CINXE.COM

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" > <channel> <title>Comments for Behind the Numbers: The PRB blog on population, health, and the environment</title> <link>http://prbblog.org</link> <description>The PRB blog on population, health, and the environment</description> <pubDate>Sat, 19 Sep 2009 17:02:16 +0000</pubDate> <generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3</generator> <item> <title>Comment on Fertility Rise for Richest and Climate Change Revisited by Mark Lauer</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=71#comment-473</link> <dc:creator>Mark Lauer</dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:49:24 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=71#comment-473</guid> <description>There seem to be serious problems with the Nature paper's conclusions anyway. See my guest post on the Stubborn Mule: http://www.stubbornmule.net/2009/09/baby-bounce/</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[There seem to be serious problems with the Nature paper’s conclusions anyway. See my guest post on the Stubborn Mule: <a href="http://www.stubbornmule.net/2009/09/baby-bounce/" rel="nofollow">http://www.stubbornmule.net/2009/09/baby-bounce/</a> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Comment on Fertility Rise for Richest and Climate Change Revisited by Anna Gallés</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=71#comment-457</link> <dc:creator>Anna Gallés</dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:34:53 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=71#comment-457</guid> <description>There are many other demographic shifts that affect the environment, for sure. But it is true that population size, by itself, is a huge issue. Accelerated human population growth always puts pressure onto ecosystems. The plans of converting into farmland vast extensions of African savannah and Brazilian rainforest are examples that show how our ever increasing need for resources, is depleting biodiversity. I wish our species was responsible enough to maintain reasonable population levels - or will we act as lemmings?</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[There are many other demographic shifts that affect the environment, for sure. But it is true that population size, by itself, is a huge issue. Accelerated human population growth always puts pressure onto ecosystems. The plans of converting into farmland vast extensions of African savannah and Brazilian rainforest are examples that show how our ever increasing need for resources, is depleting biodiversity. I wish our species was responsible enough to maintain reasonable population levels - or will we act as lemmings? ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Comment on “Like a Wave on Top of a Tsunami”: Have the Food Price and Financial Crises Increased World Hunger and Malnutrition? by Craig H</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-442</link> <dc:creator>Craig H</dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:33:23 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-442</guid> <description>Charles - the INDEPTH network of DSSs comes to mind, but they are not currently conducting systematic food insecurity (or nutrition security) assessments (or at least I don't think they are). I am a little less convinced about dietary diversity as a measure, but I certainly agree with your point about the use of several unique indicators of nutr security. Just think how much we would know about the 2007/8 food crisis had such a system had been place last year. Best, Craig H</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[Charles - the INDEPTH network of DSSs comes to mind, but they are not currently conducting systematic food insecurity (or nutrition security) assessments (or at least I don’t think they are). I am a little less convinced about dietary diversity as a measure, but I certainly agree with your point about the use of several unique indicators of nutr security. Just think how much we would know about the 2007/8 food crisis had such a system had been place last year. Best, Craig H ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Comment on “Like a Wave on Top of a Tsunami”: Have the Food Price and Financial Crises Increased World Hunger and Malnutrition? by charles teller</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-441</link> <dc:creator>charles teller</dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:32:12 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-441</guid> <description>Craig, agree totally on the need for biannual monitoring of food insecurity, and I would add nutrition security also (often bimetrics produce more reliable data). There are other scales trying to capture the range of responses to crisis, including coping and resilience strategies, food, migration and asset-related. Using the DSS has been good for migration, mortality and nutritional measurements, but can also be attached diet diversity measurements. The FANTA website has some of these. Do you or others know of DSSs that do such measurements, and that could contribute to bi-annual monitoring? DSS also can capture the local and monthly variability in resilience, coping and local capacity to cope.</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[Craig, agree totally on the need for biannual monitoring of food insecurity, and I would add nutrition security also (often bimetrics produce more reliable data). There are other scales trying to capture the range of responses to crisis, including coping and resilience strategies, food, migration and asset-related. Using the DSS has been good for migration, mortality and nutritional measurements, but can also be attached diet diversity measurements. The FANTA website has some of these. Do you or others know of DSSs that do such measurements, and that could contribute to bi-annual monitoring? DSS also can capture the local and monthly variability in resilience, coping and local capacity to cope. ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Comment on “Like a Wave on Top of a Tsunami”: Have the Food Price and Financial Crises Increased World Hunger and Malnutrition? by Craig H</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-438</link> <dc:creator>Craig H</dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:23:39 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-438</guid> <description>"But do we really know the exact numbers of hungry and malnourished and the direct causal relationship to food prices, and now more recently the financial crisis?" Given the way that the FAO (and USDA) measure "hunger" I don't think we can know the answer to this. Moreover, if I understand the approach correctly, the current approach is bound to show that hunger increases whenever food price increases. This goes against much of what we know from anthropological studies showing that people employ a range of responses in the face of crises. These responses might buffer household diets from price increases (although they might generate other negative impacts on wellbeing). It seems time for an experience-based food insecurity scale to replace the Food Balance Sheet approach. It also seems timely to set up a global network of sites that monitor food insecurity biannually. The growing network of demographic surveillance systems (DSS)could potentially be used towards this end. If such a network was set up we wouldn't have to rely on economists' predictions about how price increases impact on wellbeing, we'd actually have real-time data. CH</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[“But do we really know the exact numbers of hungry and malnourished and the direct causal relationship to food prices, and now more recently the financial crisis?” Given the way that the FAO (and USDA) measure “hunger” I don’t think we can know the answer to this. Moreover, if I understand the approach correctly, the current approach is bound to show that hunger increases whenever food price increases. This goes against much of what we know from anthropological studies showing that people employ a range of responses in the face of crises. These responses might buffer household diets from price increases (although they might generate other negative impacts on wellbeing). It seems time for an experience-based food insecurity scale to replace the Food Balance Sheet approach. It also seems timely to set up a global network of sites that monitor food insecurity biannually. The growing network of demographic surveillance systems (DSS)could potentially be used towards this end. If such a network was set up we wouldn’t have to rely on economists’ predictions about how price increases impact on wellbeing, we’d actually have real-time data. CH ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Comment on World Population Data Sheet 2009 - 7 Billion People by 2011 by Eric Zuehlke</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=72#comment-435</link> <dc:creator>Eric Zuehlke</dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2009 19:57:54 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=72#comment-435</guid> <description>Hi Jeff. Population growth is indeed a cause for concern in terms of resource management and environmental degradation. But it seems to me that it's also important to recognize how factors such as urbanization, increasing consumption as standards of living (for some) increase, declining household size, and aging will affect the availability of resources. Some have argued that agriculture yields could still increase greatly, in a kind of second "green revolution" using available technology: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/map-food The question is, will it be enough? By the way, you may want to check out 2009 Population Clock to see how much population is increasing down to the second: http://www.prb.org/Articles/2009/worldpopulationclock2009.aspx</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[Hi Jeff. Population growth is indeed a cause for concern in terms of resource management and environmental degradation. But it seems to me that it’s also important to recognize how factors such as urbanization, increasing consumption as standards of living (for some) increase, declining household size, and aging will affect the availability of resources. Some have argued that agriculture yields could still increase greatly, in a kind of second “green revolution” using available technology: <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/map-food" rel="nofollow">http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200909/map-food</a> The question is, will it be enough? By the way, you may want to check out 2009 Population Clock to see how much population is increasing down to the second: <a href="http://www.prb.org/Articles/2009/worldpopulationclock2009.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.prb.org/Articles/2009/worldpopulationclock2009.aspx</a> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Comment on World Population Data Sheet 2009 - 7 Billion People by 2011 by Jeff Goldstein</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=72#comment-433</link> <dc:creator>Jeff Goldstein</dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:07:45 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=72#comment-433</guid> <description>It is hard to fathom what 7 billion people means. How much does the world population increase in a day? A week? A month? A year? Read this, it will just blow you away. It is posed as a 'challenge' but the solution is posted at the bottom: http://blogontheuniverse.org/2009/06/02/weekly-challenge-2-people-people-everywhere/ Then think of the resources that need to be made available to provide basic needs. Jeff Goldstein Center Director National Center for Earth and Space Science Education</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[It is hard to fathom what 7 billion people means. How much does the world population increase in a day? A week? A month? A year? Read this, it will just blow you away. It is posed as a ‘challenge’ but the solution is posted at the bottom: <a href="http://blogontheuniverse.org/2009/06/02/weekly-challenge-2-people-people-everywhere/" rel="nofollow">http://blogontheuniverse.org/2009/06/02/weekly-challenge-2-people-people-everywhere/</a> Then think of the resources that need to be made available to provide basic needs. Jeff Goldstein Center Director National Center for Earth and Space Science Education ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Comment on Fertility Rise for Richest and Climate Change Revisited by Geoff Dabelko</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=71#comment-418</link> <dc:creator>Geoff Dabelko</dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:43:51 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=71#comment-418</guid> <description>Great stuff Jason. Thanks so much for giving Revkin's column such a serious response.</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[Great stuff Jason. Thanks so much for giving Revkin’s column such a serious response. ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Comment on “Like a Wave on Top of a Tsunami”: Have the Food Price and Financial Crises Increased World Hunger and Malnutrition? by Gary Merritt</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-412</link> <dc:creator>Gary Merritt</dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:47:07 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-412</guid> <description>Charlie, Thanks for your excellent rapportage! That little was said about demography and family planning at the IoM/Kaiser 'workshop' is a fair indicator of the muddle in which we find ourselves in where applied sciences and public policy fail to join. Understanding and promoting human fertility regulation seems ever more rare in fora aimed at decreasing poverty and malnutrition. This crucial domain of causalities and concerns has fallen into a real funk - possibly retrievable but badly needing fresh infusions. Re following the 'causal chain' from shocks & volatility to malnutrition, I think volumes have been written over the past 70 yrs, including Jolly et al. w/in UNICEF. Best - GaryM</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[Charlie, Thanks for your excellent rapportage! That little was said about demography and family planning at the IoM/Kaiser ‘workshop’ is a fair indicator of the muddle in which we find ourselves in where applied sciences and public policy fail to join. Understanding and promoting human fertility regulation seems ever more rare in fora aimed at decreasing poverty and malnutrition. This crucial domain of causalities and concerns has fallen into a real funk - possibly retrievable but badly needing fresh infusions. Re following the ‘causal chain’ from shocks & volatility to malnutrition, I think volumes have been written over the past 70 yrs, including Jolly et al. w/in UNICEF. Best - GaryM ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Comment on “Like a Wave on Top of a Tsunami”: Have the Food Price and Financial Crises Increased World Hunger and Malnutrition? by tonyphuah</title> <link>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-399</link> <dc:creator>tonyphuah</dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:47:40 +0000</pubDate> <guid>http://prbblog.org/?p=70#comment-399</guid> <description>The causal web (not chain) is indeed complex, beyond our current knowledge to generalize it. I would suggest to study it case by case basis, using data to build quantitative model and simulate it to validate the model with historical behaviour. This allows us to test the hypotheses proposed. Then hopefully with the more cases studied, we can find out their common characteristics.</description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[The causal web (not chain) is indeed complex, beyond our current knowledge to generalize it. I would suggest to study it case by case basis, using data to build quantitative model and simulate it to validate the model with historical behaviour. This allows us to test the hypotheses proposed. Then hopefully with the more cases studied, we can find out their common characteristics. ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>