cwo_ghwebb
No Use for Donk Twits
An amazing man!
Norman Borlaug just turned 94 — and is still going strong. If "invention is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration," Norman Borlaug has lived Thomas Edison's maxim to the fullest — sweltering in corn and wheat fields of Africa, India, Mexico and Pakistan. At 94, the "Father of the Green Revolution" is still "an Energizer Bunny," says his daughter Jeanie.
When the Nobel Committee awarded him the 1970 Peace Prize, it said his work had saved a billion lives. Mr. Borlaug simply observed that "you can't build a peaceful world on empty stomachs and human misery." He later won the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal. No wonder.
While neo-Malthusians were predicting mass famine, Mr. Borlaug used Rockefeller Foundation grants to create sturdy "dwarf" wheat varieties resistant to destructive "rust" fungi, put less energy into growing leaves and stalks, and thus had higher yields. He also taught modern farming methods to Third World farmers and persuaded governments to lift price controls and permit the use of chemical fertilizers, thereby generating unprecedented harvests.
Mexico became self-sufficient in wheat by 1960, India and Pakistan soon did likewise, and Mr. Borlaug next helped China, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries achieve great success with wheat, corn and rice. In 1985, he began working with former President Jimmy Carter to bring a Green Revolution to Sub-Saharan Africa, emphasizing hybrids, biotechnology and intensive modern farming methods.
Unfortunately, their progress may be undermined by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and his misleadingly named Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Mr. Annan says biotech crops are unsafe, untested and likely to enslave poor farmers to mega-corporations and expensive seeds. He wants to battle Africa's chronic poverty and malnutrition with "traditional seeds" and methods.
Mr. Borlaug fears that would be a devastating failure, especially if the world relies more on biofuels. "Our planet has 6.5 billion people," he notes. "If we use only organic fertilizers and methods on existing farmland, we can only feed 4 billion. I don't see 2.5 billion people volunteering to disappear."
As folks like Kofi Annan and Al Gore thrust their visions upon us, we must consider the consequences and the unintended results of their utopian thinking.
In the office we were talking about the green building revolution sweeping the country. To qualify for a green home designation it almost has to be less than 1500 sq ft., requires CFLs (which bring up other problems), and uses faulty economic cost analysis to justify the dramatically increased costs. As one of our project managers said, "They'd prefer if most of the world's population died off and the rest lived in caves."
There are some good aspects of these programs, but the idea that all problems need to be solved 'comprehensively' without adequate consideration of all the consequences smacks of hubris.
Still feeding the world
Norman Borlaug just turned 94 — and is still going strong. If "invention is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration," Norman Borlaug has lived Thomas Edison's maxim to the fullest — sweltering in corn and wheat fields of Africa, India, Mexico and Pakistan. At 94, the "Father of the Green Revolution" is still "an Energizer Bunny," says his daughter Jeanie.
When the Nobel Committee awarded him the 1970 Peace Prize, it said his work had saved a billion lives. Mr. Borlaug simply observed that "you can't build a peaceful world on empty stomachs and human misery." He later won the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal. No wonder.
While neo-Malthusians were predicting mass famine, Mr. Borlaug used Rockefeller Foundation grants to create sturdy "dwarf" wheat varieties resistant to destructive "rust" fungi, put less energy into growing leaves and stalks, and thus had higher yields. He also taught modern farming methods to Third World farmers and persuaded governments to lift price controls and permit the use of chemical fertilizers, thereby generating unprecedented harvests.
Mexico became self-sufficient in wheat by 1960, India and Pakistan soon did likewise, and Mr. Borlaug next helped China, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries achieve great success with wheat, corn and rice. In 1985, he began working with former President Jimmy Carter to bring a Green Revolution to Sub-Saharan Africa, emphasizing hybrids, biotechnology and intensive modern farming methods.
Unfortunately, their progress may be undermined by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and his misleadingly named Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. Mr. Annan says biotech crops are unsafe, untested and likely to enslave poor farmers to mega-corporations and expensive seeds. He wants to battle Africa's chronic poverty and malnutrition with "traditional seeds" and methods.
Mr. Borlaug fears that would be a devastating failure, especially if the world relies more on biofuels. "Our planet has 6.5 billion people," he notes. "If we use only organic fertilizers and methods on existing farmland, we can only feed 4 billion. I don't see 2.5 billion people volunteering to disappear."
As folks like Kofi Annan and Al Gore thrust their visions upon us, we must consider the consequences and the unintended results of their utopian thinking.
In the office we were talking about the green building revolution sweeping the country. To qualify for a green home designation it almost has to be less than 1500 sq ft., requires CFLs (which bring up other problems), and uses faulty economic cost analysis to justify the dramatically increased costs. As one of our project managers said, "They'd prefer if most of the world's population died off and the rest lived in caves."
There are some good aspects of these programs, but the idea that all problems need to be solved 'comprehensively' without adequate consideration of all the consequences smacks of hubris.
Still feeding the world