ABSTRACT
This introductory section discusses the vitally important characteristic of the present world, namely, the tremendous rate of material and energy degradation causing the rapid depletion of natural resources and the destruction of our environment, including land. Section 2 reconsiders the views of two great minds, Liebig and Marx, who both had prophetic visions concerning the rate of material and energy transformation in modern agriculture and its negative effects on future economy. Section 3 gives a thermodynamic analysis of temporary emancipation from land during the Industrial Revolution in England, dwelling on the substitution of coal for wood, especially in the iron industry, and the growth of the cotton industry. Section 4 shows that, in the United States, temporary emancipation from land is due to the vast quantity of fertile land and the intensive consumption of natural resources, especially oil. This section shows that, even in the United States, the food safety margin will be reduced in the long term, thanks to the law of diminishing returns. Section 5 discusses the essential differences and similarities between farming and manufacturing processes so as to appreciate land constraint properly. Section 6 gives some concluding remarks.
