Parson Malthus, a English Scholar during 17th century once pointed out the limitation of natural resources will be the Achilles's Heel of human civilization. Such warning had been undermined by many both mainstream politician and academia. The history throughout modern age had proven we human have the capability, by science and technology to compensate any downfall of natural resources. Optimist believe we are living in the abundance where everything exist in the world are more than enough to support all life for eternity. One downsize of natural resource can be replaced by the new one with the effort to discover. We had live through many crisis since 17 century due to the risk of pitfall of natural resource, particularly energy. And today, we still survived with a living standard consider to be unimaginable even for the Kings and Queens during middle age. from lumber (woods) to coal. From Coal to fossil oil. From fossil oils and gradually hybrid with natural gases. The cheap natural resources are been exploited since world war II by human. And now, with the raise of oil price at all time high (98USD per barrel), we have to realize that natural resource does have its limitation. From the point of survival, all we have on earth should be sufficient. However, the natural was never created to sustain excessive energy consumption, greed and selfishness of exponential growth homosapiens. More than comfortable, most of us are pursuing life of luxury. 3 SUV per family, 6 air-cons on a mansion by a size of family with 2 kids and ever continuously expansion of indulgence industry. As merely 20% of every life on earth, we now consuming almost 90% of all resources like there is no tomorrow. Not to be pessimistic, rather realistic, if we still live in a dream utopia world with abundance of cheap energy ; Robert Thomas Malthus might be able to see his theory right in near future. Let alone the aftermath disastrous to environment of current fossil oil exploration, we human shall be more responsible for the long term survival of our civilization to change, at least for our next generation. If nothing is done to make correction before it is too late (when current dependence natural resources running out), our civilization will collapse. I do not want to see my grandson going back living in the cave, despite our achievement in technology are at the peak ever since the modern world is born.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Underestimating the Malthusian Catastrophe
Parson Malthus, a English Scholar during 17th century once pointed out the limitation of natural resources will be the Achilles's Heel of human civilization. Such warning had been undermined by many both mainstream politician and academia. The history throughout modern age had proven we human have the capability, by science and technology to compensate any downfall of natural resources. Optimist believe we are living in the abundance where everything exist in the world are more than enough to support all life for eternity. One downsize of natural resource can be replaced by the new one with the effort to discover. We had live through many crisis since 17 century due to the risk of pitfall of natural resource, particularly energy. And today, we still survived with a living standard consider to be unimaginable even for the Kings and Queens during middle age. from lumber (woods) to coal. From Coal to fossil oil. From fossil oils and gradually hybrid with natural gases. The cheap natural resources are been exploited since world war II by human. And now, with the raise of oil price at all time high (98USD per barrel), we have to realize that natural resource does have its limitation. From the point of survival, all we have on earth should be sufficient. However, the natural was never created to sustain excessive energy consumption, greed and selfishness of exponential growth homosapiens. More than comfortable, most of us are pursuing life of luxury. 3 SUV per family, 6 air-cons on a mansion by a size of family with 2 kids and ever continuously expansion of indulgence industry. As merely 20% of every life on earth, we now consuming almost 90% of all resources like there is no tomorrow. Not to be pessimistic, rather realistic, if we still live in a dream utopia world with abundance of cheap energy ; Robert Thomas Malthus might be able to see his theory right in near future. Let alone the aftermath disastrous to environment of current fossil oil exploration, we human shall be more responsible for the long term survival of our civilization to change, at least for our next generation. If nothing is done to make correction before it is too late (when current dependence natural resources running out), our civilization will collapse. I do not want to see my grandson going back living in the cave, despite our achievement in technology are at the peak ever since the modern world is born.
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