Why we must keep population low

The collapse of the fossil fuelled economy is just around the corner my friends. Considering nearly all of our food crops are dependant upon enormous quantities of fossil fuels, as herbicides, pesticides and fertiliser, plus all the fuel to harvest, manufacture and transport, we ought to be taking this inevitable collapse very, very seriously, though of course, we won't. - Dave

This article below from treehugger.

Global Oil Demand Reaches Record High: 86.6 Million Barrels a Day!
As the world recovers from recession, industry worldwide is getting the ol' bounce back in its step. And that bounce, of course, requires a hell of a lot of oil. More oil than at any point ever before in history, in fact. Yes, the International Energy Agency has released its projections for this year, and they've found that the oil demand will hit a whopping 86.6 million barrels a day--up 2% from last year, and 100,000 more barrels a day than the previous record set in 2007.

This is not, as you can imagine, a good thing. As demand grows, guess what else will? The prices! And the report takes this into consideration:

oil prices could stifle world economic growth if they were allowed to rise too far. "Ultimately, things might turn messy for producers if $80-$100 per barrel is merely seen as the new $60-$80, stunting economic recovery while prompting resurgent non-oil and non-OPEC supply investment," the IEA report said.

Nice. In related news, the US Military has issued a report of its own--and it's even more alarming. Here's a snippet, via the Guardian:

The US military has warned that surplus oil production capacity could disappear within two years and there could be serious shortages by 2015 with a significant economic and political impact ... the cost of crude is predicted to soon top $100 a barrel.

"By 2012, surplus oil production capacity could entirely disappear, and as early as 2015, the shortfall in output could reach nearly 10 million barrels per day," says the report, which has a foreword by a senior commander, General James N Mattis.

Here's another important segment: "

While it is difficult to predict precisely what economic, political, and strategic effects such a shortfall might produce, it surely would reduce the prospects for growth in both the developing and developed worlds. Such an economic slowdown would exacerbate other unresolved tensions, push fragile and failing states further down the path toward collapse, and perhaps have serious economic impact on both China and India."

Let's see here: oil prices that hover above $100 a barrel, those high prices stifling economic growth, drastic worldwide oil shortages in less than five years, which in turn causes unrest and disorder in fragile nations--and we still have politicians arguing in favor of the status quo energy policy!

Has it ever been clearer that weaning our dependence on oil should be a top priority?



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