Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources Spring 2017 Renewable Resource

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources Spring 2017

Renewable Resource • Resources that can • Regenerate if they are alive • Be replaced by biogeochemical cycles if they are non -living • They are not necessarily unlimited • They can easily become limited by overuse • Examples: • Trees • Water

Nonrenewable Resource • Nonrenewable Resources- • Resources that cannot be replenished by natural processes • Examples: • Fossil fuels • Coal • Oil • Natural Gas

Sustainable Development • Sustainable development- • A way of using natural resources • Without depleting them • Causing long term harm

Resource: Land • Type: Sustainable • Soil is renewable Development: • Issue: • Contour plowing • Plowing land removed roots that held soil in place reduces erosion • Increased soil erosion • Leaves stems and • Lost topsoil turned roots productive areas into desert

Resource: Forest • Type: • Sustainable • Some are renewable, some are Development: nonrenewable • Forest management • Issue: • Deforestation leads to severe • Tree farms soil erosion • Prevents regrowth of trees • Old-growth forests take centuries to grow back • Logging causes loss of species

Resource Type: Fishery • Type: • Renewable, but now loss of species • Issue: • Overfishing between 1950 s and 1990 s • Fish caught went from 19 million tons to over 90 million tons • Species began to shrink rapidly • Sustainable development • Guidelines for commercial fishing • Agriculture • Raising fish to eat

Resource: Air • Type: • Sustainable • Renewable Development: • Issue: • Emission control • Smog from automobile exhausts standards • Industrial emissions • Clean air regulations • Burning of fossil fuels release pollutants • Electronic cars • Pollutants cause health problems after long exposure • Acid rain

Resource: Freshwater • Type: • Renewable but limited • Issue: • Pollution threatens water supplies • Improperly discarded chemicals, landfills seeps into groundwater • Sewage that is untreated • Sustainable development • Water conservation • Water treatment plants • Point source pollution is pollution that enters the water supply from a single source.