Key Points

One of the toughest things for people to do is to anticipate sudden change Typically we project the future by extrapolating from trends in the past, most of time it works in our favor but sometimes it fails and is a huge catastrophe even though we could tell it was about to happen we kept doing what we was during ignoring the consequence We are so inured to a long list of highly unlikely catastrophes that we are virtually programmed to dismiss them all with a wave of the hand The combined effects of these trends and the political tensions they generate point to the breakdown of governments and societies global agricultural population environmental and economic trends and their interactions Food shortages could bring down not only individual governments but also our global civilization. In six of the past nine years world grain production has fallen short of consumption, forcing a steady drawdown in stocks As demand for food rises faster than supplies are growing, the resulting food-price inflation puts severe stress on the governments of countries already teetering on the edge of chaos. Unable to buy grain or grow their own, hungry people take to the streets States fail when national governments can no longer provide personal security, food security and basic social services such as education and health care Failing states are of international concern because they are a source of terrorists, drugs, weapons and refugees, threatening political stability everywhere Somalia, number one on the 2008 list of failing states, has become a base for piracy Iraq, number five, is a hotbed for terrorist training Afghanistan, number seven is the worlds leading supplier of heroin If the system for controlling infectious diseasessuch as polio, SARS or avian flu breaks down, humanity will be in trouble During the second half of the 20th century, grain prices rose dramatically several times In 1972, for instance, the Soviets, recognizing their poor harvest early, quietly cornered the world wheat market. As a result, wheat prices elsewhere more than doubled, pulling rice and corn prices up with them In contrast, the recent surge in world grain prices is trend-driven, making it unlikely to reverse without a reversal in the trends themselves

Summary of AUTHORs main point

This article tells about the negatives of polluting our world and how environmental protection should be raised. An if that is to be risen the life of all humans would change would because the prices on consumer goods would drop which will make living in third world countries better because they can afford foods for their families. Also it talks about the way we grow crops and how monocultures arent a successful way to do things. Theres a Plan A and a Plan B for use to be on the good side of mother nature and not its bad side.

Reaction paragraph to the article

Reading this article had me thinking about why do we do thinks like this even though theres a better more efficient way to them. Yes. I know that money is always an issue facing changes in the world but if its a global/worldly change should there really be a price on it. When I was reading this article Plan B stuck out to me a lot the four comments that can help out our plant in huge way. 1) A massive effort to cut carbon emissions by 80 percent from their 2006 levels by 2020. 2) The stabilization of the worlds population at eight billion or fewer by 2040, 3) the eradication of poverty, and 4) the restoration of the planets forests, soils and aquifers. Completing these few but very hard tasks will have a major impact on the world in a positive way and we are not far from completing these task we have already replaced fossil fuels with renewables for electricity and heat. Planted trees to reduce flooding, conserve soil, sequester carbon and halt net deforestation. We have offered universal basic health care, reproductive health care and family planning, and recycle wastewater to raise its productivity.

So what?

Says who?

No on wants to live in a dump in a landfill in Lester R. Brown a place unsanitary but that is exactly what we are turning our plant into is everyone on earth hypocritical or just lazy to step up to change?

What if...?
We never had pollution, war, hunger or a maybe industrialization in any country the plant would be a better place hands down

What does this remind me of?

It reminds me of every signal go green/help the plant/plant a tree organization how it tells us what we are doing wrong and how we change it