What an irony that the UN just announced 2011 as the International Year of forests, and you have the UK government selling off its woodlands! And Brazil has given the go-ahead to the controversial $17 billion dam project at Belo Monte in the Amazonian rainforest, a massive project that will sink 588 acres of rainforest!
The UK government has already committed to selling off 15 of the public forest estates in the hope of generating an extra £100m for the exchequer. The government is proposing that English woodland be divided into four categories, ranging from "heritage" to "multi-purpose", "small timber" and "large commercial". But not many are buying this.
Do we need a year declared in order to know the value of our forests? Surely, all of us know the forests nurture our rivers? That the air we breathe, the food, water and medicines we need to survive, the variety of life on earth, the climate that shapes our present and future - they all depend on forests. Forests offer the quickest, most cost effective and largest means of curbing global emissions. Around a quarter of the income of forest-dependent communities comes from the goods and services that forests provide.
But yet, we are ready to sacrifice our forests for short-term projects. We willingly raze them down to raise plantations that fetch in quick money, even as we lose the vital biodiversity of our forests.
Will the year bring any fresh awareness on the importance of forests in our lives, however far removed from our lives they seem???
Sunday, January 30, 2011
En-eff vs En-con
We know that along with energy conservation, energy efficiency is probably the most important component of getting a handle on humanity's growing energy use and the environmental damage that currently entails.
A new study from the University of Cambridge really lays it bare again. Julian Allwood's team found that 73% of global energy use could be saved through energy efficiency improvements.
Some of these are easy and possible today, such as in the building sector, while some of the more radical energy efficiency improvements in vehicle design require bigger changes.
Fine. But one wonders how the extrapolation was done from the developed world to the developing world where industrialisation is not of the same degree yet. Time and again experts have maintained that in the developing world, energy efficiency must be improved but the gains are not of the same kind as in the developed world. Should we be focussing on efficiency or conservation?
A new study from the University of Cambridge really lays it bare again. Julian Allwood's team found that 73% of global energy use could be saved through energy efficiency improvements.
Some of these are easy and possible today, such as in the building sector, while some of the more radical energy efficiency improvements in vehicle design require bigger changes.
Fine. But one wonders how the extrapolation was done from the developed world to the developing world where industrialisation is not of the same degree yet. Time and again experts have maintained that in the developing world, energy efficiency must be improved but the gains are not of the same kind as in the developed world. Should we be focussing on efficiency or conservation?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The major culprits are big nations
When researchers looked at cities in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, they found low
emissions per person across the board. "This paper reminds us that it is the world's wealthiest cities and their wealthiest inhabitants that cause unsustainable levels of greenhouse gas emissions, not cities in general," said editor David Satterthwaite, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development.
Most cities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have low emissions per person. The challenge for them is to keep these emissions low even as their wealth grows.
Researchers examined data from 100 cities in 33 nations for clues about which were the biggest polluters and why, according to the report in the peer-reviewed journal Environment and Urbanization.
While cities across the world were to blame for around 71 percent of the world's
greenhouse-gas emissions, urban dwellers who can use public transportation rather than drive helped to lower per capita emissions in some cities.
For instance, the sprawling western U.S. city of Denver's per capita emissions were nearly double those in New York City, home to 8 million inhabitants and a heavily used subway system. This is mainly attributable to New York's greater density and much lower reliance on the automobile for commuting.
Time for thought.
emissions per person across the board. "This paper reminds us that it is the world's wealthiest cities and their wealthiest inhabitants that cause unsustainable levels of greenhouse gas emissions, not cities in general," said editor David Satterthwaite, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development.
Most cities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have low emissions per person. The challenge for them is to keep these emissions low even as their wealth grows.
Researchers examined data from 100 cities in 33 nations for clues about which were the biggest polluters and why, according to the report in the peer-reviewed journal Environment and Urbanization.
While cities across the world were to blame for around 71 percent of the world's
greenhouse-gas emissions, urban dwellers who can use public transportation rather than drive helped to lower per capita emissions in some cities.
For instance, the sprawling western U.S. city of Denver's per capita emissions were nearly double those in New York City, home to 8 million inhabitants and a heavily used subway system. This is mainly attributable to New York's greater density and much lower reliance on the automobile for commuting.
Time for thought.
Yes. we can! But not enough
A new study just published in Energy Policy; we've already developed advanced enough technology to power the world with clean power -- it's just a matter of finding the social and political will to deploy it. Stanford University News reports: The
researchers' plan calls for using wind, water and solar energy to generate power, with wind and solar power contributing 90 percent of the needed energy. Geothermal and hydroelectric sources would each contribute about 4 percent in their plan (70 percent of the hydroelectric is already in place), with the remaining 2 percent from wave and tidal power.
This has been a contested point with some believing that technology is not the solution as much as energy conservation. Technology is aiding the progress, but it is not enough to do the full changeover. Take for instance, a team of engineers at the Brookhaven and Los Alamos National Laboratories have created a light-absorbing material that efficiently generates charge and charge separation. The thin film material is a blend of semiconducting polymer doped with fullerenes. Under strictly controlled conditions, the concoction self-assembles into a regular pattern of micron-sized, hexagonal cells. The film thus “grows” to cover a relatively large area of several millimeters. Yet, these are technology that will take time to develop and cannot be deployed in the next couple of years.
Meanwhile according to the BBC, International Energy Agency chief economist Fatih Birol has "said the unsayable"--during a lecture at Imperial College London noting that the utter lack of political ambition to tackle climate change and do anything meaningfully strong enough to curb greenhouse gas emissions means that 1) peaking emissions by 2020 is virtually impossible and therefore 2) we can "kiss goodbye" and hope of keeping global average temperature rise below 2°C.
So, what do we do?
researchers' plan calls for using wind, water and solar energy to generate power, with wind and solar power contributing 90 percent of the needed energy. Geothermal and hydroelectric sources would each contribute about 4 percent in their plan (70 percent of the hydroelectric is already in place), with the remaining 2 percent from wave and tidal power.
This has been a contested point with some believing that technology is not the solution as much as energy conservation. Technology is aiding the progress, but it is not enough to do the full changeover. Take for instance, a team of engineers at the Brookhaven and Los Alamos National Laboratories have created a light-absorbing material that efficiently generates charge and charge separation. The thin film material is a blend of semiconducting polymer doped with fullerenes. Under strictly controlled conditions, the concoction self-assembles into a regular pattern of micron-sized, hexagonal cells. The film thus “grows” to cover a relatively large area of several millimeters. Yet, these are technology that will take time to develop and cannot be deployed in the next couple of years.
Meanwhile according to the BBC, International Energy Agency chief economist Fatih Birol has "said the unsayable"--during a lecture at Imperial College London noting that the utter lack of political ambition to tackle climate change and do anything meaningfully strong enough to curb greenhouse gas emissions means that 1) peaking emissions by 2020 is virtually impossible and therefore 2) we can "kiss goodbye" and hope of keeping global average temperature rise below 2°C.
So, what do we do?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Recycle everything
In a limited world, what is the best way to live, given unlimited demand? Simply recycle everything.
A new book, titled Revolutions that Made the Earth, has its authors argue that human civilisations in the future should emulate the biosphere and create what they name ‘Gaia devices’ – named after the Gaia theory that paints Earth as a self-regulating system – which recycle the materials and waste much more efficiently than is currently done.
Metals would still be mined, but not from conventional pits, but from the emerging centre - the cities with their heaps of discarded goods and scrap. Calling it a high energy, high recycling world, the authors such a revolution alone can sustain the demand from a rising population.
Give it a thought. So many computers, mobile phones, cameras, televisions, cars, etc are being dumped in the junkyard, not only forming an eyesore on the landscape but also forming a colossal waste. Isn't it time we gave a thought to recycling in a more serious manner? Even without a China restricting rare earth exports!
A new book, titled Revolutions that Made the Earth, has its authors argue that human civilisations in the future should emulate the biosphere and create what they name ‘Gaia devices’ – named after the Gaia theory that paints Earth as a self-regulating system – which recycle the materials and waste much more efficiently than is currently done.
Metals would still be mined, but not from conventional pits, but from the emerging centre - the cities with their heaps of discarded goods and scrap. Calling it a high energy, high recycling world, the authors such a revolution alone can sustain the demand from a rising population.
Give it a thought. So many computers, mobile phones, cameras, televisions, cars, etc are being dumped in the junkyard, not only forming an eyesore on the landscape but also forming a colossal waste. Isn't it time we gave a thought to recycling in a more serious manner? Even without a China restricting rare earth exports!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Trapping heat
The promise of nanotechnology again! Researchers at Northwestern University have placed nanocrystals of rock salt into lead telluride, creating a material that can harness electricity from heat-generating items such as vehicle exhaust systems, industrial processes and equipment and sun light more efficiently than scientists have seen in the past. The automotive, chemical, brick, glass and any industry that uses heat to make products could make their system more efficient with the use of this scientific breakthrough.
The material exhibits a high thermoelectric figure of merit that is expected to enable 14 percent of heat waste to electricity, a scientific first. Chemists, physicists and material scientists at Northwestern collaborated to develop the material. The results of the study are published by the journal Nature Chemistry.
The new material was obtained by dispersing nanocrystals of rock salt (SrTe) into the material lead telluride (PbTe). Past attempts at this kind of nanoscale inclusion in bulk material have improved the energy conversion efficiency of lead telluride, but the nano inclusions also increased the scattering of electrons, which reduced overall conductivity.
This is the first time nanostructures were used in lead telluride to reduce electron scattering and increase the energy conversion efficiency of the material.
The material exhibits a high thermoelectric figure of merit that is expected to enable 14 percent of heat waste to electricity, a scientific first. Chemists, physicists and material scientists at Northwestern collaborated to develop the material. The results of the study are published by the journal Nature Chemistry.
The new material was obtained by dispersing nanocrystals of rock salt (SrTe) into the material lead telluride (PbTe). Past attempts at this kind of nanoscale inclusion in bulk material have improved the energy conversion efficiency of lead telluride, but the nano inclusions also increased the scattering of electrons, which reduced overall conductivity.
This is the first time nanostructures were used in lead telluride to reduce electron scattering and increase the energy conversion efficiency of the material.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Join the discussion
Time to get some discussion into this forum! How about taking on the 'hottest' topic these days? The Jaitapur nuclear park!
A sseries of six nuclear plants to be set up by French company Areva, this will generate 10,000 MW of power and will get going by 2014, claims the government.
India with its 19 nuclear power plants is just about able to produce 4000 mw of power. In contrast to this, the proposed park will double the production of nuclear energy in next four years.
The cost will come to Rs 60,000 crore or about Rs 9 per unit of power.
First, there are the accusations that the park is to come up in a biodiversity hotspot like the Western Ghats. The environment ministry has called for certain safeguards but how much will be adhered to, has to be seen.
As the nation gets ready to go nuclear power shopping in a big way, what do you think? Is it a good idea?
We need power, yes. But is nuclear fission the best way to heat water and send the turbines rotating?
How clean is nuclear? It does not emit carbon dioxide. But what about the waste it generates? If we plan to increase generation in this route, how much waste can we handle?
How safe is it to transport nuclear material across the nation?
Join in with your thoughts.
A sseries of six nuclear plants to be set up by French company Areva, this will generate 10,000 MW of power and will get going by 2014, claims the government.
India with its 19 nuclear power plants is just about able to produce 4000 mw of power. In contrast to this, the proposed park will double the production of nuclear energy in next four years.
The cost will come to Rs 60,000 crore or about Rs 9 per unit of power.
First, there are the accusations that the park is to come up in a biodiversity hotspot like the Western Ghats. The environment ministry has called for certain safeguards but how much will be adhered to, has to be seen.
As the nation gets ready to go nuclear power shopping in a big way, what do you think? Is it a good idea?
We need power, yes. But is nuclear fission the best way to heat water and send the turbines rotating?
How clean is nuclear? It does not emit carbon dioxide. But what about the waste it generates? If we plan to increase generation in this route, how much waste can we handle?
How safe is it to transport nuclear material across the nation?
Join in with your thoughts.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Food out of reach
The year started grimly with news of the food prices rising to the highest point since 1990, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. They have surpassed the 2008 prices that led to widespread rioting and unrest across the developing world. Riots have flared in Haiti and Algeria and Tunisia.
The key to alleviating world hunger, poverty and combating climate change may lie in fresh, small-scale approaches to agriculture, according to a report from the Worldwatch Institute.
The US-based institute's annual State of the World report, calls for a move away from industrial agriculture and discusses small-scale initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa that work towards poverty and hunger relief in an environmentally sustainable way.
The authors suggest that instead of producing more food to meet the world's growing population needs, a more effective way to address food security issues and climate change would be to encourage self-sufficiency and waste reduction, in wealthier and poorer nations alike.
True for it is those nations that deemphasized domestic farming that are suffering most. It doesn't take much intelligence that food comes first. Yet, it is not able to compete with industry in most parts of the world in terms of incentives. Time we got that right.
The key to alleviating world hunger, poverty and combating climate change may lie in fresh, small-scale approaches to agriculture, according to a report from the Worldwatch Institute.
The US-based institute's annual State of the World report, calls for a move away from industrial agriculture and discusses small-scale initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa that work towards poverty and hunger relief in an environmentally sustainable way.
The authors suggest that instead of producing more food to meet the world's growing population needs, a more effective way to address food security issues and climate change would be to encourage self-sufficiency and waste reduction, in wealthier and poorer nations alike.
True for it is those nations that deemphasized domestic farming that are suffering most. It doesn't take much intelligence that food comes first. Yet, it is not able to compete with industry in most parts of the world in terms of incentives. Time we got that right.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
No infinite growth possible
A study that relates global energy use to economic growth, published in the January issue of BioScience, finds strong correlations between these two measures both among countries and within countries over time. They conclude that an "enormous" increase in energy supply will be required to meet the demands of projected world population growth and lift the developing world out of poverty without jeopardizing standards of living in most developed countries.
To support the expected world population in 2050 in the current US lifestyle would require 16 times the current global energy use, for example. Noting that 85 percent of humankind's energy now comes from fossil fuels, the BioScience authors point out that efforts to develop alternative energy sources face economic problems of diminishing returns, and reject the view of many economists that technological innovation can circumvent resource shortages.
The team found the same sort of relationship between energy consumption per person and gross domestic product per person as is found between metabolism and body weight in animals. Cities and countries, like animals, have metabolisms that must burn fuel to sustain themselves and grow. This shows that the linkage between energy use and economic activity is causal, although other factors must also be in play to explain the variability in the data, the authors conclude.
Finally, it all boils down to use less of everything, and waste even lesser!
To support the expected world population in 2050 in the current US lifestyle would require 16 times the current global energy use, for example. Noting that 85 percent of humankind's energy now comes from fossil fuels, the BioScience authors point out that efforts to develop alternative energy sources face economic problems of diminishing returns, and reject the view of many economists that technological innovation can circumvent resource shortages.
The team found the same sort of relationship between energy consumption per person and gross domestic product per person as is found between metabolism and body weight in animals. Cities and countries, like animals, have metabolisms that must burn fuel to sustain themselves and grow. This shows that the linkage between energy use and economic activity is causal, although other factors must also be in play to explain the variability in the data, the authors conclude.
Finally, it all boils down to use less of everything, and waste even lesser!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Nothing like wastewater
A new method increases the estimated potential energy in wastewater by almost 20 percent, and could spur efforts to extract methane, hydrogen and other fuels from this vast and, as yet, untapped resource. the team estimates that one gallon of wastewater contains enough energy to power a 100-watt light bulb for five minutes. Only one other study had been done on wastewater's energy potential, and the results were too low because some energy-rich compounds were lost to evaporation.
In the new study, the scientists freeze-dried wastewater to conserve more of its energy-rich compounds. Using a standard device to measure energy content, they found that the wastewater they collected from a water treatment plant in Northeast England contained nearly 20 per cent more than reported previously.
Researchers in India meanwhile have shown with a study of various waste water filtration systems for kitchen waste water and found that even the most poorly performing can produce water clean enough for horticultural or agricultural use. This domestic waste water might contain an organic load from food processing, utensil washing in the kitchen, soap and detergents, with the main contaminants being proteins, carbohydrates, detergents, oil and grease and other dissolved and suspended compounds. They explored the potential of ceramic microfiltration membrane s used alone or in conjunction with different physicochemical treatments, such as biotreatment and adsorption, for cleaning up dirty dishwater.
Let us use all our innovation to stop wasting precious resources like water.
In the new study, the scientists freeze-dried wastewater to conserve more of its energy-rich compounds. Using a standard device to measure energy content, they found that the wastewater they collected from a water treatment plant in Northeast England contained nearly 20 per cent more than reported previously.
Researchers in India meanwhile have shown with a study of various waste water filtration systems for kitchen waste water and found that even the most poorly performing can produce water clean enough for horticultural or agricultural use. This domestic waste water might contain an organic load from food processing, utensil washing in the kitchen, soap and detergents, with the main contaminants being proteins, carbohydrates, detergents, oil and grease and other dissolved and suspended compounds. They explored the potential of ceramic microfiltration membrane s used alone or in conjunction with different physicochemical treatments, such as biotreatment and adsorption, for cleaning up dirty dishwater.
Let us use all our innovation to stop wasting precious resources like water.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
1.2 bn and still counting - the vehicles!
Spare a moment to think this - where are our cities headed to in the coming decades? Especially in the context of transportation needs.
Urban areas already account for about two-thirds of world energy use, and they'll hit 73 percent by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. The cities of the future will be bigger, and there will be more of them.
According to the United Nations, there were 21 "megacities" in 2009 -- urban agglomerations whose population exceeds 10 million. By 2025, there will be 29 -- and they'll hold one-tenth of humanity. Unless someone guides cities' development, they could lock in a high-carbon infrastructure that makes it far tougher to fight climate change.
A big chunk of this carbon will come from transportation and its infrastructure needs. In 2010, the world holds some 1.2 billion cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles.
A think-tank, Forum for the Future, recently released "Megacities on the Move," a thought exercise about where the world's cities are headed -- toward infinite sprawl and traffic, or hyper-computerized commutes marching by each other in a synchronized flow? Will they adjust by cutting carbon and pollution, or could these become permanent scourges of urban life?
Will it be Sprawlville where the personal car triumphs, at the cost of gridlock? Or Planned-opolis where computerized lives reign supreme? Or the low carbon Renewabad, where public transit takes over, or Communi-city where neighbourhoods become independent centres of innovation?
Interesting scenarios are examined. What will work may not be exactly what is pleasant, especially if we compare cities as they are now. At least model cities! For sure, the world of tomorrow will be very different. But unless we wish for chaos, and irreversible climate scenarios, it is time we started planning for sustainable cities. Not simply looking at managing the vehicles!
Urban areas already account for about two-thirds of world energy use, and they'll hit 73 percent by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. The cities of the future will be bigger, and there will be more of them.
According to the United Nations, there were 21 "megacities" in 2009 -- urban agglomerations whose population exceeds 10 million. By 2025, there will be 29 -- and they'll hold one-tenth of humanity. Unless someone guides cities' development, they could lock in a high-carbon infrastructure that makes it far tougher to fight climate change.
A big chunk of this carbon will come from transportation and its infrastructure needs. In 2010, the world holds some 1.2 billion cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles.
A think-tank, Forum for the Future, recently released "Megacities on the Move," a thought exercise about where the world's cities are headed -- toward infinite sprawl and traffic, or hyper-computerized commutes marching by each other in a synchronized flow? Will they adjust by cutting carbon and pollution, or could these become permanent scourges of urban life?
Will it be Sprawlville where the personal car triumphs, at the cost of gridlock? Or Planned-opolis where computerized lives reign supreme? Or the low carbon Renewabad, where public transit takes over, or Communi-city where neighbourhoods become independent centres of innovation?
Interesting scenarios are examined. What will work may not be exactly what is pleasant, especially if we compare cities as they are now. At least model cities! For sure, the world of tomorrow will be very different. But unless we wish for chaos, and irreversible climate scenarios, it is time we started planning for sustainable cities. Not simply looking at managing the vehicles!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A small nation poised for a big leap
Cutting-edge technologies in the clean energy sector are developing fast in Israel which has put its full effort into the area. A network of charging stations for EVs, tile generators that generate power from movement of vehicles on the road, etc are some examples.
Not yet in the top 10 list of innovators of green products, the government is now pushing for that entrepreneurial drive to be directed into environmentally clean technologies, not only as an economic opportunity but as a necessity for an arid, resource-poor nation. In 2006, there were about 120 clean-tech companies in Israel, and 120 more have been established each year since.
Israel, with a 8 million population, which now depends almost entirely for its energy on imported coal and natural gas, has set a goal to have 10 percent of its electricity generated by alternative means by 2020, says an AP report. The government approved a plan to spend $600 million over the next decade to reach that goal, with much of the money poured into encouraging green construction and development of new technologies.
Israel is starting to increase its solar energy sector. Recently, it dedicated its largest on-grid solar project - an $8.5 million collection of 40 solar panel systems that will supply 2 megawatts, enough to power about 500 homes. The government plans to issue bids for 10 more solar projects in the Negev Desert, with a total capacity of 60 megawatts.
The country is the birthplace of drip irrigation, a technology that promotes agriculture in arid areas. Israel recycles about three quarters of its waste water for agriculture, and for decades the roofs of its homes have been fitted with solar panels that provide hot water.
Israeli firm CellEra has joined the international race to develop viable fuel cells, a technology that so far has been too expensive for commercial use. It has built what it says is a working prototype of a hydrogen fuel cell that operates without using platinum, greatly reducing the cost. It is now aiming to develop a market-ready version.
Goes to show that size does not matter when aiming high.
Not yet in the top 10 list of innovators of green products, the government is now pushing for that entrepreneurial drive to be directed into environmentally clean technologies, not only as an economic opportunity but as a necessity for an arid, resource-poor nation. In 2006, there were about 120 clean-tech companies in Israel, and 120 more have been established each year since.
Israel, with a 8 million population, which now depends almost entirely for its energy on imported coal and natural gas, has set a goal to have 10 percent of its electricity generated by alternative means by 2020, says an AP report. The government approved a plan to spend $600 million over the next decade to reach that goal, with much of the money poured into encouraging green construction and development of new technologies.
Israel is starting to increase its solar energy sector. Recently, it dedicated its largest on-grid solar project - an $8.5 million collection of 40 solar panel systems that will supply 2 megawatts, enough to power about 500 homes. The government plans to issue bids for 10 more solar projects in the Negev Desert, with a total capacity of 60 megawatts.
The country is the birthplace of drip irrigation, a technology that promotes agriculture in arid areas. Israel recycles about three quarters of its waste water for agriculture, and for decades the roofs of its homes have been fitted with solar panels that provide hot water.
Israeli firm CellEra has joined the international race to develop viable fuel cells, a technology that so far has been too expensive for commercial use. It has built what it says is a working prototype of a hydrogen fuel cell that operates without using platinum, greatly reducing the cost. It is now aiming to develop a market-ready version.
Goes to show that size does not matter when aiming high.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Finite world
When still in that introspective mode, let us see what Nobel laureate Paul Krugman says in his column in New York Times about this finite world in terms of economy.
Rightly, he points as expected to how the primary driving force behind rising commodity prices isn’t demand from the United States, but from China and other emerging economies. 'As more and more people in formerly poor nations are entering the global middle class, they’re beginning to drive cars and eat meat, placing growing pressure on world oil and food supplies.
'And those supplies aren’t keeping pace. Conventional oil production has been flat for four years; in that sense, at least, peak oil has arrived.'
He goes on to note how extreme weather, driven by climate change possibly, has also played an important role in driving up food prices.
However, while concluding that the commodity prices are a 'sign that we’re living in a finite world, one in which resource constraints are becoming increasingly binding', he goes on to offer a consolation that this will not mean the end to economic growth, or a collapse. 'It will require that we gradually change the way we live, adapting our economy and our lifestyles to the reality of more expensive resources'.
Are we missing the vital aspect here? Sure, for some time at least there will be food, energy, water, but these will be so expensive that only few with the money can buy it. Soon enough catastrophe will follow.
Simply because we are dealing with a finite world and making infinite demands with our rising population. By mid-century we are poised to hit the 10 billion mark.
We must learn to live with less, less of food, water and energy. There is no way out of that. Is there?
Perhaps as costs of essential commodities keep rising, we will be forced to make the effort. Perhaps the new year will see a changing trend.
Rightly, he points as expected to how the primary driving force behind rising commodity prices isn’t demand from the United States, but from China and other emerging economies. 'As more and more people in formerly poor nations are entering the global middle class, they’re beginning to drive cars and eat meat, placing growing pressure on world oil and food supplies.
'And those supplies aren’t keeping pace. Conventional oil production has been flat for four years; in that sense, at least, peak oil has arrived.'
He goes on to note how extreme weather, driven by climate change possibly, has also played an important role in driving up food prices.
However, while concluding that the commodity prices are a 'sign that we’re living in a finite world, one in which resource constraints are becoming increasingly binding', he goes on to offer a consolation that this will not mean the end to economic growth, or a collapse. 'It will require that we gradually change the way we live, adapting our economy and our lifestyles to the reality of more expensive resources'.
Are we missing the vital aspect here? Sure, for some time at least there will be food, energy, water, but these will be so expensive that only few with the money can buy it. Soon enough catastrophe will follow.
Simply because we are dealing with a finite world and making infinite demands with our rising population. By mid-century we are poised to hit the 10 billion mark.
We must learn to live with less, less of food, water and energy. There is no way out of that. Is there?
Perhaps as costs of essential commodities keep rising, we will be forced to make the effort. Perhaps the new year will see a changing trend.
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