length: 4 pages (double spaced)  (~1000 words)

Assignment: The future availability of resources is a common concern.  For this assignment, choose one resource and consider what would happen if it became much scarcer.  You should think about the impact on society and the economy.

This is not a research assignment.  I want you to speculate on possibilities and connections.  You are free discuss this subject with classmates or others, but all writing should be your own work.  This paper does not require footnotes since the ideas will be your own.

Possible topics include scarcity of: electricity, timber, clean water, steel, agricultural land, copper, petroleum, housing, skilled labor, fisheries.  This list in not all inclusive.  You should choose a resource you feel has interesting implications.

Any decrease in resource availability will have a large number of effects on society, more than can be covered in a short paper.  Here are some questions to consider: Who suffers?  Who wins?  What industries will be hurt?  Will there be indirect effects?  What's the environmental impact?  What countries will be most affected?  How would people adapt?  How would lifestyles change?  What substitutes exist?  Would new technologies develop?  Are there different effects in the short run and the long run?

One implication of an increase in scarcity is an increase in the price of the resource.   This assignment could be re-worded as: what happens when a resource becomes substantially more expensive?

Writing tips: 1)  Think about organization.  You need to arrange your thoughts to prevent confusion for your readers.  Does your paper flow smoothly?
2)  Proofread carefully.  Spellcheckers won't catch every mistake.