[TheAntiDoomer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/opini ... f=homepage

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n his book, “The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050,” über-geographer Joel Kotkin sketches out how this growth will change the national landscape. Extrapolating from current trends, he describes an archipelago of vibrant suburban town centers, villages and urban cores.

The initial wave of suburbanization was sprawling and featureless. Tom Wolfe once observed that you only knew you were in a new town when you began to see a new set of 7-Elevens. But humans need meaningful places, so developers have been filling in with neo-downtowns — suburban gathering spots where people can dine, work, go to the movies and enjoy public space.

Over the next 40 years, Kotkin argues, urban downtowns will continue their modest (and perpetually overhyped) revival, but the real action will be out in the compact, self-sufficient suburban villages. Many of these places will be in the sunbelt — the drive to move there remains strong — but Kotkin also points to surging low-cost hubs on the Plains, like Fargo, Dubuque, Iowa City, Sioux Falls, and Boise.

[Prince]

AD, I can't understand why you think the proposed growth listed in the article is either feasible or a positive thing. Besides, 40 years is a long way out and I don't think any of us are in a position to make grandiose predictions about a timeline so far in the future. My guess is that things will be much, much different than they are now, and they will be much, much different than any predictions made right now. Whether or not changes happen for the better remain to be seen, but given the data we have on hand, logic tells me that 2050 will be much worse than 2010.

[Revi]

I'm so glad to hear that the suburban sprawl will keep going for another 40 years.

Hard to see it happening, but if the NY Times thinks so, I guess it will come to be.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 't')he real action will be out in the compact, self-sufficient suburban villages. Many of these places will be in the sunbelt

[americandream]

Hold on a mo sunny Jim. The clock of history still ticks, remember?

http://www.theworldincrisis.com/artman2 ... _Oil.shtml

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheAntiDoomer', 'h')ttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/opinion/06brooks.html?src=me&ref=homepage

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n his book, “The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050,” über-geographer Joel Kotkin sketches out how this growth will change the national landscape. Extrapolating from current trends, he describes an archipelago of vibrant suburban town centers, villages and urban cores.

The initial wave of suburbanization was sprawling and featureless. Tom Wolfe once observed that you only knew you were in a new town when you began to see a new set of 7-Elevens. But humans need meaningful places, so developers have been filling in with neo-downtowns — suburban gathering spots where people can dine, work, go to the movies and enjoy public space.

Over the next 40 years, Kotkin argues, urban downtowns will continue their modest (and perpetually overhyped) revival, but the real action will be out in the compact, self-sufficient suburban villages. Many of these places will be in the sunbelt — the drive to move there remains strong — but Kotkin also points to surging low-cost hubs on the Plains, like Fargo, Dubuque, Iowa City, Sioux Falls, and Boise.

[Pretorian]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 't')he real action will be out in the compact, self-sufficient suburban villages. Many of these places will be in the sunbelt

[americandream]

The other alternative of course is to build more Volkswagens and autobahns for the Volk but as yer knows (well most thinking specimens I thunks), its Volkswagens and autobahns what got us here in the first place. The Poles would have done well to remain in the post war workers state as the choices, as you can see kameraden, are limited.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Pretorian', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 't')he real action will be out in the compact, self-sufficient suburban villages. Many of these places will be in the sunbelt

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('americandream', 't')he choices, as you can see kameraden, are limited.

[SilentRunning]

AD: Is it even conceivable in your mind that overpopulation could ever become a problem?

If not - I have a thought experiment for you: Move to Cornucopia Island.

The Island is not terribly large (say 100 square miles). Ecologists have studied it extensively, and say that it can support 1000 people with the resources at hand.

But not to worry - we all know that ecologists are elitist eggheads who make stupid pronouncements based upon Malthus and other ridiculous ideas that don't apply to people.

So, we are going to stuff over 1 billion people on Cornucopia Island. These people will all be Cornucopians like you - who believe that overpopulation is impossible.

The rules are that every one of them must extract their livelihood, their water, their food and dispose of their wastes within the confines of the island.

You can leave the island anytime you want - subject to one tiny condition: You have to sign a statement that overpopulation is a real menace and that resources matter - dearly.

So that's it - relax, you should be fine, and you and your fellow cornies can build an economic super-power with your abundant brain power and little else. Show Malthus what a moron he was. Knock yourself out.

Remember: the ecologists say 1000 - we'll put only a million times more than that.

How long do you think you would last there?

[Carlhole]

You guys are being foolish by pretending to be able to predict what will happen in our increasingly chaotic and unpredictable world.

You can only watch and see what the trends are. If a martian were looking at planet earth, she would see a lot of destruction and waste but she would also see that all of human global society is on the point of some new evolutionary trend. Resources shortages on the one hand, accelerating scientific/cultural achievements on the other. These are evolutionary pressures.

The Doomers are folk who believe in a peak and necessary decline of human society - as direct consequence of peak oil. But that simply cannot be known to be true; its impossible to reliably know the future, especially such a one os the doomer concept. Judging from the past, - the development of world culture/achievement was never peaceful or easy - it stands to reason that past conditions will persist.

Vast knowledge of things like DNA and supercomputing can only fundamentally change the future in wholly unpredictable ways. Don't tell me the current scientific news I read is boolskat.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', '
')The Doomers are folk who believe in a peak and necessary decline of human society

[americandream]

There's only one CHOICE, a fully socialised economy based on needs and NOT (manufactured)wants. All else is window dressing and procrastination, and in there I include ethical capitalism, green capitalism and all the rest of that half witted response to a fairly simple problem, greed. Greed cannot be rendered ethical or green.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('americandream', 't')he choices, as you can see kameraden, are limited.

[americandream]

Doomers, to use a credit analogy, are, by and large from my experience, those who check their resources before embarking on a bout of credit underwritten spending. In contrast, the deniers are the resourcing counterparts to those who borrowed on resources they did not have on the assumption that service payments would materialise when the need arose.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Carlhole', 'Y')ou guys are being foolish by pretending to be able to predict what will happen in our increasingly chaotic and unpredictable world.

You can only watch and see what the trends are. If a martian were looking at planet earth, she would see a lot of destruction and waste but she would also see that all of human global society is on the point of some new evolutionary trend. Resources shortages on the one hand, accelerating scientific/cultural achievements on the other. These are evolutionary pressures.

The Doomers are folk who believe in a peak and necessary decline of human society - as direct consequence of peak oil. But that simply cannot be known to be true; its impossible to reliably know the future, especially such a one os the doomer concept. Judging from the past, - the development of world culture/achievement was never peaceful or easy - it stands to reason that past conditions will persist.

Vast knowledge of things like DNA and supercomputing can only fundamentally change the future in wholly unpredictable ways. Don't tell me the current scientific news I read is boolskat.