Yes, if present trends continue, by 2050 the world will be plowing under massive amounts of land for farms. Phosphorous and nitrogen fertilizer runoff will cause an explosion of algae in river outlets, killing off plants and marine animals. Habitat destruction would cause unprecedented ecosystem simplification, loss of ecosystem services, and species extinctions. Alas, if trends had continued last year with the Nasdaq, I might be wealthy today instead of looking for a 30-story building to jump from in a city with nothing higher than 13 stories. For better or worse, trends never continue.
Trends reflect underlying factors.
And the factors underlying farming and crop nutrients make clear that you needn t fear waking up in the morning to find a bag of fertilizer lying next to you. Schindler's list of horribles includes global warming, acid rain, hormone disruptors, species extinction, pesticides, PCBs, hydroelectricity, mercury and a shortage of frogs. He claims Canada may soon run out of fresh water, notwithstanding it's sitting on a tenth of the world's supply. Beyond that, the analysis flounders. Unlike Scary Study, FAO s nutrient forecasts are based on actual estimates of crop production by country for 34 crop categories.