Resources are not;
they become.
— Erich Zimmerman, 1951
Resource Watch
Energy Resources & Renewables
are found at Energy Resources
Water
Forests
Food
Air Quality
Resource extraction drives many economies and is the basis of everything we manufacture. Some economies are bound, even cursed, by their dependence on resource industries for exports (e.g. DR Congo, Saudi Arabia). Other countries import resources from elsewhere and add value to them (e.g. UK, Europe, Japan, Taiwan). Driving much of this is relatively cheap energy and transportation and, in some economies, cheap labour as well. Up to now, from extraction to consumption to disposal, our resource use has been linear in nature. With foresight and critical thinking, resource use can be turned successfully into a more circular economy.
Ecological Footprint
Ecological Footprint Network
Ecological Footprint Calculator
Ecological Footprint - Do we fit on our Planet?
(Sustainability Illustrated 6:13)
Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity Explorer (Country Data)
What's Your Food Footprint?
(BBC Earth Lab 8:47)
Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions by kg of food (OurWorldInData)
Carbon Counter: Cars evaluated against climate targets (MIT)
Natural Capital
What is Natural Capital
(GreenTV 1min)
Introduction to Natural Capital Accounting
(Natural Capital Ireland 3:46)
Mapping Natural Capital: Pollination, Water, Coasts Today and 2050
(Natural Capital Project)
Mapping Natural Capital + Amazon Case Study
(Conservation.org)
A giant leap towards measuring nature’s contributions to the economy (WorldBank)
The Natural Capital Project (3:26)
Natural Capital and Ecosystem Services FAQ (UN)
Natural Capital Index
(SolAbility.com)
Imports, Exports and the Reliance on Resources
The Top Export of Every Country (Visual Capitalist)
Reliance on Natural Resources by % of GDP (2011)
Are resources a blessing, a curse or a double-edged sword? (Brookings Institute)
What is Dutch Disease? (The Resource Curse) (EI Academy: 3:47)
The Top Import of Every Country (HowMuch)
Water Resources
Aqueduct: Interactive Water Risk Atlas
Net Virtual Water Flows
(Embedded Water)
Water per tonne of food produced (Our World in Data)
How much water does it take to produce these common goods? (EARTH)
Water Use per capita
(ChartBin)
Water Footprint Network
and Personal WFP Calculator
Agricultural and Food Resources
Where our Food Crops Come From - Interactive Map (CIAT)
Where does our food come from (Alimentarium)
Food Production by Crop and Country (Our World in Data)
% Expenditures on Food, 2016 (OWID)
Food Sustainability Index
(also see Infographics page)
Environmental Impacts of Food Production (Our World in Data)
What's Wrong with our Food System (TED-Ed: 5:14)
3rd World Farmer
An excellent simulation to introduce what life is like for subsistence farmers
Economics of Coffee (VisualCapitalist)
The Life Cycle of a Cup of Coffee (TED-Ed 5:04)
The Real Cost of Chocolate Bar (Oxfam)
Chocolate Trade Game (ChristianAid)
Global Livestock
ArcStory: (Farm) Animal Planet
Behind the Brands: 10 Food Companies Global Control
10 Companies that Control the World's Food (WSJ: 2:22)
Monsanto: The True Cost of Our Food (OCC: 13:37)
Mineral Resources
Global Distribution of Mines
(UNEP)
Global Minerals
Minerals in a Smartphone (PDF)
from the Geological Society
USGS Smartphone Map
Article
Forest Resources
Manufactured Resources
The life cycle of a T-shirt
(TED-Ed: 6:03)
A Tale of Two T-shirts (econolife)
The Real Cost of Cheap Fashion (NYT includes video 2:32)
Overdressed & Overstressed | The Impact Of Fast Fashion On Global Sustainability (Sustainable Square)
Jeans - Decision-making
(NG: Global Closet)
Global Jeans Map
Boeing's Global Supply Chain (ResearchGate)
How the iPhone is made (FinancesOnline - Infographic)
Plastics
Rivers of Plastic Infographic
(VisualCapitalist)
River plastic emissions to world's oceans (Nature)
Mapping Plastic Infographic (VisualCapitalist)
Drowning in Plastic Visualization (Reuters)
A Brief History of Plastic
(TED-Ed: 5:04)
Life Cycle of a Plastic Bottle (TED-Ed: 4:06)
Plastic Bag Bans
(The Economist)