The UN just published their 2007 Global Environment Outlook.
In a phrase, it is “beyond depressing.” All 567 pages, or so, which I only uncritically and rapidly previewed. I already know it. So does everyone else. Let’s face it: Population size has surpassed Earth’s carrying capacity several times over. The atmosphere, oceans, rivers, and lands are all collapsing. Rising demand meets failing supplies. In the best of all possible scenarios, millions if not billions must die. Perhaps we will all die. Problem solved. In the meantime, population growth drives extraction and economic growth. Economic growth drives consumption, as well as our politics. Globalization simply accelerates the process. The oil is collapsing, so we start wars over the commodity that is killing us most. What can we do about it?