Eating Fossil Fuels examines the interlinked crises of energy and agriculture and highlights some startling findings

The miracle of the Green Revolution was made possible by cheap fossil fuels to supply crops with artificial fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation. Estimates of the net energy balance of agriculture in the United States show that ten calories of hydrocarbon energy are required to produce one calorie of food. Such an imbalance cannot continue in a world of diminishing hydrocarbon resources.

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clipped from www.theoildrum.com Eating Fossil Fuels examines the interlinked crises of energy and agriculture and highlights some startling findings: The worldwide expansion of agriculture has appropriated fully 40 percent of the photosynthetic capability of this planet. The Green Revolution provided abundant food sources for many, resulting in a population explosion well in excess of the planet’s carrying capacity. Studies suggest that without fossil fuel-based agriculture, the United States could only sustain about two-thirds of its present population. For the planet as a whole, the sustainable number is estimated to be about two billion.