What is your reaction to these statments? (Ehrlich and Talbot)

Question

Paul Ehrlich has said, "It is quite possible that the penalty for frantic attempts to feed burgeoning populations may be a lowering of the carrying capacity of the entire planet."

Ecologist Lee Talbot has said, "We haven't inherited the Earth from our parents. We've borrowed it from our children."

I know that Ehrlich is saying that there is a limited amount of energy available and if the population increases beyond a certain amount there will be not enough food for everybody. We will be spreading ourselves too thin. Talbot believes that our children will pay for the pressures we put upon the environment. But what is the connection between these two statements?

Oh, and do you agree with Ehrlich's comment? What is your reaction to these statments?

Answer 1

We have, at present, the ability to feed everyone on the planet. It is a misconception that Africa and other developing areas of the planet are not suitable to produce enough food. The problem is that because of economic mismanagement driven by political troubles have lead to increased food prices (example, competition with neighboring countries) and decreased food production (example, little incentive for food production). This is now, if we look towards the future Ehrlich is definately on point.

Ehrlich predicts that if we continue the path we lead, putting increasing pressures on the Earth for its resources, whether it is now or later, there is no doubt that at some point in the future trouble will arise.

People like to argue for or against global warming, pollution, etc. But one should look beyond the immediate. The effects of pollution and the effects of increasing demand on global resources may not be felt in the immediate future, but what must be recognized is that we are definitely headed down a pretty dangerous path. We cannot continue consuming the way we do forever. Even if our resources are vast, there is no doubt that they are definitely finite. Talbot is right in saying that future generations will inherit these problems.

The ultimate question is if we deal with future issues now, or deal with them in later generations? Environmentalists of course advocate immidate change in the way we live, but skeptics say that these problems are too far in the future to deal with now. I say, lets deal with them now, before they actually are a real problem. Let's be prepared for what will eventually happen, maybe not now or in the near future. No one can argue that the Earth can only do so much., before we need better solutions to keep humans going.