Buzz
In the early 1900s, a time of simplicity, Earth's population was estimated at just 1.6 billion. By the 1950s, that number had doubled, and by the 2000s, we hit six billion. According to a study published in the journal Global Environmental Change, the global population is expected to peak at 9.4 billion later this century. This is alarming, as we currently lack sufficient resources for our present population. One in eight people suffer from hunger, and over 1.3 billion still lack reliable electricity. With longer life expectancies and increased birth rates, the strain on space is growing, leading some to seek ways to slow this trend down.
An interesting trend emerged when efforts were made to educate women in less developed countries. The average family size shrank from 6.3 children to 1.9 within two generations, thanks to better education, job opportunities, and improved access to contraception. This suggests that there are possible solutions to the population crisis, but as things stand, we still face many challenges related to resources. While some may assume these shortages won't affect their own generations, there are urgent shortages that should be causing concern right now.
10. Sand
It might sound odd, but the shortage of sand is very real. Sand is everywhere, from concrete and glass to asphalt. It’s not just confined to deserts; it’s used in our highways, towering skyscrapers, and even toothpaste. Sand and gravel, collectively known as aggregate, account for 85 percent of all mining activity on Earth. Unfortunately, it’s being extracted faster than it can naturally replenish, which is a growing concern.
In the past four years, China has consumed more sand than the United States did throughout the entire 20th century. India has its own sand mafia, and Dubai, despite being surrounded by sand, had to import it from Australia to construct the Burj Khalifa.
9. Effective Gonorrhea Treatments
Antibiotics to treat this STD first became available in the 1940s. However, like most bacteria, gonorrhea has developed the ability to mutate and resist the effects of the medication we’ve used to fight it. In just 70 years, antibiotics have become almost ineffective, leaving only one remaining option for treatment.
The first case of drug-resistant gonorrhea was discovered in Japan in 2011. Scientists are now urging caution, especially since gonorrhea is the most commonly contracted sexually transmitted disease in the world. About 50 percent of women who have it are unaware, giving drug-resistant strains plenty of opportunity to spread. Just... be careful.
8. Helium
Say goodbye to your party balloons; helium is slowly disappearing. This is quite unfortunate because helium is used for much more than just childhood fun. This nonrenewable resource helps cool superconducting magnets in MRI machines and is crucial for leak detection in high-pressure testing containers. Scientists also rely on it to achieve the lowest temperatures among cryogens, which allows them to observe quantum mechanical phenomena without interference.
Many of helium's uses cannot be replaced by any other element. Unless we find better ways to manage the remaining supplies, we may have to start extracting it from the Moon.
7. Lethal Injection Drugs
This shortage isn’t due to a lack of ingredients, but rather because companies are no longer eager to have their names associated with executions. In 2016, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer joined over 20 other American and European companies, blocking US states from using their drugs in executions.
States that still practice the death penalty are scrambling to obtain lethal injection drugs by any means necessary. However, this has proven to be quite challenging, as imports of these drugs from countries that continue to manufacture them are routinely seized by federal agents, making it nearly impossible to replenish their stock.
6. Dirt
Scientists estimate that we have approximately 60 years of topsoil remaining. Continuous farming of the same land with the same crops depletes the soil’s nutrients, rendering it barren. As our population grows rapidly, food demand is expected to rise by 50 percent in the next 20 to 50 years, while crop yields are projected to decrease by 30 percent.
But at least we’ll have plenty of water, right? Unfortunately, a recent study shows that nearly half of the increase in sea levels since 1960 can be attributed to irrigation water flowing through crops and into the ocean.
5. Sperm
A comprehensive study revealed that between 1973 and 2011, sperm concentration and count in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand dropped by 52.4 percent. This decline not only affects reproductive health but is also linked to overall health issues, including increased morbidity and mortality.
What’s behind this decline? Scientists suggest that our environment plays a major role. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are prevalent around us, and poor diets, unhealthy BMI levels, and rising stress are contributing factors. Additionally, the increasing levels of pesticides in our food supply are not helping. As these factors continue to rise, we can expect sperm levels to continue their downward trend.
4. Fish
This is one of the most concerning issues on the list. If we continue fishing at the current rate, we could deplete the ocean’s fish population. The catch is declining by two percent annually, and what’s more alarming is that major fisheries are grossly underreporting their catches to the FAO.
Wealthy nations have no qualms about illegally fishing in poorer countries' waters, driven by the immense profits from supplying food to seven billion people on Earth at a pace the ocean cannot keep up with. 92 percent of Chinese fleet fishing is unreported, and 40 percent of global fishing remains hidden. Once the fish are gone, they’re gone, and the already disrupted food chain will only grow more unstable.
3. Nurses
There are several factors contributing to the nursing shortage. First, the elderly population is growing rapidly. Between 2010 and 2030, the number of senior citizens in the US will increase by 75 percent, reaching 69 million, meaning one in five people will be seniors. This presents a huge challenge, especially since 80 percent of older adults suffer from at least one chronic condition, and 68 percent have two. This increasing demand is compounded by the already declining number of nurses in the US.
Why is the nursing workforce shrinking? In 2012, nursing schools were forced to turn away 79,659 qualified applicants for baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs due to a shortage of faculty, clinical sites, classroom spaces, and clinical preceptors, in addition to budget cuts. With the current nursing workforce aging and retiring, we are headed for a severe shortage in health care unless we open the door for new nurses.
2. Gold
While the sand mining industry may be thriving, gold remains a more elusive treasure. Over the past decade, there have been fewer new gold discoveries, and many mining projects have been canceled due to the high risks involved. Investment in gold dropped from $10 billion in 2012 to just $4 billion in 2016. As a result, supply is expected to decrease by 15 to 20 percent over the next three to four years.
The good news is that when gold becomes scarce on Earth, we might find an alternative up in space. The asteroid 2011 UW158, which passed Earth in 2015, is more than 500 meters (1,640 ft) long and is thought to hold anywhere from $300 billion to $5 trillion worth of precious metals. Unfortunately, it’s currently located six times farther from us than the Moon. However, that hasn't stopped scientists. The Washington-based company Planetary Resources spent three months testing their technology for space prospecting. In 2014, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft successfully landed on a comet, suggesting that a space-based gold rush may not be as far off as it seems.
1. Data Storage
Unfortunately, this problem is a bit more complex than just deleting some photos to free up space on your phone. Data has become a critical resource and is quickly emerging as one of the most valuable assets for businesses globally. By 2020, it’s projected that there will be 26 billion connected devices, not counting the additional seven billion smartphones, PCs, and tablets. The current billions of silicon-based hard drives are struggling to keep up, but rest assured, there are solutions in the pipeline.
In 2013, a team of scientists from the European Bioinformatics Institute made a groundbreaking achievement by storing an entire collection of Shakespeare’s sonnets, a PDF of the first paper detailing DNA’s double helix structure, a 26-second MP3 clip of Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech, a text file for a compression algorithm, and a JPEG photo—all within a strand of DNA. If we can develop such a remarkable alternative, we’re sure to find a way to handle our data storage needs.
