Unit 1: Introduction LS 2: The Importance of Natural Resources

Unit 1: Introduction LS 2: The Importance of Natural Resources

Objectives – Do Not Write • Identify the natural resources people use • Understand the concept of renewable & nonrenewable natural resources • Identify renewable & nonrenewable natural resources • Understand the importance of our natural resources • List the uses of natural resources

Define Natural Resource • items that are found in nature and of use to humankind • Coal, water, arable land, oil, and minerals • Forest resources and wildlife • Our existence depends upon these resources

Consequences – Do not write • What would life be like without cars or planes? • Where would you be without electricity, running water or supermarkets? • What if there was no steel or oil? • What if there were no forest products. • Write a paragraph in your notes answering these questions/concerns.

Agriculture Consequences • Arable land • Oil • Minerals/steel • Water • These are the basis for agriculture. • What are each of these resources used for in the agricultural field? (write in your notes)

Nonrenewable Natural Resources • Apply but finite supply of these resources • Once the supply has been used, there is no more • Mineral resources • Iron, copper, lead, aluminum, & uranium • Fossil fuels • Oil, coal, and natural gas

Renewable Natural Resources • Resources which, with proper management and care, can be utilized indefinitely • Vulnerable to abuse • Forests, wildlife, water, and soil • Think and write in your notes: one example of how these items are vulnerable to abuse

Role of Natural Resources • Land was the most precious resource in the America • Land is/was a symbol of nobility • Some reasons for coming to America • Land to farm • Timber to build • Wildlife to eat

Role of Natural Resources -- 2 • 90% of early Americans were farmers • Depended on land • Had to build shelters • Depended on forests • Had to eat between harvests • Depended on wildlife • NO Supermarkets or Lumberyards or Fertilizers

Problems for Early Americans • Poor soil in the Coastal Northeastern Areas • Led to the practice of slash and burn agriculture • Requires a great deal of the land • Practice until after the Civil War • More and more land was required • Caused people to move west

Abundance of Wildlife • Force in the development of the US • Europeans had an insatiable need for furs & hides • Used for hats, gloves, coats & leather goods • This caused the loss of wildlife on the coast • Caused the people to move inland

Minerals in 1849 • First major gold deposits were found • Sutter’s Mill, California • This caused a major move to California • People who had been content with farming packed up and went west for gold • Stampede of humanity • Many died on the Plains from thirst, hunger, cold, hostile Indians & bandits, and poor planning • Hundreds perished at sea while attempting to sail around Cape Horn

Overlooking a Hidden Treasure • In the search for gold, few people stayed in the Great Plains • They did not realize that the sea of grass would soon be wheat • Great Plains became hospitable • Invention of the steel plow • Importation of Russian seed wheat • Widespread availability of windmills

Great Plains Become Hospitable • Invention of the steel plow • Break up the thick prairie sod • Importation of Russian seed wheat • Crop that could be grown in an area with limited rainfall • Widespread availability of windmills • Presented a reasonably secure source of drinking water for settlers and livestock

Oil Rush in the Early 1900s • Invention of the internal combustion engine • Increasing needs of a growing population • Oil Fields • Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana • Used for the Production • Fuel, plastics, tires, & tons of other products

Today and Natural Resources • Dependent on a wider variety of resources • Our ancestors needs were simple • Ours are much more complex • Due to contributions of technology & science • Not as dependent on wildlife • Developed an efficient agriculture system and shop for our needed items in stores

Current Uses of Wildlife • Mean different things to different people • Has an aesthetic value (beauty & appreciation) • Observing wildlife is the #1 outdoor for of recreation • Considered a wonder by many people

Values of Wildlife • It is hard to place a value on wildlife • Video of bear, deer, and/or birds • What would it be worth to see this in person? • It is easier to establish the value of a species as a game animal

Wildlife and Hunting • Most people do not need to hunt for food • ~15 million continue to hunt • Sportsmen and women spend in excess of $950 million per year on license fees • Excise taxes on hunting goods contributes $190 million per year • The majority of funding for conservation of game and nongame animals comes form hunters

Unit 1: Introduction LS 2: The Importance of Natural Resources