The increasing scarcity of resources

Description

Production of goods and services in any economic system involves three types of resources; natural resources, human resources, and capital resources. Resources of all kinds are scarce. Scarcity is the problem of infinite human needs and wants, in a world of finite resources. In other words, society must make choices about how best to use the limited resources in ways that gives the most satisfaction from goods and services.

Enablers

The past two centuries have seen unprecedented growth in human population and economic well being for a good portion of the world. This growth has been fed by equally unprecedented natural resource consumption and environmental impacts, including conversion of large portions of the natural world to human use, which have prompted recurring concern about whether the world’s natural resource base is capable of sustaining such growth. Furthermore the desire for a higher living standard in the developing world places additional demands on natural resource commodities.

Inhibitors

• Human Creativity

While exponential growth can be expected to lead to increasing resource scarcity, human creativity can ameliorate increased scarcity. Humans have been quite adept at finding solutions to the problem of scarce natural resources: finding more abundant substitutes for various natural resources, exploration for and discovery of new reserves, recovery and recycling of materials, and, perhaps most importantly, the development of new technologies that economize on scarce natural resources or that allow the use of resources that were previously uneconomical.

• Recession

A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. A recession begins just after the economy reaches a peak of activity and ends as the economy reaches its trough. Although during a recession production and use of natural resources is diminished, they are still being allocated. However the strain on natural resources is for the time being alleviated.

• Recycling

Processing of waste (such as paper, glass, and some metals and plastics) so that the materials can be reused. This saves expenditure on scarce raw materials, slows down the depletion of non-renewable resources, and helps to reduce pollution. E.g. metals are virtually unique among materials because they can be recycled indefinitely without losing their inherent properties. These special properties allow metals to be melted down and re-pressed without loss of quality, unlike paper and glass, which deteriorate when recycled.

Paradigms

• Adaptation

Population and economic growth into the next century will greatly increase the demand for natural resource commodities. Even though population growth has slowed, a population of six billion growing at 1% adds the same number of people as three billion people growing at 2%. The historical success of adaptation to increased demand for these commodities is by no means a guarantee of future success.

• Recycling

Resource conservation, reuse and recycling are important parts toward sustainability. Recycling requires far less energy, uses fewer natural resources, and keeps waste from piling up in landfills.

Web Resources

• http://www.rff.org/documents/RFF-DP-05-14.pdf
  
• http://t21.ca/economic/index.htm
  
• http://www.swemorph.com/pdf/epr9.pdf
  
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarcity
  
• http://www.dallasfed.org/research/efr/2000/efr0001a.pdf
  
• http://www.ilsr.org/recycling/newmovement2.html
  
• http://www.foundryrecycling.org/Home/RecyclingOverviewold/FoundryRecyclingOverview/tabid/293/Default.aspx
  
• http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Recycling+industry
  
• http://www.nrc-recycle.org/top10reasonstorecycle.aspx
  

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