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WARNING: 
TIRADE
For anyone who believes 8 billion people is sustainable on planet Earth.
Hereâs why it isnât.
⢠We all need food
⢠Food is non-discretionary consumption- everyone needs it.
⢠Food needs agriculture.
â˘50% of habitable land is now used by agriculture.
TIRADEFor anyone who believes 8 billion people is sustainable on planet Earth.
Hereâs why it isnât.
⢠We all need food
⢠Food is non-discretionary consumption- everyone needs it.
⢠Food needs agriculture.
â˘50% of habitable land is now used by agriculture.
⢠A large proportion of that land which is now agriculture used to be carbon sink forests, and used to regulate the climate. No longer.
⢠The rest of that land used to be grasslands, which also held C in the soil with help of herds of wildlife - no longer.
⢠The rest of that land used to be grasslands, which also held C in the soil with help of herds of wildlife - no longer.
⢠Vast amounts of CO2 have been liberated with deforestation & continue to to be released. This is to feed 8 billion people. And the loss of C uptake of old growth forests inevitably means CO2 rises even further. https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/energy-and-environment/2018/12/5/18126145/indonesia-climate-change-deforestation
⢠And what of the agriculture? 50% of the worldâs population is actually totally reliant on fossil fuels for fertilisers to grow the crops to feed them. And almost of all of us need fossil fuels to get the food from farm to us, and for the farming itself.
⢠And the agriculture itself? Almost all of it is Carbon positive. And worse than that, it liberates CH4 & N2O which are much more potent GHG than CO2, meaning the equivalent CO2 level is close to DOUBLE pre-industrial levels - weâre talking levels in excess of 550 ppm CO2 equiv
⢠N2O is about 300 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.
⢠CH4 is 21-72 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.
⢠CH4 is 21-72 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas.
⢠So, can we all go back to a permaculture type system, without fossil fuel inputs? We would all need to live on the land, close to food sources, away from cities & jobs, because its labour intensive. How will that be possible, when much of the land is now urbanised & concreted?
⢠When the land is no longer as productive as it used to be? Indeed some of it is toxic? Weâre losing topsoils and agricultural land is being lost to desertification at a great rate. Topsoils are being lost 10x faster than being replaced. https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/30/topsoil-farming-agriculture-food-toxic-america
⢠ârate of dryland desertification is approximately 30 to 35 percent higher than the historical rates.â https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-desertification/
⢠And desertification is causing migration of people to cities. Where will their food be grown?
âOverpopulation in drylands can also impact the soil of the area. For instance, the pressure of overpopulation can deplete the fertile soil and cause desertification...
âOverpopulation in drylands can also impact the soil of the area. For instance, the pressure of overpopulation can deplete the fertile soil and cause desertification...
âWhen soil becomes depleted and unusable for farming, mass migration to urban areas increase. Therefore, this results in overpopulating urban areas.â
⢠So maybe the land can become more productive elsewhere to compensate?
⢠Worldwide agricultural productivity inc 69% in 50y
⢠So maybe the land can become more productive elsewhere to compensate?
⢠Worldwide agricultural productivity inc 69% in 50y
⢠Unfortunately in that same 50 year timeframe world population increased 114%. So why have their not been major famines, despite loss of topsoils & desertification?
Deforestation & loss of wild ecosystems.
Deforestation & loss of wild ecosystems.
⢠And of course the massive contribution to agriculture by fossil fuels. https://www.resilience.org/stories/2006-06-11/implications-fossil-fuel-dependence-food-system/
⢠The other thing thatâs very important to mention about deforestation is that forests regulate climate & rainfall in many different ways, by altering weather patterns, land surface temperature, and increasing rainfall. https://www.climatechangepost.com/news/2017/2/21/more-carbon-storage-importance-forests-climate-cha/
⢠So, just to feed current populations of close to 8 billion people requires extensive use of fossil fuels, & loss of climate regulating climate sink forests. This will inevitably worsen climate change & haste decline of land productivity. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190531152047.htm
⢠Add to that, worldwide our water supplies are drying out at current population levels, due to climate change, deforestation, and soil damage & desiccation. Itâs likely many big irrigation projects will fail in the future. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181213090004.htm
⢠Of course that will further impact land productivity. Itâs likely there will be global famines in the future AT CURRENT POPULATION LEVELS, as predicted by many intelligent people & extrapolation of current trends. https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/08/08/climate/climate-change-food-supply.amp.html
⢠And of course that was before COVID19 reared itâs ugly head. COVID19 stemmed from the increasing affluence of the Chinese middle class and their ethics-free culture which regards âwild meatâ as a delicacy. Now look at this. https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/thehill.com/changing-america/respect/poverty/494060-un-warns-coronavirus-could-cause-global-famines-of-biblical%3famp
⢠Iâm not going to even touch on the energy requirements except to say there is not one energy source which is truly renewable & carbon negative. Biomass & biofuels are an abomination in destroying forests that would have been better left as carbon sinks. Nothing is sustainable.
⢠And of course this thread has not really mentioned the mass extinctions which have already been ânecessaryâ to get the human population to 8b. Donât the other creatures & ecosystems on this planet have rights to, the right to exist? This is the worst global crime of humanity.
Iâve just about had enough now & have other things to do. If youâve managed to get this far you have the patience of a saint. Just a little post script for those who believe 8b can suddenly all become permaculture farmers (at great energy cost)... this. https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/world-on-a-plate/2016/dec/28/growing-mega-cities-will-displace-vast-tracts-of-farmland-by-2030-study-says
