Question

For the environmental issue of excessive Co2 from personal vehicles, are the resources being used renewable? Are there any used that are non-renewable? Describe the types of resources and whether or not they are naturally replenishable and non-depletable. Are there alternative resource options that are more cost effective?

Answer 1

Resource is any means of support or anything a man or a country uses to take care or support himself or the nation. According to the Chamber dictionary, resource is defined as a source of possibility of help or means of raising money to support oneself. It could be any form of human and natural appraisal, which varies overtime and space. However, resources refers to the sum total of wealth or sources of wealth of a person or country.

Different Types of Resources

Natural resources

Human resources

Environmental resources

Mineral resources

Water resources

Vegetation resources

Natural Resources

Natural resources are resources, which are not and cannot be provided for by man through his initiative skills, but are only provided for by nature itself or by the Almighty deity. They are technologically accessible,economicallyfeasible andculturally acceptable. Anatural resourcemay exist as a separate entity such as fresh water,air, and as well as a living organism such as a fish, or it may exist in an alternate form that must be processed to obtain the resource such asmetal ores,rare earth metals,petroleum, and most forms of energy. Natural resources which are widely scattered all over the earth and are unevenly distributed , these include the flora and fauna, the mineral deposits, water bodies, consisting of sea, river, ocean streams and lake, weather and climate, wind, rocks and other naturally occurring resources. Examples of the mineral resources are crude oil, soil, iron ore, gold, tin, silver, bauxite, and bronze. Various forms of agricultural resources include food stocks (rice, sorghum, cocoa, cotton, coffee, and palm produce). The power resources include coal, crude oil and water for hydroelectric power generation, natural gas, the nuclear and the solar sources of power generation. Land is an important resource because it determines a lot of human activities particularly in the areas of agriculture.

Human Resources

Human resources are those resources that cannot be touched or felt, rather they are found in human ingenuity of the population but this is perhaps the most important type of resources for the effective functioning and coordination of a country. Human resources are the most important and vital for the economic development, they are the agent of development. They act as an asset for coordinating other resources due to the wide knowledge.

Environmental Resources

Environmental resource are those things which are endowed by nature, they are referred to as elements of the human environment such as the organic and inorganic material plants (both natural and built resources) which are of great value to man, animal and. The difference between natural resources and environmental resources is that natural resources are provided by the earth, or by Mother Nature, while environmental resources are something that can be taken from the environment. Examples of environmental resources include food from plants and animals, wood for cooking, heating, and building, metals,coal and oil.

Mineral Resources

Mineral resources are natural resources endowed by nature which are found in rocks in several layers within the earth surface and beneath usually in small quantity. Examples of mineral resources include minerals like Gold, Silver, Tin, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Iron, Nickel, Chromium, and Aluminium.

Water Resources

Water resources water resources are those things that are derived from water bodies and are of great benefits to man and his environment. Water resources are also referred to sources of water that are useful or potentially useful. Uses of water include for agricultural uses, generation of electricity, industrial uses, household uses, recreational uses and environmental activities. Some sources of water include, rain, sea, stream, lake, pond, bore hole and well.

Vegetation Resources

Vegetation resources are those things, which are derived from the forest, and savannah vegetation and are of immerse important to man, animals and plants, it is a key component of an ecosystem and, as such, is involved in the regulation of various biogeochemical cycles, e.g. water, carbon, nitrogen. Vegetationprovides habitat to wildlife and ecosystem services such as food and fuel, timber, cash crops, pulp, fruits, robes, clothes and many game reserve.

Natural Resources Depletion

Natural resource depletion refers to the decreasing amount of resources left on the Planet Earth. It occurs when we use the resources at a rate faster than their renewal. It is indeed a very grave problem nowadays.

Why is Natural Resource Depletion a Problem?

In ancient times, human life was very close to nature. But with the establishment of large and heavy industries after the Industrial Revolution, indiscriminate exploitation of Nature started taking place to meet the need for raw materials for the industries. With the help of science and technology, man has grossly abused natural resources to meet the increasing needs of population and violated the laws of nature. The over-exploitation of natural resources has posed a big threat to the survival of mankind. Due to large-scale industrial waste, natural resources such as water and air have to face the pandemic of pollution too.

As a result of the implementation of big projects related to developmental activities, environment-related problems in the present era have acquired alarming proportions. In the race for development, we seem to forget that all natural resources such as water, air, minerals, forests, oils etc. are available in limited quantities. There is a need for conservation of natural resources which are becoming scarce with the passage of time. Their use exceeds the speed of their natural replenishment. Increasing pollution, global warming, industrialization and other processes have accentuated the depletion of natural resources.

Before taking a close look at the problem of resource depletion, let us understand what a natural resource is.