DANIEL'S WORLD ISSUES BLOG
ARE SOME NATURAL RESOURCES WORTH MORE THAN OTHERS?
Yes, some natural resources are more valuable than others. For example, resources such as oil, natural gas or coal are more valuable than something like copper or nickel due to their importance in our day to day life. We rely on oil to power our cars, natural gas for heating and cooking, and coal for generating power, where some resources are rarely used at all, therefore having little to no importance.
CAN YOU IDENTIFY SOME HIGH-VALUE RESOURCES AND EXPLAIN WHY THEY ARE VALUE, AND TO WHOM?
A good example of a high-value resource is water. It is essential to the life of all humans. It is responsible for our existence and without it, we would be nothing. Fresh water is a renewable resource; however, humans are consuming it faster than we can replenish it.
Another example of a high value resource would be soil. Similar to water, it is essential to the day to day life of all humans. It is essential to our ecosystems and is responsible for our almost all of our food. However, poor agricultural practices and chemical contamination are making the preservation of our soil almost impossible. This is a major issue that the current and future generations will face.
IN WHAT WAYS CAN THEIR AVAILABILITY AFFECT NATIONAL ECONOMIES, PERSONAL INCOMES AND QUALITY OF LIFE?
If managed properly, the availability of natural resources can be a major benefit to national economies, personal incomes and quality of life. More resources generally translates to a better economy. However, countries can easily mismanage their resources. Poor economic performance in many natural resource-rich economies may have been caused by weak resource management institutions and structures of ownership. Besides economic repercussions, the resource curse may also lead to political problems by those who have become disgruntled with the poor management.