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Turn the entire of the Midlands into an agricultural area that feeds the entire UK.
... With a population of 5 - 10 million we could devote enough land to energy production to maintain our current standard of living with renewables, and still have enough area to grow all the food we need.
At that point Britain becomes an allotment for an overpopulated neighbouring country with a bigger armed forces.
Quote from: alancalverd on 08/05/2015 23:58:00... With a population of 5 - 10 million we could devote enough land to energy production to maintain our current standard of living with renewables, and still have enough area to grow all the food we need.At that point Britain becomes an allotment for an overpopulated neighbouring country with a bigger armed forces.
Quote from: RD on 09/05/2015 02:00:24Quote from: alancalverd on 08/05/2015 23:58:00... With a population of 5 - 10 million we could devote enough land to energy production to maintain our current standard of living with renewables, and still have enough area to grow all the food we need.At that point Britain becomes an allotment for an overpopulated neighbouring country with a bigger armed forces.Like, say, Canada, Australia, Kenya, New Zealand, Italy, or any other food-exporting country. Did I suggest reducing the size of the military? I think not. Right now, we have the smallest proportion of the population under arms for over a century, and if 150,000 personnel are sufficient to defend the borders whilst rearranging the rubble in Iaq and Afghanistan, I se no reason to reduce the number.And remember that there won't necessarily be any surplus to export. I'm looking for complete, sustainable selfsufficiency, unlike the present where the entire country is hostage to Saudi Arabia and Russia and the price of food is determined by the least efficient farmer in France.
self efficiency is what I was aiming at with my post, although you explained a lot of Britain is agriculture sufficient I personally do not observe this.
I have many open areas of country side around where I live, these fields are empty of food and cattle where this land should be flourishing.
When you say "Japan" I presume you mean "Japanese politicians, economists and business owners", not the emancipated women who have decided to live their own lives rather than raise children to make statistics for other people.
Quote from: Thebox on 09/05/2015 09:43:05self efficiency is what I was aiming at with my post, although you explained a lot of Britain is agriculture sufficient I personally do not observe this.No I didn't. We cannot grow enough food to feed the present population, and you would need to convert about half the cultivable land to fuel production in order to maintain an acceptable standard of living for the population that could be fed on the remainder. This puts the upper limit of sustainable population at not more than 10,000,000, or about half that if you want to eat farmed animal meat. QuoteI have many open areas of country side around where I live, these fields are empty of food and cattle where this land should be flourishing.Blame the European Union for paying farmers to grow nothing (remember its objective is to sustain market prices and business statistics, not people) . Or consider whether the land is zoned for building, intentionally fallow as part of a crop rotation, subject to purchase negotitations, too prone to flooding, set aside as a nature reserve or parkland, or polluted. Pretty much every bit of the UK that can be farmed for profit, is.
How much are willing to pay for this food? And how well do you like cabbage?
Given the validity of your opinions on physics, I very much doubt the accuracy or relevance of your observations of agriculture. The bloke who owns the fields around my house isn't a corporation. Right now they aren't all under crop because he leaves some to grow weeds for a year then turns pigs and sheep out to mulch them........
We strike a deal, as has been done between farmers and consumers since civilisation began. As for cabbage, thanks to modern (i.e. post-1200) farming methods, he doesn't grow the same crop in every field every year. In fact there are several other farms nearby and around the world willing to supply just about anything you can eat, but to save having to negotiate with all of them, I visit markets and shops, wherein knowledgeable traders have made what we call wholesale deals with such productive gentlefolk, and arranged to bring a veritable selection of foods to my attention. We exchange money for goods, pretty much as you do on your planet. If we move towards sustainability by reducing the population, I think the price of food will decrease and its availability will increase. And before you ask "who will work the land?" it's worth looking at a simple fact: 80% of the Ugandan population works on the land, which is fertile, well watered, and never frozen. There are always shortages of food in Uganda. About 2% of the UK population works on the land, some of which is fertile and well watered but much is prone to flood, drought, and freezing. The supermarket shelves are groaning under the weight of food. Modern farming uses machines, not people.
I mention cabbage because I think it might be difficult to get people to revert back to a traditional seasonal diet where certain fruits and vegetables aren't available year round. England wouldn't be as bad as Canada, but I don't think you'll be growing bananas or coffee. I suppose you could grow some fruits and vegetables in green houses, but that's expensive and has an energy cost. You'd need huge tariffs to prevent people from importing cheaper food.
For what it's worth, UK calorific intake has actually decreased since 1950, but the universal adoption of home insulation and central heatig has reduced our calorific demand even more. All my contemporaries remember being cold as children