There are two hypotheses regarding the impending mineral crisis:
1) As the number of people on Earth increases, the demand for mineral resources will more quickly deplete the Earth of such resources.
2) More people means more innovative ideas, finding new ways to adjust our use of minerals so as to not run out to quickly.
How would I test these two hypotheses? Any suggestions?
Layne M
Favorite Answer
Honestly there isn't much to test. When you have a limited resource it will run out, the faster you use it the quicker it is gone.
If you out a thousand monkeys in a room with a thousand typewriters you will eventually get Shakespeare. Of course the more people there are the more innovative ideas there will be. Your hypothesis can not be tested accurately because they are not finite or empirical. Logic dictates that they re true but they cannot be tested for well.
Peet
Simple. You can try to cause the Earth to run out of resources.
Honestly, I think that both answers are really true.