2 years

julieq

If that is too antiquated, Erlich's 1968 "The population bomb" makes the following, chillingly prescient, prediction:

"The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970's
and 1980's hundreds of millions of people will starve
to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now."

ad9898_3

julieq wrote: »

Jevon's classic "The Coal Question" made many similar prophecies.

You may be able to find a copy in an antiquarian bookshop, it being written in 1865.

You are an obviously intelligent person judging by many of your posts, however this kind of flippant remark does not give you kudos amongst your peers.

Cleaver

ad9898 wrote: »

You are an obviously intelligent person judging by many of your posts, however this kind of flippant remark does not give you kudos amongst your peers.

True. But it does also show that a lot of people write a lot of books with predictions that turn out to be boll*cks.

Just been looking at that dude's website and I agree with his opinion on a lot of things. Will check him out.

ad9898_3

julieq wrote: »

If that is too antiquated, Erlich's 1968 "The population bomb" makes the following, chillingly prescient, prediction:

"The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970's
and 1980's hundreds of millions of people will starve
to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now."

That will probably come to pass as we struggle to produce crops without the natural gas based fertilizers that are required to sustain the current food output for our population, it was just predicted to early.

julieq

Ad, fertilisers are not natural gas based. They happen at the moment to be synthesised using natural gas which is a convenient place to find hydrogen. There are other ways of doing it, including hydrolysis of water.

Erlich also predicted life expectation of 42 in North America due to the use of pesticides incidentally.

I'm sorry if you think I'm flippant, but this sort of doom mongering has been going on for centuries, hence pointing out that your prophecies are really nothing new. They have been around in written form since the Bible in fact. This sort of thing fulfills a psychological need, whereas in reality the more forward looking parts of humanity confronts problems and solves them.

julieq

Which is of course because I'm right

StevieJ

ad9898 wrote: »

That will probably come to pass as we struggle to produce crops without the natural gas based fertilizers that are required to sustain the current food output for our population, it was just predicted to early.

On a similar theme, from 1798 I present Thomas Malthus, he predicted starvation as result of population increases and the land not being able to sustain, he did not forsee the improvements in technology though.

I lnow you like a good read, here is a freebie.

http://www.esp.org/books/malthus/population/malthus.pdf

PasturesNew

Pobby wrote: »

Cheers Am. Really cheered me up! PN, Bath is nicer!

Bit pricier too ... I always think "what if", so "what if I don't get a job". I don't claim anything, so everything comes out of my diminishing income (and after that savings).

I'll put it on the list though
And look.

PasturesNew

julieq wrote: »

Jevon's classic "The Coal Question" made many similar prophecies.

You may be able to find a copy in an antiquarian bookshop, it being written in 1865.

Free:
http://oll.libertyfund.org/index.php?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=317&Itemid=99999999

PasturesNew

julieq wrote: »

If that is too antiquated, Erlich's 1968 "The population bomb" makes the following, chillingly prescient, prediction:

"The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970's
and 1980's hundreds of millions of people will starve
to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now."

9 pages, The Population Bomb Revisited
http://www.ejsd.org/docs/The_Population_Bomb_Revisited.pdf

And

Four Decades on, Are We Still Doomed?
http://www.ejsd.org/docs/The_Population_Bomb_Four_Decades_On.pdf (140pp)