Friday, January 12, 2007 Peña: Depleting the Earth's resources By Rox Peña E-ssue
I WAS surfing the Environmental News Network website when I chanced upon a very disturbing report from the environmental group WWF International. The news item was in the archive section because it was released in October 2006.
I regularly read ENN but I missed this article probably because there were other more important news at that time.
Anyway, the report says that as early as 1984, the Earth has reached the limits of its capacity to provide for its inhabitants. We are now consuming more than what nature can provide. It means that we are slowly eating our way to extinction.
As the world's population increases and more people strive for a higher quality of life, there's more and more pressure on the Earth's limited resources.
At the forefront of this resource-hungry society are the rich nations like the US. Consider the facts below from the United Nations Population Fund, which were released when the world's population reached the six billion mark way back 1999. If these figures were updated today, the scenario would be more alarming:
During the 1990s, one US citizen was consuming 30 times what one citizen of India did; developed nations were 20 percent of the world's population yet used two-thirds of all resources and generated 75 percent of the world's pollution and waste.
With world population at six billion and rising, the richest 20 percent of humanity consumes 86 percent of all goods and services used, while the poorest fifth consumes just 1.3 percent. The wealthy consume 45 percent of all meat and fish, use 58 percent of all energy produced and own 87 percent of the vehicles
According to the United Nations, Americans and Europeans together spend US$17 billion a year on pet food, US$4 billion more than the estimated yearly additional amount needed to provide everyone in the world with basic health and nutrition.
The burning of fossil fuels has almost quintupled since 1950. Consumption of fresh water has doubled since 1960, and wood consumption (for household and industry use) is 40 percent higher than 25 years ago.
Commercial fishing is threatened worldwide by over-fishing: one-quarter of all fish stocks are listed as "depleted" or in danger of being depleted; another 44 percent are being fished "at the biological limit." This is driven by export demand for animal feed and oils, not by food needs, but it strains the primary protein source for nearly a billion people in 40 developing nations.
Producing a quarter-pound of hamburger requires 100 gallons of water, 1.2 lbs. of feed grain and energy equal to a cup of gasoline, causing the loss of 1.25 lbs. of topsoil and producing greenhouse gas emissions equal to a six-mile drive in a typical US automobile. Americans each consume 260 lbs. of meat per year on average, most of it hamburger; the average in Bangladesh is 6.5 lbs.
Global spending on advertising, which stimulates consumption, multiplied nearly sevenfold from 1950 to 1990, when the total was US$257 billion or US$48 for each person on the planet. It has nearly doubled again since then, to US$435 billion, and is increasing faster than incomes or population, especially in developing nations.
Note that the above information made no mention of China. With its huge population and fast growing economy, this country has already overtaken the US as the world's number one consumer.
In spite of being materially rich, it is interesting to note that the people's level of happiness remains the same. The National Opinion Research Center of the University of Chicago has found that the proportion of Americans who say they are "very happy" has remained at about one-third since 1957, although personal consumption has more than doubled.
Truly, money cannot buy happiness. This 2007 let us resolve to live simply and sustainably. Let us leave something for our children.
