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Will we have enough
resources ?
It
is no secret that human activity, coupled with population
growth, is stretching our planet's natural resources
to breaking point. Rainforests, fish stocks, agricultural
soils and certain animal species are under threat due
to the indiscriminate exploitation of our natural resources
and relentless urbanisation. We cannot allow the consumption
of resources - both renewable and non-renewable - to
exceed the environment's carrying capacity.
Margot Wallström
- European Commissioner for the Environment
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We only have one Earth and thus we only
have a limited amount of renewable and non renewable resources.
If we want to achieve sustainable living, we must ensure that
we use the essential products and process of nature no more
quickly than they can be renewed, and that we discharge waste
no more quickly than they can be absorbed.
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Environmental
impacts associated with resource use
In the past three decades, one third
of the planet's resources, has been consumed. We are losing
freshwater ecosystems at a rate of 6 percent a year, marine
ecosystems by 4 percent a year.
We have transformed approximately half
the land on Earth for our own uses - around 11 percent each
for farming and forestry, and 26 percent for pasture, with
at least another 2 to 3 percent for housing, industry, services
and transport. The area used for growing crops has increased
by almost six times since 1700, mainly at the expense of forest
and woodland.
We have fished up to the limits or beyond
of two thirds of marine fisheries and altered the ecology
of a vast range of marine species.
By burning fossil fuels in which carbon
was locked up hundreds of millions of years ago, we have increased
the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere by 30 percent
over pre-industrial levels. We have boosted methane content
by 145 percent over natural levels.
Through mining and processing we are
releasing toxic metals into the biosphere that would otherwise
have remained safely locked in stone. We are producing new
synthetic chemicals, many of which may have as yet undetermined
effects on other organisms.
Source: Atlas
of population and environment
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Threat of depletion
of non-renewable resources?
Nearly 80% of resources we use are non
renewable. Extraction of metals, minerals and fossil fuels
depletes the ore stocks.
Yet non-renewable resources such as metals
and minerals may not be the ones immediately at stake.
The growth in resource use has slowed in recent years and
new reserves have been discovered.
One exception to this general assessment may concern oil
and other non-renewable energy resources.
Source:
United Nations Development Programme - UNDP, 1998, Human Development
Report, page 2
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Scarcity of renewable
resources such as fish, forests and fresh water
If non-renewables are not the urgent
problem, renewables such as water, soil, forests, fish, biodiversity
have suffered growing deterioration those last decades.
Source: United
Nations Development Programme - UNDP, 1998, Human Development
Report, page 2
Did
you know? Water
Did you
know? Forests
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The issue of equity
In the 20th century, consumption of goods
and services rose to unprecedented levels-powering the expansion
of the global economy and changing the realities of billions
of people's lives.
But vast numbers of people have been left out of the consumption
boom. Currently a huge "consumption gap" exists: globally,
the 20 per cent of the world's people who live in the highest-income
countries account for 86 per cent of total private consumption
expenditures;
the poorest 20 per cent, by contrast, account for just 1.3
per cent.
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Europe
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USA
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Vietnam
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| Resources
consumed per capita per year |
48
tons
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87
tons
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2
- 5 tons
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Only 20% of the World's population spend
86% of the money that goes into personal consumption. And
these 20% of population are also responsible for the consumption
of 80% of the natural resources.
Sources :
Source :
UNEP/GRID-Arendal
Sustainability clearly implies a better
sharing out of resources and consumption capacities between
the rich and the poor. This calls for a rethinking of our
lifestyles and a debate on the resource intensity in the EU
economy.
Did
you know? Equity
More : Poverty
Times
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Scarcity of space
Human are facing an unprecedented challenge
: the question is how to make a still growing population with
increasing levels of economic activity and material consumption
living equitably and comfortably on one single and immovable
planet Earth.
Since every material and energy flows feeding our economies
and our societies results from nature the most prevalent question
is : What are the ecological limits to material growth ?
Indeed, in the future as in the past, we are confronted to
that simple equation which implies that as human population
doubles, the space available per person drop by one half.
This simple equation is also valid for resources : in a material
based economy, the natural capital available per person will
halve for each doubling of the economy.
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For how long will
we have resources?
In a recent report, the International
Institute for Environment and Development estimates the life
expectancies of identified world reserves for some mineral
commodities identified to date.
Click
here to see : "Life Expectancies of World Reserves,
Selected Mineral Commodities"
However, life expectancies of resources
are actually much longer:
- there are still mineral deposits to
be discovered;
- identified deposits currently unprofitable
to exploit with existing technology and prices will be used
with further technical progress and new technologies.
On the other hand, these calculation
are based on current consumption rates at the world level.
They do not integrate the objective of an equitable and sustainable
consumption.
 Oil
and gas represent 60% of the world primary energy supply.
Oil is of major importance for transport, heat production
and chemical industry.
On the other hand gas is of great importance
for heat and electricity
production as well as for chemical
industry.
It is well know that oil and gas are
finite resources representing stored solar energy produced
in several million years. Consumption of these resources is
reaching recently huge dimensions and controversial statements
arise on the availability of oil and gas reserves so that
a crucial question arises : How long the hydrocarbon era will
continue ?
The picture shows schematically the oil production in the
time frame between birth of Christ and the year 2500.
According to the Worldwatch Institute
quoting the IEA's
International Energy Outlook 2001 , there are more than
enough reserves of oil, gas and coal to meet projected growth
in energy demand through 2020. But exploiting these reserves
will require massive investments in energy production and
transportation infrastructure, which in turn will have to
be measured against the policy objectives of energy security
and environmental protection.
Source : Worldwatch
Institute
The German Federal Institute for Geosciences
and Natural Resources made estimates on the static lifetime
of non-renewable energy reserves (i.e. hydrocarbon quantities
which are proven in fields and can be produced economically
with known techniques) and resources (i.e. quantities which
are detected but cannot be produced economically + quantities
not yet detected but expected to be discovered due to geological
reasons).
Source : Will
the hydrocarbon era finish soon? Rempel, H.
Click
here to see the graph
To know more
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This
project has received support from the European Commission.
The content of this website reflects the author's view
and the European Commission is not liable for any use
that may be made of the information contained therein.
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