Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
A woman collects water from a public well in San Cayetano, west Nicuragua
A woman collects freshwater from a public well in San Cayetano, west Nicuragua. Photograph: Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters
A woman collects freshwater from a public well in San Cayetano, west Nicuragua. Photograph: Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters

The six natural resources most drained by our 7 billion people

This article is more than 12 years old
For how long can we realistically expect to have oil? And which dwindling element is essential to plant growth?

With 7 billion people on the planet – theoretically from today – there will be an inevitable increase in the demand on the world's natural resources. Here are six already under severe pressure from current rates of consumption:

1. Water

Freshwater only makes 2.5% of the total volume of the world's water, which is about 35 million km3. But considering 70% of that freshwater is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover and that we only have access to 200,000km3 of freshwater overall, it isn't surprising that demand for water could soon exceed supply. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations is predicting that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity.

2. Oil

The fear of reaching peak oil continues to haunt the oil industry. The BP Statistical Review of World Energy in June measured total global oil at 188.8 million tonnes, from proved oil resources at the end of 2010. This is only enough to oil for the next 46.2 years, should global production remain at the current rate.

3. Natural gas

A similar picture to oil exists for natural gas, with enough gas in proven reserves to meet 58.6 years of global production at the end of 2010.

4. Phosphorus

Without this element, plants cannot grow. Essential for fertiliser, phosphate rock is only found in a handful of countries, including the US, China and Morocco. With the need to feed 7 billion people, scientists from the Global Phosphorus Research Initiative predict we could run out of phosphorus in 50 to 100 years unless new reserves of the element are found.

5. Coal

This has the largest reserves left of all the fossil fuels, but as China and other developing countries continue to increase their appetite for coal, demand could finally outstrip supply. As it is, we have enough coal to meet 188 years of global production.

6. Rare earth elements

Scandium and terbium are just two of the 17 rare earth minerals that are used in everything from the powerful magnets in wind turbines to the electronic circuits in smartphones. The elements are not as rare as their name suggests but currently 97% of the world's supply comes from China and they can restrict supplies at will. Exact reserves are not known.

More on this story

More on this story

  • A letter to baby 7 billion: 'Dear kid, welcome to our mess'

  • Stemming population growth is a cheap way to limit climate change

  • Seven billionth babies: newborns around the world – in pictures

  • How we covered the world at 5 billion: 'We shall need to do an enormous lot of things right, and all at once'

  • World's 'seven billionth baby' is born

  • Science Weekly
    Science Weekly podcast: Seven billion people – and their place in the cosmos

  • Population is not the problem

Comments (…)

Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion

Most viewed

Most viewed