Resources

• Resources are physical materials that humans need and value, such as land, air, and water
• Resources can be categorized as renewable or non-renewable
• Renewable resources can replenish themselves at the rate they are used, while non-renewable resources have a limited supply
• Inexhaustible (renewable) natural resources are unlimited and not likely to be exhausted by human activities, examples include solar radiation, air, water, precipitation, and wind
• Exhaustible (non-renewable) natural resources are limited and liable to be degraded in quantity and quality by human activities, examples include soil, wild animals, minerals, and fossil fuels (natural gas, oil, and coal)
• Resource depletion occurs when the consumption of renewable or non-renewable resources outpaces their replenishment rate
• Rare resources due to depletion have higher value than abundant resources
• Increasing global population leads to higher levels of natural resource degradation
• Human activities are depleting the planet's natural resources at an unprecedented rate
• If current consumption rates continue, we will need 2.5 planets to supply ourselves in 2050
• Overexploitation of natural resources has led to a decline in the world's population of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles
• Consequences of overexploitation of natural resources
• Environmental consequences:

  • Habitats essential for flora and fauna are disappearing, leading to species extinction
  • More than 31,000 species are currently threatened with extinction
• Economic consequences:

  • 33% of the world's soils are moderately to highly degraded
  • Continued erosion of fertile soil will lead to soaring agricultural commodity prices and increased food insecurity
• Health consequences:

  • Deforestation leads to fewer CO2 sinks and increased air pollution
  • Nine out of ten people worldwide breathe air with high levels of pollutants, leading to seven million deaths annually from air pollution
• Acronyms:
• WWF: Worldwide Fund for Nature
• WHO: World Health Organization
• FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization
• IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature
• A CO2 sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
• Types of fossil fuels found on earth:
• Liquid: oil
• Gaseous: natural gas
• Solid: coal