Climate Code Red

[vtsnowedin]

The world grain surplus per capita, as it stands now, is reducing and not just due to increasing population. There has been a reduction in crop yield over the last few years and it won't take much disruption to remove it completely. OK we have a tremendous amount of food wastage in the west and we are putting 10% biofuel into our road fuel but it would take a huge effort to remove this and shift it to the hungry world. This means food shortages are just one more failed harvest away.

Europe would bear the brunt of any mass migration of the starving as we are only a short sea trip away and in many cases just a bus ride away. The US, which is a major cause of much of the problem, is insulated from much of this mass migration by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The comparatively small migration that they have through Mexico is nothing compared the the flood that will come overland inot Europe.

If it comes down to that even the civilized Europeans will shoot to kill at the borders to keep from being over run.

[marknorthfield]

Private Eye are quite good (this is an understatement in the time-honoured English style).

Private Eye are very good with issues like tax and corruption, but their scientific side is more mixed, particularly when it comes to energy and climate. Their 'keeping the lights on' columnist only seems to focus on the upfront cost, and as such is regularly scathing about both nuclear and renewables. Conventional fossil fuels seem fine by him/her. Climate change and longer term costs rarely get a mention.

[RenewableCandy]

Feck yes I forgot about Old Sparky. Yes that stuff really does seem to be being written by 20th Century Man.

Oh and who's finished the (world's only smutty cryptic!) Crossword 2 issues running now ?