LESSON 12

• Natural resources - are all that exists naturally on Earth. It include sunlight, atmosphere (air), water, land ( includes all minerals) metal ores, oil and most forms of energy along with all vegetation and animal life that naturally exist on earth.
• Ubiquitous resources - are natural resources that can be found everywhere such as sunlight and air
• Localized resources - resources that only occur in small sporadic area
• Biotic resources - are obtained from the biosphere (living and organic material such as forest and animals and the materials that can be obtained from them. Fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category because they are formed from decayed organic matter.
• Abiotic resources - are those that come from non-living- non organic material. Examples of abiotic resources include land, freshwater, air, and heavy metals including ores such as gold, iron, copper, silver etc.
• Renewable resources - can be replenished naturally. Some of these resources, like sunlight, air, wind, geothermal, heat, biomass etc. are continuously available and their quantity is not noticeably aspect of sustainability.
• Non-renewable resources- are finite resources either from slowly or do not naturally form in the environment. Minerals are the most common resource included in this category. A good example of this are fossil fuels ( petroleum and natural gas) this category their rate of formation is extremely slow ( potentially millions of years), meaning they are considered non-renewable.
• “ The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem, it will avail us little to solve all others” – Theodore Roosevelt
• Reuse – instead of buying everything new; reuse things as much as you can.
• Repurpose- don’t throw away things you’re no longer using; repurposes them into something useful or beautiful.
• Rot- compost as many things you can instead of throwing it In the garbage.
• Repair- when something breaks, don’t just immediately go out and buy a replacement. First see if you can repair the item, or take it somewhere and have it repaired.
• Recycle – on the topic of reducing waste, recycle whenever you can
• Refill – Try using something that can be washed or refilled more that once whenever you can.
• Reduce- downsize and simplify your home to reduce waste and excess
• Refuse- whenever possible, refuse to buy over packaged and singe use items or items that are not organic