The Coming... Curse?

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According to the US Census bureau, world population will hit 6,666,666,666 people on 10. May. I'm sure everyone here is aware of the significance of that number and is not planning to do something important on or after that day. Just make sure you're not talking to anything slithery and watch out for white horses in the sky.

Yeshuaadvent.jpg
 
What, Jon Schaffer's having yet another baby? No? Oh. I strongly encourage every member on this forum to get together on this glorious day, to hold hands and await the Coming Curse.  :innocent:

On a more serious note; Hell, I knew the world's population was growing fast, but this? I believe it turned 6 billion in 1999. I mean, it's been less than 9 full years, and 666 million people's already been brought to birth. I wonder, how are we able to feed this ever growing population when we can't feed everybody as it is (well, the earth can technically feed something around 10 billion, but just look at Africa and Asia. They are quite meagerly feeded there)? This is worrying.

Anybody have a take on this?
 
Actually, there must have been more than 666 million births, for there were, surely, many deaths that took place in the past 9 years.  I'll look up that number and get back.

And, the suprising thing about feeding all these people, is the fact that the US government will pay farmers to do NOTHING with their ground. Paid to not farm it.  Amazing.
 
wasted155 said:
Actually, there must have been more than 666 million births, for there were, surely, many deaths that took place in the past 9 years.  I'll look up that number and get back.
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Right, my bad ;). Didn't think of that. Well we all have our stupid moments (and this is one of mine)
 
Yax said:
Right, my bad ;). Didn't think of that. Well we all have our stupid moments (and this is one of mine)
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We all have them, its cool.

LooseCannon said:
We really should have a discussion about food vs. fuel one of these days.
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Sure, in what aspect?  Do you mean food as fuel?  Or are you talking about fuel as in automotive? 
 
wasted155 said:
We all have them, its cool.

Sure, in what aspect?  Do you mean food as fuel?  Or are you talking about fuel as in automotive? 
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As in the food prices inflate due to it being used as fuels in cars and such.
 
I mean the increasing trend to use biofuel in vehicles by the extremely rich (not by our standards, but by global standards).  It's caused the price of flour to triple in the last year, just to point out one effect.
 
LooseCannon said:
I mean the increasing trend to use biofuel in vehicles by the extremely rich (not by our standards, but by global standards).  It's caused the price of flour to triple in the last year, just to point out one effect.
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Just what I said two minutes ago  :P. "Flour", that would be "spannmål" in Swedish? Seems like you learn something new everyday.
 
I dunno.  I don't speak Swedish.  But if you mean the white substance commonly used to make bread, then yes.
 
LooseCannon said:
I mean the increasing trend to use biofuel in vehicles by the extremely rich (not by our standards, but by global standards).  It's caused the price of flour to triple in the last year, just to point out one effect.
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That has had a huge affect on the price of corn, also.  See beans go up, too.  If you think 'that won't affect me much' look inside you favorite anything, and see how much 'high fructose corn syrup' or 'partialy hydrogenated soy oil' is used.  Since corn is used for ethonol, there are far more buyers for it now, and driving the price up, which drives up the price of ethonol fuel.  And farmers are planting more corn than beans, since corn is in high demand, which lessens the availabilty of beans, driving the price up there...

And just watch for 'sway grass'.... it is a form of grass that can be converted to ethanol and easier to care for than corn....
 
I'm sure we're there already, because those are only REGISTERED births... Census are ESTIMATIONS
 
That has had a huge affect on the price of corn, also.  See beans go up, too.  If you think 'that won't affect me much' look inside you favorite anything, and see how much 'high fructose corn syrup' or 'partialy hydrogenated soy oil' is used.  Since corn is used for ethonol, there are far more buyers for it now, and driving the price up, which drives up the price of ethonol fuel.  And farmers are planting more corn than beans, since corn is in high demand, which lessens the availabilty of beans, driving the price up there...

And just watch for 'sway grass'.... it is a form of grass that can be converted to ethanol and easier to care for than corn....
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I read a good article concerning this topic:

US farmers are increasingly switching to corn vs. soybeans because of the profitability factor. Good for the U.S. farmers.....

This is the domino effect; in Brazil farmers are seeing a growing demand for soybeans in the Americas because the U.S. farmers aren't growing them anymore. They are acquiring land in Brazil to grow these soybeans that used to be used for grazing cattle. The cattle farmers thus have to clear more and more of the Amazon rain forest away to establish pastures for herds. Last year, a chunk of the rainforest the size of Rhode Island was cleared for this purpose. Scientists are predicting that the point of no return in terms of reaching ecological disaster due to carbon emissions because to these initiatives in Brazil is fast approaching.

So..... This great new "ecofuel" that is supposed to be saving the environment is actually hastening its demise. Wonderful.
 
Yax said:
I wonder, how are we able to feed this ever growing population when we can't feed everybody as it is (well, the earth can technically feed something around 10 billion, but just look at Africa and Asia. They are quite meagerly feeded there)? This is worrying.

Anybody have a take on this?
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A line from a song by Stiff Little Fingers:

"The world has money enough for us to make it go around"

All that is needed is a little more of an even distribution of wealth and knowledge and we all should be OK - I think. :huh:
 
Albie said:
A line from a song by Stiff Little Fingers:

"The world has money enough for us to make it go around"

All that is needed is a little more of an even distribution of wealth and knowledge and we all should be OK - I think. :huh:
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And since when does anybody really do any of that in a large scale willingly? Now? No. In the past? Not really. In the near future? Not likely.
 
Yax said:
And since when does anybody really do any of that in a large scale willingly? Now? No. In the past? Not really. In the near future? Not likely.
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True, but it's a nice idea - in principle.

Fact is, we will always seemingly have the hungry and the over fed. But if the over fed had a bit more of a moral stance......
 
wasted155 said:
...and Dr. Malthus will have the last laugh.
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Kind of difficult there, since he's been dead for 174 years.

I don't know his cause of death, though ... I hope it was starvation, because of all the delightful irony.
 
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