[Phil]

I'm sure many of you have read this article. For those who have not, it is an excellent read.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he precolonial famines of Europe raised the question: What would happen when the planet's supply of arable land ran out? We have a clear answer. In about 1960 expansion hit its limits and the supply of unfarmed, arable lands came to an end. There was nothing left to plow. What happened was grain yields tripled.

The accepted term for this strange turn of events is the green revolution, though it would be more properly labeled the amber revolution, because it applied exclusively to grain--wheat, rice, and corn. Plant breeders tinkered with the architecture of these three grains so that they could be hypercharged with irrigation water and chemical fertilizers, especially nitrogen. This innovation meshed nicely with the increased "efficiency" of the industrialized factory-farm system. With the possible exception of the domestication of wheat, the green revolution is the worst thing that has ever happened to the planet.

[Jack]

Excellent, truly.

Thanks for posting it!

[giengreen]

Read it from the ASPO's website many, many, moons ago.

It Holds much wisdom, and Much sorrow for all of Man if we loose the ability to deploy petro-chemicals.

For those who have not read it, it is a sobbering wake-up to the steady morphine drip of the tellituby world we think is real.

[0mar]

The global economy is partly to blame and reduced sustenance are some of the reasons. The deficits in that part of the world can be made up by imports from another country. A die-off is probably underway as it is, however, growth rate (people over there have 5-6 kids a piece) offsets the massive decline.

On the OP: That article was the #1 reason that convinced me we are headed towards a die-off.

[ailrickson73]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('0mar', 'O')n the OP: That article was the #1 reason that convinced me we are headed towards a die-off.