5 resources on Earth that are rapidly depleting

1. Helium

Strictly speaking, helium is the second most abundant gas in the universe - only hydrogen is more common in space. It is from these two elements that stars, gas giants, nebulae are made, and read celestial bodies far from us.

However, helium reserves on Earth are very limited. The reason is simple: it is so light that it cannot stay in the atmosphere and flies into space.

Imagine: you inflate the balloon with helium, let it go, and it rises higher and higher until it bursts. Then its remnants fall, and the gas is carried away to wander through the expanses of the solar system.

In 2010, chemist Robert Richardson, who received the Nobel Prize for his research on helium, warnedthat its reserves are depleted. He predicted that this gas would last about three decades.

True, in 2016 in Tanzania's East African Rift Valley discovered large deposits of helium in volcanic rocks, but still the resource is rare and should be valued.

Helium needed for the production of medical equipment - in particular, for cooling MRI machines, creating optical fibers, microchips and many other important things. Therefore, it is highly unwise to pump it into balloons.

2. Phosphorus

Phosphorus is found both in the earth's crust and in living organisms, including you. But in concentrated forms, it is scarce. The only method of industrial extraction of this element is the excavation of phosphate ores, and leaders in this matter are Morocco, China, Egypt, Algeria and Syria.

Phosphorus is essential for the production of fertilizers and food additives. It is also an important component in steelmaking. In general, the thing is necessary.

That's just stocks of phosphates limited. Scientists give different estimates of how much they will be enough for us: some called a figure of 100 or even several hundred years. And others claimthat profitable deposits will be exhausted in 50 years.

Whether new ones will be discovered by that time and whether they will be profitable for development from a commercial point of view, no one will be able to predict.

But there is also good news: people and animals allocate almost 100% phosphorus. This means that even if we suddenly run out of all deposits, we will be able to extract this substance, as in the good old Middle Ages, from faeces. This, of course, will be quite costly, but it is much worse to come to a global crisis in agriculture.

3. Sand

You can say that there is definitely enough sand on our blue ball. But actually it is not. Sand is so scarce that the UN in its regular report for 2022 urged save him.

According to report Organizations use about 50 billion tons of sand and gravel every year - enough to build a wall 27 meters wide and 27 meters high around planet Earth. And this is just an unthinkable amount!

Sand is the second most used resource on the planet after water. It is in demand more than oil and gas. Sand is necessary to create concrete, asphalt and glass - without it, humanity will simply not have building materials, they will have to move to dugouts.

It would seem that what is the problem - drive a few excavators to the Sahara and dig up.

But no, such sand is for construction not suitable. The wind blows it, and the grains of sand become rounded. Because of this, they lose the ability to cling together, and concrete of them will not work.

We need sand that is turned by water, which is found on the banks, in the channels and floodplains of rivers, as well as at the bottom of lakes and seas. And it's very difficult to get it. So much so that in China, India, Kenya, Gambia, Indonesia, South America, this resource is even a mafia stealsto resell later. And competitors and eco-activists who try to prevent this are simply destroyed.

If there is no substitute for sand, in the future, humanity will have to build much less. so or cross over on other materials - for example, to create skyscrapers from wood. Yes it Maybe.

4. rare earth elements

There are 17 metals called rare earth elements. They also have all sorts of specific names, for example, dysprosium, yttrium, thulium, terbium, europium, and so on. And we are running out of them.

rare earth elements, or lanthanides, needed in a variety of industries: it is from them that the filling is made for smartphones, televisions and cars. In addition, they are needed in medicine - in particular, in the treatment of cancer, as well as in the nuclear and chemical industries and instrumentation.

The properties of these metals are what make electronics miniaturized – without them, your iPhone would be the size of an entire room.

Strictly speaking, rare earth metals are not so rare - they constitute almost a fifth of the naturally occurring elements, and there are more of them in the earth's crust than the same copper. Another thing is that their extraction and processing are extremely complex and time-consuming, and are often banally economically inexpedient.

Today's leaders in this matter are China and Australia, but their reserves are depleted. A shortage of readily available rare earths could push the cost of smartphones and graphics cards jump up a few times.

True, the situation may to correct Greenland - 25% of known deposits of lanthanides are concentrated there. Canadian rare earth mining company Neo Performance has already acquired the right to develop them, but it is still impossible to say whether the island’s reserves are enough and whether the game is worth the candle.

5. Water

Water, as you know, is the source of life. And it would seem that the Earth is full of it - it covered 71% of the planet's surface. But really suitable for people water not so much in the world.

Look at the image above prepared USGS and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, what our Earth would look like without oceans.

The big blue sphere over North America is all of the planet's water reserves. They even include steam in the atmosphere and underground sources. A smaller ball is all fresh water. And a very small dot is the contents of lakes and rivers without taking into account underground horizons - aquifirs.

With such a visual visualization, you can’t say that we have a lot of H₂O.

Research using NASA's GRACE satellites demonstrates that the Earth's groundwater, which is the main source of drinking water for mankind, is rapidly depleting. According to report scientists at the University of California at Irvine, since 2003, their reserves in 21 of the 37 largest aquifers on the planet have been significantly reduced, and 13 of them are almost depleted.

The demand for water is only increasing. Most - almost 70% - of fresh liquid is used in agriculture, but it is also needed in energy - both coal and nuclear. All this leads to the fact that from lack of water suffering two-thirds of the world's population, which is 4 billion people. And we need to find new, more efficient ways to conserve this resource.

In general, please do not leave the faucet open.