Resource Use

Land Use

Food is what we use the majority of the habitable land we have access to on earth.

Most of animal biomass is found within the sea. Humans and the livestock we consume account for about 94% of the total biomass of all land mammals with wild animals making up only about 6%. Human development creates biodiversity loss through its land modification, chemical use, building, and mineral extraction.

In the United States specifically we use a lot of land for crops and animals (16% for animals and 14% for crops). Federal land includes many different things, from military bases to parks and more (a list can be found here). Towns and cities only account for about 6% of the land in the US but are sources of a lot of heat absorption and retention due to the urban heat island effect.

Our developed land contributes to extra heat as the materials we use for buildings absorb extra heat, let less water deep underground, and don't create oxygen unlike plants. This due in part to the albedo of the materials used, how much light they reflect compared to how much they absorb.

Synthetic Materials

There are many different pharmaceuticals, materials, and even flavors that are widely used in the modern world that are made synthetically. When synthesizing a specific chemical the reactions are usually done through some form of chemical synthesis or bioprocessing.

When dealing with chemical synthesis all different types of reactions are used which can be done with a wide variety of techniques and processes that have been studied, shared, and used throughout chemistry. With these techniques we can split chemicals, attach specific functional groups to certain locations on different chemicals, combine chemicals, swap elements, and much more.

When dealing with bioprocessing we generally use yeast, bacteria, or other simple organisms to synthesize whatever molecule we want to use. Once the correct material is synthesized a bioreactor is used to promote cell growth, then the specific product wanted is isolated and used.

While many chemicals can trick the body based on how they attach to our body's chemical receptors (such as sucrose vs sucralose), how the body processes, breaks them down, and reacts to them can still be different!

Other Natural Resources

We have ways of using practically everything from the natural world for different things to help out in our daily lives, touching every industry imaginable. Some more examples of ways we use the natural world (on top of for food and energy) are:

Many different materials for building, construction, and machinery
Clothing from animal and plant products
Makeup and dyes from both minerals in the earth as well as parts of plants
Water for cleaning and drinking
Different plants and minerals for medical fields
Makeup, shampoo, soaps, and other hygiene products

Challenges to Conservation

There are many challenges to conservation of resources throughout the world. With preventing carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere for example there's the issue of getting all countries to agree to the phasing out of fossil fuels, including ones who either rely on those fuels as their primary source of wealth or ones that have not fully industrialized yet and need those fuel sources to build their own infrastructure.Our modern society is also built upon materials and processes that further absorb and keep heat within the atmosphere. If we were to truly go green the structure of modern society across the globe would need to change.

Many proposed solutions have been discussed throughout the world on how to best reduce carbon emissions. Some of these solutions are outlined here, however keep in mind every solution has a potential cost and may not work as expected:

Government agencies can create incentives and subsidies for things like solar panels, electric cars, public transit, or sustainable agriculture. They can also impose green taxes, cap business carbon emission amounts, and revamp infrastructure to create less of a heat sink when producing and fixing roads and buildings. Government agencies can also attempt to enforce these practices on other countries through trade and/or intimidation.
A shift of the energy infrastructure of countries can be used, be it through nuclear energy, green energy, improving old technology, innovating new technology, or a combination of all of these ideas.
Shipping and transportation reduction is a possibility via increasing access to public transit or penalizing the use of individual transportation (such as cars and private airplanes), removing pollution from every type of vehicle with advancing technology, or lowering supply chain requirements for goods and services so most products are local.
Carbon capturing is any process of pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Solutions of this kind include planting more quick-growing trees, encouraging ocean phytoplankton growth that will absorb the carbon dioxide, trapping carbon underground into geologic formations or renewing depleted wells of natural gas, capturing carbon dioxide and converting it into synthetic biofuels or plastics, and more.
Creating a more sustainable world through products and product use, such as proper recycling, cutting down on electricity and heat waste, and trying to use less land for food in a multitude of ways.

The United States uses a huge amount of energy compared to 3rd world countries like Sierra Leone. Many in 3rd world countries still don't have plentiful access to electricity or clean water as well, something which fossil fuels can more quickly fix via boilers and the like. Is it okay to reduce and restrict their ability to use gas or oil with our green energy policies as they become more industrialized? What would they do in response to other countries telling them what to do? This is just one of many scenarios that need to be considered as we move forward.

Environmental Law (PSA)

Many laws for the use of our natural world is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States. These regulations vary widely and include protecting animals, forests, and rivers, keep air and water quality up to standard, make sure pollution and mining are regulated, and more.

Additional Resources

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