62- The list of arternative civirian uses for the human and materiar resourcescurrently clainEd by mtlitary activities is getting l.nger every day. rf this listcovered not only those civiLian areas which coultl and wourcl ben-erii rron a releaseand reallocation of mil i tary-related resources but also the choice ofsocio-economic priorities exercised by ni r itary-or iented politicat structures, itmigh! Cover a whole range of problens confronting severar- parts of the worrd and manifesting thernselves in different forrns. A fuller analysi.s of this tatterobservation nay be found in the next chapter, wtrich descrLbes the negativeconsequences of present nilitary ar-rocations in the nati.onal context. rn regard to the global aspects, ra'ha t needs to be emphaslr.d i" tr,ut resources, however defined,are far fron infinite, and no socio-econonic structure, however resourcefur it nayber-can indefinitely sustaln patterns of consumption and utilization h,hich do notconform to their inherent geographic and technoiogicar constrarnts. rt is herethat a very strong socio-€conomic case for a reallocation of mil i tary-relatedresources, anong both the devel.ped and the devel0ping countries, can be made.Most relevant in this respect are current assessrnents of globar resources anal their availability for civilian utilization under cornparative situations of anintenslfied or reduced claim by nil i tary_relatei activities. 63' sobering assessnents suggest that, by the year 2ooo, au the four blorogicalsystens, namely. forests, grasslands, croplands- and frsheries, rvhich suppry arr ourfood and vlrtually al1 the r ar,, naterials ior industry except minerals andpetroleum-der ived synthetics, wirl face unprecedented strains to sustain thePresent levels of consunption among the devel.ped countries, as welr as theprojected levels of denar.rg:.by the developing iountries. Between the years l9?sand 2000, nearly r,000 birrion barrers of-woird's original petroleum resourc€s ofapproxlmately 2,000 biUion barrels are likely to be consumed. 29,/ Also theatnospheric concentration of carbon dioxide nay be nearry one tirrd higher thanPre-industrial- levels, in addition to the incalculably enorrnous potrution probrernsarislng out of the unresorved probrem of disposrng nuclear and chenicar wasce. 64. whlle foreseeing no problems of physical constraints - on a worrd-tride scare - for at least eight minerals, namely, ir-on, aluniniun, titanium, chromiun,colunbtun, nanganese, vandiurn and pratinum, projections of oEcD on 20 inporrant ninerals indicate that the situation i, noi.- "u-.ious for silver, bisnuth, mercury,and asbestos than for copper, lead, tin, zinc, lblybdenum, tantalun or tungsten.These estitnates suggest that, in ttre uniifety'err.nt ot a complete disappearance ofsone scarce minerals such as asbestos, bistnuth, barium, fluoiine, g"rrlrriu*,graphite, gyps'rnr indium- and nica, it would be possible to do without chern,eventually, through a reriance on new technor"sy. 30/ sinilar concrusions havebeen reached by those rrho make a distinction oetween the known globar reserves andthe global resource base of each rnineral, the last naned being defined as lts totalestinated amount in the earthts crust, which is a rneasure of the anount available A/37/386
**Analysis**
The text discusses the impact of military activities on the economy and the environment, highlighting the need for a reallocation of resources. It also touches on the finite nature of natural resources and the potential consequences of unsustainable consumption patterns. The text appears to be more focused on the macro-level, discussing global trends and projections, rather than specific industries or sectors.

**Category**
Natural resources and environment, Economic development