Flash: It seems even renewable energy sources aren't immune to overuse by humans. Australia's Sydney Morning Herald reports on a study done by Austrian and German scientists that
...analysed data on land use, agriculture and forestry from 161 countries, representing 97 per cent of the world's land mass.
This showed humans used 24 per cent of the energy that was captured by plants. More than half of this was due to the harvesting of crops or other plants.
The report also finds that human use of solar energy in plants reduces the amount available to other species by 10 percent.
There is no mention in the article how detrimental to other species this 10 percent decrease is, which would, of course, put the findings into a bit more perspective.
Researchers are also warning that an increased use of biofuels like ethanol "should be viewed cautiously, given the potential for further pressure on ecosystems." Does Al Gore know about this?
An agriculture professor at the University of Melbourne, Snow Barlow, said the paper showed humans were taking up too much of an important natural resource.
"Here we are, just one species on the earth, and we're grabbing a quarter of the renewable resources … we're probably being a bit greedy."
Well, as we are the only species with the capability of planting and harvesting large tracts of land, the fact that we utilize the produce for ourselves should make sense. But self-loathing environmentalists would rather we go back to the stone age than admit such a thing.
Perhaps my broken lawn mower is broken a blessing in disguise!
