- IN GENERAL, there are several approaches to managing finite resources:
- 1. Conservation and limited use of the resource.
- 2. Improving efficiency in the use of the resource.
- 3. Recycling and re-using the resource as much as possible.
- 4. Finding alternatives to the resource, especially if the alternatives are sustainable and renewable.
The same principles also apply to renewable resources in order to ensure that they are not overused and that their use remains sustainable.
- Land:
The land surface of the Earth is finite, and encroaching on forest or other habitats brings other problems (such as
loss of biodiversity and loss of photosynthesis).
Better use of land includes growing of more sustainable crops: the same area of land can feed many more people if it is used to grow
food plants than if it used to raise animals for human consumption.
Population control: Any effort that controls the human population reduces the pressure on land resources for agricultutre and for housing.
- Minerals:
Much effort is being devoted to technology that uses smaller quantities of metals and other ineral substances in short supply.
More and more, recycling is being used to re-use metals as much as possible, e.g., from electronics.
- Fossil fuels:
Considerable effort is being made to expand renewable sources of energy and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
Automobiles and other engines that use fossil fuels are being made more and more fuel-efficient (getting more miles per gallon, for example).
In many cases, more efficient fossil fuels (such as natural gas) are replacing less efficient ones (such as heating oil). This is only
a temporary solution (or "bridging" technology), however.
Better insulation of houses and more efficient lighting systems and appliances will reduce the amount of fuel needed.
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