A storm brews over food, water & power (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Stephen Mulvey
BBC News



As the world's population grows, competition for food, water and energy will increase. Food prices will rise, more people will go hungry, and migrants will flee the worst-affected regions.

That's the simple idea at the heart of the warning from John Beddington, the UK government's chief scientific adviser, of a possible crisis in 2030.

Specifically, he points to research indicating that by 2030 "a whole series of events come together":

The world's population will rise from 6bn to 8bn (33%)
Demand for food will increase by 50%
Demand for water will increase by 30%
Demand for energy will increase by 50%
He foresees each problem combining to create a "perfect storm" in which the whole is bigger, and more serious, than the sum of its parts.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8213884.stm

[pscot]

1. Sounds suspiciously Malthusian

and as we all know, Malthus has been proved wrong.

[GliderGuider]

3. Paging Mr. HamdenRice...

He's the only one who can save us from evil little Tommy Malthus and his even eviller minion John Beddington, chief scientific adviser to the UK government.

[Nihil]

5. Keep clapping!

It's only the Tinkerbell effect that turns finite resources
into the unlimited store (a bottomless bucket of everything)
that is required to support exponential growth!

:bounce:

[Champion Jack]

2. Well, I guess we need a few more really big wars............

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,




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:sarcasm:

[imdjh]

4. Not to worry. I have a plan.

[Dogmudgeon]

6. So do the Cylons.

:evilgrin:

--d!

[imdjh]

7. Some would say that my plan is more human if not humane.