Resources Consumption

A student writes a script for a speech on resource consumption

In the era of information, technology and fast development, energy needs have increased exponentially, at levels that can't be compared to any other time in the history of earth. Population increase, comercially generated needs and the possibilities that technology has brought along have caused an increase in the usage of natural resources that don't seem to grow at the same rate they're being consumed.

Several conferences, forwarded e-mails, documentaries and actual visible changes in forests and weather have shown the world that earth is not recovering from the exploitation humanity has put it through. Excessive mining and irresponsible usage of natural resources has had a lot to do with the current world we're living in. In the path of technological development, mineral extraction and energy usage are the most important raw materials.

Nowadays, energy is used at an overwhelming extent compared to that of decades ago. It is obvious for all of us now, that the more people there is in the world, the more energy is spent, just as the more natural resources are consumed. Let's put figures into this asseveration: Between 1973 and 2004, world total energy consumption rate has grown 65%, as the population growth rate was around 60%. This proportional relation has to do with the needs that every newborn comes along with. Food, transportation, leisure, and a world flooded by products with a good marketing strategy comprehend a good share of those needs. Today, energy sources are targets for huge price  fluctuations. That is because the sources are getting scarce. The earth is already giving up on giving humanity the resources to withstand population growth in these technological times. Taking this important point into account, you cannot possibly consider, that an increase in population such as the one that ocurred last century will lead to sustainability. 

We have more needs than before: New developments, marketing reinforced products in a larger amount. Human beings never get enough of new things, and a globalized world lets these new things be just  minutes away from almost everywhere. It is not just the number of new developments we have nowadays, but also the frequency in which those new developments get obsolete. In a fast-forward speed world, needs change and get more challenging to the technological companies on a daily basis. Let's get back to the original point. This consumption-dependant economy has to produce the goods we've been talking about, and that consumes energy in a proportional way in terms of manufacturing, and maybe in a higher lever in terms of research. Ergo, every newly created need comes along with an extra energy consumption. Massify this, and it will be quite a figure: If a human being were to be born right now, would consume 25% more energy than a human born back in 1973, that's an interesting fact. Back in those times, that person wouldn't worry about having a nice cellphone, a laptop, an mp3 player or wondering what kind of ethnic food you want for dinner.

Humanity has already realized that development is not an "at-all-costs" matter. But that didn't just happen because of human preventive consciousness. It happened because we realized that the planet itself had a limit. It took us a long time to realize that eventually, mines will be over and garbage will be everywhere.  As simple as the matter conservation law: It is not either created or destroyed, just transformed. This actually means, that in order to keep the world the way it is, we need to learn that if you are getting more lemons, it is imperative to learn how to make lemonade: If we have garbage, we could learn how to use it to obtain the energy and raw materials we need.

Marketing strategies and humanity consumist mindset are not easy to fight, and probably won't change soon. Harder times are required to do so, and other options must be evaluated first. It is easier for humanity to realize the danger of a vast population increase, because there is a direct relation, and everyone can tell that. Responsibility is being gradually assumed, maybe not at the same rate everywhere. That's why there's a lot of work left to do about this. It is harder to make people realize that earth is running out of resources, and that measures must be taken in order to prevent the depletion of those resources. That is because the things that need to be done to gradually change the way resources are used, are actions that need to be done everyday, and modify the lifestyle of people. Wise energy spending and renewable energy obtention and application are just two of the challenges that humanity has to go through in order to reach sustainability. Segregation of garbage, reutilization of the recoverable materials, encouraging wise spending, reducing energy consumptions, developing tools and processes to make this possible are some of the measures that must become more common.

They will be mandatory to prevent extinction itself. That word extinction might sound a little bit harsh, I mean, that's not happening in this moment, and may not happen in the next 5 or 10 years, but prevention right now is the key to avoid such massive needs of change in the mindset of the next generations. 

Ricardo