Why Should We Share Earth’s Resources?
Who Owns the Earth?
From poverty and environmental destruction, to war and economic crises, many of the big problems we face as a planet are rooted in natural resources. While monopolists instigate wars over oil, diamonds, and other precious minerals in poor countries, the real estate sector profiteers from property bubbles (land) in rich countries.
The legacy of colonialism is one in which we treat natural resources merely as spoils of conquest, resources to be exploited without regard for people or the environment. Consider Africa for example. Every year, $50 billion USD in aid and $40 billion in remittances go in to the continent. That’s generous, isn’t it? However, $400 billion is sucked out in resource profits. Africa, like most low income areas of the world, is not poor -it’s being looted.
High Housing Costs
There are more empty homes in the US than homeless people. There is also a great deal of prime land in cities that remains vacant. Take New York City for example, if all of the land currently sitting idle was made available for use, it would be equivalent to adding another Manhattan to the housing market. Such a large increase in the housing supply would drastically cut housing costs and create jobs.
Urban land is the most precious natural resource of all, for it determines how well we use all other natural resources. The more space that is wasted in cities, the more people must sprawl to outlying areas, causing a slew of environmental problems (see video). Therefore, saving the environment, and using resources efficiently means using land efficiently, first and foremost.
Urban land is the most
valuable resource of all.