How to save the world? A global journey into making our lives better…

In our previous post about peak oil I introduced the concept of finite resources which may be a limit to growth, and described how important oil has become to our civilisation. What will happen if dramatic actions are not taken in order to address the increasingly limited availability of oil and other fossil fuels? The consequences of scarcity of oil will be dire. Basic market laws of supply and demand indicates that the decrease in production will lead to higher oil prices, and therefore higher price on all of the goods and service which heavily depend on oil, as I detailed in one my precedent posts.

As cost will keep rising and consumer’s disposable income will keep decreasing, we will witness slower growth at first, followed by foreclosures, recession, depression, inverted rural flight and a potential collapse of governments and financial systems.

Throughout history, the richness and health of their soils has made the underlying power or utter downfall of nations and empires^[1]. Over the past century mankind has witnessed an increasing trend towards top soil depletion^[2], threatening the very basis of our complex societies^[3].

“Soil erosion is second only to population growth as the biggest environmental problem the world faces,” said David Pimentel, professor of ecology at Cornell. “Yet, the problem, which is growing ever more critical, is being ignored”^[4]. It has nowadays reached a point where, to save the world from agricultural collapse, an in-depth rethink of soil management in view of sustainably improving soil fertility is needed.

I have already exposed in previous posts how good agricultural practices, including natural farming and the preservation of untouched spaces could contribute to a more fertile land. Today I want to discuss weeds.

I like Hans Rosling. The following presentations are properly jaw-dropping. He takes the old myths about poverty in the world and shine a new light on them.