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In recent years every person in the developed world has started to think about the problems that are associated with our environment. These are problems that economists need to consider also. Economics is the study of the way in which we make choices, and right now we need to make some very important choices if we are to maintain our standard of living into the future.

When you first started studying Economics, you learned that economists group resources into four broad categories – land, labour, capital and enterprise. In this area of study, you will focus your attention on the first group; we are going to take a closer look at those resources which we classify in the land category.

In terms of available productive resources, Australia is very lucky to have a large supply of land resources. Not only do we have a lot of land which can be used for farming, we also have a very long coastline (which gives us access to more fishing stocks than most countries), and we have a wide variety of temperature zones (which means that we can grow everything from cold climate crops to tropical plants). Australia is also rich in mineral stocks, with abundant coal, iron ore, uranium, gold, diamonds, opals and more.

These resources can help to make us rich, but we must be very wary of the way in which they are used. If we dig up all of our gold and sell it to buyers in other countries, then we won’t be able to use it in the production process here. (Gold is used in jewellery, and it is also important in the production of high quality electrical wiring.) In addition, if we use these resources in their entirety today, then there will be none left for future generations to use.

This is because some of these resources are considered non-renewable. While it is true that fishing stocks will be replenished (assuming that they are not over-fished), the supply of gold is fixed.

Finally, it is very important that we understand that these resources are not just there so that we can use them to generate economic growth. Preserving the world’s natural habitats is important. Other animals depend on the availability of certain environments to sustain life. The various ecosystems in Australia are all interconnected; when one suffers, others will be affected. Eventually, environmental damage will result in an environment that can’t support life. And that includes us.

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