Topic 3: Global resource consumption & security

95. Natural Resource

A material or substance occurring in nature that can be used to meet human needs or support economic activity, e.g. water, oil, timber, minerals.

96. Renewable Resource

A resource replenished naturally at a rate comparable to its consumption, e.g. solar energy, wind, sustainably harvested timber.

97. Non-renewable Resource

A resource that takes geological timescales to form and cannot be meaningfully replenished within a human timeframe, e.g. fossil fuels, metal ores.

98. Consumption

The use of resources, goods, and services by individuals and economies; globally uneven, with HICs consuming far more per capita than LICs.

99. Global Middle Class

People with sufficient income for discretionary spending beyond basic necessities; its rapid growth in China, India, and other emerging economies is driving rising global resource demand.

100. Ecological Footprint

A measure of the land and water area required to produce the resources consumed and absorb the wastes generated by a population under current technology.

101. Biocapacity

The capacity of ecosystems to regenerate the resources that people demand from them; when footprint exceeds biocapacity, an ecological deficit results.

102. Ecological Deficit / Overshoot

When a population's resource demand exceeds the biocapacity available to it, consuming resources faster than they can be regenerated or releasing waste faster than it can be absorbed.

103. Water Footprint

The total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed; includes green water (rainwater), blue water (surface/groundwater), and grey water (water needed to dilute pollutants).

104. Virtual / Embedded Water

The water used in the production process of a good or service; trade in food and manufactured products involves the invisible transfer of virtual water between countries.

105. Carbon Footprint

The total GHGs, measured as CO₂ equivalent, produced directly and indirectly by an individual, organisation, or product.

106. Energy Mix

The combination of energy sources (coal, oil, gas, nuclear, renewables) that supply a country's total energy demand; varies significantly between nations based on resources and policy.

107. Food Security

A state where all people have reliable physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet dietary needs for an active and healthy life.

108. Food Insecurity

The lack of consistent access to enough nutritious food; driven by poverty, drought, conflict, poor infrastructure, and market failures.

109. Water Security

The ability to access sufficient quantities of clean water to maintain adequate standards of food production, sanitation, and sustainable health care.

110. Physical Water Scarcity

Occurs when the demand for water exceeds natural supply from rivers, lakes, and groundwater; common in arid and semi-arid regions.

111. Economic Water Scarcity

Occurs where water physically exists but is inaccessible due to a lack of investment in infrastructure, pipes, or treatment capacity; common in sub-Saharan Africa.

112. Energy Security

The ability to access reliable, affordable, and sufficient energy services for productive uses; threatened by depleting reserves, geopolitical tensions, and volatile prices.

113. Peak Oil

The hypothetical point when global oil production reaches its maximum rate, after which production enters terminal decline as accessible reserves are exhausted.

114. Fossil Fuels

Carbon-based fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) formed from compressed organic material over millions of years; the dominant global energy source and the primary source of GHG emissions.

115. Sustainable Development

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commission, 1987).

116. Resource Stewardship

The responsible management and conservation of natural resources to ensure their long-term availability and minimise environmental damage.

117. Circular Economy

An economic model that eliminates waste by keeping resources in use as long as possiblethrough reuse, repair, remanufacture, and recycling, replacing the linear 'take-make-dispose' model.

118. Water-Food-Energy Nexus

The interlocking relationship between water, food, and energy security; changes or pressures in one sector directly affect the others, requiring integrated management.

119. Land Grabbing

The large-scale acquisition of land in LICs by foreign governments or corporations, often for food or biofuel production, frequently displacing local communities.

120. Green Revolution

The introduction of high-yielding crop varieties, irrigation, fertilisers, and pesticidesfrom the 1960s that dramatically increased food production, particularly in Asia and Latin America.

121. TNCs (Transnational Corporations)

Firms that own or control productive operations in more than one country through foreign direct investment; major players in global resource extraction, food, and energy.

122. Geopolitics of Resources

The use of resource access and control as a source of political power; scarcity and competition over oil, water, and food can drive conflict and diplomatic tensions.