Posted on 06/08/2011 8:07:50 AM PDT by Borges
You really do have to wonder whether a few years from now well look back at the first decade of the 21st century when food prices spiked, energy prices soared, world population surged, tornados plowed through cities, floods and droughts set records, populations were displaced and governments were threatened by the confluence of it all and ask ourselves: What were we thinking? How did we not panic when the evidence was so obvious that wed crossed some growth/climate/natural resource/population redlines all at once?
The only answer can be denial, argues Paul Gilding, the veteran Australian environmentalist-entrepreneur, who described this moment in a new book called The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World. When you are surrounded by something so big that requires you to change everything about the way you think and see the world, then denial is the natural response. But the longer we wait, the bigger the response required.
Gilding cites the work of the Global Footprint Network, an alliance of scientists, which calculates how many planet Earths we need to sustain our current growth rates. G.F.N. measures how much land and water area we need to produce the resources we consume and absorb our waste, using prevailing technology. On the whole, says G.F.N., we are currently growing at a rate that is using up the Earths resources far faster than they can be sustainably replenished, so we are eating into the future. Right now, global growth is using about 1.5 Earths. Having only one planet makes this a rather significant problem, says Gilding.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sacrifice is for... the little people. By contrast, the Beautiful People - global elitists - remain free to jet about the world, making earnest speeches demanding the sacrifice of others... and increased central planning power for themselves.
You go, guy (and wife!)
There is an absolutely hilarious/troubling movie called “Idiocracy”. Even though it was produced by a guy I sometimes have suspicions about (Mike Judge), it is dead on in one regard.
The world is not full, but we are rapidly filling it up with the wrong people.
Coming soon to your town, “Soylent Green.”
Mark
>> If the Earth is so full, then why can the entire population easily fit into Texas with room to spare?
Just for fun, google “thomas friedman house”. There’s plenty of room for half of Ethiopia in the hypocritical sumbitch’s own back yard!
Even the LEFT gets that he doesn’t practice what he preaches, as you’ll see from the hits.
One more millionaire Communist for euthanizing America.
That film is very much worth seeing. It was mysteiously dumped by its studio. It’s still not clear why they chickened out of promoting it normally.
A horse and a dog, eh? I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that he probably doesn't live on a 1/10th acre lot in a solar-powered 650 SF tract house constructed from recycled materials....
Exactly.
The stat I heard was that everyone on earth could live 4 to a house on a 1/4 acre and the total area would take up less than the land area of Texas.
"HEY, LIBERALS, DO YOU WANT TO REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT?........KILL YOURSELF".
LOL...Thomas Friedman, the hysterical Cassandra of the NYT, is actually recycling the forever wrong, but often quoted by the Left, Paul Ehrlich, who wrote “The Population Bomb” in 1967.
Erhrich, whose degree was in entomology, proclaimed that hundreds of millions of people, not bugs, would die of starvation in the ‘70s. Of course, we know that he was positively WRONG and that our biggest health problem now is obesity. But being a Lefty means you never have to admit you are totally WRONG in your beliefs and prophesies about the future. And you can always find a job at the Marxist NYT.
“That film is very much worth seeing.”
My biggest problem is that sometimes I feel like I’ve awoke and I’m living in the road show version of the movie!
Thomas Friedman married into his money....I’d say it’s time he take the first step and do what ICLEI (related to Agenda 21 and the UN) wants...live in the slums of India, or highrises in Brazil....C’mon, Tom...YOU FIRST!
“As long as nobody wants to eat...”
We can just use Oklahoma to grow the food. ;)
And, as a warning for those who might be interested in the movie but who are offended by such things, it is also incredibly crude, lewd and profane.
The “Melters” at Kos and the oildrum are sad.
But if Thomas feels our numbers need to be reduced he should set a good example and go first.
Gee, who knew that there were so many people gullible enough to support the lifestyle of an "environmentalist-entrepreneur".
I think that maybe I can get in on the scam while the getting is good. Look for my forthcoming book titled:
"The Great Disruption: Why the Invading Alien UFO Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World."
Yes, there will be a lot of "deniers" out there, but they are all short-sighted and stupid. Why, you really do have to wonder whether a few years from now well look back at the first decade of the 21st century when alien UFOs crisscrossed the sky while governments adamantly denied their existence and ask ourselves: What were we thinking? How did we not panic when the evidence was so obvious that wed crossed some intergalactic tripping point that spelled Earth's eventual doom?
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