Thanks to Paul and Anne Ehrlich for sending their paper in the August 2010 issue of International Journal of Environmental Studies (Vol. 67, No. 4) entitled “The Culture Gap and its Needed Closures.” You can download the paper at: https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B5F-idWfw7TeMjQwZTY1OWEtZDliOC00OGFkLWJjNGYtYWY1ZTU1YWJkOWVi&hl=en&authkey=CLPXspgP

Thanks to Charlie Hall for this article from The Economist. Also, see a paper by Lindsey Grant showing that peak oil occurred in 2005. You can link to Lindsey’s September 16 article at http://www.npg.org/.
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Many factors were responsible for the industrial revolution. But the use of fossil fuels was clearly vital in driving a step change in rates of economic and population growth. So the current rise in the cost of extracting such fuels should be the subject of considerable concern.

Until the 18th century mankind’s output had been restricted by the amount of physical force that humans (and domesticated animals) could exert and by the amount of wood that people could chop down. Fossil fuels delivered a massive productivity boost.

For full article, visit:
http://www.economist.com/node/17314626/print

Thanks to Eric Rimmer for this article.
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Loss of ecosystems perceived by banks and insurance companies to be a greater economic risk than terrorism, finds UN report.

The financial risks posed by the loss of species and ecosystems have risen sharply and are becoming a greater concern for businesses than international terrorism, according to a United Nations report released today.

From over-depletion of fish stocks and soil degradation caused by agricultural chemicals to water shortages and mining pollution, the paper commissioned by the UN Environment Programme and partners said the likelihood has climbed sharply that declines in biodiversity would have a “severe” $10bn (6bn) to $50bn impact on business.

For full article, visit:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/27/biodiversity-loss-terrorism

Thanks to Ben Zuckerman for this article from the Guardian.
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Felling trees to meet British demand for garden furniture is devastating villages, livelihoods and food supplies, and threatening endangered species

Tracy McVeigh in West Kalimantan, Borneo Sunday October 24 2010 The Observer

The cows are afloat, with squawking chickens sharing their sturdy bamboo rafts. Children splash and swim in and around their homes, keeping away from the deeper channel of peat-coloured water that powers through the village of Meliau. Adults tightrope-walk across makeshift paths of hardwood thrown over huge floating logs. Others paddle around in long wooden boats. Everything that floats is lashed to everything that doesn’t.

For full article, visit:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/24/borneo-indonesia-rainforest-illegal-logging

Thanks to John Coulter of Sustainable Population Australia for this article.
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30 September, 2010

Population growth damages ‘standard of living’

“ABS data released yesterday confirms, yet again, that those states with the highest rates of population growth are performing worse in terms of per capita economic growth. Previous years and longer time scales lead to the same conclusion

“Those states with the highest rates of population growth suffered the largest reduction in standard of living”, said Dr John Coulter, Vice President of Sustainable Population Australia commenting on the latest ABS population data released yesterday.
Continue Reading »

Thanks to Mark O’Connor for this article, preceded by his explanation. See http://www.anglican.org.au/Web/Website.nsf/content/Commission:_Public_Affairs for additional information, including the Anglican Church’s discussion paper on population.

I have highlighted some phrases in the media release below, describing the passing of a resolution on population by the Australian General Synod of the Anglican Church.
Continue Reading »

Many thanks to Mark O’Connor, Al Bartlett, and several others for sending me this article. Mark opens with a statement about the article. The sale of prime farmland to other countries is a phenomenon occurring worldwide, not just in Australia, so this article is symptomatic of a bigger phenomenon. See http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/australia-should-look-to-its-food-security-before-all-the-farm-is-sold-20101013-16jyw.html
Continue Reading »

Thanks to Matt Stein for this OpEd.
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Every day we hear about topics like sustainable growth and sustainable building, but what does it really mean to be “sustainable?” In broad terms, sustainability quite clearly means that each new year finds the earth in at least as good of a condition as the last one. No increasing degree of deforestation, no fewer fish in the ocean, no higher levels of toxic pollution, and the concentration of atmospheric pollutants the same or better the next year as it was the prior one. Classically, many native American tribes had a high respect for the sustainability of the world, making collective decisions about whether or not to continue a particular course of action based upon if it would have a negative effect seven generations into the future.

For full article, visit:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/self-reliance-and-sustainability/what-is-true-sustainability.aspx

Thanks to Steve Sinding for this article from the New York Times Magazine.
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YOU MAY KNOW that the world’s population is aging – that the number of older people is expanding faster than the number of young – but you probably don’t realize how fast this is happening. Right now, the world is evenly divided between those under 28 and those over 28. By midcentury, the median age will have risen to 40. Demographers also use another measure, in addition to median age, to determine whether populations are aging: “elder share.” If the share, or proportion, of people over 60 (or sometimes 65) is growing, the population is aging. By that yardstick too, the world is quickly becoming older. Pick any age cohort above the median age of 28 and you’ll find its share of the global population rising faster than that of any segment below the median. By 2018, 65-year-olds, for example, will outnumber those under 5 – a historic first. In 2050, developed countries are on track to have half as many people under 15 as they do over 60. In short, the age mix of the world is turning upside down and at unprecedented rates.

For full article, visit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/magazine/17Aging-t.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

My friend Mechai Viravaidya has used social marketing to dramatically reduce birth rates in Thailand. Katie Elmore and I had dinner at his restaurant, Cabbages and Condoms, when we were in Bangkok last February.

Mechai Viravaidya: How Mr. Condom made Thailand a better place
Watch his TED talk at http://www.ted.com/talks/mechai_viravaidya_how_mr_condom_made_thailand_a_better_place.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-10-05&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email