Fix Earth Now

Oil, the Sinister Commodity: Oil is the only commodity that is capable of causing mass unemployment, double-digit inflation, a reduction of output and incomes, extraordinary political turmoil and losses of global economic welfare on a scale associated with total war. Higher inflation and lower growth-stagflation (both vulnerable to oil price shocks) is about the worst scenario an economic policy-maker can contemplate.

Society’s reliance on oil is like a drug addiction. We continue to increase our consumption of oil to our detriment–we are harming the environment and our reliance on oil has led to the use of military force in unstable parts of the world to prevent the disruption of supplies. Even though this bad habit is harmful to our planet, we are in denial because we are afraid of the withdrawal symptoms and we think that we can continue this dirty habit without being overcome by the negative consequences.

Air Pollution Causes Global Warming: Fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal when burned, release vast quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere trapping radiation and overheating the earth’s surface. Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that most researchers believe to be causing global warming because it remains for decades in the atmosphere, trapping energy from sunlight and thus causing the atmosphere to heat up. In 2008, the world is expected to burn through some thirty-one billion barrels of oil, six billion tons of coal and a hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The combustion of these fossil fuels will produce, in aggregate, some four hundred quadrillion B.T.U.s of energy. It will also yield around thirty billion tons of carbon dioxide. In 2009, global consumption of fossil fuels is expected to grow by about two per cent, meaning that emissions will rise by more than half a billion tons, and the following year consumption is expected to grow by yet another two per cent.

Uncertainty Related to Global Warming: Many people think that man-made global warming is not happening, and that the warming climate is due to the randomness of weather patterns or a natural prolonged temperature swing and has nothing to do with air pollution. Studying the climate is a hard problem for three reasons. The system itself is incredibly complex. There is only one such system, so comparative studies are impossible. And controlled experiments are equally impossible. So there will always be uncertainty and therefore room for dissent. The climate problem may be less serious than some scientists fear, but on the other hand, it may be much more serious too.

Higher Temperatures: Nine of the ten hottest years in the past 130 years have occurred since 1996. 2005 was the warmest year in the past 100 years in terms of annual average surface temperatures. Both surface temperatures and sea levels have been rising for some time.

Warmer Ocean Surface Temperatures: Hurricanes get their energy from the heat in the surface of the ocean. Global warming warms the surface of the ocean which causes an increase in the intensity of hurricanes, typhoons and tropical storms. The number of Category 4 and Category 5 hurricanes have nearly doubled in the past three decades.

In 1981-85, fewer than 500 million people around the world were affected by natural disasters and required international disaster-assistance; in 2001-05, the number reached 1.5 billion. Estimates by the Global Humanitarian Forum put the number of additional deaths attributable to climate change every year at 150,000. The indirect harm, through its impact on water supplies, crop yields and disease is hugely greater. Global warming dries out farmland. World farm production could fall by 16% by the 2080's. Since two-thirds of Africa is desert or arid, the continent is heavily exposed. Global warming also seems to be speeding up the earth's hydrologic cycle, causing both floods and droughts (more rains fall in shorter periods, with longer gaps between).

When carbon dioxide is released into the air, about a third ends up, in relatively short order, in the oceans. (CO2 dissolves in water to form a weak acid; this is the cause of the phenomenon know as “ocean acidification.”) A quarter is absorbed by terrestrial ecosystems—no one is quite sure exactly how or where—and the rest remains in the atmosphere. If current trends in emissions continue, then sometime within the next four or five decades the chemistry of the oceans will have been altered to such a degree that many marine organisms—including reef-building corals—will be pushed toward extinction.

Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere: Atmospheric concentrations of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) have risen from around 280 parts per million two centuries ago to around 385 parts per million in 2008, thanks chiefly to mankind’s use of fossil fuels and, to a lesser degree, to deforestation and other land-use changes; that’s an increase of 38%. Atmospheric CO2 levels are projected to reach five hundred and fifty parts per million—twice pre-industrial levels—virtually guaranteeing an eventual global temperature increase of three or more degrees.

Warming of the Poles: The Arctic ice cap, which has shrunk by half since the nineteen-fifties, is melting at an annual rate of twenty-four thousand square miles, meaning that an expanse of ice the size of West Virginia is disappearing each year. The extent of surface melt on the Greenland ice sheet has reached a new high. Near the South Pole, a NASA report found that between 1995 and 2000 the melting rate of the Patagonian ice fields, in Chile and Argentina, had more than doubled.

In Alaska mean temperatures have risen by five degrees in summer and ten degrees in winter since the 1970’s. The result has manifested itself in sagging roads, crumbling villages, dead forests, catastrophic fires, possible disruption of marine wildlife, and forests that are sinking or drowning as melting permafrost forces water up. The higher water is also eating away at buildings and houses.

Disruption of the Gulf Stream: In recent years, the Gulf Stream has dramatically decreased the amount of warm water which it brings from the Caribbean Sea to Northwest Europe; without this warm water Northwest Europe will get much colder in the next two or three decades. This is predominantly due to global warming and the melting of the Greenland ice cap.

Burning Fossil Fuels Creates Air Pollution

US Carbon Dioxide Pollution Levels: In 1997, the US emitted 20.1 tons of carbon dioxide per person. Since there were more than 270 million people living in the US in 1997, about 5.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere in that year. And the same amount or more was released into the atmosphere in 1998. And the same amount or more was released into the atmosphere in 1999. And so on and so on.

50% of US Electricity is Generated by Burning Coal: Burning coal to generate electricity emits far more carbon dioxide per unit of usable energy output than any other energy source. Right now about one quarter of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions come from coal burning power plants. Mining coal is dangerous; explosions, fires and mine collapses kill thousands of coal miners every year. Mining coal levels mountains and disrupts ecosystems. Burning coal yields toxic emissions including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, sulfur dioxide, and soot particles. These toxic emissions cause acid rain, polluted lakes and rivers, and poor air quality. Almost all US electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, mostly coal but also oil and natural gas. The rest of our electricity is generated by nuclear reactors and a tiny percentage is generated by renewable energy technologies.

Daily Traffic Jams on Highways Contribute to Air Pollution: Traffic jams happen regularly all over the country. The carbon dioxide coming out of every tailpipe in every traffic jam will eventually wind up trapped in the atmosphere. Does the phrase "Cross Bronx Expressway" conjure up any images for you? There are countless numbers of roads in every congested city where these air polluting traffic jams are common.

Ozone Degradation: Ozone – the main pollutant in smog – is formed when emissions from vehicles, factories, power plants and other sources cook in the air on hot sunny days. High ozone levels can make breathing difficult for certain people, including the elderly, children, adults active outdoors and those with existing breathing problems such as asthma and bronchitis. Ozone can also cause eye irritation and can put added strain on the heart. These groups are urged to stay indoors and not to exert themselves when ozone climbs to high levels. When ozone levels are high, hospital emergency rooms get filled with asthma patients.

The ozone layer is an atmospheric layer at the height of 20 to 30 miles that is characterized by high ozone content which blocks most solar ultraviolet radiation from entry into the lower atmosphere. The use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) and HCFC’s in air conditioning and aerosol cans create holes in the ozone layer. Holes in the ozone layer let in damaging radiation from the sun which leads to greater occurrences of skin cancer.

Air Conditioning: Air conditioning consumes massive amounts of electricity. The hotter it gets as a result of global warming, the more air conditioning society will demand. The more people run their air conditioners, the more electricity gets used up, the more greenhouse gases get released into the atmosphere through the generation of that electricity, the hotter it gets as a result of global warming, the more air conditioning society will demand, and so on, and so on.

Air Pollution is Damaging Humanity’s Health: Man-made air and water pollution has been linked to the rise in asthma, cancer and fertility problems. Asthma rates have been increasing globally and in American cities where air pollution is acute; they have risen four-fold in recent years. Air pollution is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the world.

Other Problems with Fossil Fuels

Reliance on Foreign Oil: About two-thirds of the world’s proven oil reserves lie in the hands of just five Persian Gulf countries. Other countries with relatively large reserves of oil include Russia, Nigeria and Venezuela. In 2005, foreign oil accounted for 58 percent of total consumption in the United States. The US currently imports about thirteen million barrels of foreign oil a day. The US has a history of threatening other countries with military force and using military intervention to exercise control over their oil industries. Political instability abroad is hard to control.

Oil Spills in the Ocean: Approximately 420,000 kiloliters of oil have been spilled into the oceans of the world every year since 1978. Just one spill, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, polluted 1,300 miles of beach.

Living Next to Oil Refineries Increases the Risk of Cancer: Many Americans live in neighborhoods that are located next to oil refineries, and cancer rates in those neighborhoods have increased to as high as 60% greater than the national average. People who live near these dangers are having their human rights violated, the right to live in an environment free of air pollution, water pollution and radioactivity. These are human rights of US citizens that are being violated by the companies that own the refineries. These are risks to which no one on the planet should be subjected.

Acid Rain: Acid rain is created by burning fossil fuels. Ecosystems can tolerate acid rain if they have a substantial alkaline presence that can neutralize the acidity in acid rain. In Eastern Canada many of the water and soil systems in this region lack natural alkalinity - such as a lime base - and therefore cannot neutralize acid naturally so exposure to acid rain has a harmful effect on its environment.

Fossil Fuel Demand

Oil Demand: According to the Canadian Energy Research Institute, world oil demand is growing at two million bpd (barrels per day) or more a year. In 1995, the average North American used the equivalent of 6.6 tons of oil – more than six times the world average for the same year. In 2004, global oil demand was 84 million barrels per day. Americans consume about a quarter of all the oil in the world, with per capita use of gasoline at least double that of other developed countries. By far the worst damage we Americans do to the planet arises from the 850 million or so gallons of oil we consume every day. Global consumption of oil increases by 2% each year.

Developing Countries’ Electricity Demand is Rapidly Increasing: If we continue to generate energy from fossil fuel power plants, the economic expansion occurring in emerging countries will require the construction of thousands of new fossil fuel power plants. According to the International Energy Agency, approximately 1,350 new coal burning power plants will have to be built over the next 24 years in order to provide the energy that will be demanded. 540 of them will be built in China, where coal is fueling a stunning economic transformation (in 2008, China has been building new coal-fired plants at the rate of roughly one a week). India will build 135 of them, and most of the remaining 675 will be added in the West. Clashes between mankind and nature will grow much worse because ecosystems in the future will be less able than in the past to deliver the goods and services upon which human life depends.

China is already the world’s biggest consumer of many commodities, such as steel, copper, coal and cement, and the second-biggest consumer of oil, after America. China’s share of global oil demand is at 8%, but it has been responsible for nearly two-fifths of the increase in global consumption since 2000. The International Energy Agency said China would overtake the US as the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in 2007 or 2008. From 2004 to 2007 China's GDP and its energy consumption have grown at an average of 11% a year. In 2008, it was estimated that China's electricity capacity would increase by 140% over the next decade. China’s surge in energy demand is also the main reason for the doubling in the world price of coal in 2004. In the long term, continuing industrialization will increase China’s demand for raw materials and fuels. Economic development is always energy-intensive because basic industries tend to be big energy guzzlers, and as incomes rise, more households can afford cars and energy-consuming household appliances such as air conditioners and washing machines. At present there is only one car for every 70 people in China, against one car for every two Americans. If car ownership were eventually to rise to American levels, there would be 650 million cars on Chinese roads—more than all the cars in the world today. Such forecasts have scary implications for energy prices and for the environment.

In India over the past decade, electricity generation has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 5.5%, but demand has exceeded supply by an average of 11% per year. Approximately 733 million people live in the countryside, but the countryside accounts for no more than 13% of electricity consumption. From 2004 to 2007 India's GDP has grown at an annual average of 9% a year while its energy consumption has risen by 4% a year. And yet, to achieve its target of long-term 8% growth, India will have to boost its power-generation capacity at least sixfold by 2030. Over the period, its emissions are expected to increase over fourfold. In 2008, it was estimated that India's electricity capacity would increase by 80% over the next decade. The Indian government wants electricity to reach every village by 2008—demanding the electrification of 110,000 villages—and every household by 2012. At present, 56% of India’s households, and just 44% of those in rural areas have connections to the grid. Meanwhile, India’s economy has been growing at an average of more than 6% for the past 15 years and will expand even faster in the future, meaning more electricity-intensive manufacturing and air conditioned shopping malls. Coal fuels about 60% of India’s electricity, compared with 26% from hydro-electricity and 11% from oil and gas.

In 2008, over half of the world's infrastructure investment took place in emerging economies. In total, emerging economies spent an estimated $1.2 trillion on roads, railways, electricity, telecommunications and other projects. Morgan Stanley predicted that emerging economies will spend $22 trillion on infrastructure over the next ten years, of which China will account for 43%. China has spent more in the 2002-2007 period than in the whole of the 20th century. In 2007, Brazil launched a four-year plan to spend $300 billion to modernize its road network, power plants and ports. The Indian government's latest five-year plan has ambitiously pencilled in nearly $500 billion in infrastructure projects. Russia, the Gulf states and other oil exporters are all pouring part of their higher oil revenues into fixed investment in infrastructure. Excavator sales were five times higher by volume in 2008 than they were in 2000. Never before has infrastructure spending been so large as a share of world GDP. This is partly because more countries are now industrializing than ever before, but also because China and others are investing at a much brisker pace than rich economies ever did. In 2008, it was estimated that the number of air passengers would jump by more than 350% in China and by 200% in India over the next decade. An expected 75% increase in emerging economies' electricty demand over the next decade will worsen air pollution and global warming.

Estimated Expiration of Oil Reserves: Ultimate world recovery of oil is estimated to be between 1.8 and 2.1 trillion barrels of oil. This sets the estimate for the peak year of world oil production to occur sometime in the next 20 years. After the peak, the world’s production of crude oil will fall, never to rise again. Global oil production may drop quickly in the year after peak production has been reached which would cause the price of oil to skyrocket. Developing renewable energy sources on a large scale will take at least 10 years. Planning for increased energy conservation and designing renewable energy sources should begin now to make good use of the years before the crisis actually happens.

Although investment by the big oil firms in oil exploration went up approximately 20% to $200 billion per year, net oil reserves held by the major oil companies at the end of 2004 had hardly changed from the level of a year earlier. Demand for oil continues to grow while supply of oil remains constant or is shrinking. The inevitable effect of depleting a finite resource is that the price will rise. This price increase results in three responses, 1) it discourages waste of the resource and encourages conservation, 2) it stimulates more efficient use of the resource by industry (i.e., industry will try to substitute a labor intensive process for a process that uses up the scarce resource), and 3) it encourages innovation such as new technologies or the discovery of other more abundant resources that can do the same job.

Drilling for Oil in the US: The Arctic National Wildlife Reserve in Alaska may become opened to oil drilling because proponents would have us believe that domestic drilling will decrease our reliance on foreign oil thereby stabilizing our relations with the volatile Middle East. Domestic drilling will not decrease our reliance on foreign oil because drilling for oil in Alaska would only result in a small amount of expensive oil that could not reach the market for nearly a decade.

The Energy Industry is on the Verge of Major Structural Changes: The energy industry is on the verge of major structural changes because of the need to reduce our reliance on Middle East oil reserves, the growing demand for high quality, or “high nines” power, the deregulation of the utility industry, the bottlenecks occurring in the transmission and distribution of electricity, and the tendency to rely more on distributed generation.

Risks Associated with Nuclear Energy: The Chernobyl accident occurred because the Russians didn't build a concrete containment structure around the reactor. The specifics on Chernobyl were as follows: Reactor No.4 had no containment system to stop the spread of radiation, and when it caught fire the graphite core burned like charcoal for ten days, lofting radioactive material into the atmosphere, where it was carried as far as Ireland. The Soviets said nothing about the accident; it was discovered only when the plume tripped radiation alarms at a nuclear plant north of Stockholm. 134 local firefighters developed acute radiation sickness. 28 men died within months. The nearly fifty thousand residents of the town of Pripyat, less than two miles away, were told nothing until more than twenty-four hours after the explosion, when they were ordered to evacuate temporarily and leave their possessions behind. Most never returned. Soviet authorities failed to warn people to protect themselves. Cows ate tainted grass, and children drank the milk, contaminating their thyroid glands with radioactive iodine. Local doctors were barred from mentioning the meltdown in their diagnoses, to prevent “radiophobia”—unhealthy fear of radiation. The greatest long-term impact has been an epidemic of thyroid cancer, mostly among children who drank the milk. Five thousand cases have been discovered, but most are treatable; so far, approximately ten people have died. According to the World Health Organization, Chernobyl will eventually have shortened the lives of four thousand people. A fifth of the farmland in Belarus was rendered unusable, and still accounts for seven hundred million dollars in losses each year. Parts of the inner, most severely contaminated ring around Chernobyl—the area within a radius of ten kilometers, known as the Ten—are expected to be uninhabitable for at least 150 years. It is easy enough to enforce the use of a containment structure here in the US, but there is a risk that the rest of the world does not enforce this and catastrophies similar to Chernobyl happen again.

In the 1970's India stole plutonium from a Canadian-built reactor to make its nuclear bomb. This probably doesn't happen often but eliminating all nuclear reactors reduces the risk of having plutonium fall into the wrong hands to zero. Nations like Iran invoke their right to develop peaceful nuclear energy programs while they surreptitiously make nuclear bombs. Nuclear electricity generation is continually increasing the inventory of volatile, dangerous radioactive waste. Radioactive waste is usually stored next to the reactor that generates it or buried in concrete tanks near the reactor. If these storage areas develop leaks the waste can seep into the drinking water. For example, in 2011, at the Hanford nuclear facility in Washington state, none of the 53 million gallons of highly toxic waste stored in 177 ageing and leaky underground tanks has been cleaned up despite a clean-up being launched more than 20 years earlier. This clean-up is expected to cost tax payers $74 billion. The development of a nuclear power station requires significant subsidies from the government to get off the ground. Insurance alone is enough to dissuade investors from investing without the help of the government. Exposure to nuclear waste radiation mutates genetic material at the cellular level and leads to birth defects among other problems. 27 new nuclear plants are under construction, to add to the 442 already operating, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Many countries are planning to build more, or are at least contemplating the idea. Yucca Mountain, Nevada has been selected as the national location to store the nuclear waste of other states, but the state of Nevada opposes having nuclear waste stored there.

The Need for Water Conservation: The World Commission on Water estimates that the demand for water will increase by 50% in the next 30 years. By 2025, around 4 billion people will live in conditions of severe water stress, meaning they will not have enough water for drinking and washing to stay healthy. Americans consume between four hundred and six hundred liters of water each day—more than any other people on earth. Most Europeans use less than half that.

Fertilizers, Pesticides and Topsoil Erosion: In the US, 87% of the food comes from 18% of the farms. The large farms are eroding top soil and poisoning the ground water with chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. The US has only been around for a couple of centuries and a third of its original topsoil is gone, much of the remaining topsoil is degraded. The soil at many of these farms is so poorly maintained and in such bad shape that each year more and more chemical fertilizers are needed to produce the same amount of food which, further contaminates the drinking water. The loss of topsoil and simultaneous destruction of the organic richness in the remaining soil in current farming and forestry practices is not sustainable.

The bald eagle is the national emblem of the US. It feeds mainly on fish and rodents. In recent years, the fish that the eagle feeds on have been laced with chemical insecticides and pesticides that when eaten by the eagle, diminish its reproductive capabilities. The contamination of the eagle’s diet has brought this proud race of birds to near extinction. Hopefully the same fate doesn’t await the country that the eagle represents.

Species Extinction and Deforestation: In 2009, carbon emissions from deforestation accounted for some 18% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, more than all the world's trains, cars, trucks, planes and ships combined. Keeping forests standing also protects soil from erosion, improves the quality of water, helps regulate rainfall and ensures biodiversity.

In 2008, a third of the world's landmass was forested, which may seem substantial but represents a stark historical decline. During the past ten thousand years, the planet's orginal forest cover has decreased by nearly half, but no cycle of forest loss has been as dramatic as that of the modern era. Much of the world's forest cover has been destroyed in the past two centuries--since 1990 the planet lost nearly half a million square miles of forest. A fifth of the world's wood comes from countries that have serious problems enforcing their timber laws, and most of those countries are also experiencing the fastest rates of deforestation. In 2008, the worldwide sales of forest products were worth about a trillion dollars annually, but more wood is used locally, for fuel, than is traded for industrial purposes; in Africa nearly 90% of all wood harvested is for energy.

214,000 acres of the Amazon rainforest are destroyed every day. In the year to August 2004, 10,000 square miles of Amazon rainforest (an area the size of Massachusetts) were destroyed, mostly by ranchers, farmers or speculators who cleared land in anticipation of ranchers and farmers coming. That is the second-highest level of destruction on record. Brazil loses an average of nearly 8,000 square miles of rainforest every year. In 2008, Brazil’s government pledged to cut the amount of illegal deforestation in the Amazon over the next decade to 1,930 square miles a year, or less than half the current rate. This followed the release of data showing that 4,632 square miles were cut down in the 12 months to July 2008, an increase of almost 4% on the previous year but down from a record 10,422 square miles in 2003-2004. Deforestation contributes to species extinction, soil erosion, drought and global warming; tropical deforestation accounts for a fifth of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity.

Developers and the Construction Industry: Sales of newly built US homes occur at the rate of 1.1 to 1.2 million each year. Most of these homes are being built on deforested land. The US construction industry generates 20% of the nation’s solid waste and consumes 11% of US energy. In the US, buildings account for 65% of electricity consumption, 36% of total energy use and 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. Developers convert green spaces into concrete and asphalt surfaces at an alarming pace; that’s how they make their money. Every year America loses 1.5 million acres of wildlife habitat and 1 million acres of farm and ranchland to development and sprawl. It’s the government’s job to regulate developers. Building inspectors and building permit issuers frequently lack sufficient education in the discipline of land-use planning. This lack of education leads to arbitrary decisions regarding the approval of building plans. These municipal regulators are failing us and through their failures are encouraging suburban strip malls and sprawl.

Population and Poverty: The world’s population has grown sixfold in the past two centuries. In 1991, the population growth rate was about 1.7%. At this rate the world’s population would double every 40 years. There are just under a billion people living in slums. There are approximately 800 million people hungry on the planet. This translates into a lot of misery. Underfed children succumb more easily to disease, and are often stunted both physically and mentally, making it harder for them to earn a living as adults. Hunger is caused by bad weather, but even more by bad government. Well-governed countries never suffer famine. There is a delicate balance that has to be reached between the pleasure and privileges of the upper classes and the suffering and affliction of the lower classes. Excessive suffering experienced by the lower classes, leads to instability.

Megastores:In 2006 (approximately), the average wage for full-time hourly Wal-Mart employees was $9.70 per hour; the average annual income for such workers is about $17,000 per year. Half of Wal-Mart’s 1.3 million employees cannot afford the company’s health care plan for their children, and it is often state Medicaid programs that wind up paying those uncovered worker’s medical expenses. Wal-Mart can offer cheap prices for its goods because it pays low wages to its employees and it buys goods from its suppliers at a low price. In 2008, a tenth of China's exports to the United States were sold by Wal-Mart. Labor is cheap in China because workers don't have good health insurance, their wages are low and the facilities where they work are not bound by strong regulations that protect the environment. When Wal-Mart builds one of its gargantuan facilities at the edge of a small city or town, and then sells goods at reduced prices, long standing stores get boarded up; wages and, often, property values decline; streets turn derelict and empty. By driving thousands of smaller stores in the area out of business Wal-Mart is essentially converting middle income jobs into low wage jobs. New Wal-Mart’s contribute to sprawl by paving over large tracts of land. Megastores also have the effect of standardizing the country; Georgia towns are becoming undifferentiated from Illinois towns because they are now comprised of a Wal-Mart, a Home Depot, a Starbucks, a Dunkin Donuts etc.

The Human Race is Behaving Irresponsibly: Let’s keep in mind the goals of our country’s government: form a more perfect union; establish justice; ensure domestic tranquility; provide for the common defense; promote the general welfare; ensure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. Past administrations have neglected these goals because they have often been guided by short-term considerations such as upcoming elections and partisan pressure. It is critical to the future health of humanity to take into account the long-term consequences of our actions. The human race should be striving for a society that is as sustainable as possible. Supplies of natural resources are limited. Each resource that we use for energy generation or manufacturing should be used in such a way that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.

Problems with Humanity