Despite being so incredibly wrong, Malthus lives on in the hearts of so many otherwise smart, educated people. Perhaps the following link to a current Wall Street Journal article might persuade those fixed-pie believers to think a bit more broadly.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-population-bomb-was-a-dud-1525125341Re: the scarcity of water and prioritizing human use/food production over irrigating turf grass, CA, the laboratory of "progressives", has determined that tiny fish species and other such critters are far more important than agriculture, resource development, and golf. With all the dire predictions of "climate change" and rising sea levels, perhaps we can marry those fears to the promised benefits and increased efficiencies of solar and wind energy to desalinate some of the excess and irrigate our parched lands- all made possible by the promised technological advancements and "smart growth" in the green revolution.
Perhaps my training in science is not up to par. I was under the impression that trees were highly beneficial in absorbing that evil CO2 which some of our leaders claim is far more threatening to the world than ISIS, North Korea, Iran, and, yes, even The Russians. Most carbon tax schemes I am aware of include provisions to purchase offsets by investing in planting trees. I can understand why the golf industry is joining the water scarcity movement, but why is de-foresting golf courses now in vogue? Aren't those trees adding beauty and challenge while cleaning our environment? Do I want to live in a world where we play golf on courses sans trees, rakes in/out of bunkers, irrigation, and chemical inputs? Likely not.