Diminishing resource bases make constant demands exponentially harmful
Evidence
Another direct implication for environmental protection law is that the environmental impact of accelerated economic activity may well increase exponentially rather than linearly. One reason, as described in chapter 1, is that exponentiality results from placing constant demands on an ever-shrinking natural resource base. A reduction of five hundred acres of wetlands may seem relatively small when there are tens of thousands of wetland acres available, but such a loss is not nearly so trivial when there are only five thousand total acres. — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 978
Categorization
- XREF: Builds directly on ch1’s exponential-transformation and threshold arguments. — connects to: Individually rational resource use leads to collective ruin when costs are shared — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1943; Rational self-interest yields collectively disastrous resource depletion — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2498; Even a fair trading game ruins a finite player against unlimited resources — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera: How Financial…, 259
- recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
Broader Connections
- Individually rational resource use leads to collective ruin when costs are shared
#corroborates(0.82) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 1943 - Rational self-interest yields collectively disastrous resource depletion
#corroborates(0.82) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 2498 - Even a fair trading game ruins a finite player against unlimited resources
#expands(0.75) — Donald MacKenzie, An Engine, Not a Camera, 259