Malthusian thought is dead, or at least it should be. There is still a lot of discussion to be had it seems, but the proof is here and its being implemented all around the world. Today I have a youtube series of proofs, focusing on water harvesting techniques in some of the dryest and harshest regions of India. This project was started in 2016 by PRIVATE INTERESTS, yes, a Bollywood star made a prize to dig holes, its crazy creative and a great story.
But first, what are we dealing with? Recently in Sri Lanka, the government mandated that everyone stop using chemicals, and now they are starving. Is this proof that we need chemicals? No, its just proof that governments are heavy handed. But that didn't stop Jordan Peterson from Retweeting this bad take:
https://twitter.com/HumanProgress/status/1652576268188000256
- HumanProgress
So let's start with the hole-digging, or 'construction of water-harvesting infrastructure:
From here, we move to a huge project, one of the biggest in the world, and we can keep seeing the successes replicating across India. And now, the government is putting some money and government programs to do what the private actors have proved can be successful.
In one of these videos, a lady farmer reveals that she increased her harvest enough in 1 year to completely pay for the digging of her retention pond, everything is profit from here on out for her. Without surprise, the presenters reveal that there is a wait list for farmers to get these holes dug with machines - they are so popular (NO GOVERNMENT ACTION NEEDED!)
Below, a guy who is working for 20 years, started on bare bedrock, and is now helping his entire village transform and be successful:
In this one, a village was actually dying - here is how they saved it:
These are real solutions that are being documented. They didn't start yesterday, a big push started 7 years ago but many projects have been around for longer. But it is safe to say that these good ideas are spreading, because they work and they are profitable.
They reduce input costs, protect the people and biodiversity, and make their lives and livelihoods more resilient to anything that comes, including climate change.
This can even have an impact on urban areas:
Obviously there is a lot of work that needs to be done around the world, but we literally have the capacity to increase arable land around the world. Every single worry point for malthusian alarmists is solveable, but these strategies which, while technical and quite effective, do not require data connectivity or copper wires (or even lithium!) to construct.
The Western World seems to think that they are the pinnacle of civilaztion (which they honestly might have been in 2006), but they are quickly falling behind the 'next agricultural revolution' (although many private projects do exist in the west).
As the world increasingly changes, some positive and some negative, I think that food and water security are going to be more important than ever for countries around the world. A country that needs to import food will be at a great disadvantage in front of areas producing a surplus.
The best way to permanently produce surplus is not monoculture. The numbers look good until you account for degrading the soil. This is reality, I didn't make it up. Ignore at your own peril.