Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

A resource is any material needed for life. Humans use a wide variety of resources every day. Some resources are used in their original form, such as light from the Sun, and crops for food. Other resources have to be mined and refined in order to prepare them for use. Modern society is based on natural resources. Some natural resources such as food, water, and the materials to build shelter and make clothing, are necessary for survival. Other resources are used to manufacture products that simplify life. The economy of the entire world depends on natural resource use and availability.

Try to imagine how the many different nations of the world vary in their resource consumption. People that live in industrialized nations use the majority of the worlds’ natural resources to support their lifestyle. Americans only make up approximately 5% of the world’s population, but are responsible for an estimated 25% of the world’s energy consumption. Over your lifetime, it is possible that you will use 31,350 gallons of gasoline, discard 64 tons of garbage, and use over 1.8 million gallons of freshwater.

The United States produces electricity from several different natural resources. All of these resources have potential advantages and disadvantages. While no resource is perfect, as the world’s population increases it is important that scientists research alternative energy sources to help provide the futures electricity needs. The graph shown to the right depicts the estimated electricity generated in the United States. This data is supplied by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. You can see that coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy provide the largest percentage of electricity.

 

Earth's Resources

Resources are classified as either renewable or nonrenewable. As the population of the world grows, the demand for resources increases. Resource use can deplete nonrenewable resources in a short period of time. Once these resources are used, they cannot replenish in a human lifetime. Renewable resources replenish quickly, or will never run out. View this interactivity to learn about the different renewable and nonrenewable resources. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

Conservation

Natural resource use is also closely connected to pollution and the creation of solid waste. These are problems that affect the entire world. Earth scientists study resource formation in the Earth’s crust, resource supply use by humans, and the global consequences of extracting and using the worlds’ resources in an effort to reduce any potential negative effects. Humans must use some natural resources in order to survive and there are many ways of using natural resources that positively contribute to society. On the other hand, there are many things that are not needed or that get thrown away unnecessarily. Everyone can have a part in conserving Earth’s natural resources. Each member of society has the ability to reduce the amount of resources they use, reuse resources when possible, and recycle resources.

 

Earth's Resources Review

Now that you have explored Earth’s resources, practice what you have learned. In this non-graded activity, use your cursor to click all of the images that represent renewable resources. Click the player button to get started.