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Natural Resources

Adapted from UNC-Wilmington curriculum

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What is a Natural Resource?

-Something provided by nature that is used by man

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Renewable Resources

  • Abiotic and biotic resources that are used by people but can be replaced over time.

Examples:

    • Forests
    • Fish Stocks
    • Agricultural Crops
    • Water

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    • Perpetual resources: renewable resources that are continuously replenished

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Examples: solar, wind and tidal energy

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Effects of Using Renewable Resources

  • Less pollution
  • Need more infrastructure
  • More Reliable, because nature replenishes faster than we use it
  • May need the space for different processes solar panels vs. growing crops

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Non-Renewable Resources

  • Abiotic and Biotic resources that are limited in amount. They do not replenish fast enough to use or don’t replenish at all.

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Examples:

    • Coal
    • Oil
    • Minerals
    • Natural Gas
    • Soil

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Effects of Using Non-Renewable Resources

  • When used produces pollutants that contribute to acid rain and greenhouse effect
  • Local environment is often heavily damaged in order to obtain them
  • Become more expensive as they become less plentiful

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Distribution of Non-Renewable Resources

  • Natural resource are not distributed evenly on the Earth.
  • Coal - Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia
  • Paper and lumber – Georgia and Alabama
  • Oil - Middle East

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Advantage of non-Renewable Energy

  • Convenience
  • Easy to transport and store
  • Able to be used with many different applications
  • Large amount of energy are produced from small amounts of the resource
  • Infrastructure already exsists