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# Resource Reliance This document discusses the increasing demand for resources like food, water, and energy, and how this demand outstrips the supply in many areas. ## Resources Required * **Food:** Essential for basic human development. Lack of nutritious food leads to malnutrition and illne...

# Resource Reliance This document discusses the increasing demand for resources like food, water, and energy, and how this demand outstrips the supply in many areas. ## Resources Required * **Food:** Essential for basic human development. Lack of nutritious food leads to malnutrition and illness, hindering work and education. * **Water:** Clean and safe water is crucial for drinking, cooking, and washing. It's also essential for producing other goods, like clothes. * **Energy:** Needed for basic living (light, heat, cooking), and industrial processes. ## Reasons for *NOT* Meeting Modern Resource Demands The increasing demand for resources often cannot be met due to various factors. * **Climate Change:** Changing weather patterns (temperatures, rainfall) make farming unpredictable, and natural hazards are becoming more frequent. * **Geology:** Finite mineral resources and rock types limit the availability of certain materials and water storage. * **Conflict:** Wars and conflict can disrupt transportation networks for resources, damaging roads and pipes. * **Poverty:** Lower-income countries often lack the financial resources to develop their natural resources, to exploit these resources, and to access them in general. * **Natural Hazards:** Natural disasters (floods, droughts) can harm infrastructure and disrupt access to resources. ## Environment and Water * **Reservoirs and Water Transfer:** Methods to increase water storage (dams, pipes) are essential to ensure a reliable water supply. However, these methods have environmental impacts such as flooding and impacting ecosystems. ## Environment and Food: Fishing and Farming * **Fishing:** Increased fishing activity has led to overfishing, harming marine ecosystems and the decline of certain fish species. Dredging is also harmful to seafloor habitats. * **Farming:** Technology improvements in farming have increased production (tractors, GPS). However, this involves issues like land erosion, and use of pesticides and fertilisers which can damage the environment. * **Environmental Factors:** Soil quality, climate change and natural disasters all affect agriculture. ## Environment and Energy: Deforestation and Mining * **Deforestation:** Logging activities and using modern machinery has increased clear-cutting of forests. This releases carbon dioxide and interferes with ecosystems, leading to soil erosion. * **Mining:** Mining activities pollute the soil and water, damaging habitats and creating problems with waste disposal. ## Food Security *'Food Security' is when people have consistent physical and economic access to enough food to maintain active and healthy lives. The opposite, 'Food Insecurity', implies a person is unsure when they next might eat.* ## Human Factors * **Poverty:** Poverty can prevent people from accessing or affording food and modern farming equipment. * **Poor Infrastructure:** Poor transportation networks can make food transport difficult, leading to food shortages. * **Conflict:** Farmers will have difficulties with farming activities during conflict. ## Physical Factors * **Temperature:** Favorable temperatures are ideal for certain plants and crops. * **Soil Quality:** Favorable soil quality is essential for crops to develop their necessary nutrient intake. * **Water Supply:** Sufficient and reliable water is essential for plant growth. * **Pest, Diseases and Parasites:** Pest damage or disease to crops can greatly hinder growth and production. * **Weather Events:** Extreme weather events (floods, droughts) can cause significant crop damage. ## Malthus and Boserup's Theories * **Malthus:** Believed that population growth would outpace food production, leading to famine and other crises. * **Boserup:** Assumed that populations can adapt and find new ways to increase food production. ## Resource Reliance Graph (Graph Description) The graph displays a curve showing the increasing consumption of resources and the Earth's carrying capacity. When the curve of consumption is above the carrying capacity curve, the demand is outstripping the Earth's ability to provide resources. The graph clearly demonstrates that consumption is increasing over time whereas carrying capacity remains relatively static. The overall message is that the global increase in demand for resources and technology is outpacing Earth's ability to support that demand and this causes a lot of implications for our environment. ## Changing Technology and Employment. The need for technological innovation to exploit additional resources and to reach or gain more resources has increased. More people working in tertiary and secondary sectors further increases this demand.