Reuse and Recycle
Let's face it, with the exception of little bits of debris dragged through the Earth's atmosphere by her gravitational field, everything we have is basically matter that has been recycled; the water we drink has probably been everywhere in the globe at one point or another, and already been drunk by countless other creatures. Minerals, proteins, and other substances vital to our survival comes from bio-matter that has already been processed by thousands upon thousands of people and animals before us.
This leads to a simple, inescapable truth; our resources, though renewable to an extent, are in no way unlimited, or inexhaustible.
The Normal Problem
Poverty and hunger today isn't due to a lack of resources, but rather because these existing resources are poorly distributed. There are several reasons for this;
-The planet's varied climate means that some parts of the globe are fertile, with abundant flora and fauna to support the occupants, while others border on wastelands, where survival requires a great deal more effort.
-Existing borders formed by countries forms a "we" and "they" mentality; Canada will, naturally, share some of its resources with less privileged countries via charities and even some federal programs, but this does not mean that we have given up enough to have a noticeable impact upon our own economy, or comfort.
-Within a country, particularly those whom use capitalism as an economic model, money is (generally,) given in proportion to the amount you contribute to the rest of the population, be it via business, entertainment, or military enlistment. This is meant, in part, as a model to keep a society thriving, and growing; if you are going to receive the same amount of money no matter how much (or how little,) you work, then you may be inclined to just hang on the coattails of society; how many people would feel like mopping floors in an elementary school if their survival didn't depend on it?
Naturally, those who either have superior skills, or find themselves in a more advantageous position to profit, will end up with a great deal more money than the rest of society.
Simple enough, right? The answer would be to somehow enforce productivity, and still ensure that every man, woman and child on the planet leads fairly prosperous lives, regardless of their job, geographical position, etc.
But what happens when we "run out"?
Population
Yes, as stated previously, our food and water supplies are essentially renewable; were they not, we would have all starved thousands of years ago. The problem, therefore, is what will happen when the resources that the planet can offer is no longer sufficient to support our rising population, regardless of how much we spread it around?
Unless we want to go through long periods of starvation, we would need to ensure that at least half the planet's natural resources were in a state of recycling at any one time, to guarantee we'd have a relatively steady supply of food.
Our planet is only so large; it has only so much to go around, and as the human population rises sharply, those resources continue to dwindle. We might not have noticed quite so much because the populations of many animals species have plummeted since we invented guns, (I'm sure it's just a coincidence,) leaving less competition for resources. But, at the rate our population is rising, eventually there will simply be too few of us.
Of course, first we should ask why our population seems to be on such a rise…
Prosperity
Yes, despite the poverty and world hunger, the human race is nonetheless one of the most dominant on land; ironically, what we have to fear most in the way of predators is each other. How many species can say that?
With plentiful resources, it's only natural that our species reproduce; all talk of valuing a family aside, it's a basic impulse that helps perpetuate the human race; it's the reason we haven't died out. We will continue growing in numbers as long as there are, for most of us, enough resources to support such growth; of course, there have been some factors that have slowed this population rise. In our path to becoming prosperous and rich, many couples are having very few children, or even no children at all. Despite this, however, babies are being born, and at a greater rate than older humans are dying, which of course leads to the next point…
Longer Life Spans
Due to advances in medical care, nutrition, and being surrounded with less stress, humans are living longer and healthier lives. This is, of course, a good thing; I, personally, would rather live to one hundred than to fifty. Nonetheless, there is a small downside to this occurrence; namely, there are a great deal more humans around, with the birth rate far outpacing the rate of deaths.
