Answer to Question 1
The United States has a population of about 280 million. The world population is
approximately 6 billion. So, 6 billion times 57 GJ is 342 EJ, which is the current world use,
while if everyone were consuming at the U.S. consumption rate of 300 GJ per person this
Answer to Question 2
In Bt corn, the additional genetic material works against the European corn borer
by creating a protein that kills borer larvae. There are several problems. First, evolution will
eventually lead to development of resistance in the corn borer. Second, the pollen from the
Bt corn can drift and affect nearby corn crops.
In a controversial paper (Quist and Chapela, Nature, 2001; referenced in the book), it was
reported that Bt corn genes were transferred to other cops in Mexico. The paper generated
many critiques, but some of its main points remain still considered valid, even though the
publication withdrew it.
According to H. Hall, Bt corn: is it worth the risk?, The Science Creative Quarterly,
issue 2, Sept.-Nov. 2006, These benefits, real or imagined, have been used as leverage by
Bt corn proponents in the argument to accept what they argue are minimal levels of health
and environmental risk. Yet many consumer, civil rights, and environmental advocacy
groups characterize such arguments as industry propaganda, asserting that corporate
benefits should not out-weigh the undetermined human health, socioeconomic and
environmental risks. In the last analysis, we do not really know the risks, and proceeding
with Bt use is a reliance on hope that the designers knew what they were doing and that any
deleterious consequences will be minor.
How solar-energy power works
The Caribou Monument at the World War I Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
Good computer skills are now required to be a successful member of an office staff.
Permafrost: High albedo, reflects as much as 90% of the Sun’s energy
A History of the World's Religions
Animated The one-way flow of energy and cycling of materials in the world of life