Until we learn to live more sustainable lifestyles, we’re going to be faced with more ‘peak stuff’, where demand for a particular resource exceeds supply. Fast Company has a nice article on this subject if you want to read more. One example is clean water. More people equals greater demand, but resources are diminishing as glaciers melt and some aquifers are depleted. Food is another one, though the system is so wasteful (in this country at least) that I’m optimistic we can make some big improvements there. Or at the least, stop burning food (turning corn into ethanol to power cars).
Imminent Food Crisis due to Climate Change
We already face growing food demands from a growing population, but researchers looking at the effect that climate change has on severe weather (specifically, severe droughts) are painting an alarming picture. Instead of this being a ‘far off’ problem that we’re dumping on future generations, they found that the increased risk of severe drought to become a reality within only ten years in Asia (China and India especially). We are running out of time to solve these problems! In the US, people can’t even agree that climate change is happening and that humans are the main cause. How can we hope to solve the problems it’s bringing if we deny reality? This makes me frustrated, as I feel we’re a creative, inventive society that can solve great problems when we unite behind it.
(read more here).