off topic: Malthus was right (?)

[J Fox jfox5@xxxxxxxx]

Phil wrote:

> The Clan of the Cave Bears ignores this issue. However, we're living
> with it in Oregon.  A century ago, it was patriotic to cut down a
> tree, to make room for farming. Today, we're on the verge of outlawing

> logging for fear of destroying our forest culture. Ironically, it's
> difficult to argue with either viewpoint; time is the factor.
> Vietnam, of course, is different. But it's all variations of the old
> Malthusian prediction, which we once thought we'd outgrown. Jean Auel
> might have a contribution, in time.

Phil


{A response from the road, so I'm not sure if this will successfully
transit the unacustomed mail servers . . . }:

For a long time, I have followed with considerable interest the raging
environmentalist debate between what you might term the
"neo-Malthusians" and those who claim we can somehow manage to adapt
(perhaps indefinitely) with a continuing string of techno-fixes. The
developed world was roundly excoriated (and in some quarters,
self-flagellated) at the first Eco Summit some years back, in Rio, and
probably at all the other ones right up to the one recently concluded.
I've always leaned towards the Malthusian view myself. There have been
well known experiments where a population of rats, when confined to a
small enclosure with limited resources, will descend into the sort of
dire survival mode behaviors one might anticipate. Jane Goodall
documented warfare and sport killing among chimps in the wild years
ago. It's all there in the evolutionary matrix. We humans have the
capacity to be better and do better than this, but there is no
overriding reason why we will, especially under stress.

Anyway (on a global import, survival of the human race level, at least)
I'm always game to review the latest *worthy* entry in this debate. One
of the more intriguing pieces I've seen on the subject in a long time
was brought to my attention recently. Hopefully, it can still be found
at:

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1029920619448



Jordan