Exploring Natural Resources

1. Exploring Natural Resources Lesson

2. What is around you? • Examine your surroundings, write down everything that is living or was once living. • Think about what you are wearing, where you are sitting, what you are writing on, etc.

3. Types of Natural Resources • Resources that occur naturally in nature are known as natural resources. • Natural resources can be found in our environment. • The environment are the conditions that surround us.

4. Types of Natural Resources • Natural resources cannot be made by man, but man can help ensure their continued existence. • People need many natural resources to live. • Other natural resources are used to make life easier.

5. Natural Resources Groups • Air and wind • Fossil fuels • Minerals • People • Soil • Sunlight • Water • Wildlife

6. Air and Wind • The atmosphere is the area surrounding the Earth. • Air is the mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth. • Wind is the movement of the air. • Water vapor, gases, and particulate can be found in the atmosphere.

7. Air and Wind • The conditions found in the atmosphere are what causes weather. • Weather is the condition of the atmosphere, including moisture, temperature, movement, and pressure.

8. Air and Wind • The climate of an area helps determine which natural resources can survive in the area. • Climate is the condition of the weather in a particular location.

9. Fossil Fuels • Fossil fuels are natural resources used to provide energy. • Fossil fuels took millions of years to make. • They are the remains of decomposed plants and animals. • Their energy comes from the energy produced by the plants and animals.

10. Fossil Fuels Groups • Petroleum • Natural gas • Coal

11. Petroleum • Liquid form of fossil fuels used to make gasoline and oils.

12. Natural Gas • Gaseous form of fossil fuels used in heating and cooking.

13. Coal • Solid form of fossil fuels used in factories and generating electricity.

14. Minerals • Natural inorganic substances on or in the earth. • Are not living things. • Mined from the earth and are used to produce everything from iron to brick. • Jewelry, coins, monuments, and concrete are also made from minerals.

15. People • Help determine how other natural resources are used. • As the population increases, natural resource use will increase. • The wise use of resources is necessary to ensure their future availability.

16. Soil • Outer layer of the earth’s surface that supports life. • Plants grow in soil, humans and other animals eat plants, humans and animals produce waste that provides nutrients for plants to grow, and the cycle continues. • However, soil can be easily eroded by misuse. • Soil must be protected in order for it to continue to be a resource.

17. Sunlight • The source of almost all the energy used on the Earth. • The light from the sun produces solar energy. • Plants use this energy in the process of photosynthesis. • People can also use this energy if it is harnessed using solar collectors.

18. Water • A tasteless, colorless, liquid natural resource. All living things need water to survive. • Water is a naturally occurring compound made up of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. • Water can be found in three forms, solid, liquid, and gas.

19. Water Cycle • Movement of water from the earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back to the surface. • Water is continuously renewed through the hydrologic cycle.

20. Wildlife • All of the plants and animals that live in the wild. • These plants and animals have not been domesticated. • Domestication is the control of plants and animals by man.

21. Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources • One way to classify natural resources is based on their renewability. • Renewability is whether or not a resource can be restored after use. • Some natural resources can be renewed, others cannot.

22. Renewable Natural Resources • Natural resources that can be replaced after use. • They can be renewed and used again, but it may take many years. • Soil is a renewable natural resource, however it is not a fast process. • Plants and water are other renewable natural resources.

23. Nonrenewable Natural Resources • Natural resources that cannot be replaced after use. • Minerals and fossils fuels are two types of nonrenewable natural resources.

24. Inexhaustible and Exhaustible Natural Resources • Exhaustibility refers to whether or not a natural resource can be replenished as it is used. • As with renew ability, some resources can be exhausted, others cannot.

25. Inexhaustible Natural Resource • A resource that is continuously replenished, the supply of the resource will not run out. • Sunlight, wind, and water are inexhaustible natural resources.

26. Exhaustible Natural Resource • A resource that is available in limited quantity and can be completely used. • Exhaustible resources can be replaceable or irreplaceable. • A replaceable natural resource can be replenished. Most wildlife are replaceable. • An irreplaceable natural resource is gone once it is used. Fossil fuels and most minerals are irreplaceable.

27. Interdependent Relationships • The idea that all natural resources depend on each other is known as natural resource dependence. • This means that all living things depend on each other.

28. Natural Resource Dependence • Humans need animals for food, clothing, and at one time for work. • Humans and animals need plants to live. • Plants are used for food and the plants help produce oxygen needed to breathe.

29. Natural Resource Dependence • Plants depend on animals and humans. • Animals, including humans, give off carbon dioxide that the plants need to live.

30. Natural Resource Dependence • When animals die, they decompose. • The decomposition process releases minerals back into the soil. • Plants can use these minerals for growth.

31. Human use of Natural Resources • Humans use natural resources to help meet their three basic needs. • The three basic needs of humans are food, clothing, and shelter. • The use of natural resources to meet these needs is in two forms, consumptive use and non-consumptive use.

32. Consumptive Use • Using a natural resource so that the amount used no longer exists. • Each time that resource is used, its supply is reduced. • An example of consumptive use is hunting. • Once that animal is killed and removed from the wild, it no longer exists.

33. Non-consumptive Use • Using a natural resource without reducing its supply. • An example of non-consumptive use is watching wildlife. • It is possible to enjoy the beauty of the wildlife without killing or removing it from the wild. • It is being used for enjoyment, not being consumed.

34. Human Population Trends • Population is the number of people in a given area. • Changes in the population of an area occur over time as an area develops.

35. Human Population Trends • The population of the earth is currently 6 billion people. • That number is predicted to nearly double over the next 50 years.

36. Demography • The study of the human population. • It is studied by people called social scientists. • Demographics are the data collected about the human population.

37. Human Impact on Natural Resources • Virtually all human activities impact natural resources. • From the use of water to bathe to the use of animals for food, natural resource use is unavoidable.

38. Urban and Rural Impacts on Natural Resource Use • The difference in impact between urban and rural areas is determined by their population density.

39. Urban Impacts • People live closer together in urban areas. • Therefore, urban areas have a more dense population.

40. Land-use Planning • Deciding how land will be used. • In order to use land in the best possible way, people depend on land-use planning. • The plan developed should include guidelines on how to use the land for agricultural, commercial, and residential areas.

41. Land-use Planning • The goal of land-use planning should be to help preserve agricultural and wildlife areas. • Zoning may be necessary to keep areas from being used in ways that are not planned for.

42. Zoning • Zoning is setting aside certain areas of land for specified use.

43. Land-use Planning • In order to protect our resources, urban and rural areas must work together. • Urban areas rely on rural areas to provide them with quality water, a consistent food supply, and materials to build their homes. • Rural areas depend on urban areas to do their best to keep the environment clean and healthy.

44. Recycling and Reusing Natural Resources • The demand for natural resources can be reduced if we recycle the ones we currently use. • Trees, minerals, and water are examples of natural resources that can be recycled and reused.

45. Recycling and Reusing Natural Resources • Following through with these practices can ensure the sustainability of natural resources. • Sustainability is going about life so that resources are available for future generations to use.

46. Recycling • Using a product or the materials to make a product again. • Aluminum, iron, plastic, paper, and glass are examples of items that can be recycled. • Items can be recycled at recycling centers.

47. Reusing • Using a product again and again without re-manufacturing. • Examples of reusing a product include using grocery store bags as lunch sacks and refilling plastic water bottle with tap water to drink or to use as a watering can.