The World’s Resource Problem

I think a big problem that the world will face in the future is the resource problem. This is an issue that many people talk about so it’s quite obvious. The Earth has a limited number of natural resources and humans are using them up very quickly, so if we want to continue our lifestyles, we need to find alternatives to those resources.

In the past the average human only used up a limited number of resources. Lives were simpler but also less convenient. As technology has increased our lives have become more convenient but we have also started using more resources like oil, coal, helium and rare-earth metals.

Of course, the big resource that many people talk about is oil. I’ve read that the world has about 50 years’ worth of oil at current consumption rates. However, the oil will certainly last longer if people reduce oil consumption, find new places with oil or find a new cheap way to make oil. The main point is that oil is a limited resource. In the future, people will certainly need to find substitutes for oil, both for energy use and because it is used in plastics.

When people talk about helium many people think about party balloons. However, helium is actually used for many different things, especially in electronics. I’ve read that at current consumption rates helium may disappear faster than oil, with perhaps only about 30 years’ worth of helium remaining in the world.

There is a bit of good news for both of these. Scientists are currently working to develop what is called cold fusion nuclear power. Cold fusion would be a new type of nuclear power that would produce more energy, less waste and actually create helium when it creates power. Some people think that cold fusion will solve many problems. The issue is that scientists are still researching how to create a cold fusion power plant. We don’t know how long it will take, so we may not see cold fusion energy for a long time.

The last big resource shortage we might face is in rare-earth metals. Rare-earth metals are metals which are not common in the world but are very important for producing electronics. As we create more and more electronics, rare-earth metals will run out. In the future we will probably have to get better and better at recycling old electronics. Perhaps we will also find artificial ways to create rare earth-metals in the future.

These are just a few of the possible resource shortages which humans may face in the future. We will likely need to solve them in a variety of ways. We will probably need to reduce consumption, and at least that will make them last longer. We will also need to look for alternatives to these resources, so we can find something to replace them with that works as well as them. Finally, we may find ways to produce more of these resources in the future, even though there are limited resources at the current time. We need to start solving these problems now so that they are not problems in the future.

Nathaniel

Vocabulary

resource (noun) – ​ a supply of something that a country, an organization or a person has and can use, especially to increase their wealth

limited (adjective) – small in amount or number

alternative (noun) – another available option that you can choose to use instead

consumption (noun) – ​ the act of using, eating, or drinking something

shortage (noun) – ​ a situation in which there is not enough of something

face (verb) – to deal with something unpleasant