I'm about halfway through Dan Brown's newest blockbuster novel Inferno. The bad guy is obsessed that our planet's population is on an unstoppable trajectory that will result in a hellish existence of starvation and brutal fighting for survival - a good reason to want to unleash a 21st century Black Plague and sharply reduce the citizenry. I remember the stir The Population Bomb caused when it was published in1968. And there have been many others who predict the end of human existence due to our bad habit of reproducing.
But I do not worry a great deal about this. Why? Because I believe we will invent our way out of our most vexing problems. We desalinize ocean water, have nuclear powered electric plants, grow crops in deserts and breed fish in farms. We no longer worry that we will run out of whale blubber to light our streets or that the need for paper will destroy all trees on Earth.
Then again, maybe things won't be so great. I read this article that makes the case for insects (bugs) being one of the best hopes for a sustainable food source for the 9 billion people who will be sitting down to dinner in 2050.
Hey, are insects kosher? :-(
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