Print Headline: Malthus Redux: Is Doomsday Upon Us, Again?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/we...58c&ei=5087%0A
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Can or should we look at this from an energy point of view ?And again, Thomas Malthus, a British economist and demographer at the turn of the 19th century, is being recalled to duty. His basic theory was that populations, which grow geometrically, will inevitably outpace food production, which grows arithmetically.
Oddball
Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves?
Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here?
Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?
From Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Are you sure you're not hurt ?
No. Just some parts wake up faster than others.
Broke parts take a little longer, though.
From Electric Horseman (1979)
I have been wondering the same thing, after recently reading the Cliff Notes version of Heilbronner's "The Worldly Philosophers" which summarized Malthus. I knew about him from my Intro to Env. Planning class years ago, but this recent reading suggested a different application to me. The "Green Revolution" which vastly enlarged crop yields through modern agriculture, was largely petroleum powered, from the fule for the combines and tractors to the petro-based fertilizers. But you guys know that. Are you asking if the availabilty of energy has allowed populations to expand beyond what will be available in the future?
Adrift in a sea of beige
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