In the 70s, the interest of society was focused on the demographic growth of the world population and the growing concern for the resources available to meet the increased needs. The issue at that time lost more and more importance, but given the evolution of technology and the disproportionate increase in the population, it is time to return to the subject. And it is that they are already fixed the limits of growth after peak oil caused by misuse of natural resources and the exploitation of oil reserves and other Fossil fuels.
In this article we are going to reflect on the world situation and the relationship between the limits of growth and the capacity of society to supply the population.
Increase in world population
The world's population has doubled in just four decades. Although poverty punishes certain regions of the world, a general famine has been avoided thanks to the use of fossil fuels. These allow more food to be obtained even if it pollutes the planet more and is unleashing negative effects such as climate change.
Agriculture plays a fundamental role in all sectors of food production and the methods of obtaining crops are conditioning factors to affirm whether the contamination continues or not. For this, a sustainable or conservation agriculture technique has been developed which aims to reduce the impacts on soil and water pollution so that the nutrients we acquire through harvests are of better quality and do not pollute. All this is done with the aim of making a sustainable food globally to ensure that the resources we use today can also be used by future generations to come.
Thanks to the development of technology, a large part of the rural exodus and the comforts of the different models of vertical cities, a large part of the world's population can be accommodated in a small space. This favors the reduction of the distances to be covered for the transport of raw materials and products, the concentration of industries and more centralized electricity production.
On the other hand, we have an excess in the exploitation of natural resources such as wood, oil, natural gas and coal. This overexploitation is also extrapolated to other living elements such as intensive agriculture and livestock, overfishing or mining. All this leads to a degradation of natural resources, an increase in environmental pollution in all aspects and, therefore, a change in climate variables that is taking place on a global scale.
Growth limits
Economics experts already said it back in 1972, when the report "Limits to Growth" was published. The world's population could then supply the entire demand for food and energy at the peak of oil. The ecological crisis of 1960 ended a stage of environmental issues in which it was doubted whether oil, together with the rest of fossil fuels They would not be able to feed technological development due to their imminent exhaustion.
Over the years, with the arrival of renewable energies, it is thought that the world is capable of housing more people thanks to the production of energy through natural elements such as the sun, water, wind, biomass, geothermal energy and the energy that is extracted from the tides. However, the utopia of creating a world from unlimited clean energy has hit the great wall of energy efficiency.
La Energy Efficiency It tries to generate the maximum stock of energy at the lowest possible cost price. This means that a large part of the R&D investments are directed to these areas, downplaying the importance of fossil fuels. The pressure from governments and environmental societies such as Greenpeace or Ecologists in Action are crying out for renewable energy to be subsidized and developed in the face of a world that demands energy and whose average global temperature is rising more than what was proposed in its day as « dangerous ”in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Carbon footprint
There are many natural resources that have already surpassed their zenith in recent decades. And is that the rate of consumption far exceeds that of production and, above all, that of reserves. With the dates for the exhaustion of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal already set, all that remains is to continue developing renewable energies in order to maintain the pace of life that we have today.
The carbon footprint is an indicator of the amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted by citizen and by unit of surface. It means that, to satisfy our demand, both for food, as well as for energy, goods and services, we need to emit carbon into the atmosphere. The greater our consumption, the greater the tons emitted.
To exemplify this, we think that we have our home, we consume certain foods, we use the computer, the television, we shower, we listen to music, we transport ourselves in our private vehicle, etc. In order to manufacture all the elements that surround us in our lives, we have had to use raw material that has contaminated. Thus, the carbon footprint is larger the more wealth we have and it is closely correlated with the per capita income of each person. The more purchasing power you have, the more carbon is emitted into the atmosphere.
Equality before all?
If we compare the carbon footprint of people in developing countries, we realize that there are many more people but with a lower carbon footprint per inhabitant. Which means that a small part of the world's population is responsible for most of the planet's pollution.
Why does 80% of the world's population have to pay the consequences of numerous climatic disasters caused by the pollution of the other 20%? Governments name equality and fairness, but reality dictates a lot to achieve those goals.
Meanwhile, the world is soon reaching the limits of growth and the future is totally uncertain. I hope this article makes you reflect on the issue of equality in the world and the overexploitation of resources.