Seems everyone’s getting in the doomsday-prediction business. That’s not all that unusual in Fourth Turnings; in the 1930′s, “tent revivals” were all the rage, and radio preachers gained notoriety with their apocalyptic predictions based on the moral decay of the Roaring ’20s and Prohibition.
Today, we have people using the Mayan calendar, Harold Camping’s Rapture calculations and any number of extraterrestial events to predict the end times, as well as global resource depletion and “climate shift” science. The bright minds at MIT have taken it a step further and have built a computer model to simulate when they believe it will happen. Their simulation points to no later 2030.
Whether any of these are based on fact or faith (or both) doesn’t matter. What matters is that society’s belief that something is terribly wrong and needs to be fixed will eventually create action. We all know, intuitively, that civilization is operating at unsustainable levels and cannot continue this way much longer.
Next Great Depression? MIT Researchers Predict ‘Global Economic Collapse’ By 2030
April 4, 2012
A new study from researchers at Jay W. Forrester’s institute at MIT says that the world could suffer from “global economic collapse” and “precipitous population decline” if people continue to consume the world’s resources at the current pace.
Smithsonian Magazine writes that Australian physicist Graham Turner says “the world is on track for disaster” and that current evidence coincides with a famous, and in some quarters, infamous, academic report from 1972 entitled, “The Limits to Growth.”
Produced for a group called The Club of Rome, the study’s researchers created a computing model to forecast different scenarios based on the current models of population growth and global resource consumption. The study also took into account different levels of agricultural productivity, birth control and environmental protection efforts. Twelve million copies of the report were produced and distributed in 37 different languages.
Most of the computer scenarios found population and economic growth continuing at a steady rate until about 2030. But without “drastic measures for environmental protection,” the scenarios predict the likelihood of a population and economic crash.
However, the study said “unlimited economic growth” is still possible if world governments enact policies and invest in green technologies that help limit the expansion of our ecological footprint.
The Smithsonian notes that several experts strongly objected to “The Limit of Growth’s” findings, including the late Yale economist Henry Wallich, who for 12 years served as a governor of the Federal Research Board and was its chief international economics expert. At the time, Wallich said attempting to regulate economic growth would be equal to “consigning billions to permanent poverty.”
Turner says that perhaps the most startling find from the study is that the results of the computer scenarios were nearly identical to those predicted in similar computer scenarios used as the basis for “The Limits to Growth.”
“There is a very clear warning bell being rung here,” Turner said. “We are not on a sustainable trajectory.”
Here’s a link to the Club of Rome’s site: 40 years “LIMITS TO GROWTH“
Pirate Jo says:
Just in time for me to turn 60!
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5th April 2012 at 12:38 pm
IndenturedServant says:
Just more reasoned info that points to the fact that I’ll never be able to retire. “Retirement” was just an anomaly in human history enjoyed by a few generations. I saw the writing on the wall in the mid 80′s. Unfortunately I was not able to properly interpret it until 2006. We have lived and continue to live beyond our means in every possible way. It may mean that the remainder of my life will be harder because of it, but I am so glad I chose not to have children.
I_S
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5th April 2012 at 1:08 pm
platoplubius says:
I saw this yesterday as well…Thanks for posting it Thinker…When MIT is getting in on the “economic collapse” predictions…it truly has hit mainstream! I think their calculations are a bit off…say by 20 or 30 years or so though.
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5th April 2012 at 1:08 pm
Stan says:
It would surprise the hell out of me if it lasts till 2030.
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5th April 2012 at 1:21 pm
sensetti says:
Thanks for the post Thinker
I like Kyle Bass and he stated we have 3-5 years ( see it on U Tube)
I am betting he’s right
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5th April 2012 at 1:29 pm
Muck About says:
More specifically, the exact date in 2030 will be on April 1st.
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5th April 2012 at 1:34 pm
Persnickety says:
@Stan: back in 2008 I didn’t think we’d make to the end of 2009 before total collapse. Obviously I was wrong. I fully expect a total collapse before long, but I simply have no idea if that will be three months or 10-15 years (my outer limit estimate). Makes it hard to plan well; all plans are hedged and usually hesitant because of the uncertainty.
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5th April 2012 at 2:22 pm
efarmer says:
In the transcription from the audio the researchers gave to the transcriber, the number 2013 sounded like 2030 and this is the confusion.
Cripes, a kid with an allowance could’ve made this prognostication!
EF
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5th April 2012 at 2:28 pm
Randy Pickard says:
Let’s see — between unsustainable deficits, aging populations selling assets and consuming more medical care in the OECD countries, reduced food production due to extreme weather, and depletion of cheap oil — 18 years until collapse seems optimistic to me. I would not be surprised if the mess that Bush left for Obama to deal with will seem like a bed of roses compared to what the winner of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election will be walk into. A time frame of 4 or 5 years till collapse may be a more likely outcome.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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5th April 2012 at 4:28 pm
DaveL says:
“Next Great Depression? MIT Researchers Predict ‘Global Economic Collapse’ By 2030.”
The chances of collapse in 2030…50-50.
The chances of me witnessing it….0
I lived mostly in the best of times. Sorry.
Randy says: “I would not be surprised if the mess that Bush left for Obama to deal with will seem like a bed of roses compared to what the winner of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election will be walk into.”
Some less than subtle politics there.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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5th April 2012 at 4:41 pm
Bob says:
Things have collapsed several times over the past 1,000 years. Collapse is not necessarily complete or final.
The most interesting thing I have come across on this subject was the estimate that humans are now using approximately 40% of all photosynthesis energy available from the sun. Aside from wondering how anyone would go ablout making a reasonable estimate of this, I focused on this as something that surely would be a limit to growth.
40% is very close to an important Fibonacci ratio (.382), variations of which are found throughout creation and human behavior. The questions are whether we are about to correct from this level of growth, and if so, how much might we regress before growth resumes?
Also, is 40% a practical limit on growth in this area, or is the limit higher, as it apparently is (approximately .618 or .786) for most complex systems? One would hope technology is capable of expanding the boundary further.
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5th April 2012 at 5:02 pm
TeresaE says:
Randy I agree with parts of what you said.
The “reduced food production due to extreme weather” is troubling.
IF “global warming” is real (keeping in my that barring this winter global temps have not been rising since 2000), it seems that it should actually INCREASE food production because warmer temps equates to longer growing seasons which can produce larger yields.
The true threat to food production is GMO seeds and their inability to procreate (thus indebting farmers forever), plus their reduced nutrition leading to greater needed yields to produce the same nutrients.
And the president blame game. This crap started long before Bush, and every president going back decades should be held accountable for the growth creep of this government. Picking sides and assessing blame just enables them to remain on our necks. BOTH sides have voted for trashing the Constitution and growing their paid for constituencies.
But the gist of your feelings I totally agree. Nice to meet you.
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5th April 2012 at 5:30 pm
TeresaE says:
cripes, I’ll be 62. Not the most prime age to hit a catastrophe.
Though I doubt we have that long before it feels like one. Maybe we get lucky.
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5th April 2012 at 5:32 pm
Ron says:
It depends on how long printing and borrowing can hold off reality. I dont see how the country can make it with so many people not working.And no desire to reduce the dept by anyone.
We really need term limits.Some of these fools have been there for years and brought us the dept we have.
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5th April 2012 at 5:47 pm
Zarathustra says:
The Club of Rome didn’t forsee the debt crisis. It will reach its zenith far ahead of any resource crises.
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5th April 2012 at 6:27 pm
efarmer says:
Teresa said,
“The true threat to food production is GMO seeds and their inability to procreate (thus indebting farmers forever), plus their reduced nutrition leading to greater needed yields to produce the same nutrients.”
I have no idea why you think this or where you get your information, but there is no evidence of such claims and it is just plain wrong. A seed is a seed.
GMO?? We’ve been selecting seeds since man first started farming with stone tools. We’ve done hybrid corn, hybrid tomatoes, selecting for disease resistance for eons. Isn’t that modified? It isn’t Frankenseeds, and it would be silly to think it is.
EF
Hot debate. What do you think?
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5th April 2012 at 6:54 pm
JR says:
We’ve been all through this Erlichian BS before. Another scam to bring in world governance. Been there, done that.
And by the way, if you are from MIT, go talk with Dr. Richard Lindzen, Professor of Atmospheric Science, on the scam of global warming. Otherwise, see his comments below:
Richard Lindzen of MIT, professor of atmospheric science has stated “Al Gore is wrong. There is no consensus on global warming.” and the frantic alarmism all over the media has, in Dr. Lindzen’s own words, “nothing to do with science.” For good measure, Dr. Lindzen added while speaking that the Heartland International Conference on Climate Change in New York in March, 2009, “I think [there is] one point you should notice as one discusses the science, and that is that global warming alarm — as far as I can tell — has always been a political movement, a highly organized one…And although it took me a while to realize this, opposing it has always been an uphill battle.” Dr. Lindzen concluded his remarks at the Heartland conference by noting most of his colleagues subscribe to global warming either because they fear for their jobs, or find it a way get project funding, and quipped about climate models, similar to how scientists debate intelligent design, that climate models are an example of “unintelligent design”, indicating that climate models are being fed erroneous information in order to get the results that global-warming alarmists want Dr. Lindzen has a lengthy (~1.5 hr) highly academic presentation on why he disagrees with AGW at http://vmsstreamer1.fnal.gov/VMS_Site_03/Lectures/Colloquium/100210Lindzen/f.htm#. Dr. Lindzen has also specifically stated the phony “consensus” behind global warming is “unscientific” and stated that “With respect to science, the assumption behind consensus is that science is a source of authority. Rather, it is a particularly effective approach to inquiry and analysis. Skepticism is essential to science; consensus is foreign. When in 1988 Newsweek announced that all scientists agreed about global warming, this should have been a red flag of warning. Among other things, global warming is such a multifaceted issue that agreement on all or many aspects would be unreasonable.””
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5th April 2012 at 7:41 pm
IndenturedServant says:
efarmer said: “I have no idea why you think this or where you get your information, but there is no evidence of such claims and it is just plain wrong. A seed is a seed.”
I see nothing wrong with humans selecting seeds from the strongest, most productive and disease resistant plants generation after generation but when ass-clown scientists go in and specifically alter the DNA and genes of plants to increase profits then it is wrong. Make no mistake about it, their work is done purely from a profitability standpoint otherwise IT WOULD NOT BE DONE. They might BS us into believing that it is for increased production, healthier food etc but I’m not buying it. They alter plants so that the seed they produce (if any at all) is generally not viable which forces farmers to buy seed directly from those who are manipulating the plants in the first place. I call bullshit on that. It is just another way for us humans to continue living beyond our means. If the plants that evolved naturally over millions of years are not productive enough to feed the population then the population needs to be reduced or prevented from growing.
I_S
Hot debate. What do you think?
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5th April 2012 at 8:28 pm
MIT Researchers Predict ‘Global Economic Collapse’ By 2030… « zumoit says:
[...] Researchers Predict ‘Global Economic Collapse’ By 2030 Read more: http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=32713 Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. [...]
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5th April 2012 at 9:02 pm
AWD says:
What a bunch of shit. By 2015 we’ll be at a $20 trillion deficit. Only problem is, that ain’t gonna happen. We’ll be lucky to make it another year. The Fed’s balance sheet is packed. A small rise in interest rates and the Fed is insolvent (if it isn’t already). Then, the Fed can’t buy any more T-bills/debt. Get real. I thought they were supposed to be smart at MIT. Sounds like the usual Ivy league economist bullshit to me.
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5th April 2012 at 10:07 pm
TeresaE says:
efarmer, I’ve studied Monsanto and their seed line horrors. There is ample evidence of what happens to a third world country when they accept Monsantos help with seeds. Their costs skyrocket, their lands are trashed with chemicals and their yields drop as their ability to buy the man-created seeds and chemicals wanes. Are all the different articles/anecdotes I’ve read wrong? Can you let your Monsanto seed crop go seed and replant gaining the same of better yields the next year? I know that when I allow my heirloom plants to re-seed their yields are much higher than the yields I get from good ole Burpee or other non-heirloom.
I’m sorry, but there IS a huge nutritional difference between a tomato grown from heirloom seeds and one grown to look pretty for longer than god (or whomever, mother nature) intended. To manufacture traits that extend shelf life and create uniformity changed the nutritional value. Even the USDA says that there is “no significant difference.” Which means there IS a difference.
I used to believe in better living through science and chemicals. If I earned my living relying on them, I’d probably feel different and probably never even questioned their magnificence.
But, science made me (and many others I’ve known) sick, then sicker. It wasn’t until I took matters into my own hands and started researching things that I opened my eyes.
efarmer you KNOW how messed up the government has made many (nearly all) parts of our country, yet you insist this is one where they are infallible and right.
I respect your opinion but I urge everyone to follow the dollars and find out the complete ugly truth of our food and medicine supply.
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5th April 2012 at 12:37 am
Stucky says:
When you get right down to it (and I do that all the time) that April 1st date sucks. By 2030, we’d all be called April Fool another 18 times..
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5th April 2012 at 12:36 pm
Stucky says:
If you’re going to dopplegang me at least try to sound like me. Throw it a “fuckin’” or two in there. Ie. “When you fuckin’ get down to it …” Much more realistic.
Also, getting an avatar more like mine might help. Your avatar looks like a homo cow (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
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5th April 2012 at 12:43 pm
mark says:
I disagree. Just from friggin fracking we got a 100 year supply of energy. The severe debt problem is recognized, not dealt with yet, but is coming to the front burner. Soilent Pink slime has been brought to the attention of everyone. yes our kids may need to eat soilent cat or dog, but not soilent green. Is there a year in which Monsanto losses it’s patents? Patents don’t last forever. Don’t be suprised if everything slowly gets better. Our 15 trillion in debt is the most troubling thing. I am thinking about saving for retirement in Canadian dollars. An export tax on Nat gas and coal could pay off the 15 trillion over a 30 year period. Things could get better long term, short term I’m not so sure. I think SSI and medicare need to be scraped over the next 2 generations and replaced with a 401k plan. Because of the devaluation of dollars Bernakie should spend the rest of his life in prison. It was his job to prevent this, he failed. We are becoming much less the police of the world (Syria) we just let it go. Iran we didn’t attack. This will save us billions. On any given day we could blow Iran off the face of the earth, one day I think we will. Small pox once reduced the great Indain nation to nothing. Iran should study what has been done in the past. Now i’m just rambling on, so I will stop.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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5th April 2012 at 12:48 pm
Stucky says:
” … when ass-clown scientists go in and specifically alter the DNA and genes of plants to increase profits then it is wrong” —- Indentured Servant
Without necessarily taking sides ……. isn’t IndenturedServant correct?
DNA. How much do we really UNDERSTAND it? Precious little. Whether you believe in millions of years of evolution or a Creator God ….. the essence of life is enormously complex, if not miraculous. It seems most reasonable to be very concerned about puny humans altering DNA. I don’t like it.
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5th April 2012 at 1:00 pm
Stucky says:
TeresaE
If you don’t already know, then I hate to break it to you …. you’re probably already eating lots of GMO foods.
80% of all packaged foods contain one or more of the following ingredients.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1676104/the-genetically-modified-food-you-eat-every-day
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5th April 2012 at 1:09 pm
Thinker says:
Genetically modified organisms:
Humans have been genetically engineering crops and other things for centuries, since Gregor Mendel first discovered how it worked. And probably before him, frankly, although they didn’t understand it as well.
The difference with Monsanto is that they purposely interject traits that keep their seeds from reproducing. Part of that is to ensure that the inserted genes (disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, etc.) don’t cross-polinate with native species. That’s a good thing.
But, yes, they also want to protect their intellectual property rights and make sure farmers have to buy seeds from them instead of crossing their own varieties. So there’s a profit motive, as well.
I could go into a lot of detail on this subject, but won’t.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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5th April 2012 at 1:30 pm
AWD says:
Genetically worthless people:
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5th April 2012 at 1:35 pm
Stucky says:
Jeez, Thinker, there is a huge difference between Mendel crossbreeding dogs in the 1850′s and Monsanto inserting and deleting genes directly into DNA.
I just wish the people and firms who are pro-GMO would simply admit that they have no goddamn clue what the long-term affects are on humans. They don’t know!!!!! And that’s one of the things that piss off a lot of people, like me.
If my dick falls off sometime in the future because I ate their nice disease resistant tomato, well, somebody at Monsanto is gonna die.
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5th April 2012 at 1:59 pm
IndenturedServant says:
Stucky said: “If my dick falls off sometime in the future because I ate their nice disease resistant tomato, well, somebody at Monsanto is gonna die.”
LOL! Fuck, I nearly spit rice all over my computer. Ended up on the floor so my dog thanks you! (the on in my avatar) Gotta go mop up the dog spit now!
I_S
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5th April 2012 at 2:07 pm
Stucky says:
Gee, sorry about that. lol
Maybe this story will cheer you up. At least you still have your nuts.
Indiana man has his balls ripped off (literally) by his girlfriend (pic below)
link: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/indiana-scrotum-horror-769123
Actual Police Report: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/scrotum-horror?page=0
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5th April 2012 at 2:22 pm
Thinker says:
LOL, Stuck…
Actually, Mendel crossed peas, not dogs. But dogs are an excellent example of modifying and combining genetic traits. So are most of our modern foods (like apples). Even “heirloom” varieties were developed over time. The difference is that they have viable seeds, which is the most important thing (and why I buy them and save seed from year to year).
I agree with you that screwing around with DNA in our food is a dangerous thing, and I’m all in favor of testing, depending on what methods are used, what genes are inserted (esp. cross-species genes) and what the end use of the genetically-altered product is. What I am not in favor of is the ignorance which some activist groups purposely instil in people to further their own agendas.
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5th April 2012 at 2:24 pm
IndenturedServant says:
If I survived that, the bitch would die!
I_S
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5th April 2012 at 2:24 pm
IndenturedServant says:
“Ball Memorial Hospital”? At least he was taken to the right place! LOL!
I_S
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5th April 2012 at 2:30 pm
Stucky says:
Mendel cross bred dogs.
Pavlov trained peas.
I always get the two mixed up. Thanks for the correction.
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5th April 2012 at 2:33 pm
efarmer says:
Teresa,
Been busy, so not sure you’ll see this. I never once mentioned the government. You did. I find almost everything they do disgusting and over reaching. I firmly believe they are a giant sucking machine and are sucking the lifeblood from this once pretty good nation.
All I am saying is we’ve been selectively breeding for thousands of years. A seed is a seed.
And you do have me at a disadvantage. You know what I do, I don’t know that much about your expertise. I am always somewhat amused that people outside farming know so much more about it than farmers themselves. I do know how to make money.
Happy Easter, EF
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5th April 2012 at 10:01 am
joe says:
I hope everyone looks up the CLUB OF ROME–
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5th April 2012 at 12:31 pm
TeresaE says:
Stucky I know what I’m eating and I know that many modern varieties of nearly every food source has been modified over the centuries.
I’m talking about frankenfoods, stuff that won’t grow unless flooded in deadly chemicals, stuff that has had the nutrition modified out of it to promote other traits (shelf life, time to ripen, etc).
I know that there really is NO natural choice in America.
Doesn’t mean I have to like it, or embrace it.
But, since you brought it up, I don’t eat much in the way of commercially processed “convenience” foods, so I know my diet contains a lot less of the frankenfoods than the average eater.
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5th April 2012 at 10:46 am
MIT computer simulation predicts total global economic collapse in less than 20 years :: Government Corruption News says:
[...] to a group of researchers from the Jay W. Forrester’s institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a [...]
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5th April 2012 at 7:03 am
Edward Kerr says:
Fun thread to read here. One aspect of GMO’s that no one addressed is that the plants are “manipulated” (that is they have foreign DNA injected) in order to make them: A/ resistant to glyphosate (round-up) or: B/ to produce their own pesticide. Both of these plant modification have produced negative outcomes. One being the increased use of round-up and the other negative impacts on the health of people who consume “food products” made from GMO organisms. Add that to the economic damage done to farmers (and the world in general) and you have a real winner in GMO’s (he said with venomous sarcasm drooling from his lips) ……………
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5th April 2012 at 8:46 am
MIT Researchers Predicts Global Economic Collapse In Less Than 20 Years : govtslaves.info says:
[...] to agroup of researchersfrom the Jay W. Forrester’s institute at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), a [...]
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5th April 2012 at 12:03 pm
monk says:
“By 2030″ means on or BEFORE 2030. And likely, what may lead to the collapse won’t be pleasant. That is, one may expect major crisis (e.g., a permanent recession, high food and oil prices, wars, a drop in oil production, etc.) leading to a “global economic collapse.” In which case, what should concern us isn’t the collapse itself but the suffering that takes place leading to it.
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5th April 2012 at 3:22 pm
MIT computer simulation predicts total global economic collapse in less than 20 years | educationofhealth.com says:
[...] we know it, and they’re saying it’ll happen within the next two decades.According to a group of researchers from the Jay W. Forrester’s institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a [...]
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5th April 2012 at 3:53 pm
MIT computer simulation predicts total global economic collapse in less than 20 years | andy says:
[...] we know it, and they’re saying it’ll happen within the next two decades.According to a group of researchers from the Jay W. Forrester’s institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a [...]
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5th April 2012 at 12:35 am
Depopulation Propaganda Used in Recent MIT Study says:
[...] Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has predicted a global economic collapse within the next twenty years; according to computer [...]
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5th April 2012 at 9:04 am
MIT computer simulation predicts total global economic collapse in less than 20 years | Try2connect News Blog says:
[...] to a group of researchers from the Jay W. Forrester’s institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a [...]
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5th April 2012 at 5:16 pm
MIT computer simulation predicts total global economic collapse in less than 20 years..fear propaganda! « Follow The Money says:
[...] to agroup of researchersfrom the Jay W. Forrester’s institute at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), a [...]
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5th April 2012 at 7:20 pm
Allannah says:
@Teresa E. Read your query about global warming increasing food production. Unfortuntately, this is not likely to be the case for two reasons. First, while temepratures are rising, last date of frost is not following suit. So you will see a lot of what happened this year in the northeast with cherries: it got hot early, the trees bloomed, frost hit the blooms and boom, no cherries. Unless production is converted to more climate controlled environments like high tunnels, which would drastically raise production costs, this will be a real issue. The only economical solution I can see is for plant breeders to create varieties with marketable attributes that minimize frost risks. However, replacing existing plantings with new stock isn’t cheap (the bill for our new blueberries still gives me the shivers), and if farmers keep taking weather losses, I don’t know how this will be afforded.
Additionally, most plants have heat ranges at which they grow best. Excess heat actually retards their growth, just as it makes a human horrifically sluggish in the dog days of August (which now seem to start in June). Another big challenge for breeders.
I would imagine labor is going to be an issue as well. The summer heat we had this year was awful working on our farm. The risk of heat related illness was much higher, and frankly, workers were a lot less productive and willing to work, myself included. It is just flat out awful in 100+ degree heat in the blazing sun picking berries. And while automation can solve some of that, farming is very much a hands on business and manual labor simply cannot be avoided altogether.
All around bad deal.
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5th April 2012 at 10:09 pm
Allannah says:
Ugh, horrible type there on temperatures, my apologies LOL:)
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5th April 2012 at 10:11 pm
Greg says:
2030 is extremely optimistic. The current implosion of the financial system is not the crisis it’s merely the first crack in the dam wall. The most logical place for the first symptom of collapse to occur is finance. This is simply because of the way fiat currencies and debt work. In simple terms they allow you to create a bubble effect long after your country become unsustainable. Eventually as the whole world gets roped into this bubble it ceases to work and either deflates rapidly or simply pops. So as we rush headlong into our world of iphones ipads and other techno junk it’s ironic that we are turning our backs on the very mechancial non electrical technology of hundreds of years ago that may save at least a semblance of our civilisation. I don’t think people truly understand a world without oil. If they did there would be very little sleeping going on. A system reset of planetary proportions is about to occur. Planet earth is about to rid itself of a virus.
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5th April 2012 at 2:14 am
Depopulation Propaganda Used in Recent MIT Study | Main says:
[...] Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has predicted a global economic collapse within the next twenty years; according to computer [...]
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5th April 2012 at 3:20 am
MIT Researchers Predict ‘Global Economic Collapse’ By 2030 | SYSTEM-88 says:
[...] MIT Researchers Predict ‘Global Economic Collapse’ By 2030 [...]
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5th April 2012 at 11:40 am
Becca says:
On the whole Frankenfoods issue, an additional concern is the high probability of them eventually producing genetically mutated weeds that are no longer controllable with herbicides.
We’ve already seen it with bacteria (which has happened a lot faster because they reproduce at a MUCH more accelerated pace than higher organisms). Over time, when bacteria are exposed to lower than lethal doses antibiotics, a handful survive the antibiotic treatment, develop mutations that are resistant to the antibiotic, and reproduce until there is a large population of antibiotic resistant bacteria that wreak havoc on their hosts. Lot of talk on this on the news lately, to the point that modern surgery is becoming more and more dicey.
If you take the vast majority of the farmland in the US and plant it with RoundupReady field crops and then spray those crops with Roundup, you kill most of the weeds. Every time you do this a few will survive because they are exposed to lower than lethal doses. It’s only a matter of time and the right mutations to create superweeds that aren’t affected by Roundup. Which then forces farmers to one of the following: revert to more manual weed control measures which cost more and drive food prices up (and which we are no longer equipped for with our impossible enormous megafarms), accept the crop loss that weed pressure creates, reducing crop supply and raising prices, or to use stronger and stronger herbicides. It is an environmental and economic time bomb.
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5th April 2012 at 6:51 pm
Jynx says:
The base line is that humans have been working toward crossing the Line between commensulism with our planet,and becoming nothing more then a parasite. A disease ravaging our planets health, and it’s ability to heal. Someday soon we will Be forced to either do something drastic or die. There are no in betweens. Either we fix our mistakes or this planet will die with us. Wrong can blame whoever the scientists the presidents,the govt. It doesn’t matter. Unless WE the PEOPLE take action, WE WILL ALL DIE. Just like any other parasites the depleted it environment past carrying capacity
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5th April 2012 at 1:19 pm