The limits of a Green Revolution?

[jpak]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/6496585.stm

On his farm just outside the Punjabi city of Ludhiana in northern India, Jagjit Singh Hara showed off his collection of old photos.

One of the farmer's most prized snaps is of him with the Norwegian-American agronomist Norman Borlaug, the man popularly known as The Father of the Green Revolution.

"Here we are when we were both young men," says Mr Singh Hara with smile.

"I said to him: 'Dr Borlaug, I want to put my hand in your pocket. But I don't want to take out the dollars, I want to take out the wheat seeds you have.'"

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[drm604]

1. It is a dilemma isn't it?

Ultimately there is a limit to the number of humans this planet can sustain and there is a cost to ever more intensive agricultural practices. Not to mention the costs of meeting the energy needs of a constantly growing population. Even providing shelter for such a large number of people has it's environmental costs.

[JohnWxy]

2. Ultimately, we have to limit population growth. But accomplishing that is a enormous challenge.

ONe thing that might offer some hope. Generally, if you give people an opportunity to make their lives better (standard of living, education for children) they generally start thinking about their quality of life and their future and - given the opportunity - they usually show an interest in limiting their family size. but this only comes when they see they have a chance to build a better life for themselves and for their children.

[drm604]

3. Actually, the thinking on that has changed somewhat.

It now appears that it's not an increase in living standards that limits population, it's an increase in the rights of women that does it. If women have more choices about what they can do with their lives, they tend to have less childen.

An increase in womens' righs often coincides with an increase in living standards so a correlation was made between that and a reduced birth rate. However, in third world countries where there has been little increase in living standards but meaningful increases in women's rights, the birth rate has declined.

This is good news because increasing women's rights should be easier, quicker, and less destructive than trying to rapidly raise everyone on the planet to an industrialized living standard.

As birth rates go down, then living standards can increase while our impact on the planet decreases.

[JohnWxy]

4. You are right. With the improved standard of living comes the improved status of women -although

this is not always the case. It really is the improved status of women though, that does it. Women, given the chance will limit family size in order to improve the lot of the children they have. Men, however, can't be relied upon for this sort of rational behavior. (I'm afraid we men, the world over, don't think with our heads, often enough. Can I use nature as an excuse for this?)

But we can, to some degree, overcome (our) nature. We must. IF not through will power (forget it!) then through technology (birth control).