ABSTRACT
A number of factors are important to consider with regard to our natural resource consumption: (1) the continued population growth; (2) the material consumption patterns of developed countries increasingly adopted by developing countries; (3) the imbalance in development, opportunities, and resource allocation between developed and developing countries; (4) the correct pricing of natural resources to account for scarcity and environmental and social costs of natural resource developments; and (5) the efficiency of resource use by industry through adopting best available techniques. These are complex, interlinked issues.
