Resource depletion

For other uses, see Depletion (disambiguation).

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. (See also Mineral resource classification.) 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 farming, fishing, mining, and fossil fuels.

Causes of resource depletion

• Over-consumption/excessive or unnecessary use of resources
• Non-equitable distribution of resources
• Overpopulation...
• Slash and burn agricultural practices, currently occurring in many developing countries
• Technological and industrial development
• Erosion
• Habitat degradation leads to the loss of Biodiversity (ie. species and ecosystems).
• Irrigation
• Mining for oil and minerals
• Aquifer depletion
• Forestry Forest Reserves within a particular country
• Pollution or contamination of resources

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Oil

Main article: Oil depletion

Main article: Peak oil

Peak oil is the period when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. It relates to a long term decline in the available supply of petroleum. This, combined with increasing demand, will significantly increase the worldwide prices of petroleum derived products. Most significant will be the availability and price of liquid fuel for transportation.

The US Department of Energy in the Hirsch report indicates that “The problems associated with world oil production peaking will not be temporary, and past “energy crisis” experience will provide relatively little guidance.”

Oil in the Arctic

Oil has become one of the top resources used in America. Drilling for oil has become a major issue. America is more abundant in coal but the effects on the atmosphere are far worse than oil. Geologists consider northern Alaska to be the last untouched oil field in North America. Some environmental experts are worried that oil and gas development will seriously harm the area. In 2002, the USGS assessed the NPRA and found a significantly greater supply of petroleum (5,900,000 barrels (940,000 m³) to 13,200,000,000 barrels (2.10×10⁹ m³)) than previously estimated. Only up to 5,600,000,000 barrels (890,000,000 m³) of this petroleum are technically and economically recoverable at existing market prices. The USGS suspects that there may be as much as 83.2 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered natural gas in the same area. Transportation of this gas to markets would require a new pipeline. There is already a pipeline system in place for oil—the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), which lies between the NPRA and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The ANWR is a 19-million-acre (77,000 km²) area of wilderness along the Alaska-Canada border. It, too, is being considered for oil exploration, a move strongly opposed by environmentalists. The future of the refuge lies in the hands of the federal government. The administration of George H. W. Bush made drilling there a major foundation of the national energy policy. Under the Clinton administration oil and mineral development was prohibited within the wildlife refuge. In April 2002, following heated debate; the U.S. Senate killed a proposal by the administration of George W. Bush to let oil companies drill in ANWR. Republicans raised the issue again in the fall of 2003, citing the need for the nation to reduce its dependence on oil imported from the Middle East.

Deforestation

Deforestation is the clearing of natural forests by logging or burning of trees and plants in a forested area. As a result of deforestation, presently about one half of the forests that once covered the Earth have been destroyed. It occurs for many different reasons, and it has several negative implications on the atmosphere and the quality of the land in and surrounding the forest.

Causes

One of the main causes of deforestation is clearing forests for agricultural reasons. As the population of developing areas, especially near rainforests, increases, the need for land for farming becomes more and more important. For most people, a forest has no value when its resources aren’t being used, so the incentives to deforest these areas outweigh the incentives to preserve the forests. For this reason, the economic value of the forests is very important for developing worlds.

Environmental impact

Because deforestation is so extensive, it has made several significant impacts on the environment, including carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, changing the water cycle, an increase in soil erosion, and a decrease in biodiversity. Deforestation is often cited as a cause of global warming. Because trees and plants remove carbon dioxide and emit oxygen into the atmosphere, the reduction of forests contribute to about 12% of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. One of the most pressing issues that deforestation creates is soil erosion. The removal of trees causes higher rates of erosion, increasing risks of landslides, which is a direct threat to many people living close to deforested areas. As forests get destroyed, so does the habitat for millions of animals. It is estimated that 80% of the world’s known biodiversity lives in the rainforests, and the destruction of these rainforests is accelerating extinction at an alarming rate.

Controlling deforestation

Efforts to control deforestation must be taken on a global scale. Organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank have started to create programs like Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) that works especially with developing countries to use subsidies or other incentives to encourage citizens to use the forest in a more sustainable way. In addition to making sure that emissions from deforestation are kept to a minimum, an effort to educate people on sustainability and helping them to focus on the long-term risks is key to the success of these programs. Reforestation is also being encouraged in many countries in an attempt to repair the damage that deforestation has done.

Wetlands

See also: Tyranny of small decisions

A wetland is a term used to describe areas that are often saturated by enough surface or groundwater to sustain vegetation that is usually adapted to saturated soil conditions, such as cattails, bulrushes, red maples, wild rice, blackberries, cranberries, and peat moss. Because some varieties of wetlands are rich in minerals and nutrients and provide many of the advantages of both land and water environments they contain diverse species and possibly even form a food chain. When human activities take away resources many species are affected. Many species act as an ecosystem. Years ago people assumed wetlands were useless so it was not a large concern when they were being dug up. Many people want to use them for developing homes etc. On the other side of the argument people believe the wetlands are a vital source for other life forms and a part of the life cycle.

Wetlands provide services for:

1) Food and habitat

2) Improving water quality

3) Commercial fishing

4) Floodwater reduction

5) Shoreline stabilization

6) Recreation

Some loss of wetlands resulted from natural causes such as erosion, sedimentation (the buildup of soil by the settling of fine particles over a long period of time), subsidence (the sinking of land because of diminishing underground water supplies), and a rise in the sea level. However, 95% of the losses since the 1970s have been caused by humans, especially by the conversion of wetlands to agricultural land. More than half (56%) the losses of coastal wetlands resulted from dredging for marinas, canals, port development, and, to some extent, from natural shoreline erosion. The conversion of wetlands causes the loss of natural pollutant sinks. The dramatic decline in wetlands globally suggests not only loss of habitat but also diminished water quality.

See also

• Overexploitation
• Overfishing
• Peak coal
• Peak copper
• Peak phosphorus
• Peak gas
• Peak uranium
• Peak water
• Peak wheat