Our Environment Contents

4. Resources

Successful resource exploitation can be thought of as a process of negotiating successive challenges.

The harnessing of a resource involves technical, engineering, organisational and social challenges. They can be thought of as a set of 'feasibility hurdles'.

To successfully harness a resource, a number of feasibility hurdles need to be overcome.

Hurdles to overcome to successfully harness a resource

Click the image for more information.

Technical

First, it must be established that the intended exploitation is technically feasible - the proof of concept stage. It is necessary to demonstrate in principle that it is technically possible to harness the resource.

Engineering

Second, it must be established that it is practically feasible to scale up from the theoretical concept, or drawing board stage and initial prototype, to full size. In other words, in an engineering sense, it must be possible to implement the intended technology in practice in the 'real world'.

Economic

Third, it must be established that the engineering design is economically feasible - there is little long-term prospect for developments that are not financially sound.

Organisational

Fourth, the intended practice must be organisationally feasible. New operational or management practices need to be implementable within actual organisational settings

Social

Fifth, the intended practice must be acceptable to society more generally, and its systems of governance. If it is a matter of introducing new consumer technologies, then those technologies must be acceptable to the ways of life of the societies in which they are intended to be used.