Lesson Objectives

• Discuss some natural resources used to make common objects.
• Describe some ways to conserve natural resources.

Vocabulary

• conserve
• export
• import
• timber

Introduction

Natural resources may be living or non-living. Their value may be tangible, such as the price of an ounce of gold, or intangible, like the psychological value of being able to visit pristine natural areas. Some natural resources must be used and used wisely, but some must be preserved to maintain their value.

Mystery in the Forest

Like all forests, the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia is an important natural resource. A forest is a resource in ways that are obvious and ways that are not so obvious. This forest is used for many things including:

• Recreation, such as hiking, camping, and picnicking.
• Habitat for many organisms, including nine endangered species and 50 species of rare plants.
• Streams [207 kilometers (129 miles)] for fishing, particularly trout fishing.
• Wildlife management areas for hunting deer, squirrels, turkeys, rabbits, mink, and foxes.
• Mineral and energy resources such as coal, gas, limestone, and gravel.
• Hardwood trees used for timber, which brings in over $7 million a year.

But Monongahela National Forest has a problem; for several years, trees in the forest have not grown well. What are some reasons that trees might not grow well (Figure below)?

Scientists have been working for several years to solve the mystery. The scientists suspected that the soil is missing nutrients that the trees and other plants need to grow. Can you design an experiment that scientists could do to test this hypothesis? (There is a clue in the caption for Figure above.)

The scientists sampled the soil and tested it for important nutrients. They discovered that the soil has very low levels of plant nutrients, such as magnesium and calcium. Can you develop a hypothesis for why these nutrients might be missing from the soil? The scientists thought that air pollution from nearby factories had released chemicals into the environment that removed the nutrients from the soil and carried them away. How would the scientists test that hypothesis?

Scientists in the Monongahela National Forest are still researching the missing plant nutrients. They are trying to learn what they can do to help keep the nutrients in the soil so the trees will grow better.

Like the Monongahela National Forest, people use parts of the Earth for many reasons, such as food, water, building materials, timber, recreation, and energy (Figure below). As you’ve already learned, human activities can degrade natural resources, just like air pollution from factories is speeding up the loss of soil nutrients in West Virginia.

For natural resources to continue to be available, they need to be protected. We also need to conserve natural resources so they will last longer. When we practice conservation, we make sure resources will be available in the future, both for ourselves and for other organisms.

Renewable versus Non-Renewable Resources

In the Earth’s Energy chapter, energy resources were classified as renewable or non-renewable. How do you think other natural resources, such as minerals and forests, are classified? Like energy resources, all natural resources are divided into renewable and non-renewable. Can you define these terms?

Renewable resources can be regenerated or grown so rapidly that they reappear at the same rate or even faster as they are being used (Figure below). Are forests a renewable resource? Why are they a renewable resource? Why aren’t they a renewable resource? Although new trees can grow to replace logged trees, their growth is often too slow for the trees to be of use for a long time. Loggers just move to a new area rather than wait for the forest to regenerate.

Other examples of resources that are renewable but not entirely renewable include soil, wildlife, and water. How do these resources fit in both categories? Soil has a very slow renewal rate, so they are often non-renewable. Fish and other wildlife can reproduce and so are a renewable resource, yet it is possible to take so many of these creatures that the populations are not able to rebound, making them a non-renewable resource (Figure below). Organisms can be over-hunted, over-fished or have populations decline because of habitat loss so that their numbers go so low they are no longer a renewable resource.

Non-renewable resources are resources that cannot be regenerated on a useful timescale. Fossil fuels and most minerals are non-renewable resources. We can (and eventually will) run out of these resources.

Common Materials We Use from the Earth

People depend on natural resources for just about everything that keeps us fed and sheltered, as well as for the things that keep us entertained. Every person in the United States uses about 20,000 kilograms (40,000 pounds) of minerals every year for a wide range of products, such as cell phones, TVs, jewelry, and cars. Table below shows some common objects, the materials they are made from and whether they are renewable or non-renewable.

Common Object

Common Object	Natural Resources Used	Are These Resources Renewable or Non-renewable?
Cars	15 different metals, such as iron, lead, and chromium to make the body.	Non-renewable
Jewelry	Precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum. Gems like diamonds, rubies, emeralds, turquoise.	Non-renewable
Electronic Appliances (TV’s, computers, DVD players, cell phones, etc.)	Many different metals, like copper, mercury, gold.	Non-renewable
Clothing	Soil to grow fibers such as cotton. Sunlight for the plants to grow. Animals for fur and leather.	Renewable
Food	Soil to grow plants. Wildlife and agricultural animals.	Renewable
Bottled Water	Water from streams or springs. Petroleum products to make plastic bottles.	Non-renewable and Renewable
Gasoline	Petroleum drilled from wells.	Non-renewable
Household Electricity	Coal, natural gas, solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power.	Non-renewable and Renewable
Paper	Trees; Sunlight Soil.	Renewable
Houses	Trees for timber. Rocks and minerals for construction materials, for example, granite, gravel, sand.	Non-renewable and Renewable

Resource Availability

From the table above you can see that many of the resources we depend on are non-renewable. Non-renewable resources vary in their availability; some are very abundant and others are rare. Materials, such as gravel or sand are technically non-renewable but are so abundant that running out is no issue. Some resources are truly limited in quantity: When they are gone, they are gone and something must be found that will replace them. There are even resources, such as diamonds and rubies, that are valuable in part because they are so rare.

Besides abundance, resource value is determined by how easy it is to locate and extract. If a resource is difficult to use, it will not be used until the price for that resource becomes so great that it is worth paying for. For example, the oceans are filled with an abundant supply of water, but desalination is costly, so it is used only where water is really limited (Figure below). As the cost of desalination plants comes down, more will likely be built.

Politics is also part of determining resource availability and cost. Nations that have a desired resource in abundance will often export that resource to other countries, while countries that need that resource must import it from one of the countries that produces it. This situation is a potential source of economic and political trouble.

Of course the greatest example of this is oil. Only 12 countries have approximately 80% of all of the world’s oil (Figure below). However, the biggest users of oil, the United States, China, and Japan, are all located outside this oil-rich region. This leads to a situation in which the availability and price of the oil is determined largely by one set of countries that have their own interests to look out for. The result has sometimes been war, which may have been attributed to all sorts of reasons, but at the bottom, the reason is oil.

The topic of overconsumption was touched on in the Ecosystems and Human Populations chapter. Many people in developed countries, such as the United States and most of Europe, use many more natural resources than people in many other countries. We have many luxury and recreational items, and it is often cheaper for us to throw something away than to fix it or just hang on to it for a while longer. This consumerism leads to greater resource use, but it also leads to more waste. Pollution from discarded materials degrades the land, air, and water (Figure below).

Natural resource use is generally lower in developing countries because people cannot afford many products. Some of these nations export natural resources to the developed world since their deposits may be richer and the cost of labor lower. Environmental regulations are often more lax, further lowering the cost of resource extraction.

Besides obtaining resources, we also dump waste on these nations. Many of our electronic wastes, which we think are being recycled, end up in developing countries where they pose a problem for human health and the environment (Figure below).

Conserving Natural Resources

So that people in developed nations maintain a good lifestyle and people in developing nations have the ability to improve their lifestyles, natural resources must be conserved and protected (Figure below). People are researching ways to find renewable alternatives to non-renewable resources. Here is a checklist of ways to conserve resources:

• Buy less stuff (use items as long as you can, and ask yourself if you really need something new).
• Reduce excess packaging (drink tap water instead of water from plastic bottles).
• Recycle materials such as metal cans, old cell phones, and plastic bottles.
• Purchase products made from recycled materials.
• Reduce pollution so that resources are maintained.
• Prevent soil erosion.
• Plant new trees to replace those that are cut down.
• Drive cars less, take public transportation, bicycle, or walk.
• Conserve energy at home (turn out lights when they are not needed).

National Geographic videos found on this site in Environment Videos, Environmental Threats, Deforestation: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/

• “Sustainable Logging”

Or Environment Videos, Habitats, Rainforest: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/

• “Mamirarua” is a sustainable development reserve that is protecting the Amazon
• “Vancouver Rain Forest” explores an alliance between conservationists and logging companies

Or find ways to go green from National Geographic videos, Environment Videos, Going Green, http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/

• The problem with plastic bags is discussed in this Conservation in action, “Edward Norton: Bag the Bag”
• Trying to mitigate problems caused by intensive logging in Ecuador while helping the people who live there improve their standards of living is in “Ecuador Conservation”

Lesson Summary

• We use natural resources for many things. Natural resources give us food, water, recreation, energy, building materials, and luxury items.
• Many resources vary in their availability throughout the world. Some are rare, difficult to get, or in short supply.
• Natural resources must be preserved and protected from pollution and overuse.
• Buying fewer new products and recycling will help to conserve resources.

Review Questions

1. List five general things we get from natural resources.

2. Are forests a renewable resource? Are they ordinarily used in a renewable way? How can forests be used more sustainably?

3. Of what value are forests besides for wood? Is there a value to forests that is not a monetary value? How much is that value considered when forests are being used for their resources?

4. How are fish and other wildlife renewable resources? How are they nonrenewable resources?

5. What is overconsumption? How does overconsumption mirror overpopulation?

6. If a product is recycled, is anything lost in terms of material or energy?

7. Resource X is scarce except in Nation A. Many nations want to use Resource X. How does politics play into the ability of other nations to get access to the resource?

Further Reading / Supplemental Links

• Maps of Renewable Resources in the United States http://www.nrel.gov/gis/maps.html

Points to Consider

• Could a renewable resource ever become non-renewable?
• What are some of the intangible values that a natural resource might have?
• Do you think about the material and energy resources you use as you use them?
• Which is more sustainable: using renewable resources or non-renewable resources? Why?