La situazione mondiale in materia di energia, materie prime, ambiente e alimentazione

Energy, Raw Materials, Environment and Nutrition in the Contemporary World (by Luigi Costato) - In the last few decades the expansion of scientific knowledge has been responsible for an increase in the productive capacity of some lands and the sterilisation of others, the growth of the world’s population, and food shortages. An additional problem is that food is distributed badly. Food consumption and energy usage are set to soar to such an extent that coal and petrol resources, as well as renewable ones, will be unable to satisfy the increasing demand. Hence the need to reassess the usage of nuclear energy, step up research on new, clean energy sources, and optimise the practical applications of currently available knowledge. Yet, the idea of using agricultural products to obtain clean energy may be just a partial solution to the problem, as agriculture can only integrate other, quantitatively more important sources. With the world’s population set to rise an increase in the demand of food is likely; if agriculture has to provide both food and energy it will probably exceed its capabilities. A different approach to interstate relations and a revision of the concept of sovereignty become thus necessary. We must close the gap that divides the peoples of the world and invest in developing areas. At the same time, we need to avoid wasting resources in the richest countries. As well as taking on board new scientific discoveries we must rebuild man’s psychophysical equilibrium, which includes his moral and religious choices, in the industrialised world, while preserving it in the developing one. This contradicts neither research nor new technologies, but calls for their fulfilment without further disruptions to either the environment or man’s way of life.

Luigi Costato, La situazione mondiale in materia di energia, materie prime, ambiente e alimentazione in "AGRICOLTURA ISTITUZIONI MERCATI " 3/2007, pp 13-23, DOI: