tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post7766479510708384556..comments2023-06-07T09:04:36.390-04:00Comments on More Grumbine Science: Population density and climateRobert Grumbinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783453972811796911noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-65320053244249919882008-12-01T10:02:00.000-05:002008-12-01T10:02:00.000-05:00Jules: Yes, you have some more illustrations there...Jules: Yes, you have some more illustrations there of problems with aquifers. We don't see them respond, so don't worry about paving over 20-25% of Belgium, or compacting land. The paving over means that the ever-decreasing exposed area of soil get all the rain that would have fallen, plus all the runoff from the paving. It's equivalent to having higher rainfall rates. Soil only soaks up so fast, and then the rest runs off.<BR/><BR/>Kim: :-)<BR/><BR/>for4zim: My wife and I listened to Collapse on a long drive. If I remember correctly, the 8 million limit was from agriculture. That can be dodged by importing food. But it should be unsettling to see 8 million as a sustainable figure when there are over 16 million in the country.Robert Grumbinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10783453972811796911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-37141415442225092782008-11-28T06:19:00.000-05:002008-11-28T06:19:00.000-05:00For exactly this topic you might be interested in ...For exactly this topic you might be interested in the book by Jared Diamond, Collapse. Especially the chapter about Australia at one point mentions, that lower rain fall in Australia due to climate change might limit the population to a maximum of 8 millions.J. Zimmermannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16880423024219145955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-32189395567569074152008-11-27T23:26:00.000-05:002008-11-27T23:26:00.000-05:00The person wasn't concerned about the drought and ...<I>The person wasn't concerned about the drought and low river levels because "I don't get my water from the river, I get it from the tap."</I><BR/><BR/>My husband once overheard a conversation in which one person claimed he wasn't concerned about water because he was "more of a beer drinker" himself.Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738706550175991130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-16892665865275400272008-11-27T16:14:00.000-05:002008-11-27T16:14:00.000-05:00Coïncidentally, today there was a little message o...Coïncidentally, today there was a little message on my radiostation announcing that no less than 20% of Belgium's surface is planned as "building area". In my part (the Flemish one), it's even one quarter. In comparision : in Holland with an higher population density, it's only 10%, and in france +/- 5 %. <BR/><BR/>Clearly, this land-use causes problems, and the groundwater-level is decreasing almost everywhere because precipitation simply cannot infiltrate the soil anymore. Not just because of all the houses and roads. But also because of soil compaction on farming lands due to the use of heavy machinery like tractors. <BR/><BR/>If the levels keep decreasing, in future, even though our country has plenty of rainfall, problems could rise because the aquifers can't get refilled due to human activity.juleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08149218335071592373noreply@blogger.com