Malthusian catastrophe

A Malthusian catastrophe, sometimes known as a Malthusian check, is a return to subsistence-level conditions as a result of agricultural (or, in later formulations, economic) production being eventually outstripped by growth in population. Theories of Malthusian catastrophe are very similar to the subsistence theory of wages. The main difference is that the Malthusian theories predict over several generations or centuries whereas the subsistence theory of wages predicts over years and decades.

Application to Energy Consumption

Another way of applying the Malthusian theory is to substitute sources of energy for food and energy consumption for population. (Since modern food production is energy intensive, this is not a big jump. Most of the criteria for applying the theory are still satisfied.) Since energy consumption is increasing much faster than population and most of our energy comes from polluting and non-renewable sources, the catastrophe appears more imminent, though perhaps not as certain, than when considering food and population.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

See two articles on energy and population in Physics Today, November 2004, and following letters to the editor.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The most alarming aspect of this is pollution, as it appears possible that during the period when world population is declining due to shortages and crowding, pollution may be ignored by desperate, starving people to the point where the Earth becomes uninhabitable.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~