July 2014

A line I’ve often heard is that we should do this, that, or the other because we have “finite resources.”

Are Our Resources Really Finite? If So, Does It Matter?

The idea, often accepted without any rational thought — which I suppose is why people like to use the line — is that since the resources are finite we have to be careful or we’ll run out.

First of all, not all resources really are finite in any meaningful sense. At any given moment there is a finite number of trees on our planet, but new trees are growing all the time. At any given moment a finite amount of energy reaches the Earth from the Sun, but more keeps coming so we call solar energy a “renewable” resource.

What about non-renewable resources? Consider the rock under our feet, about 90% of which is made of silicon compounds. Leaving aside the occasional meteor the amount of silicon on Earth is finite, but given how much we have it is hard to see how we could run out as long as we have a planet at all.

Before we worry about a resource shortage we should ask a few questions, like:

1. Can we make or find more of the resource if we want to?
2. Can we recycle, using the same resource repeatedly?
3. Are we using it faster than we can find or make more?
4. Is it, though the quantity is finite at a given moment, really a renewable resource?
5. Can we find ways to use it more efficiently?
6. Can we use other resources instead?
7. What are the chances that the resource will become largely obsolete, like the use of oak for the masts of British naval vessels?

These questions may seem dull compared to dramatic suggestions that we’re about to run out. But sound thinking often depends on the details.