Too little land is available
Nearly a quarter of the energy processed by land plants is harvested by humans or lost due to our activities. In parts of the world where human activity is most intense,, more than half the energy processed by plants is appropriated by people.
Nearly a quarter of the energy processed by land plants is either harvested by humans or lost due to our activities, according to a global analysis of agricultural production. In parts of the world where human activity is most intense, such as Europe and southern Asia, more than half the energy processed by plants is appropriated by people. The figures ... indicate how difficult it will be to increase agricultural production to feed an ever-growing global population or find sources of biofuel to replace oil and gas.

The researchers used huge data sets from the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization on agricultural production in 161 countries and combined this with a global climate model, which predicted the natural productivity of different climatic regions if they were not converted to agriculture. 'We wanted to quantify the human domination of ecosystems,' said team member Karlheinz Erb at Klagenfurt University in Vienna. The results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

Source: Guardian
Immediately related elementsHow this works
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Anthropogenic Climate Change Â»Anthropogenic Climate Change
Responding to climate change? Â»Responding to climate change?
Immediate action required Â»Immediate action required
How to reduce the risks/impact of climate change? Â»How to reduce the risks/impact of climate change?
Radical restructuring of the energy sector Â»Radical restructuring of the energy sector
Generate energy from non-fossil fuel and renewable sources Â»Generate energy from non-fossil fuel and renewable sources
Bio-fuels Â»Bio-fuels
Bio-fuels from land crops Â»Bio-fuels from land crops
Ethanol Â»Ethanol
Corn-based ethanol Â»Corn-based ethanol
Too little land is available
Deforestation Â»Deforestation
Many biofuels are now grown on marginal land. Â»Many biofuels are now grown on marginal land.
Much marginal land remains un-cultivated Â»Much marginal land remains un-cultivated
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