# Our Natural Resources Are Running Out



## Pecos

I am uncertain as to who the scientists are who put this together, but after studying it a bit I think that there is a lot of validity to a good part of it. I am curious as to what opinions any of you may hold. It is rather scary.

Our natural resources are set to run out sooner than you might think (msn.com)


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## Gaer

Well Pecos, We WERE ENERGY INDEPENDENT!  The closing down of the pipeline stopped that!  and he shut down ANWR!
Yes, I see only less and less resources.  I think the lack of  fresh drinking WATER will be what will really hurt mankind.


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## squatting dog

An oldie but still rings true.


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## Pecos

squatting dog said:


> An oldie but still rings true.
> 
> View attachment 179960


Your point is well taken, I pay attention, but still take these things with a grain of salt. I remember when the supposed movement of armadillos back into Mexico was supposed to forecast a coming ice age.


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## Lara

Gaer said:


> Well Pecos, We WERE ENERGY INDEPENDENT!  The closing down of the pipeline stopped that!  and *he* shut down ANWR!
> Yes, I see only less and less resources.  I think the lack of  fresh drinking WATER will be what will really hurt mankind.


Are we not allowed to say "the president"


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## Alligatorob

Pecos said:


> I am uncertain as to who the scientists are who put this together, but after studying it a bit I think that there is a lot of validity to a good part of it. I am curious as to what opinions any of you may hold. It is rather scary.
> 
> Our natural resources are set to run out sooner than you might think (msn.com)


This used to worry me, but as I get older I have seen how wrong we have been about this in the past.   Squatting Dog posted a good example.  So far we have been able to figure out how to make do with less or find more or more alternatives.  Don't know how long that will last, but I see no end in sight.

Our (humans) reign as a dominate species on earth will run out one day.  But how and when it will end is hard to predict.  Up there with running out of resources is the possibility of a real pandemic or war and chaos.  And global climate change could drive things, but knowing the future is always hard.  And most of our forecasts have been wrong.



Gaer said:


> We WERE ENERGY INDEPENDENT! The closing down of the pipeline stopped that! and he shut down ANWR!


I think the wrong thing has been done relative to ANWR and the Keystone Pipeline and other energy related things.  However I don't think this is enough to make a big difference...  Not in the long run anyway.


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## Chet

Gaer said:


> Well Pecos, We WERE ENERGY INDEPENDENT!  The closing down of the pipeline stopped that!  and he shut down ANWR!
> Yes, I see only less and less resources. * I think the lack of  fresh drinking WATER will be what will really hurt mankind.*


Not on the east coast. Our reservoirs runeth over. It has rained all day.


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## cdestroyer

gaer wrote We WERE ENERGY INDEPENDENT! The closing down of the pipeline stopped that!... well for pete's sake, how can a pipleline that was never completed end our energy independence?. wella wella now here is a timely item.... yall know the alaska pipeline? was a big deal hey...can you guess where most of that oil or products went??? betcha aint got a clue!!!!!!!!!! I will give you a clue...most went to an east asia country which we had promised to supply oil....(since the end of wwii).


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## Lara

I read China but I don't know if that's true


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## Alligatorob

cdestroyer said:


> can you guess where most of that oil or products went???


West coast refineries, Asia (mostly China, and South Korea of late), and some stays in and gets used in Alaska.  In the big picture it makes little difference, the oil market is worldwide, sending the oil to the most economically attractive markets makes the most sense.


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## Don M.

Fresh water, in some locations, may be the First natural resource to be in short supply.  The Western States are already showing the early signs of that problem.  Any area that relies on the Colorado River for its water will soon be in trouble if there isn't some major snowfalls in the Rocky Mountains this Winter.  The Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies most of the agricultural water for several States is being depleted at a rapid pace.  The underground water that Phoenix, AZ. has relied on, is also seeing major decline. 

While the West is facing increased drought, the East is being flooded with excess rainfall.  The day may come when the nation has to build a major pipeline from East to West to keep the SW from becoming a desert....or, we may need to build some large desalinization plants in California...either way at a huge cost.


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## MarciKS

Maybe if we'd take care of our own people and let those other countries worry about their own selves we wouldn't be in this pickle today. Nobody would listen when they started talking about recycling. They won't care till they have no gas for their cars. But in life as with everything else...you can't tell anyone anything without them shrieking about their precious rights. We send our troops over there to get killed and we let all these foreigners in who end up committing terrorist acts. We're giving all our resources to other countries that can't or won't fend for themselves. They expect the US to just give them handouts while they keep pumping out babies they can't afford to care for. And yet the US continues to rob their own people of their livelihoods in the name of technological advances. Now here we are and someone finally sees it and says "oh sh*t!" Too little...too late. God will let the coffin door slam.

Oh yeah...JMO!!


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## Aunt Bea




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## Paco Dennis




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## Mike

It took an asteroid, according to some writings, to rid the
World of Dinosaurs, but the Human species will be extinct
by their own stupidity!

Your lack of fresh water is frightening, even to me and I am
in London, England.

Since America has the largest military force on Earth, why
not let them solve the problem, they can dig, explode things
out of the way and build new pipelines and levees, to redirect
the available water, they can also drill wells down to water in
some places where there isn't any oil.

The military are always looking for real situations to train the
troops, in things other than what a tutor can think up, plus a
large project teaches them better and for longer, than any
small target.

Good luck anyway and I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Mike.


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## Lara

Excellent suggestions Mike. I never drink our tap water, nor purified water. I drink natural spring water...which comes from America. I give it to my dogs, wash my vegetables with it, brush my teeth with it, cook with it, and more. I'd bathe in it if I could  Some have issues about it but I do the best I can.


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## Cameron

I think what we have done is exhaust the source of easy and cheaply accessed resources that are key to the state of our civilization.  Oil and nat gas for example are all there in the ground but at what cost and once extracted at those costs can consumers afford them.   Soil over use has been a more common resource extraction for thousands of years.   We tend not to be good stewards of the land.   Libya once produced a good percentage of the grain for the Roman empire and now is mostly desert.  Salt has risen in the soil between the euphrates and tigris rivers and what once was productive is not now.   
And then the whole issue of what is the value we place on a resource.  is the the market price or what it does for humanity and the planet. thinking of water and how we use it in farming, front lawns and washing of mine tailings to get gold, copper etc leaving poisoned water tables behind.   
quite an interesting subject !


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## Alligatorob

Mike said:


> It took an asteroid, according to some writings, to rid the
> World of Dinosaurs, but the Human species will be extinct
> by their own stupidity!


Maybe so, but if it comes along soon enough the asteroid would do the trick!


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## Irwin

There must be a beef shortage, too. Have you seen the price of beef lately? Chicken remains cheap, if you buy from companies that use factory farms. Otherwise, it's right up there with the price of beef. Surely, chickens could be raised cost effectively in a more humane environment if producers wanted to, but they don't want to. They're soulless bastards. The bottom line is all that matters.


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## Murrmurr

Irwin said:


> There must be a beef shortage, too. Have you seen the price of beef lately? Chicken remains cheap, if you buy from companies that use factory farms. Otherwise, it's right up there with the price of beef. Surely, chickens could be raised cost effectively in a more humane environment if producers wanted to, but they don't want to. They're soulless bastards. The bottom line is all that matters.


Food animals kept in a more humane environment is WHY prices have gone up. Farmers are having to make a lot of expensive changes required by recent laws, including hiring more people.


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## Irwin

Murrmurr said:


> Food animals kept in a more humane environment is WHY prices have gone up. Farmers are having to make a lot of expensive changes required by recent laws, including hiring more people.


What laws? If that's the case, I don't mind so much, but I don't think that's the case.


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## Murrmurr

Irwin said:


> What laws? If that's the case, I don't mind so much, but I don't think that's the case.


Might be only Calif, but I'm not sure. Went into law this year that food animals will be kept within specific cage sizes.
You should find the new regulations on www.ers.usda.gov or www.fda.gov.


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## Murrmurr

This is the ...uh, lake I used to live near. 
Lake Oroville


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## Irwin

Murrmurr said:


> Might be only Calif, but I'm not sure. Went into law this year that food animals will be kept within specific cage sizes.
> You should find the new regulations on www.ers.usda.gov or www.fda.gov.


"Food animals." Bleh. That's a degrading term, albeit appropriate. They still feel emotions and should be treated humanely.

But if we're talking about caged animals, that would include chickens, which are still cheap. It's beef that's gotten really expensive.


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## Irwin

Murrmurr said:


> This is the ...uh, lake I used to live near.
> Lake Oroville
> 
> View attachment 180140


Maybe we're going to have to start piping in water from other parts of the country. If we can pump oil through pipelines, surely we can pump water.


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## Jennina

Murrmurr said:


> animals kept in a more humane environment


Is how things should be. Animals are sentient beings.  They feel pain.


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## Alligatorob

Irwin said:


> Maybe we're going to have to start piping in water from other parts of the country. If we can pump oil through pipelines, surely we can pump water.


California already does bring in water from other states, lots of Colorado River water that comes from places like Colorado and Wyoming (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_Aqueduct ).  And there have been proposals to bring it much further (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_interstate_water_pipelines_to_California and  http://www.earthtimes.org/business/plan-divert-mississippi-flood-waters-west-proposed/1206/).

Some of this water transfer does make sense, however it will be limited by environmental concerns (like the impact on the place the water is taken from), other water demands, and just cost.  It is easier to build a water pipeline and pump water than oil, the problem is cost.  Oil is worth something like $1 per gallon, water mostly less than a penny a gallon.  You can spend a lot more to pump oil and still make sense than water.


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## Chris P Bacon

Lara said:


> Excellent suggestions Mike. I never drink our tap water, nor purified water. I drink natural spring water...which comes from America. I give it to my dogs, wash my vegetables with it, brush my teeth with it, cook with it, and more. I'd bathe in it if I could  Some have issues about it but I do the best I can.


@Lara Is that natural spring water that fills your swimming pool there in your avatar picture?


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## Lara

Oh I wish...wouldn't that be the ultimate "lap" of luxury


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## Knight

I suppose identifying what resources are going to run out should be the main interest.

Should oil top the list ? Oil used in items like. Jet & regular aviation fuel, Gasoline & diesel fuel, Plastics.

How about soil erosion? Impacting Food growing 

Maybe more pressing 

2021 Must Be a Turning Point for Forests. 2020 Data Shows Us Why
https://www.wri.org/insights/2021-must-be-turning-point-forests-2020-data-shows-us-why

With 7 billion plus world population & growing it's a pretty sure bet running out is going to happen. WHEN & WHAT will cause the most impact is the mystery. 

At my age 80, I doubt I will feel any change in everyday life. I wonder what those in their early 60's think.


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## Don M.

At my age 80, I doubt I will feel any change in everyday life. I wonder what those in their early 60's think.

Same here.  I won't be around to see what life is like in another few decades, but I often wonder just what kind of problems our grandkids, and beyond, will have to contend with.  The way things are going, it's hard to remain optimistic.


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## fmdog44

"Plastics" 
_-The Graduate_


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## Knight

fmdog44 said:


> "Plastics"
> _-The Graduate_


Curious 
What is that about?


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## fmdog44

Knight said:


> Curious
> What is that about?


The movie.


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