The world around us is full of vital natural resources for plant, human and animal survival. Without plentiful energy resources for every individual the consequences would literally turn deadly fast. Kenneth Boulding believed that the Earth is similar to a spaceship in that the resources are limited and will eventually run out. He referred to earlier in history as the "cowboy economy," which was a time where humans used resources as if their was an endless, limitless supply of natural goods.
Throughout the years people began to realize more and more that we need to conserve our resources especially with constantly rising number of human inhabitants on Earth. In fact, today's Earth carrying capacity is nearly, if not on the brink of being full. Earth cannot expand to encompass more life, air cannot be fixed from hundreds of decades of harmful toxins, and extinct plants and animals can never be replaced, but people can do their part today by conserving natural resources and disposing of wastes in more environmentally safe ways. Environmentally safe practices can continue to take place even with the advancing of technology. Instead of using harmful methods of powering new electronics, homes, and buildings we can use the constant energy from the sun, which makes.
Boulding considered ways to improve lively hood and natural resources. Kenneth's essay was primarily over the topic entropy in the forms of energy, matter and information. Using the second law of thermodynamics Mr. Boulding realized that entropy "places a absolute limit on the viability of civilization." Everyone needs to work together and not use too many resources for a spaceship to stay intact. People must constantly be making repairs and better the ship/environment for it to sustain the old, new, and incoming life forms.
The entropy argument is an interesting one. It is important to realize, as Peacock pointed out in one of our readings, that the Earth is not a closed system: The incoming flow of the sun's light provides us with a huge amount of energy that can do all kinds of things, including feed ourselves and ecosystems. Other things, like clean water or air, are probably much more limited than energy. Still, the point stands. If we over-use or destroy key resources, we are reducing the carrying capacity of the Earth and reducing our chances of living.
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