The issue of Peak Oil continues to be contentious, with several previous predictions of the end of petroleum extraction being directly contradicted by the discovery of and shift to the extraction of shale oil in 2011 and 2012. But what if there is enough oil for the next 100 years?

Most natural resources that are currently in use are non-renewable and hence when they become depleted, they are unavailable for future use. The debate between the ‘never be enough’ and ‘always be more’ factions has been taken over by ‘resource optimism’ as a result of modern neoclassical economics.

Drowned Out is a 2002 documentary by Franny Armstrong about the Sardar Sarovar Dam Project. Shot over three years, Drowned Out follows one family’s stand against a government dam project which is set to destroy their home and their village.

Water scarcity plays a role in environmental ecosystems, economics, development and human consumption. The concept of water scarcity has increasingly become discussed in terms of economic management, but in reality there are various definitions for water scarcity and how they are experienced.

Economic water scarcity is understood to be the condition where there is a lack of sufficient investment or human capacity to satisfy the demand for water in a region. Typically this is thought to be the result of a situation where the population does not have the financial means to efficiently utilise an otherwise adequate source of water.

Predicted shortage and politically influenced global flows of minerals, specifically rare earth minerals is currently causing concern with regards to the development of new technologies linked to renewable industries. Currently rare earth minerals are primarily extracted in South Africa and China.