Comments on: U.N. Warns Of "Silent Tsunami" Of Hunger

World Food Program Says 100 Million People Threatened By Crisis In Food Prices And Supply

[ubikvalis2]

Every 10 years now we add a billion new mouths to feed and it''s not slowing down that much. It doesn''t take a rocket scientist to figure out that with a finite capacity to grow food, sooner or later the demand for food will greatly outstrip the supply, and the skyhigh price of fossil fuels is greatly increasing the cost of growing food as well. What is happening today was clearly predicted in the 1970s but no one wants to listen until it''s a severe crisis. I can''t remember where this saying comes: "People only read the writing on the wall when their backs are up against it"

[s1ckd09]

Posted by actornaught at 04:08 PM : Apr 23, 2008

Funny... What lies am I swimming in? What global warming fact are you referring to? The fact that the earth is warming as it always has, on the same time period it always has, and by the same amounts it always has (actually less)? Or the fact that man''s contribution to global warming has never been proven, only hypothesized and proven wrong again and again by the same models used to predict it? The same models that don''t work when trying to reproduce past climate changes are supposed to be able to predict future ones accurately? The models that don''t factor clouds, and if they do, they are factored in as a positive feedback when the actual scientific experiments have proven them to be negative feedback mechanisms? Or are you still believing the proven ''facts'' of the fake polar bears, the fake scenes taken from movies, and other documented lies and distortions from Gore''s movie? Maybe it''s the discredited IPCC ''consensus'' that never existed you are relying on?

[rusmen]

Once again no one wants to listen to an actual farmer. We do not decide where our corn goes after it is sold! We are too busy trying to keep up with all that the urban society demands. If every one wants to blame farmers, why dont you all take over so you can do a better job. You figure out how to stretch our dollars they are the same as yours.. anyone in business for themselves is feeling this and it is not because of the price of corn or that corn is being used for ethanol! It is the oil companies. They are the ones trying to divert the facts to ag.

[rudy654-2009]

Wait till this overspending catches up to us..


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Posted by Quetzal0666 at 04:20 PM

That should be just about when our money is worthless and we can''t buy heating oil with it, and the only thing it''s good for is to burn in the fireplace.

[rudy654-2009]

Stop globalization, stop corporate farm subsidies, stop making ethanol from corn, stop energy bills which are disguised corporate welfare for big oil - just to start, and watch prices everywhere fall. Who set all this krap up in the first place? Don''t we wish we didn''t know?

[element51]

s1ckd09...I don''t disagree with you 100%. In fact I do know that the oil companies are an important part of the economy. And as for bio-fuels we are on the same page. When I first heard about ethanol and learned how it was produced I thought the idea was insane. I think that more now than ever. While most of what you say is basically true the fact remains that the price is not going to change no matter where the oil comes from. There are some interesting new things that have just come out that may enable us to drive our cars (of the near future) using compressed air instead of internal combustion. There are bugs to be worked out but it looks promising. And let''s not argue man, let''s just talk like we would over a beer. I ain''t your enemy.

[element51]

libsrweak...I never meant to imply the the US is facist. I still didn''t get an answer to my question. If the oil companies own the product they produce how will voting by the public change that? I''m not trying to argue with you and I appreciate that you took the time to respond to my post. Just one other question. Since when did what the American people vote for actually get implemented by the government? I can''t think of anything. But I have sure seen big business and special interest groups get their way.

[lovegetpeace]

Dear scottyusa and s1ckd09,
Sorry to disagree with you. Yes, overpopulation, global warming, starvation and desease are problems but these problems are caused directly or indirectly by Capitalism.

Let just Assume No Capitalism (greed). Without Capitalists, there would be:

1) No housing market. Population is constant and stable. No need to built more houses. Capitalism depends completely on builting new houses for the new generations.

2) Our Utilities companies (PG&E) would cover the Sonora desert with Solar panels regardless of the price of Oil and consumers will be happy to pay the required price. Remember, that if we succeed with Solar, oil demand will go down and therefore the price will go down.

3) Consumers will buy electric cars even when they cost more to purschase and operate than gasoline vehicles. Again, remember, that if we succeed with electric cars, oil demand will go down to almost zero and therefore the price will go way down. Also, no Global Warming.

4) If my neighbor is starving/hungry at no fault of their own, I would hand him my help ($$$).

The almighty forces of Capitalism make us selfish - we worry about my wallet and who cares about my neighbor/society/community/environment/nation.

Capitalism never includes the cost of that which requires sacrifice-more hard work by us.

It is civilization''s ultimate responsibility to survive/sacrifice at whatever the cost.

[s1ckd09]

s1ckd09...Answer this for me. If we allow the big oil companies to drill in wilderness areas and off shore, who will own and control the oil they find?

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Posted by Element51 at 03:49 PM : Apr 23, 2008

The oil companies will. What''s your point? Why don''t you ask yourself how much money the oil companies put INTO our economy? Where would our economy be WITHOUT the oil companies? Face it, energy drives economics, and energy companies are focusing on oil now because it is the safest, most dependable, cheapest, and most easily acquired source of energy. And if you don''t believe me, then you aren''t looking at the entire life cycle of energy production. Just read this article again! The idiots who think ethanol is any type of large energy solution aren''t thinking at all, and surprisingly, everyone seems to be finding that out now.

[quetzal0666]

cpaide ..

Theres Food Riots in Mexico?
Theres going to be food riots here before too long.
Wait till this overspending catches up to us..

[cpaide]

how is it that the philippines is the largest IMPORTER of rice in the world? they can''t grow rice in the p.i.?

this is nothing new: they''ve been starving for years. average ANNUAL income is what? $250 (that''s for a year--not a month).

back in 1995, the price of rice doubled, but no one rioted because the government handed out rice in the poorest neighborhood, as they do today.

sounds a lot like mexico, so no wonder we are inundated by illegals year after year.

[dogsoul]

This is the kind of thing that happens when liberal dogma meets its worst foe - reality.

Liberals - murdering children before they are born, starving them afterwards

[quetzal0666]

libsrweak...

and you really think your vote counts?

Its the Delegates who decide, and neither you or I
are Rich enough to qualify.......

[actornaught]

Posted by s1ckd09 at 03:34 PM : Apr 23, 2008

LMAO... you can tell when it''s after 3PM, the rushbots are in withdrawal and come here to practice retelling the pack of lies they''ve been swimming in.

Certainly ethanol production (that well pre-dates recognition of the Global Warming Fact), as a method as well as it''s place in the market, needs alot of work. Doing that work is part of the Free Market (remember that?). The push for ethonal is definately encouraged by the rising cost of oil.

[libsrweak]

s1ckd09...Answer this for me. If we allow the big oil companies to drill in wilderness areas and off shore, who will own and control the oil they find?


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Posted by Element51 at 03:49 PM : Apr 23, 2008
+ report abuse


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i think its easier to control the US Govt..than those dicatatorships in middle east and south america..
to control those..you have to send in troops..and delegates..

with the US govt all you have to do is VOTE..

(enough with the "US govt is facist" rant)

[element51]

s1ckd09...Answer this for me. If we allow the big oil companies to drill in wilderness areas and off shore, who will own and control the oil they find?

[element51]

s1ckd09...I think you have a point there. The problems are related. The truth is that ethanol is really not that much less polluting. As for global warming being related to atmospheric pollution or being a natural process the jury is still out. However, the effects are easily visible. There is melting taking place and there are other signs as well. There is no question that we are spewing out all kinds of pollutants into the atmosphere and that certainly can''t be helping things even if the warming is taking place naturally. It makes sense to cut back as much as we can on polluting the air so at least we are not speeding up the process. But ethanol is not the answer. We''re sacraficing part of our food supply for very little, if any gain.

[s1ckd09]

Folks,
Greed which is inherent in Capitalism is Evil. Farmers are switching to ethanol because they get more $$$ per acre. Who cares about cutting the supply of fruits and vegetables (food) to humans. Mr. Capitalism prefers $$$ over eating.

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Posted by lovegetpeace at 03:30 PM : Apr 23, 2008

I don''t have any facts on this, and since you don''t have any either, I can''t definitively say so, but I think you are flat out wrong. Farmers aren''t switching to ethanol based crops from some other crop because they make more money per acre. Corn is corn, no matter what you grow it for, and the only reason some would switch to a more profitable crop would be to meet demand for it. And where is the demand for ethanol coming from? AlGore? Do you want to answer this one? There''s only so much farm land being used, and now crops are being used to produce food AND fuel. Meanwhile, we still have massive amounts of oil in our own country that environmentalists and Democrats won''t allow us to touch that can serve no better purpose than to be converted to energy. How does this simple fact escape some people?

[scottyusa]

The root cause of all these problems is overpopulation. That includes global warming starvation and desease. There are 6 billion of us on this planet and we are straining its resources. That is the nail in the coffin. As others here have stated: greed is the hammer driving it in. No one should ever want for food. It is civilization''s responsibility to ensure that.

[s1ckd09]

It''''s the ethanol, stupid!
...Posted by crick1452 at 03:11 PM : Apr 23, 2008

okay, and what caused "the ethanol" ?

all together now: The cost of Oil... stupid...

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Posted by actornaught at 03:27 PM : Apr 23, 2008

You can''t possibly be that stupid... The cost of oil didn''t drive the push for ethanol, it has been the push to not use fossil fuels because of the man-made global warming myth. Can you find one single law that mandates the use of ethanol because of oil prices? No. But there are plenty of them because of all the people buying into the panic about global warming.