Earth’s Natural Resources A natural resource is any materials and components (biodiversity and geodiversity) found in the environment that are essential to our sustainability or satisfy our needs

I. Classification- a variety of methods are used to classify Earth’s natural resources: source of origin, stage of development and their renewability.

A. Source of Origin 1. Biotic a. Obtained from living and organic material b. Examples: vegetation, animals and fossil fuels (decayed organic material) 2. Abiotic a. Obtained from non-living and non-organic material b. Examples: water, air, minerals, and sunlight

B. Stage of Development 1. Potential Resources a. Exist in an area that may be used in the future b. Examples: petroleum 2. Actual Resources a. Surveyed, their quality and quantity determined and are being used today b. Examples: wood processing

B. Stage of Development 3. Reserve Resources a. Part of actual resources which are profitably developed for use in the future b. Example: minerals 4. Stock Resources a. Part of actual resources which cannot be used due to lack of technology b. Example: hydrogen and oxygen from water

C. Renewability 1. Non-renewable a. Cannot be regenerated at a scale comparable to its consumption b. Examples: minerals and certain energy (fossil fuels) 2. Renewable a. Can be replenished over a relatively short amount of time b. Examples: water, sunlight, animals, trees and certain energy (geothermal, wind, solar, hydroelectric)

Nuclear Energy? Though it is considered a clean energy, inclusion into a renewable resource is debatable.

II. Energy Resources and Renewability- for our discussion in this activity, we are going to discuss energy resources and will be using the renewability classification scheme

A. Non-renewable Resources 1. Resources taking millions of years to form and accumulate 2. Finite supply (no more when we run out) 3. Examples:

a. Petroleum 1- derived from plants and animals that were buried in ancient seas 2- ocean-floor sediments protected organic remains from oxidation and decay 3- commonly collect in anticlines and salt domes

b. Natural Gas 1- derived from plants and animals that were buried in ancient seas 2- ocean-floor sediments protected organic remains from oxidation and decay 3- commonly collect in anticlines

c. Coal 1- derived from plant material that underwent heat and pressure over millions of years 2-developed in four stages 3- most coal field were developed during the Carboniferous Period (290-354 million years ago)

d. Nuclear 1- created through specific nuclear reactions (fission)

B. Renewable Resources 1. Resource that can be replenished over a fairly short time period (months, years, decades) 2. Infinite supply 3. Examples:

a. Geothermal 1- energy derived from the earth’s interior 2- high heat is developed by the slow decay of radioactive particles

b. Wind 1- energy from wind using wind turbines

c. Solar 1- energy from the sun, using collector panels

d. Hydroelectric 1- energy from dams and the flow of water

e. Biomass 1- also known as biofuels 2- energy contained inside of plants and animals that can include: wood chips, rotted trees, manure, sewage, and mulch.