Download Resource Depletion

Resource Depletion
An introduction
Resources
“features of the environment which are
needed and used by people.”
Natural Resources - occur in the air, water
and on land.
Human Resources - labour, skills,
machinery and capital.
Non-Renewable Resources
Are said to finite or non-sustainable as
their exploitation and use will eventually
lead to their exhaustion.
Renewable resources
A flow of nature- being continuous, they
can be used over and over again.
Sustainable- they are renewable and self
generating if left to nature e.g. trees, fish
However, if renewable resources are
overused their existence may be threatened.
Resources Flow Chart
Resources
Resource
Natural
Human
Non Renewable
Renewable
eg
Labour, Capital, Brain Power, Skills
Fossil Fuel
Mineral
Continuous
Sustainable
eg.
Coal, Oil, Natural Gas
eg.
Iron, Tin, Zinc
eg.
Wind, Wave
eg.
Forests, Soil
Reserves
are a non-renewable resource (e.g. coal)
which exists in a finite quantity in the
crust of the earth
Fossil Fuels and Minerals
 Coal, Oil and Gas are non-renewable resources created
from organic matter
 They are used to produce energy and are the quickest
and easiest way of generating vast amounts of energy
 1 modern ‘fossil fuel’ power station produces the same
amount of energy as:
300 wind turbines
150 km2 of solar panels
100 kms of powerful coastal wave energy
Future Reserves
Oil
40-45 years
Natural Gas 50-65 years
Coal
200-300 years
MEDC’s contain 25% of the world’s
population BUT consume 70% of the
world’s fuels!
Minerals
Many of these are generally not destroyed
in use and can be recycled
eg. Iron, Copper, Zinc, Tin