Activity 3.2.1 – Natural Resources Review

Natural resources are anything taken from the environment and are used for consumption. Most likely everything we use, eat or wear is a natural resource or comes from one. From the water in our rivers to the naturally occurring wind, and also from the sun we use these resources abundantly in our lives. Without our natural resources, we wouldn't be able to survive (Jerome, Brian. "Exploring Natural Resources"). A great example of handling a natural resource would be trees that are cut down to make wood for chairs, houses, or even a fire. Natural resources are divided into two groups. As you see above, they are non-renewable and renewable resources.

Non-renewable resources are those that can not be replaced by nature easily. Once they are used they can not be made again or it can take several years for it to be made. Great examples of non-renewable resources are oil, gas, coal, and minerals. These can also be known as fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are burned to create energy, like electricity. Once burned it can take up to thousands of years to replace and because of this many people are now switching to renewable resources to get their electricity from such as solar energy. To help with the scarce of some non-renewable resources we have now valued the ability to recycle some of these resources. The importance of recycling is so that way we make natural resources to be used over and over again possible and we won't have to keep digging up our Earth in the process. Luckily for us, the environment provides us with plenty of renewable resources and we benefit so much from it. Renewable resources can be replaced by nature. Perfect examples are wind, water, and the sun. We can convert those resources to energy and not have to use fossil fuels. Many of the things we eat such as vegetables and fruits are renewable resources. We can plant as many trees as much as we cut them down so it's easily replaced. Everything around us is a natural resource and we need them to survive.


References

Jerome, B. A. (Producer). (2017). Exploring Natural Resources [Video file]. Visual Learning Systems. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Ogkb721UV1k