Sustainable Community Living

I’m reading this new book that was given to the entire staff of the White House. “Plan B” see it here http://www.earth-policy.org/

We don’t have time to screw around. For example, oil is now at $100 a barrel so the US has decided to start using its food…corn…as a fuel source. It takes more oil to produce a gallon of ethanol than it is worth! How_Much_Energy_Does_it_Take_to_Make_a_Gallon. What this all means is the price of food world-wide is growing exponentially!

• 2007 the US used 81 mil tons of corn and produced 8.3 bil gallons of ethanol. That represents 1/5 of the entire US grain harvest, but supplied only 4% of the US need for gas!!!

• World grain production has fallen short for the last 7 years.

• Corn has doubled in price and Wheat has tripled from 2005-2007.

• The grain required to fill an SUV just ONCE is enough to feed a person for a year!!!

• Grain production based on current technologies peaked in 1984. No country in the world has produced higher #s since that time. In fact it has fallen do to GMOs, water shortage and climate change.

• Crop ecologist estimate for each 1-degree rise in the temperature above normal during the growing season, we can expect a 10% decline in grain yields.
• The US produces 40% of the world’s harvest of corn and we only produce 22% of our own crude oil. We must import that oil to make food now. To get that oil we must stay at war. How does a country who is already trillions of dollars in debt stay at war?

Does this give you and idea of the world’s new reality?

Peak oil WILL drive peak food prices and not 10 years from now! It has been happening since 2005!!!