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The illusion of preservation: a global environmental argument for the local production of natural resources

Abstract Aim  The United States (US) and other affluent countries consume vast quantities of global natural resources, but contribute proportionately less to the extraction of many raw materials. This imbalance is due, in part, to domestic policies intended to protect the environment. Ironically, developed nations are often better equipped to extract resources in an environmentally prudent manner than the major suppliers. Thus, although citizens of affluent countries may imagine that preservationist domestic policies are conserving resources and protecting nature, heavy consumption rates necessitate resource extraction elsewhere and oftentimes under weak environmental oversight. A major consequence of this ‘illusion of natural resource preservation’ is greater global environmental degradation than would arise if consumption were reduced and a large portion of production was shared by affluent countries. This paper considers some implications of the consumption, management and conservation of forests and wood at a local and global scale.