Demographic Destiny

When Norman Borlaug died recently at the age of 95, his obituary included one of the most extraordinary claims that any human could ever possibly make.  Because of the “Green Revolution” that he pioneered, the ability of this planet to produce food to support the human population was dramatically increased.  The use of fertilizers and pesticides and simple changes in practices taken together probably meant that at least a billion people were alive because of Prof. Borlaug that would not have otherwise been.

It sounds great, unless you start to think about the resources that all those people consume.  But what if, in the end, it all worked itself out and we didn’t devour this planet like a giant swarm of very smart locusts?  That may actually be what winds up happening, if just a bit beyond the lifespan of the brilliant Prof. Borlaug.

All Politics is Local

Tuesday is Election Day here in Saint Paul.  It hasn’t been an exciting election, but that only figures.  As the economic situation continues, there’s little for local governments all across the nation to do but settle in for a long siege.  There’s a good reason for this.

Helical Waves

I’ve been thinking about waves lately.  Waves as a concept, waves as a constant, waves as the continuity that ties so many things that don’t seem related together.  This is one of those columns that might not make a lot of sense, but I hope you can bear with me.  It’s a dark fall day outside, deep under the clouds that sprinkle a little bit of rain down on us.  Our hemisphere is tilting away from the sun and we all know from experience what’s coming.  It’s one of those daze.

Skills

It’s one thing to preach the values of keeping your eyes open and your mind awake to the endless possibilities of the world.  It’s often quite another to learn how to do this.  As a father, I’m constantly aware my duty to not only teach my children but teach them how to keep learning every moment that life happening around them.  I’ve decided that there are a few simple things in their lives which will exercise their intuition in a way that opens up their intellect to the possibilities of the world.

Reboot

It happens all the time.  You are working away, doing absolutely nothing wrong, but deep inside the system there is an unseen flaw.  Everything starts to bog down, and eventually you see it’s come to a screeching halt.  The only choice you have is to reboot, a three-fingered salute done with either a flourish or a quiet sigh of desperation.  You’ve all been there at some point on a computer, but it can also happen with elaborate planning processes.

The time has come to reboot the Central Corridor in Saint Paul.