Feeding the masses in 2050

The recent release of 21 scientific documents which address the overpopulation problem misses the point.  It's a high-tech response typical of scientists.  They propose manufacturing synthetic meat to feed the expected 9 Billion people worldwide by 2050.

The documents do argue that dependence on oil and other fossil fuels must be reduced for the world food system to survive.  Also argued is the fact that select multinationals led by Monsanto are accumulating intellectual property to the disadvantage of the global commons.  This cannot bode well for countries already struggling to feed its people.

Technical solutions to the world food problem will not improve accessibility to even the basic staple foods, nor improve its quality.  Food will still need to be transported around the world and doing that without oil will be very difficult if not impossible.  Local food systems combined with a steady-state economy and a worldwide effort to live within the limits of our environment are the only way forward. At the rate we're going we won't make it to 2050 without a lot of pain.  Our sustainability plan is still "overshoot and collapse".

The importance of understanding the exponential function

In 8 parts, exponential growth is explained in simple terms. It's really worth watching all of them. I found the way he explains exponential growth through easy to grasp examples compelling. He's right that our inability to comprehend the significance of this mathematical function is our biggest shortcoming. It relates to every known problem on the planet (population growth, resource consumption, climate change..)