• Question: How long until the worlds natural resources run out ??? :P

    Asked by gracerossiter to Aggelos, Andrew, Eileen, Naomi, Shane on 13 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Shane Bergin

      Shane Bergin answered on 13 Nov 2012:

      This is an excellent question. We humans consume a huge amount of the earth’s resources. our modern standards of living mean each of us consume more than our great great grandparents did.. things like water, oil, minerals, plants and animals and then there’s all the things we made like plastics, food (farmed) and other materials like metal, glass, pharmaceuticals, etc. etc… all of this takes from the earth. if there were fewer of us, then we would exist in an equilibrium with the earth – happy days. However, the population of the world is increasing at an alarming rate. Couple this with the fact that we consume more and more of the earths resources than our ancestors and you have a recipe for disaster. I think that in your life times, there will be international ‘incidents’ based on the populations of countries. we all need to consider this, but it’s a very tough thing to tell people.

      I am optimistic though! Humanity can be very resourceful when it wants to be. it will require governments and people to listen to the logical arguments that scientists make and together we will be able to work out solutions – I HOPE!

    • Photo: Aggelos Zacharopoulos

      Aggelos Zacharopoulos answered on 13 Nov 2012:

      @gracerossiter
      it seems that we are running out of fossil fuels and that with the world population fast increasing we are also going to run out of agricultural land and fish in the sea to produce food … 🙁

      So if we dont manage our energy and food needs we could face serious shortages very soon (i.e. in the next 50 years). Rich countires may take measures that will reduce the impact on their populations but overall the earth’s population will suffer.

      This is were science has played and can still play an important part. If we use science to come up with new less energy demanding ways of producing food and running our man made technology, we have hope. Using energy from renewable sources like the sun and the wind is one of they ways that guarantees plenty of energy for us for billions of years to come! Science is the key to it!

    • Photo: Andrew Jackson

      Andrew Jackson answered on 13 Nov 2012:

      I dont know, but im not that optimistic to be honest. Major cities like London consume more energy and material (e.g. as food, or clothing or building materials) than the entire of the country of England can produce. This is the same for most large cities, and the people there rely on other countries to supply the extra resources. With every other country growing and growing and building more cities, it is easy to see that this is unsustainable for ever.

      We have already fished many species to near-extinction and humans have hunted many large animals to extinction (e.g. the mammoth, or giant irish elk) so without being far more careful, and finding more efficient ways to use the resources of the world, we might all be in trouble some day soon. This is one huge challenge and one that previous generations dump on the next. I think my generation and yours have a lot of work to do to turn things around! This is just one reason why the world needs more scientists working on this. Curing cancer will be of little use if we cant even feed, cloth and shelter everyone.

    • Photo: Eileen Diskin

      Eileen Diskin answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      That’s a really good question, because its very important at the moment. Our natural resources are disappearing faster and faster than ever before! Its because people like their ‘comforts’ – we want to be able to be warm in the winter in our houses, we want to drive everywhere, and of course we like our technologies – our mobiles, ipods, tvs, etc.

      But the positive thing is, that there are people who are really trying to change this. If we just change a few things we do in our daily lives, we can really improve the situation. By driving less, for example – we can make a huge difference. Putting solar panels on our houses can help.

      And even in things like fashion, there are ways to make environmentally friendly clothing that is better for the Earth. There are some fashion designers who are really into nature, and they’re trying to make sure that the materials and fabrics they use don’t use up too many natural resources. So what we wear can make a difference too! How cool is that?!

    • Photo: Naomi Elster

      Naomi Elster answered on 16 Nov 2012:

      Fantastic question. The others are right when they say that we are consuming an enormous amount of resources, and we are very quickly using up things like fossil fuels that were made very slowly. If you drive around the countryside these days you will see a lot of places advertising to buy scrap metal. This is because people are worried they are running out of metal ore and scrap metal has suddenly become more valuable. (I don’t know if it is true that we are running out of metal or not).

      But “natural resources” also includes things like wind and solar power, which are renewable and infinite – we won’t run out of those. And there are some great people out there, both in science and in politics/activism who are working to make sure that we can find better ways to power our 21st century lifestyles.

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