What Environmentalists Don't Get

[mantra]

Instead of griping, Mantra, go over there and HELP them. Or do it here and stop whinging.

I give money to these people, why don't you? Unfortunately, I can't travel, otherwise I would DO something.

Yes sure Neferti.

[Super Nova]

Cue the small man forging arsehole to the rescue of mantra. Careful, Neferti, or they'll be calling you a stalker and bully now.

Funny guy.... wot...

There is enough food to feed the world if the environment stays the same as it is today. With GM crops and technological improvements even more can be made. Distribution is a problem.

I am with the environment movement in part and I am beginning to think that a doomsday scenario is likely. All we need a one big environmental disaster that effects most of the food belts around the world and it will be on.

Just like all other life here on Earth. Like bacteria in a petri dish, we will continue our population growth, comsuming all available resources, shitting in our own back yard until we run out of the resources and have a die back. Like rabbits in spring.

Nature may add a virus to cull us back sooner or a combination of both.

We are due a good cull. It will happen. It's a matter of when.

Most of the starving I see is still in Africa, one of the richest and most furtile places on the planet. It's people and their inability to share resources plus corruption that creates these problems. Nothing to do with the environment movement. Famine is a problem that could be solved however there is no real will to do so.

Human life is not equally valued across the world. An amercian's life is worth much more than a native Africian (in Africa). We are not all equal. Life's a bitch and then you die.

The thing that I hate the most is seeing, reading and hearing of the impact on the children. Their development and IQ is so stunted they are raising people that will not be able to think their way to a new well managed environment (natural and ecconomic) that will be a step towards a sustainable future fo them. A catch 22. Poor bastards. We are so lucky to be born into the west at this time in history.

No matter what your politics... it's just fucking saddening. This image sums up the imbalance of distribution for me.

[Neferti]

Instead of griping, Mantra, go over there and HELP them. Or do it here and stop whinging.

I give money to these people, why don't you? Unfortunately, I can't travel, otherwise I would DO something.

Yes sure Neferti.

I can't believe that, you Mantra, would be so unusually GREEN to think that I would lie?

Oh I do donate money. John Curtain Research Centre that does cancer research is a good one and there are lots of other Charities.

[mantra]

I can't believe that, you Mantra, would be so unusually GREEN to think that I would lie?

Oh I do donate money. John Curtain Research Centre that does cancer research is a good one and there are lots of other Charities.

You and Aussie are incredibly sensitive. I'm sure you're very generous Neferti.

[boxy]

Environmentalists tell us to fear the growing world population but what they don't tell us is that the rate of increase has been falling since the early 1960's and the number of new people added has been falling since the 1980's. Throughout the world birthrates are falling.

The world population peaks at 9.2 billion in 2075. This is a long, long way from the apocalypse forecast in the 1970's. And they can all be easily fed. The population explosions are petering out and the declines are bottoming out.

Cool. The population is going to keep increasing for another 50 years yet (according to your projections)

Just keep the technology coming, to keep your billions of people easily fed.

Billions, yeah, it just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it. Much harder to imagine.

[IQS.RLOW]

Malthus called.

He said to shut the fuck up and quit yer whining

[Black Orchid]

The population has tripled in half a century. If there was such an abundant supply of food - why do so many people in third world countries starve?

It wasn't that long ago that we had a glut of sheep in Australia. The government could easily have distributed tens of thousands of carcasses to third world countries but they didn't. They ordered them shot and buried. Before that there was a glut of grain in the west but instead of distributing that to the third world it was taken out to sea and dumped. Makes sense???

Overfishing and overfarming is causing immense depletion of future food sources. Farmed meat is full of chemicals and hormones while our vegetables are genetically modified and sprayed with toxins

Can't argue with that

[AiA in Atlanta]

In spite of all the billions that have been added the world food supply in calories per head has improved dramatically.

[mantra]

I am with the environment movement in part and I am beginning to think that a doomsday scenario is likely. All we need a one big environmental disaster that effects most of the food belts around the world and it will be on.

Just like all other life here on Earth. Like bacteria in a petri dish, we will continue our population growth, comsuming all available resources, shitting in our own back yard until we run out of the resources and have a die back. Like rabbits in spring.

True. Thanks to the IMF, WTO and free trade - many nations which were once self sufficient in feeding themselves and selling locally now have to compete with cheaper imports. As we've seen happen here - it no longer becomes viable to grow certain crops and they eventually disappear. It's far worse for the poorer nations who once had decent agriculture - enough to at least feed their communities, but have lost the land to the mining corporations.

If there is a disaster which prevents shipping to some of these nations - they'll starve.

In spite of all the billions that have been added the world food supply in calories per head has improved dramatically.

We are at the mercy of the giant global food corporations and their experiments. Even here - food labelling is an issue and not transparent. There might be more calories available now - but what's used to create them?

[Rorschach]

It wasn't that long ago that we had a glut of sheep in Australia. The government could easily have distributed tens of thousands of carcasses to third world countries but they didn't. They ordered them shot and buried. Before that there was a glut of grain in the west but instead of distributing that to the third world it was taken out to sea and dumped. Makes sense???

Well we do have a global organisation called the UN, one would think if it was actually doing its job these sort of wasteful things would not occur. Mind you perishable goods do not travel well, nor do that have a long "shelf" life. Never heard of dumping grain at sea, seems an expensive way to deal with it.

True. Thanks to the IMF, WTO and free trade - many nations which were once self sufficient in feeding themselves and selling locally now have to compete with cheaper imports. As we've seen happen here - it no longer becomes viable to grow certain crops and they eventually disappear. It's far worse for the poorer nations who once had decent agriculture - enough to at least feed their communities, but have lost the land to the mining corporations.

Of course you have proof to back up all your claims as usual don't you mantra. What poorer nations were they and what companies took over their agricultural lands?