“R.E.S.O.U.R.C.E. So Mummy, Daddy, come again. Repeat. Do me a reboot. Remind me. Help me remember. What really is a resource?
Imagine how you might respond if a child asked you what a resource is. Maybe you would glibly answer, “Oh, a resource is anything that is useful to us”.
Or perhaps a series of words such as refresh, recover, replay, rehash, recook, reiterate, replace, refurbish, renew, recall, resurrect and replace might tend to recycle through your mind causing a few alarm bells to ring because all these words are associated with the act of coming back again. This realization makes answering more awkward and, for some reason, you might choke on a response.

Be comforted if alarm bells rang in you. It is a healthy sign if you choke on a glib reply because it is very possible our use of the word “resource” defines the future of mankind.
This suggestion may seem preposterous until you ask yourself the question, “What on Earth has possessed so many governments to create Ministers and Ministries of Energy and Resources this past half century?” Surely the notion of “energy and resources” is exemplary nonsense? Doesn’t it amount to the complete and utter denial of the Conservation of Energy Principle?
And isn’t there a potent correlation between such denial and what some folk call the Anthropocene or the 6th Mass Extinction of Species?

A Great Unasked Question

Be kind to yourself if you have never thought to question the existence of an institution such as a Secretary or Minister of Energy, let alone a Minister of Energy and Resources. Extremely few people ever do and, of those, most accept a glib answer.
Most people assume such institutions have been with us forever and/ or that some rarefied pantheon of god-like “Energy Experts” created the institution. You might be surprised to learn how many of our highly-paid, super-educated “Economics” and Constitutional Law professors blithely lecture and propound for years on end about Ministries of Energy and Resources without reflecting on what they are really saying.

Illustration of emblems

These learned, erudite people design and maintain faculties and departments of Energy, of Energy Resources and even of Energy And Resources.
They teach and their students regurgitate back essays and publish research papers discussing Energy Commodity Resources, Distributed Energy Resources, Energy Resources Levy Acts, Resource Management Acts and Natural Resources Economics.
Some of their students graduate to write articles debating whether Eversource Energy is a better stock market bet than NextEra Energy (both are basically just suppliers of a narrow range of electrical products – mostly bulk-generated electrical products).

Others become self-described “Economists”, flit in jets around the planet to attend “Energy and Resource Law” conferences and publish magazines such as The Resources and Energy Quarterly.
Some even become “Business Editors” and write headlines such as:
5 Biggest Natural Resources Companies in the World
Are the names on the top five of their list familiar?
No 5. NextEra Energy Inc.
No 4. Royal Dutch Shell
No 3. Chevron Corporation
No 2. Exxon Mobil Corporation
No 1. Saudi Aramco Base Oil Company.

Yes, all these giant, multinational “Resource” corporations have one thing in common: they all specialize in making fabulous profits for their small group of principal shareholders from the unfettered extraction and burning of Earth’s mineral biomass.

Words Fail Us

You may be asking, “What does unfetter mean?” It’s a good question in that no word can adequately describe the enormity of this vast combustion of Earth’s biomass and mineral depletion plus the insane scale of the ingenuity, arrogance, greed and deceit underpinning the rationales for this behaviour plus the profundity of the denial of the principles of physics plus the terrible dangers of the delusion. Words fail to convey the enormity of each and all these aspects of behaviour.

The synonyms of “unfettered” all fail because they speak of being unshackled, unchained, freed and escaping. However no man (human being) can “escape” the principles of physics. We can only live in accord with them or risk perishing.

Those governing this behaviour of gross waste and combustion, mainly White European peoples, may convince themselves they are free to use the atmosphere, the waters, the soils and the minerals of Earth as they please. In so doing, they entomb their lives in fear, division, delusion and despair. See, for instance, Douglas Rushkoffs article https://onezero.medium.com/survival-of-the-richest-9ef6cddd0cc1
They may convince many of us that we too are free to do as they do to Earth’s bounty. These deceits become our language, legislation and laws, which shackle us and form chains we use for thrashing ourselves.

Formula for Extinction

Those who have read my essays “ What is Energy?”, “What is Power?” and “What is a Fossil Fuel?” will now perhaps be familiar with this fatally-flawed, profoundly corrupting and globally pervasive equation:
Energy = Fossil Fuels = Power = Electricity = Bulk-generated Electrical Products.

This equation is the construct of an oligarchy of merchant bankers – the City of London in particular. Their Crown dialect of English now frames most global trade and we can see its ethos manifest in all the various forms of “Energy” institutions that now exist in almost every state on the planet.
There was no great announcement heralding an immense scientific advance nor any international philosophical discussion of wisdom of such momentous decision. The ego is far more subtle than that. “Energy Experts” and “Energy Consultants” simple materialized out of the woodwork of Government and Central Media bureaucracies in the 1970s, whispered in the ears of politicians and editors that we needed to adapt to modern times and lo and behold: a few traces of ink later, the Departments of Mines (mineral)s and Departments of Electricity (Bulk-generated electrical products) were merged to become Departments or Ministries of Energy. Observe how the English use of the word “ministry” gives the the Office of “Energy” full ecclesiastical pomp, might and majesty.

Within a couple of decades the word “Resource” began appearing alongside the word “Energy” on Government letter heads and marble plaques by the same quiet process of metamorphosis. Suddenly it is as though this use of the words has been here for eternity.

Why might this be a formula for extinction?

The merchant-bankers’ “Energy” equation is fatally flawed in that every element of the equation exists in complete denial of the Conservation of Energy Principle – perhaps our greatest and wisest guide to how the universe acts. This principle of physics advises us that humans can neither create nor destroy nor conserve energy and that energy is the ultimate constant even as it continuously transforms all.

Their “Energy” equation is profoundly corrupting in that it destroys true hope of physics and vital meaning. In particular, it destroys the sustaining meaning of words, including that of the word “resource”. As we have seen, the Crown dialect of English confuses and conflates the words “energy” and “resources” in corrupt ways. Worse, it also frames “energy” and “resources” as complements of each other, thereby destroying the sustaining meaning of “energy“.

Their “Energy” equation is now globally pervasive in that it underpins the global language of commerce, which is arguably the principal driver of the 6th Mass Extinction.* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene_extinction

What’s With the Notion of “Energy And Resources“?

The observant reader will have observed the common juxtaposition of “energy” and “resource” in this snapshot of the apex of government institutions. A wider search that includes other social institutions (Government departments, local councils, NGOs, schools and universities, private corporations, main media etc) indicates this conflation and confusion of “resource” is now prevalent throughout societies.

With all this in mind, you perhaps agree it is wise to now reflect more deeply on the question “What is a resource?”
The reflective method I am using in this series of essays involves a quick journey back a few millennia to our Proto-Indo-European roots via https://www.etymonline.com/ and observing how the meaning of a word has changed over the centuries.
Typically changes in culture correlates with changes in language. So we then map the evolution of meaning in a crude way with the known behaviour during periods of history. We then attempt to evaluate the sustainability of our use of a word by rating how much its mean is in accord with the Conservation of Energy Principle, this being our ultimate measure of sustainability.

Incredible Tricks and Deceits of the Ego.

Our lives can be understood as a relative balance of two forces of the psyche: the ego (the “I” element) and compassion (the “us” element). Both arise simultaneously in any moment of our self-awareness.

NZ Sign language “I” Sign “Us”

The human ego arises in our psyche in our moments of the division of our consciousness into self-awareness. Born of division, it is exclusive of nature and ever in denial of the Conservation of Energy Principle with its inconvenient reminders of our mortal and moral natures. The ego has us abhor the notion that all forms are exquisite, finite balances of forces amidst the universal flux. It has us shun our roles as stewards of the flows and balances that sustain us.

Compassion, which arises with the ego, is inclusive of nature and enables us to embrace the reality of the Conservation of Energy Principle and live in accord with its wisdom.
We exist as a dynamic interaction of these two complementary forces and imbalances constantly occur between them. If we lack sufficient of the complementary, inclusive force of compassion, the ego can easily dominate our psyche and cause our language~behaviour to become unsustainable and ultimately self-destructive.

This phenomenon is discussed in the essay “What is a Fossil Fuel?” where we saw how the Crown merchant bankers in the early 1800s began describing fossilized biomass as “fossil fuel” i.e. declaring coal and mineral oil~gas exist for them to burn. This coincided with the vast escalation of the English Combustion Revolution and unparalleled global expansion of the English Empire (now the Anglosphere Empire).

The essay discussed a few perhaps inconvenient truths such as:

• Mineral oil~gas is a consequence of eons of immense tectonic-chemical activity such that it contains no fossils.
• Most ancient fossils are actually have been transformed into non-combustible stones.
• These deposits of mineral biomass are the result of unique confluences of tectonic, solar, galactic and climate activity that may never occur again in the life of planet Earth and, once combusted, their amazing wealth potential is converted into pollution.

Such compassionate information is very inconvenient for the ego, especially for the egos of those souls who believe it is their divine right to burn this fantastic wealth potential for their personal short-term profit. Typically the ego attempts to resolve and obscure the inevitable moral dissonance arising from this denial of reality. In this case, it does so by having us call mineral biomass by multiple names such as (1) “Fossil Fuel” (2) “Resource” and (3) “Energy”.

Re (1) “Fossil Fuel”
Defining mineral biomass as “a fuel” (it exists to be burned) conveniently excludes our consideration of the unimaginable array of uses these amazing, potent carbon forms can be used for.
It is no accident that the adoption of this redefinition of mineral biomass as “a fuel” coincides with the redefinition of “a resource” as “a source of wealth”, this being very consistent with the ingenious tricks and machinations of the ego.

(2) “Resource”
Defining mineral biomass as “a resource” taps into our residual ancient language memory associating a resource with a water spring that is continually replenished as part of the great solar~atmospheric cycles we know as weather. Consequently we find it so much easier to imagine sun, clouds and a gushing mountain stream while watching processed mineral oil gush in a clear stream out of a petrol hose nozzle.
This potent association of mineral oil with our sensations of vitality and renewability blurs our awareness of reality, making it easy for the ego to have us never question the Crown’s definition of what “a resource” is, even though it is resounding nonsense.

(3) “Energy”
Most people associate energy with enormous power and great bounty, particularly while gazing at the clouds and stars or floating far out to sea or standing aloft a mountain range. My own definition of energy is as simple as it is paradoxical: energy is the universal potential, all of which is active. Thinking about it makes my mind reel and words seem absurdly inadequate. Reflecting on it is an awesome experience.

Having defined mineral biomass as “fossil fuel” and fossil fuel as a “resource” in the 19th C, Anglosphere merchant bankers then defined it as “energy” in the mid 20thC. After WW11 they mandated that a global regime of planned obsolescence should prevail, redefined a dis-economy as an “economy” (soon to be “The Economy”) and supercharged the combustion of mineral biomass alias “energy”.
Then just when it seems they could not go more insane, the merchant- bankers began speaking of “Energy and Resources“. Recall how their “Energy” equation conflates a few forms of energy with energy, thereby completely denying the Conservation of Energy Principle.
The principle is very clear: energy is as bounteous as the universe and is a constant. In other words it continuously arises. It is the ultimate resource.
The demented merchant bankers clearly would have us believe energy does not continuously arise, it is not self-sustaining of nature. They say the universe is both energy and “sources of wealth”, which is another way of saying, ” Ignore the principles of physics”.

Again this is all very consistent with the ingenious tricks and machinations of the ego. To some degree, we all experience energy as a divine right and sense it is bounteous. Energy is the absolute essence of our sensation of feeling alive.
The ego can easily exploit this association of energy with vitality, especially in those people who have access to cheap “fuel” ( petrol, diesel, oil). It can fill them with an intense desire to burn it for their short-term convenience.
The oligarchy of merchant-bankers who most profit from the combustion of this “energy“, this “fossil fuel“, this “resource”, exploit this vulnerability to the hilt. They print billions of dollars~pounds and invest them in associating our sensations of vitality and freedom with the combustion of mineral biomass. They are masters at cultivating addictive behaviour with “fuel dependency” being their supreme art.

The truth is always out somehow. Deep in our guts we know the Conservation of Energy Principle holds. The compassionate force in our psyche quietly informs us of this reality. It intuitively reminds us that all forms of Earth’s biomass are finite, as are all the other possible, countless, myriad forms of energy.
Without compassion, the ego would have any of us crave to burn all of Earth’s biomass in addictive ways in suicidal way.

Yet Another Incredible Trick of the Ego.

Compassion connects your and me to all. It reminds us of the precious nature of Earth’s atmosphere and the true nature of combustion. In particular it reminds that we use the oxygen of the air when we burn something and our action alters the flows and balances of the gases in Earth’s atmosphere and waters that sustain us.
Compassion reminds us we can neither create nor destroy energy though we can generate useful forms of energy by the careful use of combustion.
Compassion reminds us that we co-exist with exquisite balances of Warmer Trace Gases in the atmosphere.

The ego would have us mess with these balances at our peril and does so by having us remove oxygen from the combustion equation. Observe how the ego’s equation “Energy = Fossil Fuel = A Resource” conveniently omits the atmosphere from our consideration. This occurs in the context of the ego’s conniving to have us believe mineral biomass is as bounteous as the universal potential i.e. that “fossil fuel” is the ultimate “resource“.

Compare this to the role that compassion – the force of sanity – plays in this psychology. It reminds us in reality. It reminds us the true combustion equation of physics is “Useful Form of Energy = Fuel + Oxygen”.
This equation reminds us how our act of combustion alters the balances of the gases in Earth’s atmosphere and how fuel, oxygen and their combusted forms (cooking heat, home heat, steam, carbon ash, carbon dioxide, etc) are all finite, as are all forms of energy.
These forms, like our human form, all exist amidst the continuous universal transformation as brief balances of the myriad types of energy flows.
Compassion is essentially reminding us we are subject to the ways of the universe regardless of the protestations of the ego. Whatever the protestations of the ego, we each act a steward of the flows and balances that sustain mankind .

It’s a Matter of Time

The essay “What is Power?” briefly discusses the nature of time and includes this quote from Albert Einstein:

“Time and space are not conditions of existence, time and space is a model for thinking.”

Albert Einstein

You may recall your science teachers and text books talking about the physics equation “”Power = Energy/Time” or writing on the board in large letters P = E/T. They probably translated this equation as power being the ability to perform work over a period of time.
In brief, the essay employs the radically different notion that “energy” is the universal potential, all of which is active. This results in a radically different definition of “power” also i.e. power is the rate that the universal potential (energy) is manifest. This places our experience of time as central to our sensations of energy and what is manifest. So it is very helpful to understand the role of time in our lives, in particular the relative roles of the ego and compassion in forming our sensations of time.

A quality of compassion- the inclusive, connective force in our psyche – is the sense of generosity of time. We experience “all the time in the world” when compassion prevails. This is manifest as, for instance, our capacity for open, engaged listening, patience and deep reflection. We may even feel “timeless” in this state.
Another quality of compassion is humility, which enables us to acknowledge that time is a construct of our psyche and thus it is subject to the ingenious self-serving machinations and limiting designs of the ego.
Compassion has us experience time as a gift that keeps on giving, which is why a more compassionate person tends to speak of “Giving time” and the universe as bounteous.
These qualities of compassion enable us to experience a wider, more realistic perspective of time so we can better act as stewards. We are more open to the lessons of history and are more mindful of what our lives bequeath on future generations of children.

Compare these qualities of compassion to those of the ego – the exclusive, divisive, acquisitive force in our psyche. The ego tends to have us speak of “taking time”, of “losing time”, of “being time deprived”, of “having no time” even of “being out of time”. It has us associate time with sensations of deprivation, which of course then impacts and limits our experience of energy too, leaving us feel “powerless”. This quagmire of the ego is manifest as, for instance, our sensations of enduring pressure, loss and distraction.

On first reflection, the notions of time of the ego seem erratic to the extreme. For instance, imagine a man (human being) switching on the ignition key of a car or clipping on the seat-belt in a jet. Compassion might have the traveler pause and ask, “How is my action justified?”. In the next instant the ego is contriving a rationale involving extreme experiences of time.
At one extreme the traveler is filled with a sudden, great sense of time deprivation and self-importance, which generates the rationale, “I have far too little time to travel by any slower mode of transport.”
At the other extreme the traveler experiences a grand diminishing of vast time. Awesome eons, hundreds of billions of sunrises, the gradual growth and disintegration of super continents, the passing of countless beings during time immemorial vanish from the sensibility of the traveler.
The ego can have us dismiss a billion years of dynamic solar and continental activity as inconsequential even as it has us value “saving” a few hours, even minutes of “our time” as of being far greater importance.
This psychology is best understood with compassion.

A Final Trick of The Ego

Without compassion, the ego can easily make each of us our own worst enemy. It can have any of us denigrate ourselves and experience self-hatred to the point we become genocidal and suicidal. It can have us remain oblivious to this insidious process.
Have you ever wondered why our modern trading corporations have “Human Resources Managers” and “HR Departments“?
The reason is that ego-driven merchant-bankers and their corporations deem human beings like you and me to be “resources”. It is not because they perceive us as people, Civic beings, who are resources unto ourselves and our children. Rather it is because they believe we are “resources” to be manipulated and exploited like chunks of coal and kiloWatts of their electrical products so we too can act as sources of wealth for the principal shareholders of their corporations. They deem us as dispensable commodities with no Civic rights. They deem us to be disposable items, existing to be junked when we become burned out from generating them profits. It is such a perverse use of the word “resource“. And the ego would have us believe that being a “human resource” makes us all free men.

Towards a more Compassionate Answer to
“What is a Resource?

The ego would have us say with impatience that this discussion about time is a needless digression, a distraction, a “waste of my precious time”. Compassion however advises us that understanding the personal nature of time is highly relevant to answering the question of “What is a resource?”

When a group of ego-driven merchant bankers redefined a resource from being “something that comes back or arises again” to “a source of wealth – in particular an activity that profits the Crown”, they denied the true nature of time and thus made nonsense of the principles of physics. They stripped all moral considerations of caring that their actions ensured the object could arise again and again with time. The only consideration is that their use of the object adds to their short-term wealth.

Compassion advises us to give care when calling anything “a resource”. For instance, it is meaningful to describe a river or a sunrise or a gust of wind or a blade of grass as a “”resource” because each arises within the context of our daily lives. We can witness how and why it arises again in a timely way. Used wisely, our use of a “resource” can add wealth to our lives and to the lives of our children because the resource is sustained.

It is an entirely different matter to describe a thousand year-old tree as a “resource” because it may take 40 human generations, if ever, to be replaced,
It insane to describe deposits of mineral oil~ gas deep in Earth’s crust as a “resource” because such substances, once extracted and combusted, may never arise again in any useful form in the life of Planet Earth. Indeed these potent minerals may well be transformed into lethal pollution that acts to prevent men being a resource unto themselves.

Questions arise, as they always do when sufficient compassion prevails.
What price would the ego have us put on human self-extinction?
What price would the ego have us put on the flows and balances of Earth’s eco-sphere that sustain us all?
What price would the ego have us put on time?
At what time does a resource cease to be? Is it the instant we deem an object to be a moment of personal wealth? Or is it after it has sustained future millennia of generations as it did us?
Should we not give time and care to naming something “a resource” so our children can call truthfully call it “a resource” too? Or do we simply forsake them and bequeath on them dry riverbeds, depleted soils, poisoned oceans, disrupted climate balances and stone plaques inscribed with the insane incantation “Ministry of Energy and Resources”?

Essays in this series:

Medium part 1 Tongue-tied by the English Language
(On untying the bonds of the mother tongue)

Medium part 2 What’s in a Word?

Medium part 3 What is Energy?

Medium part 4 What is Power?

Medium part 5 What is Economy?

Medium part 6 What is Warming- Up?

Medium part 7 What is a Fossil Fuel?

Medium part 8 What is a Resource?

Medium part 9 What’s with The Ego~Compassion

This series of essays is also posted on Medium.com under my name Dave McArthur