�All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated."-Kofi Annan
For centuries earth has provided us with the resources necessary for our survival, however since the Industrial Revolution , we have depleted the natural resources on this planet at an unsustainable rate and earth is struggling to meet our ever increasing demands. Resources can be either renewable or non-renewable, the former being non- exhaustible like water, and the latter being exhaustible like minerals and fossil fuels.
As our culture advanced and our species invented many things that will make our lives easier, our demand for raw materials increased by leaps and bounds. We get these resources from the other. The problem is, we're using too much and without care. Our planet just can't keep up with our ever increasing demands. Conservation is the practice of caring for these resources so all living things can benefit from them now and in the future. According to the world counts, we are exhausting about 90 billion natural resources, including biomass, minerals, and fossil fuels every year, three times more than in 1970 till 2022, and expected to increase by two times till 2050.There are several causes which describe the main reasons for natural resource depletion.
Increased population: A large population demands a massive quantity of food, which promotes more agricultural practices. Further, we all need land for a living.More than 7 billion people share the Earth and its natural resources. Since there are so many things that humans do that contribute to natural resource depletion, we need to dissect all of the actions we take as a civilization that are having a negative effect. Once we have identified all of the causes of natural resource depletion, we can begin to make changes in our society that will help us sustain these precious and often fragile resources.
Outdated Technology: Much of the technology we use in the modern age has a lot of remnants of 19th & 20thcentury innovation, which is simply outdated for our society. This type of technology is used in just about every sector of society and has been ingrained in our lives, which is why it can be quite challenging and even controversial to suggest a modernized change. One of the biggest causes for natural resource depletion is our dependency on oil and natural gas for societal functionality.
Transportation: Our vehicles are predominantly fueled by gasoline to this day and although they have gotten more fuel-efficient over the years, they are still major contributors to resource depletion. Vehicles that are dependent on gasoline are used for commuting, traveling, and the transport of goods and services, which means that every aspect of our way of life is causing natural resource depletion through transportation.
Deforestation: Cutting down trees for economic prosperity is essential in our society, but it is often carried out in an unsustainable way, which leads to the depletion of this vital natural resource. Deforestation occur for urban developments, infrastructure, public access, and logging. While it is necessary to utilize deforestation for many of these functions, we tend to abuse our forests with little regard to the environment. This is primarily done by the logging industry.
Resource Contamination: Resource contamination occurs often in the oil drilling industry and through harvesting other natural resources. As we harvest these non-renewable resources, we put at risk any other resources that can be affected by the process. This can commonly be seen with freshwater channels and oceans being polluted when something goes wrong during the harvesting process such as leaks and spills. This then jeopardizes all surrounding resources to pollution.
In addition, we see resource contamination occur in industrial farming. Large-scale farms have been responsible for depleting natural resources such as soil by practicing poor farming techniques that cause soil infertility.
Natural Resource Depletion: Effects
After exploring the causes of natural resource depletion, it's important to recognize that all of these actions trickle down and have long-term effects on our environment and our health. These effects have been brushed under the rug for decades, as they either didn't pose as serious of a threat in our past - or they were simply disregarded by governments, industries, and society as a whole. However, we have reached a point where we can no longer ignore the effects of natural resource depletion, as the evidence is apparent and the symptoms are being felt around the globe.
Economic Instability & Poverty: The natural resources that we utilize in our society have helped us make great advancements in our economy and our overall quality of life. Many of these resources have laid the foundation for much of humanity's accomplishments in the past century. This is an ironic truth of resource depletion, as the resources that once allowed us to prosper may well lead to our demise.
The depletion of particularly our non-renewable energy resources is a troubling notion for nations that are highly dependent on them for economic stability.
Solutions of Depletion of Natural Resources: Programs aimed at checking against deforestation such as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) created by the World Bank, the New York Declaration on Forests, and the United Nations are initiatives that could help reduce the depletion of naturalresources.Sustainability programs that aim to educate people about the importance of conserving natural resources should also be enacted as a way of focusing on the long-term risks associated with degradation. Oil-rich countries together with the World Bank, state, and consumables' regulatory bodies should join hands towards a common international objective of discussing how oil and mineral consumption, as well as exploitation, can be reduced.
Renewables such as solar and wind power can be explored more and utilized to reduce the dependency on fossil fuel, which is a major cause of environmental pollution, climate change, global warming, and destruction of natural habitats. The main purpose of creating awareness would be to encourage people to preserve and restore the natural environment by getting involved in conservation efforts.
In conclusion, the increase in population and excessive human desire for all amenities of life are some of the major reasons behind it. The goals of economic and social development can be achieved by ensuring terms of sustainability in both countries either developed or developing. If our attitude towards natural resources remains apathetic, then the day is not far when very existence of life on the earth will be threatened. It's time we realize that our actions are harming the planet and its resources, and we need to conserve, not destroy them by irresponsible activities. Only then the world can survive and maintain its equilibrium.
Anika Fatima, Editorial Assistant, The Daily Observer
