Natural Resource Depletion Natural Resources Materials or substances
Natural Resource Depletion
Natural Resources “Materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain. ”
Renewable vs. Nonrenewable Resources Renewable Replaced faster than use of the resources Nonrenewable Used faster than ability to be replaced
Renewable Resources Considered Sunlight Air “Water” “limitless”
Renewable Resources Water Technically Ground not “ renewable” water depletion Pollutants in water
Nonrenewable Resources Decomposed Soil Fossil fuels Coal Oil Natural Gas plant and animal remains
Types of Nonrenewable resources: Fossil Fuels Coal Dates back to 1600’s Production uses: Electricity/Heat Steel Soap Paper Concrete
Type of Nonrenewable resources: Fossil fuels (cont. ) Daily Natural Gas Consumption (US) Natural Gas Uses: 12, 12 Cooking Heating Electrical 25, 34 Residental Sector generation 8, 7 Commercial Sector Industrual Sector Electric Power Sector 21, 65
Type of Nonrenewable resources: Fossil Fuels Oil Petroleum widely used in agriculture Primary fuel source Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers “We have an industrial agricultural system that’s totally dependent on the assumption that cheap fuels will last forever, however that’s not a useful assumption anymore. ” – John Gerber, University of Massechusets
Types of Nonrenewable Resources: Fossil Fuels Oil Natural Gas Coal • Oil begins to deplete • Prices rise and become unaffordable • Temporarily fills energy gap • Extends until 2060 • Coal deposits will only last until 2088 • Increased CO 2 emissions
Types of Nonrenewable Resources: Soil 1 inch of soil = approximately 500 years to generate Eroded faster than can be replenished Causes: Tillage practices Overgrazing of livestock Issue: Small amount of fertile land remains and a growing population Cannot reproduce soil within a lifetime http: //www. theworldcounts. com/counters/environmental_effect_of_mining/depletion_of_n atural_resources_statistics
Solution to Resource Depletion Fossil Fuels Reducing fossil fuel consumption with crop and livestock production
Solutions to Resource Depletion Soils Loss of topsoil has decreased 43% Promotion of good land management practices Education Promotion of suitable technologies Water Conservative use Conscious of pesticides and chemicals
2050 Renewable Energy Utilization Predictions Solutions to Resource Depletion Tidal turbine 0, 06 Hydroelectric Renewable Energy Source o 4 0, 67 Geothermal Energy Renewable Green Energy! Wave Energy 0, 58 o Wind Solar Offshore wind Onshore wind Water Commercial/ Government solar rooftop o o 11, 58 13, 62 23, 52 Concentraded solar plant 9, 72 Solar plant 21, 36 Residental rooftop solar 14, 89 0 5 10 15 20 Percent utilizing renewable energy 25
Global Depletion & Causes Earth overshoot day Use of more resources than our planet can renew in the entire year August 2, 2017 reached limit 1. 7 planets needed to produce enough natural resources to match growing population and consumption rates General Causes: Human activity Land human degradation
Citations
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