Threat - 3
Resource Depletion
My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night...
~St. Vincent Millay
What Is Resource Depletion
Resource depletion is an economic term referring to the exhaustion of raw materials within a region. Resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources. Use of either of these forms of resources beyond their rate of replacement is considered to be resource depletion.
Resource depletion is most commonly used in reference to the farming (water, land fertility, soil nutrition), fishing, mining, and fossil fuels. Normally, resources will not become totally exhausted at some particular moment, but rather will diminish until the price of continued exploitation becomes so high that it is no longer economical to extract those resources. According to Hubbert peak theory, the rate of exploitation follows a sort of bell-shaped curve. The Hubbert peak theory discusses predictions for some resources.
Estimates for when various resources will run out if exploitation continues at present rates are somewhat controversial, but for some resources, the estimated time left is rather short.
Resource depletion is most commonly used in reference to the farming (water, land fertility, soil nutrition), fishing, mining, and fossil fuels. Normally, resources will not become totally exhausted at some particular moment, but rather will diminish until the price of continued exploitation becomes so high that it is no longer economical to extract those resources. According to Hubbert peak theory, the rate of exploitation follows a sort of bell-shaped curve. The Hubbert peak theory discusses predictions for some resources.
Estimates for when various resources will run out if exploitation continues at present rates are somewhat controversial, but for some resources, the estimated time left is rather short.
The Deadly Scramble for the World’s Last Resources
By Julian Brookes
For better or worse, a lot of the things we humans like about the way we live now – from electric lighting and indoor plumbing to global travel, advanced medicine, flat-screen TVs, and iPhones – depend on our ability to suck, scrape and blast stuff out of the earth. And not just obvious stuff, like oil, coal, and natural gas; modern life, with all its wonders and comforts, is brought to you by a huge array of natural resources, from metals like copper (used in electrical wiring) and iron ore (steel), to minerals like lithium (batteries) and tantalum (cell phones), to so-called “rare earth elements” (lasers, fiber optics, hybrid car engines, iPads and more). Some are more important than others, of course, but if even a few of them were to run out, we’d be in bad shape.
For better or worse, a lot of the things we humans like about the way we live now – from electric lighting and indoor plumbing to global travel, advanced medicine, flat-screen TVs, and iPhones – depend on our ability to suck, scrape and blast stuff out of the earth. And not just obvious stuff, like oil, coal, and natural gas; modern life, with all its wonders and comforts, is brought to you by a huge array of natural resources, from metals like copper (used in electrical wiring) and iron ore (steel), to minerals like lithium (batteries) and tantalum (cell phones), to so-called “rare earth elements” (lasers, fiber optics, hybrid car engines, iPads and more). Some are more important than others, of course, but if even a few of them were to run out, we’d be in bad shape.
‘The most successful and long lasting human cultures are those which have lived on nature’s income rather than nature’s capital.’
Well, here’s the thing: These critical resources are running out. Virtually all of them.
The world is hurtling towards what author Michael Klare calls “a crisis of resource depletion.” In a new book, Klare drops the stunning news that the earth’s easily accessible supplies of oil, coal, gas, metals, minerals, rare earths and even water and food are disappearing fast, plunging governments and corporations into a balls-to-the-wall “race for what’s left.” And what’s left is, above all, hard to get at – it’s under the Arctic ice, deep below the ocean floor, in tar sands and shale, and in war zones, like Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Getting at it is becoming more and more dangerous, both environmentally – we can expect to see more Gulf-style disasters as companies breach the “final frontiers” of resource extraction – and politically, as countries clash more and more over who gets what.
The world is hurtling towards what author Michael Klare calls “a crisis of resource depletion.” In a new book, Klare drops the stunning news that the earth’s easily accessible supplies of oil, coal, gas, metals, minerals, rare earths and even water and food are disappearing fast, plunging governments and corporations into a balls-to-the-wall “race for what’s left.” And what’s left is, above all, hard to get at – it’s under the Arctic ice, deep below the ocean floor, in tar sands and shale, and in war zones, like Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Getting at it is becoming more and more dangerous, both environmentally – we can expect to see more Gulf-style disasters as companies breach the “final frontiers” of resource extraction – and politically, as countries clash more and more over who gets what.
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A society concerned only with manufacturing new cars and new skyscrapers every year and then breaking them to pieces and making new ones — may be technologically advanced, but it is not a human civilization. A human civilization is advanced when its people follow the caturvarnya system, the system of four orders of life. There must be ideal, first-class men to act as advisors, second-class men to act as administrators, third-class men to produce food and protect cows, and fourth-class men who obey the three higher classes of society. One who does not follow the standard system of society should be considered a fifth-class man. A society without Vedic laws and regulations will not be very helpful to humanity. As stated in this verse, dharmam te na param viduh: such a society does not know the aim of life and the highest principle of religion. |
Holy crap, right? But there’s a (somewhat) hopeful part: For some of these resources, there are substitutes, and if we pick up the pace in developing them, we won’t have to plunder the planet quite so much; in other cases, we’ll just need to learn to do more with less (conservation, efficiency). The essential thing, says Klare, whose new book is called The Race for What’s Left, is to start figuring this stuff out right now.
Rolling Stone recently got Michael Klare on the phone to talk about “peak everything,” the mad scramble for the world’s last resources, and our stark choice of futures.
You say we’re facing a “crisis of resource depletion.” Are we there yet? Are these must-have resources already disappearing?
They’re not disappearing, but many of them are facing rapid decline and depletion. Virtually all of the easily accessible resources are now gone, so were going to need to replace them with new sources of supply.
How can you be sure we’re at “the final frontiers,” as you put it, of resource extraction?
When you look at what’s being developed today, whether it’s the deep oceans or the Arctic or shale gas and shale oil, you’re seeing levels of investment costs and danger that are unprecedented, and levels of environmental risks that are unlike anything we’ve seen before. You wouldn’t go to these lengths if easier resources were available.
If I read you right, conflict is pretty much inevitable as countries compete to scoop up as much of what’s left as they can. Is this already happening?
Rolling Stone recently got Michael Klare on the phone to talk about “peak everything,” the mad scramble for the world’s last resources, and our stark choice of futures.
You say we’re facing a “crisis of resource depletion.” Are we there yet? Are these must-have resources already disappearing?
They’re not disappearing, but many of them are facing rapid decline and depletion. Virtually all of the easily accessible resources are now gone, so were going to need to replace them with new sources of supply.
How can you be sure we’re at “the final frontiers,” as you put it, of resource extraction?
When you look at what’s being developed today, whether it’s the deep oceans or the Arctic or shale gas and shale oil, you’re seeing levels of investment costs and danger that are unprecedented, and levels of environmental risks that are unlike anything we’ve seen before. You wouldn’t go to these lengths if easier resources were available.
If I read you right, conflict is pretty much inevitable as countries compete to scoop up as much of what’s left as they can. Is this already happening?
"The world has enough for everyone's need, but not for everyone's greed."
-Mahatma Gandhi
There have been some testy moments. Russia and Norway have had some naval show of force up in the Bering Sea, but they’ve resolved that for the time being. The East China Sea and the South China Sea, where you have disputed off shore oil and gas fields, are exceedingly tense; we’ve seen naval clashes between Japan and China and between China and Vietnam and the Philippines. And now President Obama has said that the U.S. is going to become more deeply involved in those areas.
And things could get pretty hairy up in the Arctic.
The Arctic has been totally neglected up until now, but it’s seen as the most promising future source of oil and natural gas, so suddenly it has become valuable real estate. Suddenly, national boundaries that nobody cared about before are becoming very important. Ironically, this is partly because the ice sheet is shrinking thanks to climate change, and so you can drill more of the year. Russia claims almost half of the entire Arctic region as its national territory and is seeking to dominate as much of the region as possible. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he’s going to build up Russia’s military capabilities in the Arctic in years ahead to protect it against anybody else coming in there. But other countries also have claims in the area: Norway, Canada, and Greenland, which is ultimately controlled by Denmark and the United states, so you could have a very intense geopolitical competition for control over these future resources.
(By Julian Brookes for The Rolling Stone)
And things could get pretty hairy up in the Arctic.
The Arctic has been totally neglected up until now, but it’s seen as the most promising future source of oil and natural gas, so suddenly it has become valuable real estate. Suddenly, national boundaries that nobody cared about before are becoming very important. Ironically, this is partly because the ice sheet is shrinking thanks to climate change, and so you can drill more of the year. Russia claims almost half of the entire Arctic region as its national territory and is seeking to dominate as much of the region as possible. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he’s going to build up Russia’s military capabilities in the Arctic in years ahead to protect it against anybody else coming in there. But other countries also have claims in the area: Norway, Canada, and Greenland, which is ultimately controlled by Denmark and the United states, so you could have a very intense geopolitical competition for control over these future resources.
(By Julian Brookes for The Rolling Stone)
Extravagance And Inefficacies of Modern Living
From the earliest times, humans have interpreted, shaped and altered their environments in an attempt to improve the quality of their lives. In the process, technologies have evolved and been developed to the extent that, today, they have an impact on most aspects of our daily lives. But there is an important distinction -technologies in harmony with nature and technologies conflicting with nature. Most of the technologies in vogue today, coupled with our overconsumption, lie at the heart of resource depletion crisis. Overpopulation is not a problem, overconsumption is.
Our culture is like an algae bloom. We are consuming all available resources and then we are going to drown in our own waste.
- Sam Webster
For example, the People's Republic of China has an area comparable to that of the United States of America. China's population density is 4.7 times higher than that of the USA, but its per capita energy consumption is nine times lower than that of the USA, so that in spite of its larger population, China uses only half the amount of energy consumed by the USA.
Americans constitute less than 5% of the world's population, but produce 25% of the world’s CO2, consume 25% of world’s resources, including 26% of the world's energy, although having only 3% of the world’s known oil reserves, and generate roughly 30% of world’s waste. Americans' impact on the environment is at least 250 times greater than a Sub-Saharan African.
More than one century of industrial development, economic growth and intensive exploitation of nature has led us to a world where we can travel cheaply to anywhere in the world, import food, clothes and materials from any country, yet we are slowly destroying the very earth which keeps us alive. Despite increase in automation, we are working harder and harder, and neglecting our lives, both internal and external, to fulfil the demands of industry. The brave new world promised to us by technology has not arrived. Instead it has led to an increased gap between rich and poor within most countries and between countries. Cultures once unique and distinct are slowly merging into variations of Western popular culture. Languages and species are dying out.
The outlook is gloomy! We have a very strong responsibility to the future which we will create. If we wish to improve the situation, we will thus have to modify our ways of life and our manner of consuming because all resources crunch is due to overindulgence. The uneven distribution of food in the world is due not to food shortages but mainly to greed. Much too much land is being exploited for cash crops-junk foods, exports, tobacco, alcohol. Agribusiness is destroying small farms, food prices are soaring, and soil and forests are disappearing fast.
Americans constitute less than 5% of the world's population, but produce 25% of the world’s CO2, consume 25% of world’s resources, including 26% of the world's energy, although having only 3% of the world’s known oil reserves, and generate roughly 30% of world’s waste. Americans' impact on the environment is at least 250 times greater than a Sub-Saharan African.
More than one century of industrial development, economic growth and intensive exploitation of nature has led us to a world where we can travel cheaply to anywhere in the world, import food, clothes and materials from any country, yet we are slowly destroying the very earth which keeps us alive. Despite increase in automation, we are working harder and harder, and neglecting our lives, both internal and external, to fulfil the demands of industry. The brave new world promised to us by technology has not arrived. Instead it has led to an increased gap between rich and poor within most countries and between countries. Cultures once unique and distinct are slowly merging into variations of Western popular culture. Languages and species are dying out.
The outlook is gloomy! We have a very strong responsibility to the future which we will create. If we wish to improve the situation, we will thus have to modify our ways of life and our manner of consuming because all resources crunch is due to overindulgence. The uneven distribution of food in the world is due not to food shortages but mainly to greed. Much too much land is being exploited for cash crops-junk foods, exports, tobacco, alcohol. Agribusiness is destroying small farms, food prices are soaring, and soil and forests are disappearing fast.
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Because they have no other business. Punah punas carvita-carvananam [SB 7.5.30]. Chewing the chewed. Make a car, break it, and again melt it and again make another car. That’s all. This is their civilization, car-making civilization. No spiritual idea, no ambition for spiritual life. But they’ll do. They’ll do something. So therefore they are making, breaking more. Make the car; break the car; again make the car; again break the car. |
Earth’s Resources are Limited and Human Greed is Unlimited
Finite Resources, Infinite Demands
We use things up as though they were infinite. That's bad mathematics. Resources could be considered as Natural Capital. This is capital which cannot be restored. That is, what is labeled by economists as ordinary capital can be restored from depreciation and maintenance funds by spending money. The natural resources of the earth cannot be.
Exact amount of resources available can be considered a debatable subject but there is no doubt that they are finite. If we do not wake up now, our civilization will go the way of Nineveh, Greece and Rome.
In 1972, a report called ‘The Limits to Growth’ was published. It marked the beginning of modern environmental policy. The report highlighted the impossibility of sustaining exponential economic growth and its associated Resource Depletion. Many of the resources that drive our economies are limited and will therefore one day be exhausted, if we continue to use them at current rates.
Thirty-five years after "Limits to Growth," the focus of environmental policy has shifted to other policy fields. For example, we have realised that, in spite of fairly abundant world resources of coal, the limits imposed by the risks of Climate Change will not allow their full exploitation.
Exact amount of resources available can be considered a debatable subject but there is no doubt that they are finite. If we do not wake up now, our civilization will go the way of Nineveh, Greece and Rome.
In 1972, a report called ‘The Limits to Growth’ was published. It marked the beginning of modern environmental policy. The report highlighted the impossibility of sustaining exponential economic growth and its associated Resource Depletion. Many of the resources that drive our economies are limited and will therefore one day be exhausted, if we continue to use them at current rates.
Thirty-five years after "Limits to Growth," the focus of environmental policy has shifted to other policy fields. For example, we have realised that, in spite of fairly abundant world resources of coal, the limits imposed by the risks of Climate Change will not allow their full exploitation.
“More than 5,000 species become extinct every year - a rate 10,000 times faster than pre-human extinction rates. Half of the forests that originally covered 46% of the Earth's land surface are gone.”
The Great Squeeze - A Film
‘The Great Squeeze: Surviving the Human Project’ is the latest film from Colorado-based Tiroir a Films. This sequel to their 2006 offering, Energy Crossroads: The Burning Need to Change Course, looks to dig deeper into how the concurrent processes of resource depletion, climate change, ecosystem destruction and our consumption-oriented economic model are threatening to destroy both our planet and possibly our very civilization.
Collapse Due To Resource Depletion - A Case Study
On Easter Island (an island in the South Pacific, west of Chile), man-induced resource depletion caused the collapse of a entire civilization. This was caused by a competition by the islanders inhabiting it to build large statues. The statues were carved from the Easter island palm, which they also used to make their boats and to obtain food (fruit, honey and palmwine). As more statues were build and as competition rose, more trees were chopped and due to the recent arrival and infestation of rats from the colonials, the tree was soon extinct. The islanders had less food (they still grew taro, sweet potatoes and bananas) and could no more build boats to fish. Fish was extremely important part of their diet. Soon, rebellions arose, and fighting was initiated between several clans. Famine then arose and the caste of priests was destroyed. Only a small percentage of the original population survived, and their culture/technological advancement was swept away.
“Americans throw out nearly twice as much stuff as they did 50 years ago, and twice as much as their European counterparts do today. Ninety-nine percent of the things they buy end up in the landfill within six months of their purchase.”
Chopping Down The Branch We Sit On
Many industrialized nations are now growing rapidly and placing ever-greater demands on world resources. Many of those resources come from the presently underdeveloped countries. What will happen when the resource-supplying countries begin to withhold resources because they foresee the day when their own demand will require the available supplies?
Will the developed nations stand by and let their economies decline while resources still exist in other parts of the world? Will a new era of international conflict grow out of pressures from resource shortage? This will probably be the most important question of 21st Century.
Given our propensity as a species to act in a short term, acquisitional based manner, we will continue to pillage this planet until sheer Malthusian geometry overwhelms our resources, our bio defenses or our collective `sanity'. There seems to be no limits to man's greed . Advertising so easily convinces us that we are not sufficient unto ourselves- that if we will buy `x', we will be happy.
Historically speaking, western colonials killed, raped, tortured, imprisoned, starved, forcibly expelled natives or otherwise forced them to change their lifestyle against their will, all because of insatiable greed. Question remains whether history will repeat itself, that too in a world well-armed with lethal weapons.
Will the developed nations stand by and let their economies decline while resources still exist in other parts of the world? Will a new era of international conflict grow out of pressures from resource shortage? This will probably be the most important question of 21st Century.
Given our propensity as a species to act in a short term, acquisitional based manner, we will continue to pillage this planet until sheer Malthusian geometry overwhelms our resources, our bio defenses or our collective `sanity'. There seems to be no limits to man's greed . Advertising so easily convinces us that we are not sufficient unto ourselves- that if we will buy `x', we will be happy.
Historically speaking, western colonials killed, raped, tortured, imprisoned, starved, forcibly expelled natives or otherwise forced them to change their lifestyle against their will, all because of insatiable greed. Question remains whether history will repeat itself, that too in a world well-armed with lethal weapons.
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The Western civilization is a nasty civilization, artificially increasing the necessities of life. For example, take the electric light. The electric light requires a generator, and to run the generator you need petroleum. As soon as the petroleum supply is stopped, everything will stop. But to get petroleum you have to painstakingly search it out and bore deep into the earth, sometimes in the middle of the ocean. This is ugra-karma, horrible work. The same purpose can be served by growing some castor seeds, pressing out the oil, and putting the oil into a pot with a wick. We admit that you have improved the lighting system with electricity, but to improve from the castor-oil lamp to the electric lamp you have to work very hard. You have to go to the middle of the ocean and drill and then draw out the petroleum, and in this way the real goal of your life is missed. You are in a precarious position, constantly dying and taking birth in various species of life. How to get free of this cycle of birth and death — this is your problem. And this problem is meant to be solved in the human life. You have advanced intelligence for self-realization, but instead of using your advanced intelligence for self-realization, you are utilizing it to improve from the castor-oil lamp to the electric lamp. That’s all. |
Addictive Consumption - An Infectious Disease
Our cultural compulsion towards consumption is addictive and infectious in nature. This has been proven by the design of a model by Benjamin Alamar and Stanton A. Glantz of University of California. Basically the authors have proven that consumption pattern follows the pattern of infectious diseases and craze for a product spreads like an infectious disease too.
Some psychologists have termed this phenomenon as Chronic Shopping Disorder (CSD) and an Obsessive Fixation on Brands.
The dominant model of addictive consumption in economics is the theory of rational addiction. The addict in this model chooses how much they are going to consume based upon their level of addiction (past consumption), the current benefits and all future costs. Several empirical studies of consumer product sales and price data have found a correlation between future prices and consumption and current consumption. These studies have argued that the correlation validates the rational addiction model and invalidates any model in which future consumption is not considered. An alternative to the rational addiction model is one in which addiction spreads through a population as if it were an infectious disease, as supported by the large body of empirical research of addictive behaviors. In this model an individual's probability of becoming addicted to a substance is linked to the behavior of their parents, friends and society. In the infectious disease model current consumption is based only on the level of addiction and current costs. Price and consumption data from a simulation of the infectious disease model showed a qualitative match to the results of the rational addiction model.
Some psychologists have termed this phenomenon as Chronic Shopping Disorder (CSD) and an Obsessive Fixation on Brands.
The dominant model of addictive consumption in economics is the theory of rational addiction. The addict in this model chooses how much they are going to consume based upon their level of addiction (past consumption), the current benefits and all future costs. Several empirical studies of consumer product sales and price data have found a correlation between future prices and consumption and current consumption. These studies have argued that the correlation validates the rational addiction model and invalidates any model in which future consumption is not considered. An alternative to the rational addiction model is one in which addiction spreads through a population as if it were an infectious disease, as supported by the large body of empirical research of addictive behaviors. In this model an individual's probability of becoming addicted to a substance is linked to the behavior of their parents, friends and society. In the infectious disease model current consumption is based only on the level of addiction and current costs. Price and consumption data from a simulation of the infectious disease model showed a qualitative match to the results of the rational addiction model.
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“I would rather have my people laugh at my economies than weep for my extravagance” |
If We All Were To Live Like Americans Five or Six Earths Would Be Required
The overconsuming, overdeveloped lifestyles and industries of the minority developed world have depended upon the military and economic oppression of labour and ecosystems of majority world. For everyone on this planet to 'enjoy' the materialistic lifestyle of the average American or Australian, we would currently need five to six Earths in order to supply the necessary raw materials, handling of consumer and industrial wastes, and life-sustaining services such as clean air and water. Asians and others are waking up to American dream and there is simply not enough resources to facilitate this.
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My Guru Maharaja used to say that "I don't find any scarcity within this world, except Krsna consciousness." ... Actually, that is the fact. There is no scarcity all over the world. In India there may be scarcity, but outside India still there are so much vacant places, especially in Africa, in America, in Australia, in New Zealand, that ten times of the population of the whole world can be fed. Still. There is so much potency of producing food grains, milk, and other things. Profusely. In America, they throw away so many grains and vegetables daily. It is simply mismanagement. Otherwise, there is no question of scarcity or poverty. There is no question. It is simply propaganda. Because they cannot manage, the foolish people, they present the population has increased and the foodstuff is not properly supplied. Foodstuff is always sufficient. But when there are demons, the supply is restricted by nature. |
So far, we have only one usable planet. The astronauts are trying to discover if there are any planets out there that are suitable for humans to live on. This has not produced results. This leaves us to face the fact that the 6.5 billion humans on this rocky sphere are dependent on the natural resources that exist on our planet. Unfortunately, we are using those resources in an unsustainable way right now. Within 100 years, we will have to feed, clothe, and provide electricity and transportation and water to, around 10 billion humans. 850 million humans go hungry today out of which 220 million are children. 1 in 5 humans have no access to clean drinking water. By 2050, 85% of all humans will be living in developing countries. One third of the world's visible land is affected by desertification, the degradation of productive but fragile lands which have insufficient rainfall and has been damaged by unsustainable development. We are using resources 30% faster than the ability of those resources to renew themselves.
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"This cradle to grave flow relies on brute force (including fossil fuels and large amounts of powerful chemicals). It seeks universal design solutions ("one size fits all"), overwhelming and ignoring natural and cultural diversity. And it produces massive amounts of waste -- something that in nature does not even exist." |
Self-centered Mentality - Me And Mine
Resource depletion originates from a degraded self-centered mentality of me and mine. On individual, social and national level, more than ever before, we have become more self-centered. I should be fine and rest of the world can go to dogs. President Bush is more concerned about the cough of his dog than the death of a million Iraqis. This phenomenal selfishness, apathy and unconcern is responsible for uneven distribution of resources and irresponsible exploitation of the same.
“The richest billion people in the world have created a form of civilization so acquisitive and profligate that the planet is in danger,” says Alan Durning of the Worldwatch Institute. “The lifestyle of this top echelon car drivers, beef eaters, soda drinkers, and throwaway consumers-constitutes an ecological threat unmatched in severity.”
“The richest billion people in the world have created a form of civilization so acquisitive and profligate that the planet is in danger,” says Alan Durning of the Worldwatch Institute. “The lifestyle of this top echelon car drivers, beef eaters, soda drinkers, and throwaway consumers-constitutes an ecological threat unmatched in severity.”
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Instead of wasting our energy to supply ourselves with so many facilities and modern amenities, we should apply intelligence to understand who and what we are. We do not like to suffer, but we should understand why suffering is being forced upon us. By so-called knowledge we have simply succeeded in manufacturing the atomic bomb. Thus the killing process has been accelerated. We are so proud to think that this is advancement of knowledge, but if we can manufacture something that can stop death, we have really advanced in knowledge. |
We are Sailing In The Same Boat
When you think of the world as a system, you understand that air pollution from North America affects air quality in Asia, and that pesticides sprayed in Argentina could harm fish stocks off the coast of Australia. Therefore every individual, community or nation has to realize that its destiny is inextricably connected to the rest of the world. If we are to float, we will float together, if we were to sink, we will sink together. Nature is one complex system and no nation can isolate itself from it.
Over-mining of Metal Resources
It is not a question of if but just a question of when. How long can we go on extracting natural wealth. Since its all finite in quantity, there will come a day when resources get exhausted.
Lets take the example of platinum. The catalytic converters that keep exhaust pollutants from cars, trucks and buses down to an acceptable level all use platinum. Platinum is a vital component not only of catalytic converters but also of fuel cells - and supplies are running out. It has been estimated that if all the 500 million vehicles in use today were re-equipped with fuel cells, operating losses would mean that all the world's sources of platinum would be exhausted within 15 years. Unlike with oil or diamonds, there is no synthetic alternative: platinum is a chemical element, and once we have used it all there is no way on earth of getting any more.
It's not just the world's platinum that is being used up at an alarming rate. The same goes for many other rare metals such as indium, which is being consumed in unprecedented quantities for making LCDs for flat-screen TVs, and the tantalum needed to make compact electronic devices like cellphones. How long will global reserves of uranium last in a new nuclear age? Even reserves of such commonplace elements as zinc, copper, nickel and the phosphorus used in fertiliser will run out in the not-too-distant future. So just what proportion of these materials have we used up so far, and how much is there left to go round? Recently, even coal prices have also gone up threefold internationally.
Lets take the example of platinum. The catalytic converters that keep exhaust pollutants from cars, trucks and buses down to an acceptable level all use platinum. Platinum is a vital component not only of catalytic converters but also of fuel cells - and supplies are running out. It has been estimated that if all the 500 million vehicles in use today were re-equipped with fuel cells, operating losses would mean that all the world's sources of platinum would be exhausted within 15 years. Unlike with oil or diamonds, there is no synthetic alternative: platinum is a chemical element, and once we have used it all there is no way on earth of getting any more.
It's not just the world's platinum that is being used up at an alarming rate. The same goes for many other rare metals such as indium, which is being consumed in unprecedented quantities for making LCDs for flat-screen TVs, and the tantalum needed to make compact electronic devices like cellphones. How long will global reserves of uranium last in a new nuclear age? Even reserves of such commonplace elements as zinc, copper, nickel and the phosphorus used in fertiliser will run out in the not-too-distant future. So just what proportion of these materials have we used up so far, and how much is there left to go round? Recently, even coal prices have also gone up threefold internationally.
‘Civilizations have a tendency to grow and to pursue complexity. Complexity is subject to diminishing returns and we have passed the point of diminishing returns.’
Resource Depletion Damages Third World - World Bank
According to a new World Bank study, resource depletion is draining the net "savings" of the world's poorest countries and could cripple future generations.
According to it, a new measure of wealth - which goes beyond the traditional gross domestic product yardstick - showed many developing countries were sinking deeply into the red. Accounting for the actual value of natural resources, including resource depletion and population growth, shows that net savings per person are negative in the world's most impoverished countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to it, a new measure of wealth - which goes beyond the traditional gross domestic product yardstick - showed many developing countries were sinking deeply into the red. Accounting for the actual value of natural resources, including resource depletion and population growth, shows that net savings per person are negative in the world's most impoverished countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Resource Depletion In Third World - A Case Study
Third world is being ravaged and pillaged to satisfy the consumer greed in North America and western Europe.
Let us take the case of Papua New Guinea (PNG). If it can properly be described as a 'nation', it is a nation which seems to consist entirely of 'indigenous peoples' - or what Papua New Guineans themselves would rather call 'customary landowners' -whose collective sovereignty resides in what was once described as a 'parliament of a thousand tribes. For thousands of years, these indigenous people have led a natural and simple life but just in last few decades, the glare of dollars has led them become passive spectators to destruction of their home land by greedy foreign companies.
Let us take the case of Papua New Guinea (PNG). If it can properly be described as a 'nation', it is a nation which seems to consist entirely of 'indigenous peoples' - or what Papua New Guineans themselves would rather call 'customary landowners' -whose collective sovereignty resides in what was once described as a 'parliament of a thousand tribes. For thousands of years, these indigenous people have led a natural and simple life but just in last few decades, the glare of dollars has led them become passive spectators to destruction of their home land by greedy foreign companies.
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He who is extravagant will quickly become poor; and poverty will enforce dependence, and invite corruption. |
At the forefront of destruction are the mining and petroleum projects. But not much has been written about the local social impact of logging or forestry projects.
Nowhere have these shortcomings been more painfully evident than in the forestry sector. In the wake of a 1979 white paper which recommended an increase in log exports as a means of raising government revenues, a dubious array of foreign logging companies descended on the nation's shores, and most were allowed to operate without regard to the Environmental Planning Act.
In April 1987 the Prime Minister, Paias Wingti, appointed an Australian lawyer, Tos Barnett, to conduct a Commission of Inquiry into what Barnett himself later described as the 'heavy odour of corruption, fraud and scandal arising from the timber industry'. Two years of investigations revealed a scene of 'rampage and pillage' in many lowland areas.
Operations were being commenced illegally; forest working plans, if submitted at all, were being widely ignored; logging tracks were being pushed through at the discretion of the bulldozer driver; hillsides and river banks were being logged; and the immature forest resource was being bashed and trampled in the reckless haste to get the logs down to the waiting log ships. The dazed and disillusioned forest owners stood watching in disbelief as foreign operators removed their trees before moving on to the next area, leaving environmentally disastrous logged-over hillsides, temporary gravel/mud roads and rotting log bridges to erode and cave in to clog the watercourses.
In order to gain access to the timber, foreign operators misled and bribed local leaders, set up 'puppet' native landowner companies, bribed provincial government premiers or ministers and gave gifts or bribes to national ministers or members of the national parliament or took such people into some form of partnership with them.
Nowhere have these shortcomings been more painfully evident than in the forestry sector. In the wake of a 1979 white paper which recommended an increase in log exports as a means of raising government revenues, a dubious array of foreign logging companies descended on the nation's shores, and most were allowed to operate without regard to the Environmental Planning Act.
In April 1987 the Prime Minister, Paias Wingti, appointed an Australian lawyer, Tos Barnett, to conduct a Commission of Inquiry into what Barnett himself later described as the 'heavy odour of corruption, fraud and scandal arising from the timber industry'. Two years of investigations revealed a scene of 'rampage and pillage' in many lowland areas.
Operations were being commenced illegally; forest working plans, if submitted at all, were being widely ignored; logging tracks were being pushed through at the discretion of the bulldozer driver; hillsides and river banks were being logged; and the immature forest resource was being bashed and trampled in the reckless haste to get the logs down to the waiting log ships. The dazed and disillusioned forest owners stood watching in disbelief as foreign operators removed their trees before moving on to the next area, leaving environmentally disastrous logged-over hillsides, temporary gravel/mud roads and rotting log bridges to erode and cave in to clog the watercourses.
In order to gain access to the timber, foreign operators misled and bribed local leaders, set up 'puppet' native landowner companies, bribed provincial government premiers or ministers and gave gifts or bribes to national ministers or members of the national parliament or took such people into some form of partnership with them.
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Bhagavan: (car screeches as passing by) So fast and they go nowhere. |
China - A Hub of Illegally Felled Timber
Consumer demand in Europe, Japan and the US for reasonably priced furniture and other Chinese wood products is feeding a growing appetite in China for imports of illegally felled timber.
According to the report by US-based Forest Trends and the Beijing-based Centre for Chinese Agricultural Policy, China has become the world’s biggest wood workshop in less than a decade. Chinese manufacturers account for 30 per cent of the world’s furniture trade, with the value of China’s exports of forest products rising from $3.6bn in 1997 to $17.2bn last year. Big markets such as the US and European Union have increased imports of Chinese wood products by 900 per cent over the same period.
Until now a lot of the focus has been on China’s role as a destination market for illegally harvested timber. One of the key messages coming out of this report is that China is right in the middle of a global commodity chain that is driven in large part by consumers in North America and Europe.
In the meantime we are pushing up against some definite limits here, and in the short run we can only see the problem getting worse.
According to the report by US-based Forest Trends and the Beijing-based Centre for Chinese Agricultural Policy, China has become the world’s biggest wood workshop in less than a decade. Chinese manufacturers account for 30 per cent of the world’s furniture trade, with the value of China’s exports of forest products rising from $3.6bn in 1997 to $17.2bn last year. Big markets such as the US and European Union have increased imports of Chinese wood products by 900 per cent over the same period.
Until now a lot of the focus has been on China’s role as a destination market for illegally harvested timber. One of the key messages coming out of this report is that China is right in the middle of a global commodity chain that is driven in large part by consumers in North America and Europe.
In the meantime we are pushing up against some definite limits here, and in the short run we can only see the problem getting worse.
Profuseness is a cruel and crafty demon, that gradually involves her followers in dependence and debt; that is, fetters them with irons that enter into their souls.
- Samuel Johnson
A State Turning Into A Barren, Toxic Wasteland By Indiscriminate Mining -All In The Name of Tribal Development
A Case Study of Orissa (India)
Orissa, a state in eastern India, is having the largest number of tribal groups in the country and they constitute about a third of the state’s population. Government of Orissa has undertaken a number of ‘development projects’ for the welfare of the indigenous tribals over the last two decades and the net outcome of which has been distress migration, malnutrition, drought and crop failures.
These tribals have taken up arms to protect their lands and their agriculture. The state government’s first brush with tribals took place in December 2000, when it pushed for an aluminium project. Several tribals where killed in clashes with police which came to evict them.
There is also a proposed steel industry which requires more than 30,000 hectares of land which is densely populated by the tribals. Conservative estimates reveal that at least 15,000 families will be evicted losing their homes. 60,000 more will lose their land and livelihood. Also, a large number of families will be occupationally displaced. For this reasons they have become more vicious. Lately, all this has led to arise in Maoist militancy in the state’s tribal belt.
Prtyush Piyush, a tribal lifestyle research scholar mentions, “If this type of industrialisation continues in the state, we will not see our rich culture, heritage and tradition, even it will not be available in the museums.” Orissa, like rest of India, has a predominantly agrarian population. The several memorandums of understanding that have been signed with various industrialists have already caused much dissent and dissatisfaction in different parts of the state.
Narendra Maharana, an NGO worker says, “The work is proceeding with blatant disregard for human life. From Kasipur to Lanjigad and Kalinganagar everywhere state police crack upon villagers , using lathis, threats and even sexual abuse. Innocent villagers now have serious legal charges against them. Many have been served non-bailable warrants. For the ‘development’ of the tribal people, a large-capacity jail has been planned near the proposed industrial town!”
These tribals have taken up arms to protect their lands and their agriculture. The state government’s first brush with tribals took place in December 2000, when it pushed for an aluminium project. Several tribals where killed in clashes with police which came to evict them.
There is also a proposed steel industry which requires more than 30,000 hectares of land which is densely populated by the tribals. Conservative estimates reveal that at least 15,000 families will be evicted losing their homes. 60,000 more will lose their land and livelihood. Also, a large number of families will be occupationally displaced. For this reasons they have become more vicious. Lately, all this has led to arise in Maoist militancy in the state’s tribal belt.
Prtyush Piyush, a tribal lifestyle research scholar mentions, “If this type of industrialisation continues in the state, we will not see our rich culture, heritage and tradition, even it will not be available in the museums.” Orissa, like rest of India, has a predominantly agrarian population. The several memorandums of understanding that have been signed with various industrialists have already caused much dissent and dissatisfaction in different parts of the state.
Narendra Maharana, an NGO worker says, “The work is proceeding with blatant disregard for human life. From Kasipur to Lanjigad and Kalinganagar everywhere state police crack upon villagers , using lathis, threats and even sexual abuse. Innocent villagers now have serious legal charges against them. Many have been served non-bailable warrants. For the ‘development’ of the tribal people, a large-capacity jail has been planned near the proposed industrial town!”
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If humanity has the will, it has the ways to live within the means of the planet. |
Another activity causing havoc in Orissa is bauxite mining, which is one of the most environmentally-destructive processes known. The slag to ore ratio is 3:1, which means that for every tonne of alumina produced, there will be three tonnes of highly caustic slag. This will be dumped as red mud in downstream areas, destroying agricultural land, surface and sub-soil water, and causing unnamed diseases and ailments.
Environmental activist Biswajit Mohanty says, “The state government has adopted a myopic and self-destructive policy of exhausting the entire stock of 3,120 million tonnes of iron ore and 1,626 million tonnes of bauxite within 20 to 25 years. This will result in massive environmental degradation as the region’s carrying capacity to absorb and assimilate effluents and wastes produced due to such gigantic production facilities, which will soon be exhausted several times over, within a very short time period.”
With the quantum of steel and aluminium extraction that is planned for Orissa, the state will turn into a barren, toxic wasteland. The processing of all metals, steel and aluminium particularly, requires huge quantities of water and leaves behind a toxic waste stream . What rivers remain after the catchments have been cleared will run full of toxins, unfit for human or animal use. This is not some doomsday, far-in-the-future scenario, it as has already happened in the case of the Damodar River in Jharkhand (coal mining) and the Bhadra River in Karnataka (iron ore).
Almost all major concentrations of coal, bauxite and iron ore are concentrated in forest areas. The same areas that are home to the country’s dwindling indigenous cultures and biodiversity.
Environmental activist Biswajit Mohanty says, “The state government has adopted a myopic and self-destructive policy of exhausting the entire stock of 3,120 million tonnes of iron ore and 1,626 million tonnes of bauxite within 20 to 25 years. This will result in massive environmental degradation as the region’s carrying capacity to absorb and assimilate effluents and wastes produced due to such gigantic production facilities, which will soon be exhausted several times over, within a very short time period.”
With the quantum of steel and aluminium extraction that is planned for Orissa, the state will turn into a barren, toxic wasteland. The processing of all metals, steel and aluminium particularly, requires huge quantities of water and leaves behind a toxic waste stream . What rivers remain after the catchments have been cleared will run full of toxins, unfit for human or animal use. This is not some doomsday, far-in-the-future scenario, it as has already happened in the case of the Damodar River in Jharkhand (coal mining) and the Bhadra River in Karnataka (iron ore).
Almost all major concentrations of coal, bauxite and iron ore are concentrated in forest areas. The same areas that are home to the country’s dwindling indigenous cultures and biodiversity.
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Wisdom seldom consorts with extravagance. |
Peak Oil - A Silent Tsunami Approaching Humanity
Oil is the lifeblood of modern civilization. Choke off the oil and it quickly seizes.
With no viable alternatives in sight, human society is facing a great crisis of unprecedented scale. All the previous calamities were local in nature. Oil crisis would be a global disaster because the world today shares a common fate.
Before the present lull, the headlines were blaring like “Shell chief fears oil shortage in seven years”, “Spectre of food rationing hits US amidst global food crisis “, “Futures Market Traders Bet On $200/Barrel Oil In 2008”, “Oilcos plan to ration fuel supply”, “British truckers protest rising fuel prices”, “ Oil shock: Airlines cut flights, expansion plans” etc.
Stopgap solutions can not help as the nature and environment can not be cheated. In trying to do so, we end up cheating our ownselves. We have to get to the root of the problem which is an unsustainable life style, life style with hardly any reverence towards nature and its creator.
With no viable alternatives in sight, human society is facing a great crisis of unprecedented scale. All the previous calamities were local in nature. Oil crisis would be a global disaster because the world today shares a common fate.
Before the present lull, the headlines were blaring like “Shell chief fears oil shortage in seven years”, “Spectre of food rationing hits US amidst global food crisis “, “Futures Market Traders Bet On $200/Barrel Oil In 2008”, “Oilcos plan to ration fuel supply”, “British truckers protest rising fuel prices”, “ Oil shock: Airlines cut flights, expansion plans” etc.
Stopgap solutions can not help as the nature and environment can not be cheated. In trying to do so, we end up cheating our ownselves. We have to get to the root of the problem which is an unsustainable life style, life style with hardly any reverence towards nature and its creator.
Our Lives Our Utterly Dependent on Cheap Oil
We have allowed oil to become vital to virtually everything we do. Ninety per cent of all our transportation, whether by land, air or sea, is fuelled by oil. Ninety-five per cent of all goods in shops involve the use of oil. Ninety-five per cent of all our food products require oil use.
Thus the three main purposes for which oil is used worldwide are food, transport and heating. In the near future the competition for oil for these three activities will be raw and real. But still reliable supplies of cheap oil and natural gas underlie everything we identify as the necessities of modern life - not to mention all of its comforts and luxuries: central heating, air conditioning, cars, airplanes, electric lights, inexpensive clothing, recorded music, movies, hip-replacement surgery, national defense - you name it.
Thus the three main purposes for which oil is used worldwide are food, transport and heating. In the near future the competition for oil for these three activities will be raw and real. But still reliable supplies of cheap oil and natural gas underlie everything we identify as the necessities of modern life - not to mention all of its comforts and luxuries: central heating, air conditioning, cars, airplanes, electric lights, inexpensive clothing, recorded music, movies, hip-replacement surgery, national defense - you name it.
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The entire world economy rests on the consumer; if he ever stops spending money he doesn’t have on things he doesn’t need — we’re done for. |
Imagine a day of your life without oil! Well its almost impossible to escape oil’s influence for even a single day in our lives. Did you wake up to a plastic alarm clock after a restful night? Thank petroleum for the mosquito repellent, both bottle and liquid. And did you put on your eye glasses? Then you started your this day with petroleum too. The frame and plastic lens owe their origin to oil. When you get ready to shave, your shaving cream, razor body and deodorant contain petroleum products as important ingredients. Your bathroom pvc door and toilet seats, where do they come from? You guessed it right. Then comes toothbrush, an outright petroleum based product and toothpaste, with petrochemical-enhanced artificial coloring and mineral oils. You are living with oil in your mouth if you are wearing dentures. After shower when you put your lip balm, you have used a petroleum product once again.
Poverty is often concealed in splendor.
-Samuel Johnson
While still in shower, you rush to answer a phone call and it is all oil based plastic. Suddenly your tiny tot requires a change of diapers and its linings are fathered by petroleum too. After shower, when you put on your formals, you are again draped in oil because all synthetic fabrics originate therefrom. And when you put on your leather shoes with synthetic soles, once again you step into the realms of oil. Then as you quickly spray perfume, you have sprayed oil. Then to avoid drizzle, you put on your raincoat. Lo and behold! You have added another layer of oil on your existence.
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And whatever produce they get, sometimes they dump tons of it into the ocean to keep the prices high. And I have heard here in Geneva that when there was excess milk production, some of the people wanted to slaughter twenty thousand cows just to reduce the milk production. |
But what about streets. You guessed it right! Streets are paved with asphalt, a sticky byproduct remaining after refining crude oil. Of course no need to discuss what goes in your car to run and lubricate it. In your office canteen, your breakfast comes off a non stick pan and this too is a petroproduct. Of course food production and transport is also at the mercy of petroleum because most of the fertilizers and pesticides are harvested from oil. Then as you insert a CD or DVD, you have handled oil once again. So is with your credit and debit cards, bunch of which your wallet holds. And yet same again with your wallet whether it is leather or rexine. Leather too requires petrochemicals for tanning and processing. Well if all this is beginning to give you a headache and you would like to pop in an aspirin, guess where it comes from. Answer again would be the same.
Petroleum follows you when in the evening you head for a round of golf. Yes the ball is practically oil solidified. We are merged or shall we say drowning, from toe to head, in an ocean of oil. Unfortunately this ocean is limited in its dimensions and full of fearsome waves of uncertain supplies.
Thus almost every current human endeavour f rom transportation, to manufacturing, to electricity to plastics, and especially food production is inextricably intertwined with oil and natural gas supplies.
Petroleum follows you when in the evening you head for a round of golf. Yes the ball is practically oil solidified. We are merged or shall we say drowning, from toe to head, in an ocean of oil. Unfortunately this ocean is limited in its dimensions and full of fearsome waves of uncertain supplies.
Thus almost every current human endeavour f rom transportation, to manufacturing, to electricity to plastics, and especially food production is inextricably intertwined with oil and natural gas supplies.
World Energy Forecasts - Bleak Future
At present the heavily industrialized United States, with only 5% of the world’s population, is using more than 30% of the world’s energy output. But how long can this situation last? To catch up to the United States, the rest of the world is racing to industrialize, but the world’s limited energy reserves make the end of the energy bonanza inevitable.
If we don't change our course, we'll end up where we're headed.
- Chinese proverb
There is a saudi proverb which says, “ My father rode a camel; I drive a car; my son flies a jet; his son will ride a camel.”
Reality is that we have to bid good bye to oil one day. Its not a question of what or if, but just a question of when. And the thing is we don’t have to run out of oil to start having severe problems with industrial civilization and its dependent systems. We only have to slip over the all-time production peak and begin a slide down the arc of steady depletion. In other words, we won’t have to run completely out of oil to be rudely awakened. The panic starts once the world needs more oil than it gets. The key event in the Petroleum Era is not when the oil runs out, but when oil production peaks. Just like they thought that the Titanic was unsinkable. The upcoming end of cheap oil seems to have surprised markets. The exponential increase in demand for fossil fuels seems to have come as an unpleasant surprise. The alternative sources of power: solar, wind, nuclear, tidal, etc. are not as energy dense, portable, or as readily usable as fossil fuels.History tells us that complete development of new energy sources (coal and oil in the past) takes a long time, at least about half a century. The peak in fossil energy extraction will expose the fallacy of limitless growth.
Recently in US, the National Petroleum Council, a body of 175 authorities that reports to the US government, presented a 420-page report which is considered the most comprehensive study ever carried out into the industry and includes the heads of the world’s big oil companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum, Shell and BP. The report concludes that the global supply of oil and natural gas may run short by 2015.
Reality is that we have to bid good bye to oil one day. Its not a question of what or if, but just a question of when. And the thing is we don’t have to run out of oil to start having severe problems with industrial civilization and its dependent systems. We only have to slip over the all-time production peak and begin a slide down the arc of steady depletion. In other words, we won’t have to run completely out of oil to be rudely awakened. The panic starts once the world needs more oil than it gets. The key event in the Petroleum Era is not when the oil runs out, but when oil production peaks. Just like they thought that the Titanic was unsinkable. The upcoming end of cheap oil seems to have surprised markets. The exponential increase in demand for fossil fuels seems to have come as an unpleasant surprise. The alternative sources of power: solar, wind, nuclear, tidal, etc. are not as energy dense, portable, or as readily usable as fossil fuels.History tells us that complete development of new energy sources (coal and oil in the past) takes a long time, at least about half a century. The peak in fossil energy extraction will expose the fallacy of limitless growth.
Recently in US, the National Petroleum Council, a body of 175 authorities that reports to the US government, presented a 420-page report which is considered the most comprehensive study ever carried out into the industry and includes the heads of the world’s big oil companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum, Shell and BP. The report concludes that the global supply of oil and natural gas may run short by 2015.
Extravagance is its own destroyer.
- Zeno
Many of our short sighted politicians and officials are simply busy filling their coffers and we can not expect any concrete measures from them. This is the time to build a mass opinion to save our planet, to save our resources. It is surprising that so little awareness exists about this cataclysm and so little is being done about a problem which can choke the very life line of our civilization, both on official as well as grassroot levels. People are going about their chores, driving around in SUVs, hopping about in jets as if nothing has happened and as if the government will just handle everything. Reality is that we can no longer take cheap energy for granted and on national and international levels and energy planning has to percolate down into our lives. Every short walk, every cycling scuttle, every switching off a light or turning off a tap will give extra lease of life to human society.
He who buys what he needs not, sells what he needs.
-Japanese Proverb
