Are We Running Out?

     Many a time you have heard a scientist or even common peer use the term "non-renewable" resource. What does that mean, exactly? It means that whatever you take out of the environment will not return for millions of years. So, if we mill it all out at once, we won't be able to use it for one hundred thousand generations later. That is a very, very serious thing.
    Some examples are: Oil, Natural Gas, and Uranium. If these and other natural gasses were not very important to the majority of the world today, depleting them would not be a problem. In fact, it would be smart. We would be throwing away resources if we didn't use them. Unfortunately for us, our entire world revolves around these things. Oil in particular controls the global economy, and makes it possible for many many people to live.
     Now, depending on the scientist you ask, you will receive a slightly varied timetable. Some say we are almost out now. Some say a few thousand years. Something all of them agree on, however, is that it is soon. Too soon for comfort.
     If we ran short, contention and even war might follow. Then, when it all disappeared entirely, the world economy will collapse, and the conditions of living all over the world would drop like a bowling pin in a strike. Millions upon millions would grow hungry, and a large percent would die. I know this sounds like a horror story too crazy to be true, but this is no lie.
    What can we do about it? Well, the best solution would be to ease out of the focus of the economy on non-renewable resources. We can't just change it instantly, because that would cause collapse of the entire economy. We would have to move one step at a time to focusing on renewable and clean sources of revenue, and using them responsibly. I hope that someday people would realize that we need to do these things, but I suppose that topic will have to be discussed in my next post.