| The Green Revolution: feeding the global population The Green Revolution is the term given for the amazing fact that we have been able to feed the large and rapidly growing population of humans on earth. World population has grown enormously and food production has kept pace with it. In 1975 the earth's population was 4 billion, today it is 6 billion. That's 2 billion more mouths to feed in just 25 years, and they are in fact fed. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization's per capita food production indices vary with weather, natural disaster, and civil unrest, but they are basically constant. Production has increased 50% in 25 years. A miracle, the green miracle of global food (also shelter and clothing) increase. That is the green revolution. Moreover, population growth, while slowing, continues, so we must figure out how this green miracle has happened and keep it going. To the extent there is evidence that the CO2 increase is a significant contributor (the Greening Theory), we don't want to do anything to reduce that contribution, such as slowing or stopping the CO2 increase. The risk is potentially enormous, including starvation on a global scale. And there is abundant evidence that CO2 increase is one of, if not the chief, of the many contributors to the green revolution: theory, experiment, and observation all concur. Most people assume that the green revolution is solely due to our own efforts, to technology. This is unlikely. Of course, people have struggled mightily to sustain the green revolution, and more struggle lies ahead. These struggles have certainly contributed to the revolution's success to date. The average yield of most crops in many countries has increased enormously during the past 100 years. There is no doubt that a lot of this increase is due to advances in agricultural technology. But it would be a big mistake to ignore the greening effect. In fact it is vital to determine the relative importance of technology versus the greening effect if we are to sustain the green revolution in the decades to come. Table of Contents Carbon Dioxide -- The Miracle of Food. Introduction to the Greening Theory. The Green Revolution: feeding the global population. Technology and the Green Revolution. Government Policy Toward Carbon Dioxide: why is it negative? A Huge Hole in the Climate Change Science. The USDA Should Lead Greening Research, but it is doing nothing. Outline of a Greening Effect Benefit and Risk Assessment. |