Scientists Revolt Against Global Warming Fearmongering

[NJ5]

Kasz216 said:

NJ5 said:
The food crisis is worrying, but you know what... it's inevitable, so maybe the earlier it happens, the better. As long as it puts a lid on overpopulation which is the real cause of much of the world's problems.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if everyone was well fed, but the fact that we humans breed like yeast means a catastrophe is coming anyway, maybe it will be smaller if it comes earlier.

Just maybe.

A few things here.

1) People only "breed like yeast" in developing nations.   The more developed and "smart" a nation is the more people decide to not have children.  If the world were developed this likely wouldn't be an issue.  So really it may be something that isn't needed at all as we move foward.

2) It's not like there isn't enough food... the problem is energy costs, transportation and speculation mostly.  We could be supporting way more people.

1) Is it reasonably possible to get the whole world to a standard where the population is maintained or decreasing, on a reasonable timeframe?

2) Energy costs will be increasing for quite a while no matter what. According to most studies on peak oil, the peak is coming in the next 10 years (though the recession could delay this somewhat...).

It will take a long time to replace oil with other energy sources (see the Hirsch report), I worry about what will happen in the meantime. Food is very energy intensive to produce, and the infrastructure to do it without oil simply doesn't exist.

I'm pretty sure a "benevolent dictator" of the world could solve quite a lot of these problems if he/she had the power to do things in the most efficient and rational way possible, but realistically speaking I think the momentum to go in the wrong direction is (and has been) way too high. Humans in general are too short/medium-term oriented, and the political class which has most of the power even more so.

I believe the 21st century will be an exciting time to live in... just not necessarily in a good way.