What are some ways natural resources are protected?
Policies that tax or subsidize to change prices in hopes of encouraging people to reconsider the environmental effects of their choices or policies that limit or prohibit the usage of destructive materials and practices both help mitigate environmental damage.

How do we not run out of resources even when our population is growing?
For example, if the price of copper rises, people are encouraged to invest in technologies that make its extraction cheaper and substitute it with different materials, causing the price of copper to go down. As the price of copper gets cheaper, demand for it increases and companies cut down on investments towards extraction, undoing what was previously done and increasing prices once again. As a result, even if the population increases, we don’t necessarily “run out” of resources.

How do the principles of supply and demand explain why the Ehrlich-Simon 10-year bet is untelling about the long-run scarcity of raw materials?
Resources that lack substitutes typically have steep and short-run supply and demand curves; small changes in supply or demand usually create large and sudden changes in their market-clearing price.

How has the availability of resources evolved since the Industrial Revolution?
Resources such as air, water, soil, metals, hydrocarbons, or fish stocks were once abundant resources; while items such as hydrocarbons and minerals still remain abundant, others such as unpolluted air, biodiversity, forests, and clean water are becoming more and more scarce. Within the past two centuries, however, the price of many mineral resources has remained relatively constant despite their extraction increasing.

What are some consequences of misusing renewable natural resources?
In the face of economic growth, and thus an increased usage of natural resources, the environment can experience progressive degradation and self-reinforcing collapse.

What are some examples of environmental degradation as a consequence of the consumption of these resources?
Grand Banks was a cod fishery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries located north of the Atlantic Ocean. Communities in the US and Canada became reliant on the fishery due to the widely available amount of fish. However, over the years, the fishing industry in Grand Banks died as a result of the declining quantities of cod. Deforestation in the Amazon can lead to reduced rainfall, which causes the likelihood of fires to increase, causing the forest to further reduce in the area as a result of fire. Here, no repeated human intervention is needed to contribute to environmental degradation as the recursive process leads to more and more destruction.

What is the difference between the depletion of commodities and global warming?
While prices of commodities have the ability to self-correct when certain resources become scarce, effects such as global warming are usually only resolved through policy or action, and are oftentimes acknowledged too little or too late.

Natural resources: total substance on earth’s crust

Market-clearing price: demand for good by consumers equals number of goods that can be produced

Ecosystem collapse: destruction of ecosystem through a positive feedback process

Positive feedback processes: self-reinforcing cycle

Environmental degradation: deterioration of the environment

Natural resources can be protected through various policies that aim to change prices, such as taxation or subsidies, to encourage environmentally conscious choices. Limiting or prohibiting the usage of destructive materials and practices also helps mitigate environmental damage. Even with a growing population, resources can be preserved. For instance, when the price of a resource like copper rises, it incentivizes investment in technologies that make extraction cheaper or substitution with alternative materials. As the price of copper decreases due to increased supply, demand rises, leading to reduced investments in extraction and stabilizing prices. This mechanism prevents resources from running out despite population growth. The principles of supply and demand explain why the Ehrlich-Simon 10-year bet is not indicative of long-run scarcity. Resources without substitutes have steep and short-run supply and demand curves, meaning small changes in supply or demand result in significant price fluctuations. Since the Industrial Revolution, the availability of resources has changed. Some resources like hydrocarbons and minerals remain abundant, while others like clean water, unpolluted air, biodiversity, and forests are becoming scarcer. The price of many minerals has remained relatively constant despite increased extraction in the past two centuries. Misusing renewable natural resources can lead to progressive degradation and self-reinforcing collapse as a consequence of increased usage during economic growth. Examples of environmental degradation resulting from resource consumption include the collapse of the Grand Banks cod fishery due to declining fish quantities and deforestation in the Amazon leading to reduced rainfall and increased fire likelihood, perpetuating further forest reduction. The key difference between the depletion of commodities and global warming is that commodity prices can self-correct when resources become scarce, while addressing global warming requires policy interventions and proactive actions. Global warming is often inadequately addressed until its effects become significant, whereas commodity scarcity can trigger corrective market responses.

In relation to the Ehrlich-Simon bet, a commodity whose prices have not stayed constant would be gas given the high and inflating prices as of recent.