Sunday, March 23, 2008

Peak Minerals







At 9:03 AM, Blogger Smudge said...

I realize that this doesn't really follow the point of your update, but to address a small point made in your first paragraph, I have to say that there is no indication of food scarcity. There is food scarcity in Africa and parts of Asia because the specific zones cannot support the population. Also, the cultural ways of agriculture were mostly erased when they were colonized, which set them back several hundred years. Farming technniques specific to the region were lost. Besides these two, there is no food scarcity. The US actually produces so much grain that it's surplus feeds most of the world, including Europe, which is one reason why we have so many "allies". So there is no food scarcity, just difficulty in getting it or processes to create it to the right places

At 5:22 AM, Blogger igwana said...

Another Green World - Kevin Danaher

This episode explores the viability and necessity of a green economy
Green Festivals. The Green Festivals are festivals that happen
annually in four cities to promote environmentally friendly ideas and

"The deed creates the doer"


At 4:20 AM, Blogger Yukiharu said...

A quick reply to smudge's comment:

I don't by any means want to start a flame war, but my understanding of the link between peak oil and food prices is that the energy costs of transporting food from where it is produced to where it is needed are on the prohibitive side, and those costs will clearly increase as the price of oil closes on $140/barrel--- as long as we remain as stuck in the oil-based economy as we seem to be right now. Now, I'm not an economist, and I haven't done the math to prove that this is really true, so I'd love to hear from those that might be a bit better informed on these issues than I.

-- First Time Planet Green Poster

At 5:43 PM, Blogger Tim said...

Smudge and yukiharu both have valid points. These are all factors contributing to shortages and high prices. At the same time grain consumption world wide has exceeded grain production for six of the past seven years, so there is an overall shortage that is draining stockpiles. This is particularly true of rice which is the staple of many of the poorest people in the world.



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