the shores could potentially have been killed by an algae bloom connected to warmer than normal ocean temperatures.
“We have very unusual things happening,” explained Tom Okey, a University of Victoria expert who researches the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems in the Pacific. “We have this big algae bloom, and some of those algae are toxic, and especially when the whole system is out of whack like that, you can have the toxic ones become very abundant. And so it is feasible, it is reasonable that there could be a link.”
Kate Wynne, a marine mammal specialist for the University of Alaska Sea Grant Program, told The Weather Channel that environmental toxins were her “leading hypothesis”, too. ”
https://news.vice.com/article/whales-are-dying-off-north-americas-west-coast-and-it-could-signal-trouble-deep-in-the-ocean
apneaman on Mon, 17th Aug 2015 1:51 am
Anti-Science Trolls are Starting Edit Wars on Wikipedia
http://gizmodo.com/anti-science-trolls-are-starting-edit-wars-on-wikiped-1724422402?
Kenz300 on Mon, 17th Aug 2015 6:59 am
Too many problems…… too many people……. too few resources………
Birth Control Permanent Methods: Learn About Effectiveness
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/birth_control_permanent_methods/article_em.htm
Apneaman on Mon, 17th Aug 2015 12:13 pm
Ron Bailey and the rest of the happy corny crew think tech and free markets will fix everything.
900 Tons of material to build just 1 windmill
http://energyskeptic.com/2015/900-tons-of-material-to-build-just-1-windmill/
apneaman on Mon, 17th Aug 2015 10:18 pm
Montana declares state of emergency as U.S. Northwest battles blazes
“Montana declared a state of emergency on Sunday to battle more than a dozen wildfires as blazes, fueled by drought and winds, also raged in Oregon, Idaho and the California wine region north of San Francisco.
Wildfires have destroyed 50 homes in north central Idaho while a fire in north-central Washington nearly doubled in size, almost encircling the town of Chelan and forcing the evacuation of some 1,500.
The Reach fire, sparked on Friday by lightning strikes and high winds, had doubled to 55,000 acres (22,250 hectares) by Sunday, fire incident spokesman Wayne Patterson said”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/16/us-usa-wildfires-idaho-idUSKCN0QL06D20150816
apneaman on Mon, 17th Aug 2015 10:32 pm
I bet Free Market Cato cornucopian Ron Bailey thinks reverse mortgages are “innovative”. They are great for keeping Boomers happily shopping right to the last breath. I bet many Gen-Xer’s and Millennials are going to get quite a shock when Ma’s will is read out and they find out that she listened to old Fred Tompson. How about a book called “The End of Inheritance” The next great generational rip off scheme is going to be to pass legislation so you can pre sell your child’s labour before they even get out of the womb.
Reverse mortgages: The final blow killing middle class wealth
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/19/1231625/-Reverse-mortgages-The-final-blow-killing-middle-class-wealth?detail=emailclassic#
apneaman on Mon, 17th Aug 2015 10:49 pm
A Massive Oil Pipeline Under the Great Lakes Is Way Past Its Expiration Date – VIDEO
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-aging-oil-pipelines-below-the-great-lakes