Some rationally optimistic thoughts from Matt Ridley are in this video. Consider this: when we compare the farm yields of the 1960s to the yields at the end of the 1990s, we find that conventional (aka intensive) farming has, in effect, saved 44% of earth’s land from going under the plow.
Tag Archives: Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves
The Food-Miles Dilemma
In Michael Pollan’s New York Times essay, The Food Issue – An Open Letter to the Next Farmer in Chief , he says, “[W]hen we eat from the industrial-food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases.” It would seem to be a no-brainer that local produce needs less fuel to get to marketContinue reading “The Food-Miles Dilemma”
Fried Green Sustainability
In the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, Cathy Bates waits for a parking space only to have it taken by two female twenty-somethings who blow her off with, “Face it lady, we’re younger and faster.” She rams her tank of a car into their tinier VW convertible. Bates’ parting shot is, “Face it, girls. I’mContinue reading “Fried Green Sustainability”
Deep Optimism About Today and Tomorrow
Matt Ridley spoke in March 2011 at the Long Now FoundMatt Ridley spoke in March 2011 at the Long Now Foundation. Dr Ridley was the science editor for the Economist and has written several books. The latest is The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves.. Ridley makes compelling arguments that for me made sense, and forContinue reading “Deep Optimism About Today and Tomorrow”
Can anything go right this year?
Haiti still reels from its earthquake from one year ago, Darfur and Somalia fester, the Korean peninsula appears to be close to war, unemployment near 10% has become endemic. Problems, crises, tragedies. Can 2011 be anything but a repeat of 2010? Over at the Rational Optimist Blog, Matt Ridley reminds us of the accomplishments ofContinue reading “Can anything go right this year?”
Nullius in Verba 