The shadow of the world's future, or The earth's population possibilities & the consequences of the present rate of increase of the earth's inhabitants

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1775636852

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-164018

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Knibbs, George Handley http://d-nb.info/gnd/1045010944

Title:: The shadow of the world's future, or The earth's population possibilities & the consequences of the present rate of increase of the earth's inhabitants

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Ernest Benn Limited

Year of publication:: (1928)

Scope:: 131 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2021

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter III. Man's agricultural, forestal and animal needs

Collection:: Economics Books

34 THE SHADOW OF THE WORLD'S FUTURE the Census of 1920 was sufficiently comprehensive to enable a calculation of high value to be made of the possible future. The areas for cities and villages will change from 10 to 20 million acres, for public roads from 18 to 25, for the railroad right-of-way from 4 to 6 millions, while the desert will be reduced from 40 to 39. Thus, according to Mr Baker, the area for agriculture can be increased from 503 to 8co million acres, in round numbers say about 60 per cent. It follows that on the present lines of human development the ultimate increase in the yields of agriculture can attain only to the same amount. How far the sciences of chemistry and physics and the technology of agri- culture can advance this increase, is a point which will be dealt with later. The way in which the estimate touches the problem generally will also be considered hereinafter. Here it may be mentioned that there are large areas in South America, in Africa, in Russia-in-Asia, and in Australia, which could be agriculturally developed provided certain conditions were fulfilled. "These con- ditions are of a varied character. For example in South America the physical and economic difficulties of conquering the regions drained by the great river- systems, and of dealing with the tropical growths therein, are enormous. They will involve the posses- sion of certain characters in the populations intend- ing to occupy them, such as courage, pertinacity and intelligence, that are not readily found in suit- able combinations. The expenditure of considerable amounts of capital is probably also involved, and there are other economic difficulties to be faced. These operate to limit the utilisation of areas which contain necessary physical elements for an advance in the world’s total agricultural effort. Similar remarks apply to South Africa, and indeed Africa generally, and mutatis mutandis to Australia.

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: The shadow of the world's future, or The earth's population possibilities & the consequences of the present rate of increase of the earth's inhabitants

Monograph

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation