1. CONSERVING RESOURCES Renewable Resource: any natural resource that is recycled or replaced constantly by nature Non-renewable Resource: natural resources that are used up more quickly than they can be replaced by natural processes (oil, petroleum – formed from the remains of marine organisms, minerals, metals)

2. CONSERVING RESOURCES Natural Resources: the parts of the environment that are useful or necessary for the survival of living organisms Fossil Fuels: formed in earth’s crust over hundreds of millions of years (coal, oil, natural gas); must be burned, which causes air pollution

3. ALTERNATIVES TO FOSSIL FUELS hydroelectric power: electricity produced by the energy of falling water wind power nuclear energy: uses uranium, a nonrenewable resource geothermal energy: heat energy contained in the earth’s crust (geysers, volcanoes) solar energy: absorb, store and release heat solar cells: converts sunlight into electrical currents

4. ALTERNATIVES TO FOSSIL FUELS Alternative EnergyAdvantagesDisadvantages Hydroelectric PowerDoes not contribute to air pollution and uses renewable resources. Building dams is required which causes flooding and destroys land habitats. Wind PowerWind power does not contribute to air pollution and uses renewable resources. Electricity can only be produced when the wind is blowing. Nuclear EnergyDoes not contribute to air pollution. Uses uranium, a non- renewable resource, and produces radioactive wastes Geothermal EnergyUses renewable resources.Is only available where natural geysers or volcanoes are located Solar EnergyUses renewable resources and does not contribute to air pollution. The sun’s energy can only be captured and generated only in sunlight.

5. POLLUTION pollutant: a substance that contaminates the environment; decay slower in soil than in the air. smog: formed when sunlight reacts with pollutants produced by burning fuels

6. POLLUTION acid precipitation (rain): formed by pollutants reacting with water in the atmosphere to form acids; measured as a pH value generally less than 5.6 greenhouse effect: feature by which the earth’s atmosphere traps heat rather than allowing it to be reflected back into space

7. AIR POLLUTION ozone depletion: the thinning of the ozone layer; the ozone layer protects by absorbing some of the sun’s harmful UV radiation carbon monoxide: poisonous gas produced when certain fuels are burned Radon: radioactive gas that is given off by some types of rocks and soils

8. SOIL POLLUTION hazardous wastes: waste materials that are harmful to health or poisonous to living organisms Conservation: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – a form of reuse that requires changing or reprocessing an item or natural resource erosion: the natural movement of soil from one place to another