Global resources: How can we protect our planet?

Yu Han
Hwa Chong Institution
Singapore

What are global resources? In my opinion, global is defined as worldwide, and every country, including the minor states, has a role to play in protecting global resources. Resources refer to the natural resources, or things that we use, which are further classified into renewable and non-renewable resources.

To meet the growing demands of the increasing world population, large amounts of natural resources are used to generate energy. Rainforests are cut down to create arable land for agriculture and housing. Even the low-lying seas are transformed into land through the use of technology. In the process, the 'lungs' of the planet are depleted and the amount of greenhouse gases is increasing at an alarming rate. Heat is trapped within our planet's atmosphere. The rise in temperature causes the ice caps at the poles to melt. Polar bears, which once swam from one cap to another cap, will soon die of exhaustion as the distance between them increases. What's more, the low-lying lands will soon be flooded, causing a large proportion of the population to be greatly affected. Not only will the plants and animals near the ice caps die due to the extreme change in temperature, but the biodiversity in the seas and the rainforests will also become endangered or extinct. Therefore, the amount of resources used must be limited and controlled and we have to find ways to tap into alternative energy resources.

Now, I shall start on explaining how we can manage our global resources to protect our planet. My first comment is that we should stop war. War is definitely an expenditure of natural resources. During war, natural resources in the form of fuels, food and wood are used. Conflicts between two nations should be stopped through compromises, or maybe a verbal agreement. In this way, the outbreak of war can be prevented. Not only can the prevention of war decrease the amount of resources required, it also helps maintain stability and peace within the country.

Next, I think as members of this planet, we all have a part to play. The three 'Rs' are very important: recycle, reuse and reduce. Recycling is the reprocessing of materials into new products. Recycling prevents useful material resources being wasted, reduces the consumption of raw materials and reduces energy usage, and hence greenhouse gas emissions. Reuse means using an item more than once. Reusing things can have financial and environmental benefits. Energy and raw materials are saved as the use of reusable products means that fewer products need to be manufactured. Moreover, by reusing, disposal needs and costs can be reduced. Therefore, the next method I propose is that countries can promote these three 'Rs' and also provide incentives and taxes to those who reduce, recycle or reuse and to those who are contributing to a reduction in pollution.

Next, instead of using non-renewable resources like oil and coal, we can use renewable ones. Renewable resources are any natural resource that is depleted at a rate slower than the rate at which it regenerates, or a natural resource that is depleted at such a rate that it is unlikely to be depleted in the future. Renewable resources include oxygen, fresh water, solar energy, timber, and biomass. However, they can become non-renewable resources if used at a greater rate than the environment's ability to replenish them.

Also, to prevent trees from being cut down, I advocate the construction of high-rise buildings in crowded areas. High-rise buildings are those which contain many levels and so can accommodate more people. I have read about living conditions in Rio de Janeiro where there's a high influx of migrants. The land was unable to support the growing population. Thus, 'favela', or high-rise complexes, were formed at the edge of the cities. In such cases, it is environmentally unsustainable to cut down the rainforest to make space for the growing population. Therefore, the government or authorities should decide to build high-rise buildings so that in a particular area of land, a larger amount of people can live there. This would minimise the rate of deforestation and improve their living conditions.

Besides the above mentioned methods, many large companies have failed to look into solutions that are probably quite cheap to implement. An example is the use of plastic bags in shopping malls. How many people actually bring a trolley to supermarkets or even reuse the old plastic bags while shopping? I guess the answer would be disappointing. Plastics are non-biodegradable compounds. They are unable to decompose in the natural environment. Therefore, it's important to get companies to minimise the usage of plastic bags and use more paper bags instead. Some companies do, however, use biodegradable plastics. Biodegradable plastics are plastics that will decompose in the natural environment. This can be achieved by enabling microorganisms in the environment to metabolise the molecular structure of plastic films to produce an inert humus-like material that is less harmful to the environment. Paper is more eco-friendly, however, and the use of plastic must be minimised to protect the planet.

Lastly, I would like to point out that there are three main forms of alternative energy resources that we can actually tap into. They are solar energy, wind power and hydroelectric power. Solar power is the technology of obtaining usable energy from the light of the sun. Solar energy can be stored and used in many forms. Electricity can be converted from the sun's natural solar waves and be used for powering light and other electrical appliances and for heating up water. Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into more useful forms, usually electricity using wind turbines. Some benefits of using wind power are that it is widely available, renewable, clean, and mitigates the greenhouse effect if used to replace electricity derived from fossil fuels. Lastly, hydropower is the capture of the energy of moving water for some useful purpose. The water stored in the dykes can also be used in irrigation or for storing water for dry seasons. This can help sustain the population so that they do not have to exploit the forest to obtain food. Instead, they can obtain food through agriculture and farming. Lastly, tapping into hydroelectrical energy can be inexpensive, will not cause a depletion of natural resources and the electricity produced can be sent to far away places. Moreover, no greenhouse gases are produced in the process.

With these methods implemented and more countries tapping into alternative natural resources, our planet can last longer than predicted.

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