The Big Three of the 21st Century--Food, Energy and Water

Here at the beginning of the 21st century, the challenges are clear: the growing population is stressing the Earth's resources to the breaking point. The "big three" are Food, Energy and Water--whose initials ominously spell FEW. Looming shortages make human misery more likely as time passes without finding solutions. Will the 21st Century be known as the Century of Scarcity? Or will we find new technical, political and economic approaches to free humanity from want and discontent?

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Doing more with no more

One of the challenges of providing adequate food in the 21st century will be the development of new agricultural land. A ten-year-old publication of UN FAO estimated that 120 million hectares of new farmland would be required. It is hard to see how that could be achieved without an increase in the destruction of ecosystems such as rainforests.

One of the challenges of combatting hunger is preventing malnutrition caused by insufficient micronutrients in the diet. This letter in Science magazine suggests that the micronutrient problem could be addressed using available croplands. It is critical that its recommendations are implemented fully.
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