Question

Evaluate The finite supply of natural resources has led many to conclude that there must be a limit to the extent of economic growth. 150 word。

Answer 1

The finite supply of natural resources has led many to conclude that there must be a limit to the extent of economic growth.The problem is also getting worse as populations and consumption keep growing faster than technology finds new ways of expanding what can be produced from the natural world. This had led the report to predict that by 2030, if nothing changes, mankind would need two planets to sustain its lifestyle.

In the 1960s most countries lived within their ecological resources. But the latest figures show that today three-quarters of the world's population live in countries which consume more than they can replenish.

Addressing concerns that national boundaries are an artificial way of dividing up the world's resources, The last couple of hundred years have seen an incredible rise in the world’s average standard of living. This increase in living standards is a result of an unprecedented level of economic growth. But a negative effect has accompanied that growth—environmental degradation.

Because economic growth doesn't mean infinite increases in our consumption of natural resources or environmental degradation, it is possible to separate economic growth from physical growth and its harmful effects. It is this possibility of decoupling that has motivated the sustainable development movement.

There is some evidence suggesting when countries pass a particular wealth threshold, they become cleaner, less wasteful and more efficient, all of which provides hope that sustainable development is possible. Rich countries, however, tend to export much of their resource-intensive and environmentally damaging economic activity to poorer nations.

Even with greater resource efficiency, the finite limits of the Earth’s natural resources require a greater separation of economic growth and physical growth.