[Olpc-open] to bet, or not to bet

[Seth Woodworth]

Unfortunately, not much given the outcome of most online petitions.  But I
get your point and I agree with it.

XO = education = change

On Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 9:02 AM, John Kintree <jkintree at swbell.net> wrote:

> In 1980, Paul Ehrlich, the author of _The Population Bomb_,
> bet Julian Simon that prices of metal commodities would
> increase by 1990.  Ehrlich thought that the rapidly growing
> human population would soon exceed the life supporting
> capacity of planet Earth.  Simon argued that improvements
> in technology would increase the capacity of Earth's
> resources so that shortages and higher prices would not occur.
>
> Ehrlich lost the bet.  The prices of all five metals he picked
> were lower in 1990 than they were in 1980.
>
> In seven of the last eight years, including 2007 during which
> world grain production reached an all time high, world grain
> consumption has exceeded production.  World grain stocks
> are falling, and grain prices are now rising rapidly.
> See Chapter 2 data at: http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/data.htm
>
> There have recently been reports of regional shortages of
> fertilizer, and of farmers hoarding fertilizer to ensure
> adequate stocks for the next growing season.  There are
> also reports of farmers withholding rice from the market in
> order to sell at even higher prices in the future.  It is easier
> to manipulate prices during times of tight supply.
>
> All is not bleak.  One of the most encouraging things
> happening in the world these days is the One Laptop
> Per Child project.  Why is that encouraging?  What good
> does Internet access do for a child who does not have
> food to eat?
>
> In the marketplace, a penniless child has zero demand.  It
> doesn't matter how great the need might be.  In a monetary
> economy, having zero money means having zero demand.
>
> Suppose a petition was placed on the Internet to use the
> world's grain to feed children instead of using it to fatten
> cattle before the slaughter, and instead of using it to
> produce ethanol fuel for fat SUVs.  And, suppose we let
> children in developing countries use their XO laptops to
> sign their names to this petition.  Would that have any
> impact on the distribution of the world's grain?  Should it?
> vanguard,
> John Kintree
> 4043 Delor Street
> St. Louis, MO  63116
> 314-351-7454
> http://home.swbell.net/jkintree/islt/
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Olpc-open mailing list
> Olpc-open at lists.laptop.org
> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-open
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/olpc-open/attachments/20080301/01de1319/attachment.htm