I just heard a BBC reporter say this, without much qualification, and giving the impression that this was a very credible claim.
This claim was apparently based on a report by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment team (who were funded by – who else? the UN), although the BBC simply reported this as “a team of hundreds of scientists”, without even saying who they were (had to go to the BBC website for that), or reporting on the strongly political nature of the report
I haven’t yet found any such claim in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s report, although it may be in there somewhere. But I’ve no doubt that the reporter was given this figure by someone connected with the report, though whether this was one of the scientists involved (and some distinguished scientists like Robert May are involved), or just a secretary or PR person, I don’t know.
Anyway, it’s grossly irresponsible. Two-thirds? Whatever some green-leaning biologists may think, any economist could tell you that this is rubbish. After all, the great proportion of our consumption of resources has occured in the last 100 years. If we’ve used up most of the two-thirds in that time, that means they’ll all run out in about 30-50 years. In fact, given the increased prosperity of the developing world, and the increasing consumption in the developed world, we should run out well before that, if this claim is correct.
So in about twenty years time, we can expect there to be no steel, no sugar, no water, no rice, no wood, no plastic, no farmable land, no cotton, no oil, no energy, no fruit-bearing trees, no aluminium, no wheat, no copper, no rubber, no nothing’. Now, you don’t have to be Julian Simon to think this is a scare story. (In fact, the very opposite is more likely – in 20-50 years time, these resources will more cheaper and more plentiful than ever.)
Update 30-3: The Guardian also has a Two-thirds of world’s resources ‘used up’ headline.
Tim Worstall, meanwhile, has noticed that the report is calling for solutions that sound decidely, well, free market-ish.
One despairs. There doesn’t seem to be a BBC journalist with an ounce of independence or energy. If someone gives them a PR notice that corresponds to whatever hysterical line the Guardian and Independent happen to be peddling the journos blithely accept it as God’s truth – which I suppose to them it is since they own no other gods.
OT
BBC24 headlin as of this morning: “Kofi Annan CLEARED”. It was titled as well as pronounced. Go figure.
You only need to check out the CBBC pages, in particular Newsround, to discover the massive bias towards the environmental movement.
Something on the BBC website now.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4391835.stm
Environmentalists = Watermelons.
Green on the surface, all red on the inside.
Political documents masquerading as science have been a mainstay of the neo-Malthusians since al least the Club of Rome’s “The Limits To Growth” study, which was released in the early 70s.
They invariably turn out to be wrong in their catastrophic predictions.
Professors of Panic, a new academic speciality of widespread appeal for those seeking grants and other research support. We need journalists with enough brain cells and the right career structure to be able to treat these ‘Panickers’ with the appropriate amount of contempt.
I love it when left wingers talk about global warming. To them rising crime is just a tabloid fabrication believed by stupid people. But global warming is proven beyond all reasonable doubt.
Sometimes i think they care more about plants and trees than humans.
A similar claim that resources were running out was made in the early 70s by the ‘Club of Rome’. At that time they predicted that a whole lot of raw materials would run out by the year 2000. It seems they were wrong then and are wrong again now. We also are at fault for continuing to listen to such nonsense.
If two thirds of the Earth’s resources are spent, why have prices not wildly inflated to reflect the shortage? On the contrary, the prices of most goods, even gasoline, show a downward trend over the long term. Any economically literate person should be able to see this, which is why such claims are made on the BBC.
Tantor
Two Thirds of what? 100, 1000, 10,000. What is the end number?
BTW, Don’t forget to send in your next extortion payment to the BBC, so you can keep receiving this garbage.
“In the past, politicians promised to create a better world. They had different ways of achieving this. But their power and authority came from the optimistic visions they offered to their people. Those dreams failed. And today, people have lost faith in ideologies. Increasingly, politicians are seen simply as managers of public life. But now, they have discovered a new role that restores their power and authority. Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to protect us from nightmares. They say that they will rescue us from dreadful dangers that we cannot see and do not understand…. THAT THE WORLD WILL RUN OUT OF RESOURCES IN 20-30 YEARS”
From “The Power Of Nightmares” (OK I INSERTED THE BIT IN BOLD) – It is very easy to create a conspiracy theory when you lost all rational arguments. Perhaps we should invent a snazzy new name, say the “Neo- socialists”.
If all this seems familiar…
“We must not be selfish or timid if we hope to have a decent world for our children and grandchildren.
We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources…
This difficult effort will be the “moral equivalent of war” [meow!] …
we now believe that early in the 1980s the world will be demanding more oil that it can produce…
we must prepare quickly for a … change, to strict conservation and to the use of coal and permanent renewable energy sources, like solar power…”
— Jimmy Carter, national televised speech to the American people, April 18, 1977.
We all know it’s mostly the US’s fault, right? And I suppose since we humans are such a threat to our planet’s resources, we should all just commit suicide. I mean we don’t want to endanger any more species, now do we?
Wow, shocking results. The BBC rejects 55,000 complaints about its showing of Jerry Springer: The Opera.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4393533.stm
Never would have guessed it.
But the Limits to Growth study focused minds and many companies, notably the Japanese automobile manufacturers went out and developed more energy efficient models. In that respect the study was useful and the recent update acknowledges that many of the forecasts were out. Still, it is good to review these things, get them out in the open and discuss things. Unfortunately the BBC, which as we saw from the recent criticism of its coverage of the EU, doesn’t really research things properly leading them to overdependence on those that feed them.
Susan:
When the BBC does things to offend Catholics, it’s OK. When a Conservative MP does it, it’s horrible.
(Ironically, I seem to remember there being a stink when Catholic countries like Slovakia wanted the EU constitution to mention Europe’s Christian heritage. On the other hand, I also remember being told how Iraq’s new consitution just had to mention Iraq’s Muslim heritage….)
The Beeb Governors airily dismissed tens of thousands of complaints which came in before the broadcast on the grounds that they couldn’t possibly know what Jerry Springer the Opera involved.
So anyone who opposes the BBC’s policy is ignorant as well as unappreciative of the ‘outstanding artistic merit’ – which JSO apparently contains in spadefuls.
Such arrogance.
R5Live “Upallnight” were last night enjoying the rebuke to the federal government by the Schiavo appeal court.
(This not referred to online? Not here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4395983.stm)
It seems that federal law overruling the states’ rights to organise education in the 1960’s was a good thing. The federal courts intervening in the state killing of the disabled is not good – at least not when Bush is involved.
Jerry Springer the Opera might be extremely funny (and indeed is in my opinion) but it’s clearly not of ‘outstanding artistic merit’. It isn’t particularly clever, thought provoking or intellectually stimulating, it’s just a straight out p*ss take.
On that basis I really couldn’t see the point of inevitably irritating Christians by showing it on the Beeb and the subsequent justifications sound extremely shallow.
Cockney
Nice hat!
😉
Sod the planet … it will see me out!
Be a little careful with this report. They are not arguing that the steel, copper and oil will all be gone in 50 years, not at all. They are arguing that where we still have Commons style access to resources (water, pollution, tropical forest, fishing) the we are already having severe problems (the Grand Banks fishery is one from the past, current N Sea fisheries now going on) and they will get worse if we don’t do something.
In much of what they’re saying (not what is being reported) I think they’re right. Spot on in fact, as well as with the solutions they put forward.
Despite how everyone is reporting it this is not a piece of Moonbat style eco-lunacy, it’s a report outlining some real problems, with a good set of ideas about how to solve them.
More markets, less tariffs, more trade, greater globalization, more wealth and less poverty.
They also frequenty use the bromide “we’re using more resources that we can produce”.
Which is numnerically impossible.
Remember – these were the kids that failed at maths.
I wonder how much fuel BBC staff consume with all of their taxpayer funded taxi rides. ❓
They’re so totally clueless when it comes to markets – when governments control prices and manipulate industries the value of the product cant float or adjust to the supply and demand.
So “compassionate, socialistic” policies on resources are a misnomer. If the value of a dwindling commodity is allowed to float it cost goes up – adjusting for the dwindling supply.
Such idiots, those leftist.
Did you hear the ridiculous Archbishop of Cantrebury on the BBC radio today?
All the luvvies favourite issues he wants as the centre of the election campaigns(enviroment,prisoners conditions,world poverty,etc)but to downplay our “Fears” on topics like crime and immigration.
The BBC seemed to have turned the sound down when he spoke
Obviously the Church of England is now the BBC at prayer.
Well, I assume that if the two-thirds of the world’s resources are used up, then the responsible thing to do would be to advocate increased use of nuclear power, no?
You say: “In fact, given the increased prosperity of the developing world, and the increasing consumption in the developed world, we should run out well before that, if this claim is correct.”
INCREASED PROSPERITY?? Dude, you need to move to the “developing world” and see for yourself.
Why don’t you guys just stick to fox and end the annoying ?. The BBC is one of the few sources left of mainstream independent journalism.
And to the other moron who questioned Global Warming and the worrying about the environment… you should look at these examples, you dumb*ss:
“In 1989, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain underwent a conversion experience on the environment, and called for an international treaty on climate change. Three years later, her leadership was an important factor in convincing a reluctant President George H.W. Bush to sign the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the parent document of the Kyoto Protocol. The U.S. Senate ratified that agreement a few months later.”
Resources certainly seem to have been used up in the BBC, for they seems to be coasting on past greatness.
Global Warming? Hey Eats, Why don’t you enlighten us on how you will control all the pollution that is spewed into the air, by all the active volcano’s on the planet?
The BBC is one of the few sources left of mainstream independent journalism.
I am sure that David Kelly, you remember him, don’t ya Eats? You know the guy the BBC outed as the source for the “sexed up” report. I am sure he is thinking (from his gravesite) that the BBC is, how would you say it : oh yeah. Spot on.
Shorty
I don’t see how claiming the increased prosperity around the world as a myth & that Thatcher was infalible is really going to persuade anybody sensible.
As regards the heresy of questioning global warming – didn’t you hear that the Hockeysticks hypothesis on which it is largely based had been proven fake. I guess you must get your information from the BBC.
That 2/3 of the Earth’s resources are depleted is a misinterpretation of the Millennium Ecosystem Report.
What the report actually says, is that 2/3 of the kinds of ecosystem services measured in the report are in decline. Not used up.