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- Newsgroups: sci.environment
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- From: gary@ke4zv.uucp (Gary Coffman)
- Subject: Re: Ecocentric Criterion and the Population Question
- Message-ID: <1992Nov13.061035.8506@ke4zv.uucp>
- Reply-To: gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman)
- Organization: Gannett Technologies Group
- References: <1466601882@igc.apc.org> <1992Nov6.163716.26393@meteor.wisc.edu> <1992Nov6.213704.26864@vexcel.com> <1992Nov10.022142.11566@meteor.wisc.edu>
- Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 06:10:35 GMT
- Lines: 21
-
- In article <1992Nov10.022142.11566@meteor.wisc.edu> tobis@meteor.wisc.edu (Michael Tobis) writes:
- >Technophiles please note: the specification of current technology levels
- >does not constitute a prediction. It is merely a simplification of the
- >problem. I do not ask what population the earth might or probably will
- >support. I ask what population we NOW are able to support. The probable
- >trajectory of technology can be addressed much more rationally once we
- >determine what the current limiting process is and what other limiting
- >processes are in prospect.
-
- I would suspect that the limit is economic rather than technical or resource
- driven. Certainly today's technology is sufficient to desalinize sea water,
- and certainly today's hydroponic and drip irrigation technology is sufficient
- to use agricultural water more efficiently than is being done. As with energy
- issues, the limits are not technical, they are economic and social. The
- majority of people are not productive enough to have the necessary economic
- power to fully utilize current technology, much less more advanced technology.
- Worker productivity correlates most strongly with standard of living. That's
- because high productivity brings with it the wealth necessary to support
- a high standard of living.
-
- Gary
-
