Compare the real cost of commodity resources today with their cost in the 1845-1850 period. What explains the change?

The real cost of commodities is about 60 percent lower today than it was in the years 1845-1850. This implies commodity supplies have increased faster than commodity demands. The population declines that have begun already will reduce the demand for goods and services in the future. Resource consumption per person also has either leveled off or declined over recent decades in the richest countries, which currently consume the largest fraction of the world's resources.