The population of North Wales is likely to become even smaller when the non-vegans move to Scotland in search of the the Aberdeen Angus!
I wonder what the formula used for that number is.
There are plenty of fertile areas in the world right now that are not used. It's the lack of protection and management.
One area of the article I take note with is the assumption that land formerly used for grazing cattle as " the lost opportunity for carbon sequestration that results from other forms of land use,".
Every cattle farm I have seen locally that has closed down was bought up by a developer and had houses built on it with few trees, and a lot of pavement. This has been true of other farms (Corn, tobacco, etc) as well, as the construction industry sees cleared land as most attractive for housing as no clearing is necessary.
I would have expected the world population around 1950 would have been sustainable. Just a guess from the state of the world at that time.
Every cattle farm I have seen locally that has closed down was bought up by a developer and had houses built on it with few trees, and a lot of pavement. This has been true of other farms (Corn, tobacco, etc) as well, as the construction industry sees cleared land as most attractive for housing as no clearing is necessary.
I would have expected the world population around 1950 would have been sustainable. Just a guess from the state of the world at that time.
Saw this this morning on the BBC:'Flexitarian' diets key to feeding people in a warming world
You get free access to the Nature article the article is based on by clicking the link on the BBC page.
You get free access to the Nature article the article is based on by clicking the link on the BBC page.
The australopithecines emerged the tropical forests of Africa about seven million years ago. The move was prompted by global climate change which, in Africa, turned jungle into savanna.
All the elements would appear to have been present for the rapid evolution of a potent brain, but for about five million years the australopithecine brain didn't grow and there is no sign they used the simplest of tools.
Homo habilis (handy man) was the first hominid to use tools and had a brain about 50% larger than that of the australopithecines, co-existing with them for over a million years before all the australopithecines mysteriously died out.
No persuasive reason has ever been advanced for why hominid brains suddenly began to grow two million years ago. In fact, big brains consume 20% of the body's energy and letting the brain go hungry would rapidly lead to death. A big brain needs more food and the aquisition of more food means more risk. Instead of being an advantage, a big brain could actually constitute a survival risk!
There is a school of thought that believes that the rise of a big brain may simply have been an evolutionary accident. However, it is part of our vanity as human beings that we tend to think of evolution as a process which was programmed to produce us.
This information has been adapted from Bill Bryson's excellent book 'A Short History of Nearly Everything'. I thoroughly recommend this book because of the entertaining way it covers the progress of scientific discovery from the dawn of the universe to the ascent of man.
All the elements would appear to have been present for the rapid evolution of a potent brain, but for about five million years the australopithecine brain didn't grow and there is no sign they used the simplest of tools.
Homo habilis (handy man) was the first hominid to use tools and had a brain about 50% larger than that of the australopithecines, co-existing with them for over a million years before all the australopithecines mysteriously died out.
No persuasive reason has ever been advanced for why hominid brains suddenly began to grow two million years ago. In fact, big brains consume 20% of the body's energy and letting the brain go hungry would rapidly lead to death. A big brain needs more food and the aquisition of more food means more risk. Instead of being an advantage, a big brain could actually constitute a survival risk!
There is a school of thought that believes that the rise of a big brain may simply have been an evolutionary accident. However, it is part of our vanity as human beings that we tend to think of evolution as a process which was programmed to produce us.
This information has been adapted from Bill Bryson's excellent book 'A Short History of Nearly Everything'. I thoroughly recommend this book because of the entertaining way it covers the progress of scientific discovery from the dawn of the universe to the ascent of man.
In all other primate species (I see no reason why we should be excluded) relative brain size is a quite accurate predictor of the size of the social group they live in.
Extrapolated to us that suggests a group size of about 150 and that number appears repeatedly in human social interactions. It is the size above which the Amish split a settlement into two and the average number of contacts in peoples phones or address books for example. It is also the estimated size of the group of humans which left Africa based on genetical variation.
Extrapolated to us that suggests a group size of about 150 and that number appears repeatedly in human social interactions. It is the size above which the Amish split a settlement into two and the average number of contacts in peoples phones or address books for example. It is also the estimated size of the group of humans which left Africa based on genetical variation.
I joined facebook very recently and very reluctantly in order to communicate with someone on messenger who has difficulty with other methods, don't ask me why, it's an awful place, honestly I hate it, there is nothing on my "wall". She is a bad vegan, vegans will know what I mean.....now because she has vegan friends, facebook suggests them to me all the time.....they all appear to be activists with a lot to say about you know what......jeez....I hate facebook...but sometimes you just have to look...like rubbernecking a car crash
I went in to the dentists today.
I asked how much treatment was.
He said, "We have 3 levels of treatment"
1/ £1000 and you get perfect teeth, no pain and no blood.
2/ £100 and your teeth will be a little twisted, some pain and a little blood.
3/ £10 and you teeth will be facing always, you will be screaming in agony and there will be blood up the walls and on the ceiling.
I said the 3rd options sounds ok.
I will send the wife in tomorrow !
Seriously SJ, I haven't joined Facebook for the reason you state. My wife sometimes brings things of community interest to my attention.
Did you see 'The Great British Bake Off /Episode 7/Vegan Week' on the TV?
The contestants were faced with difficulties - flavouring, collapsing cakes etc. How do your vegan friends cope with baking cakes?
Great British Bake Off: Vegan Week Round-Up - And Contestant Goes Vegan For October
Did you see 'The Great British Bake Off /Episode 7/Vegan Week' on the TV?
The contestants were faced with difficulties - flavouring, collapsing cakes etc. How do your vegan friends cope with baking cakes?
Great British Bake Off: Vegan Week Round-Up - And Contestant Goes Vegan For October
That provided a timely injection of humour Nigel - I was beginning to get quite down in the mouth!
That, admittedly is a downside I've found in my exploration, investigation of veganism, there appears to be no humour, or very little and what there is is very nasty on both sides of the argument. Re, the cake issue, a friend in Liverpool tried to make a carrot cake and failed dismally she said, but she also has borderline personality disorder, so that may have been part of the issue. I've also found from my own experience with vegans I've met that most of them have some kind of emotional health issue, I don't think this is a coincidence.
I personally don't have any vegan friends - but, then again, my friend base seems much smaller than yours!
My younger son has a friend who is vegan. We keep vegan burgers in the freezer for when he calls, which we supplement with whatever salade du jour is in the fridge.
He never complains, bless his little vegan heart!
My younger son has a friend who is vegan. We keep vegan burgers in the freezer for when he calls, which we supplement with whatever salade du jour is in the fridge.
He never complains, bless his little vegan heart!
My Vegan friends are generally nice unobtrusive folks who are underweight and with little muscle development (as is pretty normal for non farm folks who do no manual labor or excercise.)
My non-friend Vegans are of the proclaim it to the world type and I can think of a few who show the signs that if I saw them in a dog I would see it as malnourished; horrible body odor, bad doggy breath at a few feet and terrible skin/hair, along with being underweight and arms that look like spaghetti.
My vegetarian friends are pretty much all healthy and happy. The ones who became vegetarian during their early teenage years are not surprisingly a bit shorter than than normal and even their omnivore siblings.
Some of them admit to missing bacon! (Something I avoid!)
My non-friend Vegans are of the proclaim it to the world type and I can think of a few who show the signs that if I saw them in a dog I would see it as malnourished; horrible body odor, bad doggy breath at a few feet and terrible skin/hair, along with being underweight and arms that look like spaghetti.
My vegetarian friends are pretty much all healthy and happy. The ones who became vegetarian during their early teenage years are not surprisingly a bit shorter than than normal and even their omnivore siblings.
Some of them admit to missing bacon! (Something I avoid!)
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