Natural resources, 2014-2017
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Natural resources are naturally-occurring raw materials used for human benefit. Resources can include air, water, land, timber, minerals, sunlight, wildlife, and energy sources such as fossil fuels.[1][2]
Background
Natural resources are classified by where and how they originate and their renewability. Non-living resources (called abiotic resources) include air, water, soil, sunlight, and minerals. Living resources (called biotic resources) include animals, birds, and plants. They can also include once-living resources, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, which are formed over millions of years from decayed organic compounds. Energy resources, particularly coal, oil, and natural gas, are extracted through mining or drilling. Nonrenewable resources are not quickly or easily replenished by the natural environment. They include the fossil fuels formed over millions of years. Renewable resources are naturally replenished over shorter periods of time. They include wind, wood, water, animals, sunlight, and geothermal energy.[3][4][5]
Conservation of natural resources is a goal of environmental policy. Conservation measures are used to preserve, improve, or renew natural resources for human, social, economic, and/or aesthetic reasons. These measures focus on managing and using resources to the extent that they are not depleted and do not disrupt the natural environment. Problems that conservation policies seek to avoid include water scarcity, pollution, wildlife depletion, ecosystem degradation, deforestation, and soil erosion.[6][7][8]
Types of energy resources
Fossil fuels
Fossil fuels, sometimes known as traditional energy resources or nonrenewable energy resources, are formed over millions of years by decayed animal and plant matter buried under rock layers. Three main types of fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. These fuels are formed depending the amount of animal and plant matter, how long it has been underground, and the temperature and pressure applied to the matter over time. Fossil fuels are combustible and release energy when they are burned. They are reformulated into gasoline, diesel fuel, and heating oil. Additionally, they are burned to generate electricity.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is generated from naturally replenished sources, such as sunlight, wind, rain, water flow, and geothermal heat. Types of renewable energy resources include wind energy, solar energy, nuclear power, geothermal energy, hydroelectric energy, and biomass. Unlike fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, renewable energy resources use energy from naturally replenished sources.[16][17]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Glossary, N," accessed November 17, 2014
- ↑ Study.com, "What are Natural Resources? - Definition & Types," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Boundless.com, "Types of Natural Resources," accessed March 10, 2015
- ↑ Diffen, "Abiotic vs. Biotic," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Study.com, "Renewable & Non-Renewable Resources: Definition & Differences," accessed August 25, 2017
- ↑ Dictionary of Forestry, "Conservation," accessed March 10, 2015
- ↑ Dictionary of Forestry, "Forestry," accessed March 10, 2015
- ↑ Kullabs, "Conservation of Natural Resources," accessed August 21, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Glossary, N” accessed January 29, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Nonrenewable Energy Explained," accessed April 18, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Energy, "Fossil," accessed April 18, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Fossil fuels still dominate U.S. energy consumption despite recent market share decline," July 1, 2016
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Nonrenewable Energy Explained," accessed April 7, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Energy, "How Fossil Fuels were Formed," accessed April 15, 2017
- ↑ Just Energy, "The History of Fossil Fuels," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Encyclopedia Britannica, "Renewable energy," accessed May 11, 2017
- ↑ PennState Extension, "What is Renewable Energy?" accessed May 12, 2017
