Natural Resources

1. Natural Resources

2. Natural Resources • The resources that Earth provides • Air • Water • Land • All living things • Nutrients, rocks, and minerals • Renewable/nonrenewable

3. Distribution of Resources

4. Land Resources

6. Land Resources • Land is a valuable natural resource. • Places for organisms to live and interact. • Spaces for the growth of crops, forests, grasslands, and for wilderness areas.

7. Soil • 1,000 years to form few centimeters • Currently eroding faster than it forms on farmlands.

8. Soil • Desertification – productive land becomes desert • Desertification can be prevented • reduce overgrazing • plant trees and shrubs

9. Ores • An ore is a useful, natural resource that can be mined at a profit. • Copper • Gold

10. Human impact

11. Extraction of Mineral Resources • Modern societies require huge amounts of land resources • Iron • Aluminum • Copper • Sand • Gravel • Limestone

12. Extraction of Resources • Mines • destroy the original ground contours • leave waste rock that can release pollutants • Mining has been identified as the most dangerous job in the United States.

13. Extraction • Surface Mining • Pros: • Safer • Cost effective • Cons • Removal of surface material • Lots of waste material • Ground and surface water issues • Reclamation costs

14. Extraction • Underground Mining • Pros • Less surface destruction • Less waste material • Lower reclamation cost • Cons • Unsafe

15. Reclamation • Restoring the land to its original contours and replanting vegetation. • Required by law (SMCRA 1977) • Expensive

16. Aquaculture • The farming of aquatic organisms such as fish and aquatic plant. • Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions.

18. Agriculture

19. Agriculture • Monoculture • Diverse ecosystem replaced with a single plant species • Most agriculture

20. Agriculture • Pesticides • Boost food production by eliminating organisms that destroy crops • May remain in the environment for long time • Kill beneficial organisms • Insect populations can quickly develop resistance

21. Agriculture • Topsoil • thousands of years to form • Once it is lost, hard to replace • Erosion • Fertilizers help replace nutrients, but not all

22. Forests • Provide wildlife habitat • Affect local climate patterns • Purify air and water • Reduce soil erosion • Providing energy and nutrient cycling

23. Deforestation • Conversion of forested areas to non-forested areas

25. Deforestation • Natural causes • Tsunamis • Fires • Volcanic eruptions • Glaciation • Desertification

26. Deforestation • Human reasons • Livestock grazing • Farming • Mining and petroleum extraction • Commercial logging • Urban sprawl

27. Deforestation in US

28. Results of Deforestation • Reduced biodiversity • Reduced habitats (migratory species) • Decreased soil fertility • Increased runoff

29. Results of Deforestation • Increased CO2 level • Decreased O2 level • Increased threat of extinction

30. Disrupting Earth’s Cycles

31. Deforestation in Brazil

32. Urban Development • An estimated 5 billion people worldwide will be living in cities and towns by the year 2025.

33. Impact of Urban Development • Natural habitats are lost • Erosion of topsoil • Land is taken away from agricultural use. • Increased flooding. • Large volumes of solid waste • Contamination of soil and groundwater

34. Did You Know . . . • Each American generates approximately 4.5 pounds of waste per day? • The US generates 33% of the World’s waste? • 6 million metric tons of solid agricultural wastes are generated each year in the US?

35. Sanitary Landfills • a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial

36. Landfills

37. Urban Development • Solutions • Most environmental problems that urban development creates can be solved. • Barriers catch sediment from increased erosion. • Wetlands are protected. • Modern landfills minimize leakage of toxic liquids

38. Urban Development • Solutions • Several methods are available for cleaning up industrial toxic-waste sites. • Contaminated soil can be removed and incinerated • Bioremediation is the use of organisms to clean up toxic wastes.