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Some were global, but were not as severe—e.g. the 1918 influenza pandemic killed an estimated 3–6% of the world's population. [13] Most global catastrophic risks would not be so intense as to kill the majority of life on earth, but even if one did, the ecosystem and humanity would eventually recover (in contrast to existential risks).
Today, about 80% of the world's energy consumption is sustained by the extraction of fossil fuels, which consists of oil, coal and natural gas. [4] Another non-renewable resource humans exploit is subsoil minerals, such as precious metals, mainly used to produce industrial commodities.
The depletion of resources has been an issue since the beginning of the 19th century amidst the First Industrial Revolution.The extraction of both renewable and non-renewable resources increased drastically, much further than thought possible pre-industrialization, due to the technological advancements and economic development that lead to an increased demand for natural resources.
In the real world, consumption of fossil fuel resources leads to global warming and climate change. However, little change is being made in many parts of the world. If the peak oil theory proves true, more explorations of viable alternative energy sources, could be more friendly to the environment.
"When Nature Attacks" from Newsweek; World's worst natural disasters since 1900; Earthquake Hazards Program – USGS; EM-DAT: The International Disaster Database managed by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters; Disasters Database Report from Emergency Management Australia
Nowadays it is hard to distinguish between natural and human-made disasters. [3] [7] [8] The term natural disaster was already challenged in 1976. [6] Human choices in architecture, [9] fire risk, [10] [11] and resource management [12] can cause or worsen natural disasters. Climate change also affects how often disasters due to extreme weather ...
The resource curse, also known as the paradox of plenty or the poverty paradox, is the hypothesis that countries with an abundance of natural resources (such as fossil fuels and certain minerals) have lower economic growth, lower rates of democracy, or poorer development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources. [1]
A circular economy (also referred to as circularity or CE) [1] is a model of resource production and consumption in any economy that involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible.