User blog comment:Gundam Legilis/Environmental Issues in RWBY/@comment-24.72.183.189-20150402032148

I think the problem with running out of Dust is less that the planet will get mad at them [mankind], and main thing keeping the Grimm at bay.

As stated in the show, the discovery of Dust was the turning point where mankind was able to scrape out pockets of civilization against the Grimm. So, it stands to reason that without nature's wrath mankind wouldn't fare very well in the long term.

Not to mention the fact that people use the stuff for literallly EVERYTHING. It would be like if our world ran out of oil, but on a much larger, more catastrophic scale. People start to freak out because all of their stuff stops working and all those negative emotions just bring the Grimm down on them, but now they also have no Dust to fight them off.

Morale of the story: no Dust = no life