Lester R. Brown

Outgrowing the Earth (eBook, ePUB)

The Food Security Challenge in an Age of Falling Water Tables and Rising Temperatures

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Historically, food security was the responsibility of ministries of agriculture but today that has changed: decisions made in ministries of energy may instead have the greatest effect on the food situation. Recent research reporting that a one degree Celsius rise in temperature can reduce grain yields by 10 per cent means that energy policy is now directly affecting crop production. Agriculture is a water-intensive activity and, while public attention has focused on oil depletion, it is aquifer depletion that poses the more serious threat. There are substitutes for oil, but none for water and the link between our fossil fuel addiction, climate change and food security is now clear. While population growth has slowed over the past three decades, we are still adding 76 million people per year. In a world where the historical rise in land productivity has slowed by half since 1990, eradicating hunger may depend as much on family planners as on farmers. The bottom line is that future food security depends not only on efforts within agriculture but also on energy policies that stabilize climate, a worldwide effort to raise water productivity, the evolution of land-efficient transport systems, and population policies that seek a humane balance between population and food. Outgrowing the Earth advances our thinking on food security issues that the world will be wrestling with for years to come.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Taylor & Francis
• Seitenzahl: 224
• Erscheinungstermin: 27. April 2012
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781136560286
• Artikelnr.: 38404848

Autorenporträt

Lester R. Brown is President of Earth Policy Institute, and has been described as 'one of the world's most influential thinkers' by The Washington Post. He is widely known as the Founder and former President of the Worldwatch Institute, whose Board he now chairs. He launched the influential State of the World reports, which are now published in over 30 languages. Brown has been honoured with numerous prizes, including the MacArthur 'Genius' Fellowship, the United Nations Environment Prize, and Japan's Blue Planet Prize. He lives in Washington, DC.

Inhaltsangabe

Part I, Pushing Beyond the Earth's Limits
Losing Agricultural Momentum
Growth: The Environmental Fallout
Two New Challenges
The Japan Syndrome
The China Factor
The Challenge Ahead
Part II, Stopping at Seven Billion
A New Demographic Era
Population, Land, and Conflict
The Demographic Transition
The Demographic Bonus
Two success Stories
Eradicating Poverty, Stabilizing Population
Part III, Moving Up the Food Chain Efficiently
Up the Food Chain
Shifting Protein Sources
Oceans and Rangelands
The Soybean Factor
New Protein Models
Part IV, Raising the Earth's Productivity
Trends and Contrasts
Fertilizer and Irrigation
The Shrinking Backlog of Technology
Future Options
Part V, Protecting Cropland
Losing Soil and Fertility
Advancing Deserts
Converting Cropland to Other Uses
Conserving Topsoil
Saving Cropland
Part VI, Stabilizing Water Tables
Falling Water Tables
Rivers Running Dry
Cities Versus Farms
Scarcity Crossing National Boundaries
Raising Water Productivity
Part VII, Stabilizing Climate
Rising Temperatures, Falling Yields
Temperature Trends and Effects
Raising Energy Efficiency
Turning to Renewable Energy Sources
Part VIII, Reversing China's Harvest Decline
Grainland Shrinking
An Aquacultural Initiative
Water Shortages Spreading
Turning Abroad for Grain
A New Food Strategy
Part IX, The Brazilian Dilemma
World's Leading Source of Soybeans
Feed Supplier for the World?
Meat Exports Climbing
Domestic Demand Growing
Expansion: The Risks and Costs
Part X, Redefining Security
The Tightening Food Supply
The Politics of Food Scarcity
Stabilizing the Resource Base
A Complex Challenge