Earth Day then and now

[Byker]

13 Worst Predictions Made on Earth Day, 1970

By Barbara Boland

The 1970s were a lousy decade. Embarrassing movies, dreadful music and
downright terrifying clothes reflected the national mood following an
unpopular war, endless political scandals and a faltering economy.

Popular culture was consumed with decline, especially Hollywood. The Omega
Man, Soylent Green, Damnation Alley and countless other dystopian films
showed a planet wrecked by war, pollution and neglect. In large part, the
entertainment industry was reflecting the culture at large.

In 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated - okay, "celebrated" doesn't
capture the funereal tone of the event. The events (organized in part by
then hippie and now convicted murderer Ira Einhorn) predicted death,
destruction and disease unless we did exactly as progressives commanded.

Behold the coming apocalypse as predicted on and around Earth Day, 1970:

1. "Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action
is taken against problems facing mankind." - Harvard biologist George Wald

2. "We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of
this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation." -
Washington University biologist Barry Commoner

3. "Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to
enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and
possible extinction." - New York Times editorial

4. "Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small
increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at
least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the
next ten years." - Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich

5. "Most of the people who are going to die in the greatest cataclysm
in the history of man have already been born... [By 1975] some experts feel
that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger
and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more
optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur
until the decade of the 1980s." - Paul Ehrlich

6. "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation," - Denis Hayes,
Chief organizer for Earth Day

7. "Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim
timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread
by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa.
By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will
exist under famine conditions.... By the year 2000, thirty years from now,
the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and
Australia, will be in famine." - North Texas State University professor
Peter Gunter

8. "In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive
air pollution... by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of
sunlight reaching earth by one half." - Lifemagazine

9. "At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter of time
before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land
will be usable." - Ecologist Kenneth Watt

10. "Air pollution...is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of
lives in the next few years alone." - Paul Ehrlich

11. "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up
crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll
drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, 'I am
very sorry, there isn't any.'" - Ecologist Kenneth Watt

12. "[One] theory assumes that the earth's cloud cover will continue to
thicken as more dust, fumes, and water vapor are belched into the atmosphere
by industrial smokestacks and jet planes. Screened from the sun's heat, the
planet will cool, the water vapor will fall and freeze, and a new Ice Age
will be born." - Newsweek magazine

13. "The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If present
trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global
mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This
is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age." - Kenneth Watt

http://tinyurl.com/m5vgkx4

[Joe]

On Mon, 22 Apr 2019 15:51:14 -0500

Post by Byker
13 Worst Predictions Made on Earth Day, 1970

<snip stuff we've seen many times before, entertaining though it is>

"Prediction is always difficult, especially about the future." Whatever
happened to that hockey stick?

[David Hartung]

Post by Byker
13 Worst Predictions Made on Earth Day, 1970
By Barbara Boland
The 1970s were a lousy decade. Embarrassing movies, dreadful music and
downright terrifying clothes reflected the national mood following an
unpopular war, endless political scandals and a faltering economy.
Popular culture was consumed with decline, especially Hollywood. The Omega
Man, Soylent Green, Damnation Alley and countless other dystopian films
showed a planet wrecked by war, pollution and neglect. In large part, the
entertainment industry was reflecting the culture at large.
In 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated - okay, "celebrated" doesn't
capture the funereal tone of the event. The events (organized in part by
then hippie and now convicted murderer Ira Einhorn) predicted death,
destruction and disease unless we did exactly as progressives commanded.
1.      "Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate
action
is taken against problems facing mankind." - Harvard biologist George Wald
2.      "We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of
this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation." -
Washington University biologist Barry Commoner
3.      "Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to
enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and
possible extinction." - New York Times editorial
4.      "Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small
increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at
least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the
next ten years." - Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich
5.      "Most of the people who are going to die in the greatest cataclysm
in the history of man have already been born... [By 1975] some experts feel
that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger
and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more
optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur
until the decade of the 1980s." - Paul Ehrlich
6.      "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation," - Denis Hayes,
Chief organizer for Earth Day
7.      "Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim
timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread
by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa.
By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will
exist under famine conditions.... By the year 2000, thirty years from now,
the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and
Australia, will be in famine." - North Texas State University professor
Peter Gunter
8.      "In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive
air pollution... by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of
sunlight reaching earth by one half." - Lifemagazine
9.      "At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter of
time
before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land
will be usable." - Ecologist Kenneth Watt

Really illustrates just how little we know.'

Post by Byker
10.  "Air pollution...is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of
lives in the next few years alone." - Paul Ehrlich >
11.  "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up
crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll
drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, 'I am
very sorry, there isn't any.'" - Ecologist Kenneth Watt
12.  "[One] theory assumes that the earth's cloud cover will continue to
thicken as more dust, fumes, and water vapor are belched into the atmosphere
by industrial smokestacks and jet planes. Screened from the sun's heat, the
planet will cool, the water vapor will fall and freeze, and a new Ice Age
will be born." - Newsweek magazine
13.  "The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If
present
trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global
mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This
is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age." - Kenneth Watt

Aren't the same people now in a panic about warming?

[%]

Post by David Hartung

Post by Byker
13 Worst Predictions Made on Earth Day, 1970
By Barbara Boland
The 1970s were a lousy decade. Embarrassing movies, dreadful music and
downright terrifying clothes reflected the national mood following an
unpopular war, endless political scandals and a faltering economy.
Popular culture was consumed with decline, especially Hollywood. The Omega
Man, Soylent Green, Damnation Alley and countless other dystopian films
showed a planet wrecked by war, pollution and neglect. In large part, the
entertainment industry was reflecting the culture at large.
In 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated - okay, "celebrated" doesn't
capture the funereal tone of the event. The events (organized in part by
then hippie and now convicted murderer Ira Einhorn) predicted death,
destruction and disease unless we did exactly as progressives commanded.
1.      "Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate
action
is taken against problems facing mankind." - Harvard biologist George Wald
2.      "We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of
this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation." -
Washington University biologist Barry Commoner
3.      "Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to
enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and
possible extinction." - New York Times editorial
4.      "Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small
increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at
least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the
next ten years." - Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich
5.      "Most of the people who are going to die in the greatest cataclysm
in the history of man have already been born... [By 1975] some experts feel
that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger
and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more
optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur
until the decade of the 1980s." - Paul Ehrlich
6.      "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation," - Denis Hayes,
Chief organizer for Earth Day
7.      "Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim
timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread
by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa.
By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will
exist under famine conditions.... By the year 2000, thirty years from now,
the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and
Australia, will be in famine." - North Texas State University professor
Peter Gunter
8.      "In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive
air pollution... by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of
sunlight reaching earth by one half." - Lifemagazine
9.      "At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter
of time
before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land
will be usable." - Ecologist Kenneth Watt

Really illustrates just how little we know.'

Post by Byker
10.  "Air pollution...is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of
lives in the next few years alone." - Paul Ehrlich >
11.  "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up
crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll
drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, 'I am
very sorry, there isn't any.'" - Ecologist Kenneth Watt
12.  "[One] theory assumes that the earth's cloud cover will continue to
thicken as more dust, fumes, and water vapor are belched into the atmosphere
by industrial smokestacks and jet planes. Screened from the sun's heat, the
planet will cool, the water vapor will fall and freeze, and a new Ice Age
will be born." - Newsweek magazine
13.  "The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If
present
trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global
mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This
is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age." - Kenneth Watt

Aren't the same people now in a panic about warming?

no

[BeamMeUpScotty]

Post by David Hartung

Post by Byker
13 Worst Predictions Made on Earth Day, 1970
By Barbara Boland
The 1970s were a lousy decade. Embarrassing movies, dreadful music and
downright terrifying clothes reflected the national mood following an
unpopular war, endless political scandals and a faltering economy.
Popular culture was consumed with decline, especially Hollywood. The Omega
Man, Soylent Green, Damnation Alley and countless other dystopian films
showed a planet wrecked by war, pollution and neglect. In large part, the
entertainment industry was reflecting the culture at large.
In 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated - okay, "celebrated" doesn't
capture the funereal tone of the event. The events (organized in part by
then hippie and now convicted murderer Ira Einhorn) predicted death,
destruction and disease unless we did exactly as progressives commanded.
1.      "Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate
action
is taken against problems facing mankind." - Harvard biologist George Wald
2.      "We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of
this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation." -
Washington University biologist Barry Commoner
3.      "Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to
enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and
possible extinction." - New York Times editorial
4.      "Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small
increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at
least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the
next ten years." - Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich
5.      "Most of the people who are going to die in the greatest cataclysm
in the history of man have already been born... [By 1975] some experts feel
that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger
and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more
optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur
until the decade of the 1980s." - Paul Ehrlich
6.      "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation," - Denis Hayes,
Chief organizer for Earth Day
7.      "Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim
timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread
by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa.
By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will
exist under famine conditions.... By the year 2000, thirty years from now,
the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and
Australia, will be in famine." - North Texas State University professor
Peter Gunter
8.      "In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive
air pollution... by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of
sunlight reaching earth by one half." - Lifemagazine
9.      "At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter
of time
before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land
will be usable." - Ecologist Kenneth Watt

Really illustrates just how little we know.'

Post by Byker
10.  "Air pollution...is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of
lives in the next few years alone." - Paul Ehrlich >
11.  "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up
crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll
drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, 'I am
very sorry, there isn't any.'" - Ecologist Kenneth Watt
12.  "[One] theory assumes that the earth's cloud cover will continue to
thicken as more dust, fumes, and water vapor are belched into the atmosphere
by industrial smokestacks and jet planes. Screened from the sun's heat, the
planet will cool, the water vapor will fall and freeze, and a new Ice Age
will be born." - Newsweek magazine
13.  "The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If
present
trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global
mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This
is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age." - Kenneth Watt

Aren't the same people now in a panic about warming?

Liberals and Socialists suddenly wanted to turn garbage into cash and
they tried to do it by creating a new "religion" where they want to
recycle garbage, yet CAPITALISTS have been trying to re-use and repair
and and find ways to get rid of garbage for free, since the early days
of human existence....

The least energy expended was always good. So using the cheapest thing
is usually the trash and garbage from yourself (because it isn't
transported) and then the trash of others if they pay transportation
costs and finally by buying and shipping garbage when it costs less to
use than the new virgin material.


SO... *all EARTH DAY accomplished* was to introduce a bunch of Marxist
Communist types that don't understand money, to the world of efficiency
that's lived every day by most CAPITALISTS. ;)

[jim <""@mwt.net>]

Post by Byker
11. "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be
using up crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more
crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,'
and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"

This is the most important Earth Day fact

This statement was factually correct in 1970.
In the 100 years before 1970 the US had increased
its consumption of oil at a steady rate of 8% per year.
Had that trend continued for 50 years the US alone would
have consumed 100% of all the known oil in the world by
today.

But instead of the trend continuing, 1970 was the peak
year of US per capita oil consumption growth. As a
result of the change in behavior the trend reversed and
instead of consuming 100% of all known oil the US
has consumed less than 2% in the 50 years after 1970.

Many of the other predictions in regard to air and water
pollution and land degradation would also have come to
be, if behaviors had not changed and trends had
continued.

[Bud Frawley]

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Byker
11.  "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be
using up crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more
crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,'
and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"

This is the most important Earth Day fact
This statement was factually correct in 1970.
In the 100 years before 1970 the US had increased
its consumption of oil at a steady rate of 8% per year.

Bullshit.

[jim <""@mwt.net>]

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Byker
11. "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be
using up crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any
more
crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,'
and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"

This is the most important Earth Day fact
This statement was factually correct in 1970.
In the 100 years before 1970 the US had increased
its consumption of oil at a steady rate of 8% per year.

If the growth trend that existed in 1970 and earlier had continued,
there would be none left
Loading Image...

[Bud Frawley]

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Bud Frawley

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Byker
11.  "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be
using up crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more
crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,'
and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"

This is the most important Earth Day fact
This statement was factually correct in 1970.
In the 100 years before 1970 the US had increased
its consumption of oil at a steady rate of 8% per year.

Bullshit

If the growth trend that existed in 1970 and earlier

You lied about that trend.

[jim <""@mwt.net>]

Post by Bud Frawley

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Bud Frawley

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Byker
11. "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be
using up crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more
crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,'
and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"

This is the most important Earth Day fact
This statement was factually correct in 1970.
In the 100 years before 1970 the US had increased
its consumption of oil at a steady rate of 8% per year.

Bullshit

If the growth trend that existed in 1970 and earlier

You lied about that trend.

HA HA HA
Its only the knuckle-dragging goobers
that are not be able to extrapolate
where the trend would have gone
after 1970 had it continued unchanged:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opBFquHaHZU/Sq5VJnoDX2I/AAAAAAAAAEM/FMsxJ6vdW64/s400/4.6+barrels+per+year.png

[Bud Frawley]

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Bud Frawley

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Bud Frawley

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Byker
11.  "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be
using up crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more
crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,'
and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"

This is the most important Earth Day fact
This statement was factually correct in 1970.
In the 100 years before 1970 the US had increased
its consumption of oil at a steady rate of 8% per year.

Bullshit

If the growth trend that existed in 1970 and earlier

You lied about that trend.

HA HA HA
Its only the knuckle-dragging goobers

Your source is bullshit.

[jim <""@mwt.net>]

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Bud Frawley

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Bud Frawley

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Byker
11. "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we
will be
using up crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more
crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er
up,
buddy,'
and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"

This is the most important Earth Day fact
This statement was factually correct in 1970.
In the 100 years before 1970 the US had increased
its consumption of oil at a steady rate of 8% per year.

Bullshit

If the growth trend that existed in 1970 and earlier

You lied about that trend.

HA HA HA
Its only the knuckle-dragging goobers
that are not be able to extrapolate
where the trend would have gone

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opBFquHaHZU/Sq5VJnoDX2I/AAAAAAAAAEM/FMsxJ6vdW64/s400/4.6+barrels+per+year.png
Your source is bullshit.

Perhaps you should take the study course
offered by the source:
https://www.ektinteractive.com/book/oil-101-book/

[Keema's Nan]

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Bud Frawley

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

Post by Bud Frawley

Post by jim <""@mwt.net>

11. "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we
will be
using up crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any
more
crude oil. You'll drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er
up,
buddy,'
and he'll say, 'I am very sorry, there isn't any.'"

This is the most important Earth Day fact
This statement was factually correct in 1970.
In the 100 years before 1970 the US had increased
its consumption of oil at a steady rate of 8% per year.

Bullshit

If the growth trend that existed in 1970 and earlier

You lied about that trend.

HA HA HA
Its only the knuckle-dragging goobers
that are not be able to extrapolate
where the trend would have gone

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_opBFquHaHZU/Sq5VJnoDX2I/AAAAAAAAAEM/FMsxJ6vdW64/s4
00/4.6+barrels+per+year.png

That graph is misleading, as it shows oil consumption per capita, but fails
to mention that the worlds population has almost doubled from 4 billion in
the early 1970s, to close to 8 billion now.

Therefore a yearly consumption of 5.7 barrels multiplied by 4 billion = 22.8
billion barrels per annum.

The graph shows a drop to 4.6 barrels, which looks impressive until you
multiply that by 7.7 billion = 35.4 billion barrels per annum, which is an
increase of over 50% per year.

If there is no further increase in population (highly unlikely) we have about
45 years until it is all gone, but less than 30 years if consumption
increases at the current global rate.

Tell your young kids that they might be able to drive a fossil fuelled car
for about 10 years after they are old enough; but that will be it - assuming
they can afford $100 a litre by then.

[Byker]

Post by Bud Frawley

This statement was factually correct in 1970. In the 100 years before
1970 the US had increased its consumption of oil at a steady rate of 8%
per year.

Bullshit.

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=37053

[jim <""@mwt.net>]

Post by Byker

Post by Bud Frawley

This statement was factually correct in 1970. In the 100
years before 1970 the US had increased its consumption of oil
at a steady rate of 8% per year.

Bullshit.

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=37053

HA HA HA another knuckle dragging goober
Please have someone splain to you what "before 1970"
and "per capita" and "trend" means.

US per capita oil consumption peaked in the 1970s.
To continue the growth of consumption along
the same trend that it was on in April 1970 would have
required consuming all the worlds known oil by now

But the stupidest of people still think it is a good idea to
use up all the oil that is left as fast possible.

The predictions made on the first Earth Day were
predictions of what would happen if the then current trends
continued. If things had not changed after that first Earth Day
the dire predictions might well have come true.

For instance imagine what it would be like if air pollution
had contained to grow on the same trend it was on in 1970:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/11/energy-crisis-1970s-oil-shock-climate-change-opec
"The year 1973 became the historic peak year of US per
capita emissions: ever since then it has dropped. "

[JNugent]

Post by Byker
13 Worst Predictions Made on Earth Day, 1970
By Barbara Boland
The 1970s were a lousy decade. Embarrassing movies, dreadful music and
downright terrifying clothes reflected the national mood following an
unpopular war, endless political scandals and a faltering economy.
Popular culture was consumed with decline, especially Hollywood. The Omega
Man, Soylent Green, Damnation Alley and countless other dystopian films
showed a planet wrecked by war, pollution and neglect. In large part, the
entertainment industry was reflecting the culture at large.
In 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated - okay, "celebrated" doesn't
capture the funereal tone of the event. The events (organized in part by
then hippie and now convicted murderer Ira Einhorn) predicted death,
destruction and disease unless we did exactly as progressives commanded.
1.      "Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate
action
is taken against problems facing mankind." - Harvard biologist George Wald
2.      "We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of
this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation." -
Washington University biologist Barry Commoner
3.      "Man must stop pollution and conserve his resources, not merely to
enhance existence but to save the race from intolerable deterioration and
possible extinction." - New York Times editorial
4.      "Population will inevitably and completely outstrip whatever small
increases in food supplies we make. The death rate will increase until at
least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the
next ten years." - Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich
5.      "Most of the people who are going to die in the greatest cataclysm
in the history of man have already been born... [By 1975] some experts feel
that food shortages will have escalated the present level of world hunger
and starvation into famines of unbelievable proportions. Other experts, more
optimistic, think the ultimate food-population collision will not occur
until the decade of the 1980s." - Paul Ehrlich
6.      "It is already too late to avoid mass starvation," - Denis Hayes,
Chief organizer for Earth Day
7.      "Demographers agree almost unanimously on the following grim
timetable: by 1975 widespread famines will begin in India; these will spread
by 1990 to include all of India, Pakistan, China and the Near East, Africa.
By the year 2000, or conceivably sooner, South and Central America will
exist under famine conditions.... By the year 2000, thirty years from now,
the entire world, with the exception of Western Europe, North America, and
Australia, will be in famine." - North Texas State University professor
Peter Gunter
8.      "In a decade, urban dwellers will have to wear gas masks to survive
air pollution... by 1985 air pollution will have reduced the amount of
sunlight reaching earth by one half." - Lifemagazine
9.      "At the present rate of nitrogen buildup, it's only a matter of
time
before light will be filtered out of the atmosphere and none of our land
will be usable." - Ecologist Kenneth Watt
10.  "Air pollution...is certainly going to take hundreds of thousands of
lives in the next few years alone." - Paul Ehrlich
11.  "By the year 2000, if present trends continue, we will be using up
crude oil at such a rate... that there won't be any more crude oil. You'll
drive up to the pump and say, 'Fill 'er up, buddy,' and he'll say, 'I am
very sorry, there isn't any.'" - Ecologist Kenneth Watt
12.  "[One] theory assumes that the earth's cloud cover will continue to
thicken as more dust, fumes, and water vapor are belched into the atmosphere
by industrial smokestacks and jet planes. Screened from the sun's heat, the
planet will cool, the water vapor will fall and freeze, and a new Ice Age
will be born." - Newsweek magazine
13.  "The world has been chilling sharply for about twenty years. If
present
trends continue, the world will be about four degrees colder for the global
mean temperature in 1990, but eleven degrees colder in the year 2000. This
is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age." - Kenneth Watt
http://tinyurl.com/m5vgkx4

And all the oil was supposed to be running out by 1980.

[abelard]

Post by JNugent
And all the oil was supposed to be running out by 1980.

wrong calculation based on confirmed reserves....

the confirmed reserves keep being revised upwards as new fields
are found and new methods of extraction

here are my calcs from around 15 years ago:-
more at link

https://www.abelard.org/briefings/energy-economics.php
expanding demand and its consequences
Throughout this series of documents, I am referring to depletion rates
in terms of current usage. Unfortunately, the situation is far worse
than this.

All the following three factors result in faster depletion. (I am not
considering pollution elements at this point.)

expanding population
expanding usage
exhaustion of a particular form of fossil energy, for instance oil
“Worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide [...] are expected to increase
by 3.5 billion tonnes [...] annually by the year 2020. At the same
time, global demand for energy will rise by 40 percent as the world
population increases and economies grow, said Randy Broiles, global
planning manager for Exxon's oil and gas production unit.” [8]

2020 is 16 years away. Oil at current extraction rates is expected to
last approximately 40 years. Because of increasing demands, any
projected oil supply will run down considerably faster than estimates
based on current extraction rates. This is a compounding effect. The
quote above works out to a 2% increase in energy consumption each and
every year. With such an increase (very possibly underestimated), the
40 years immediately shrinks to 30 years.

It gets worse. As the reserves of oil fall, so the pressures on
available replacement fossil fuels grow in tandem. Thus, coal, which
is currently estimated at 200 years at current extraction rates, but
only supplies approximately 28.4% [9] of fossil fuel power, will come
under increasing pressure, so radically driving down that 200-year
reserve estimate.

It gets still worse. Remember that the EROEI for coal is, in general,
lower than that for oil. Therefore, more coal is required to produce a
given amount of energy, let alone if the coal were used to produce a
synthesised vehicle fuel substitute.