Renewable and

Nonrenewable Resources.
Tammy, Ba, and Mike.

Vocabulary

Renewable resources: resources that have the potential to be replaced over time by natural
processes.

Nonrenewable resources: resources whose stock or reserves is limited or fixed.

Sustainable developement: is a way of using natural resources without deplet- ing them and of
providing for human needs without causing long- term environmental harm.

Soil erosion: the wearing away of surface soil by water and wind.

Desertification: The process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of
drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture:

Deforestation: Loss of forest.

Aquaculture: The raising of aquatic animals for human consumption, which is also helping to
sustain fish resources.

Classify
Resources
Environmental goods
and services may be
classified as either
renewable or
nonrenewable.

For exemple: A tree

is an example of a
renewable resource,
because a new tree
can grow in place of
an old tree that dies
or is cut down.

Renewable Resources.

Renewable resources can regenerate if they are alive or can be replenished by bio- chemical
cycles if they are nonliving.
However, a renewable resource is not necessarily unlimited.
For example: Water is a renewable resource that can easily become limited by drought or
overuse.

Nonrenewable Resources.

A nonrenewable resource is one that cannot be replenished by natural processes.

For example: The fossil fuels coal, oil, and natural gas.
Fossil fuels formed over hundreds of millions of years from deeply buried organic materials.
When these fuels are depleted, they are gone forever.

Sustainable Developement

Sustainable development is a way of using natural resources without deplet- ing them and of
providing for human needs without causing long- term environmental harm.

Human activities can affect the quality and supply of renewable resources such as land,
forests, fisheries, air, and fresh water.

Land Resource

Land is a resource that provides space for human communities and raw materials for industry.
Land also includes the soils in which crops are grown.
Soil can be a renewable resource if used properly and damaged if mismanaged.
Fertile soils consist of good topsoil, sand, clay and rock particles.
Good topsoil absorbs and retains moisture and lets excess water to drain.

Land Resources
Plowing the land removes the roots that hold the soil in place. This increases the
rate of soil erosion the wearing away of surface soil by water and wind.
Soil erosion is increased.
Soil erosion reduces cropland productivity and contributes to the pollution of
adjacent watercourses, wetlands and lakes.
Desertification is the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems and it is
caused mostly by human activities and climate change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygeg_JsqH9U

Sustainable development practices to preserve

land resources

Farming practices like contour plowing reduces soil erosion.

Leaving stems and roots of previous crops to hold the soil in place.

Planting a field with rye to protect the soil from erosion.

Policies and programs must balance economic and conservation needs. This section
highlights cases where communities have developed land use practices and
businesses that both conserve ecosystems and enhance local economies.

Forest Resources
Forests are important for the products ( foods, shelter, various materials) they produce and the
ecological functions they perform.

Use wood for heating and cooking.

Lungs of the earth they remove carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.
Store nutrients and provide habitats.
Moderate climate and limit soil erosion.

Forest Resources

Can be considered renewable resources.

Northeastern forests have been logged at least once before.

Northwestern forests (old growth forests) are non-renewable since it takes many centuries
to produce old-growth forests.

Forest Resources.

The loss of forests - Effects of Deforestation

Severe erosion since soil is exposed to runoff.
Erosion washes away nutrients in the soil.

trees

Grazing or plowing can cause permanent changes to soils that can prevent the regrowth of
Forest Management strategies for sustainable development.

Selective cutting of trees to promote growth of younger trees to preserve the forest
ecosystem.
Plant, manage, harvest, and replant tree farms.
Geneticists are breeding new, faster-growing tree varieties for high quality wood

Fishery Resources

Fish and other animals are a valuable food source.

Overfishing:
Harvesting of fish faster than they can replace by reproduction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V4D77N3bZc

Fishing Resources -Sustainable development- Aquaculture

US National Marine Fisheries Service created guidelines for commercial fishing.

Regulations help fish populations to recover

Specified how many fish and what size could be caught in various parts of the oceans.

The raising of aquatic animals for human consumption.

Could pollute water and damage aquatic ecosystems.

Air Resources
Air is a common
resource that we all
use.
Smog is a mixture
of chemicals that
occurs as a graybrown haze in the
atmosphere.
Smog is considered
to be a pollutant.
Pollutants are
harmful materials
that can enter the
biosphere through
the land, air, or
water.

Air Resources

The burning of fossil fuels can release pollutants that can cause smog and other problems in
the atmosphere such as nitrogen and sulfur compounds.

If these compounds combine with water, then acid rain is formed.

Acid rain can kill plants by damaging their leaves and changing the chemistry of soils and
standing water ecosystems.

Freshwater Resources.

Water is a renewable resource but is in a limited supply.

Pollution threatens waters in many ways;

Discarded chemicals get into waterways.
Sewage can get into the soils.