Future of the earth

Don't need a 'think-tank' to tell us this...

A US think-tank has warned that the 'Earth lacks the water, energy and agricultural land to allow China and India to attain Western living standards. The Worldwatch Institute said the booming economies of China and India are "planetary powers that are shaping the global biosphere". Its State of the World 2006 report said the two countries' high economic growth hid a reality of severe pollution. It said the planet's resources could not keep pace with such growth.'

If all nations were to use the same services enjoyed in developed nations, even the full extraction of metals from the Earth's crust and extensive recycling may not be enough to meet metal demands in the future, according to a new study. - via LiveScience.com

I have more links on the topics of our oil dependence and alternative sources of energy & Global Warming and other adverse effects on the environment at my other blog, which is more a compilation of links on various subjects than a blog.

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A kind of related blog post discusses projections on where Russia and developing nations like Brazil, India, & China, collectively grouped as BRICs will be in 2050. The Goldman Sachs report (Global Economics Paper No. 99), projects:

• In less than 40 years, the BRICs economies together could be larger than the G6 in US$ terms. By 2025 they could account for over half the size of the G6 - they are currently worth less than 15%. Of the current G6, only the US and Japan may be among the six largest economies in US$ terms in 2050.
• The largest economies in the world (by GDP) may no longer be the richest (by income per capita), making strategic choices for firms more complex.
• As today’s advanced economies become a shrinking part of the world economy, the accompanying shifts in spending could provide significant opportunities for global companies. Being invested in and involved in the right markets—particularly the right emerging markets—may become an increasingly important strategic choice.

In an article in The Business newspaper, Allister Heath draws attention to the newly-classified grouping of the Goldman Sachs paper. Allister Heath's main point is the way the European economies have tumbled down the league tables of competitiveness and attractiveness.

• Between 2000 and 2005, the Brics contributed roughly 28% of global economic growth in dollar terms and 55% when adjusted for purchasing power parity. Their share of global trade has now hit 15%, double its level in 2001. Trade among the Brics has also accelerated and now accounts for 8% of their total trade compared with 5% in 2000.
• The Brics now hold more than 30% of world foreign exchange reserves and account for 18% of oil demand. They take a 15% share of global foreign direct investment inflows, nearly three times higher than in 2000, and 3% of outflows, a sixfold increase since 2000.