by Taskforce_Unity » Thu 12 Apr 2007, 05:36:41
Ive spent a few minutes looking for you, maybe this will help:
Hydrocarbons and the evolution of human culture
Charles Hall1,2, Pradeep Tharakan1,3, John Hallock1, Cutler Cleveland4,5 and Michael Jefferson6
Source:
Nature 426, 318-322 (20 November 2003)
Abstract
Most of the progress in human culture has required the exploitation of energy resources. About 100 years ago, the major source of energy shifted from recent solar to fossil hydrocarbons, including liquid and gaseous petroleum. Technology has generally led to a greater use of hydrocarbon fuels for most human activities, making civilization vulnerable to decreases in supply. At this time our knowledge is not sufficient for us to choose between the different estimates of, for example, resources of conventional oil.
And
Will Limits of the Earth's Resources Control Human Numbers?
Authors: Pimentel D.1; Bailey O.2; Kim P.2; Mullaney E.2; Calabrese J.2; Walman L.2; Nelson F.2; Yao X.2
Source: Environment, Development and Sustainability, Volume 1, Number 1, 1999, pp. 19-39(21)
Publisher: Springer
Abstract:
The current world population is 6 billion people. Even if we adopted a worldwide policy resulting in only 2.1 children born per couple, more than 60 years would pass before the world population stabilized at approximately 12 billion. The reason stabilization would take more than 60 years is the population momentum – the young age distribution – of the world population. Natural resources are already severely limited, and there is emerging evidence that natural forces already starting to control human population numbers through malnutrition and other severe diseases. At present, more than 3 billion people worldwide are malnourished; grain production per capita has been declining since 1983; irrigation per capita has declined 12% during the past decade; cropland per capita has declined 20% during the past decade; fish production per capita has declined 7% during the past decade; per capita fertilizer supplies essential for food production have declined 23% during the past decade; loss of food to pests has not decreased below 50% since 1990; and pollution of water, air, and land has increased, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of humans suffering from serious, pollution-related diseases. Clearly, human numbers cannot continue to increase.
Hoping someone here might be able to help. I'm to review (and later research) a "scholarly journal article" for a paper I'm taking through uni this year, and I get to pick "any" article I wish, providing it's published and in a reasonably accessible publication (i.e. science, nature etc). I'm thinking I'd like to do something that ties in with my major - social anthropology, but with a real "peak oil" POV to it. I've been trying to find stuff through the Uni site and not having much luck - does anyone know of any articles they can point me towards? I'd like to try and read as much as I can over the next week or so, I need to pick something before the start of the second half of the semester (end of next week 
I even googled to see who had cited him, and didn't get much back which surprised me...or maybe it shouldn't - I really don't spend enough time on the net to be really "efficient" at finding info!
