Transcript Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

Renewable and Nonrenewable
Resources
Resources
• What we require to live
• Natural Resources
– Resources we get from earth
– Examples:
• Air, Soil, Minerals, Metals, Plants,
Animals, Water, Energy
• Synthetic
– Resources that are man made
– Examples:
• Clothing, Medicine, Alternative
Energy, Food
Natural Resources
• Uneven Distribution
– Depends on past processes
• Location of buried sediments
• Disrupted by volcanic or
hydrothermal activity
– Depends on current processes
• Human consumption/use
Uneven Distribution
• Humans often live where we can get as many
of the resources as we can find
Uneven Distribution
• If we live near resources we cannot find, we
trade for them
Human Population
• More humans
= More resources
used
= More energy
needed
= More effort to
reduce, reuse, recycle
is needed
Natural Resources – 2 Types
• Nonrenewable
– Any resource that cannot be replenished /
replaced within a human life span. These took
millions of years to form and exist in fixed
amounts in the earth
– Examples:
• Fossil Fuels, Uranium (Nuclear), Minerals, Metal
• Renewable
– Any resource that can be replenished / replaced
within a human life span
– Examples:
• Solar, Wind, Water, Geothermal, Biomass
Nonrenewable Resource Formation
Nonrenewable Resources – Fossil Fuels
• Advantages
– Well Developed
• Used for decades
– Cheap
– Reliable
• Disadvantages
– Contributes to global
warming
– Limited amounts
– Environmental / ecosystem
concerns
Nonrenewable Resources – Nuclear
Energy (Uranium)
• Advantages
– Low operating costs
– Low air pollution
– High production of energy
• Disadvantages
– High risks of an accident
– Environmental contamination
– Waste lasts 200 – 500
thousand years
Switch from nonrenewable to
renewable
• Technology
– Increased technology
• Ex. Solar panels, wind turbines, etc
– Decreased cost
• Regulations
– Increased regulations/fines on pollution
• Encourages companies to shift to renewable resources
– Needs to be fair and effective
Renewable Resources
• Natural Resources that can be replenished /
replaced within a human life span
• Examples
– Solar
– Wind
– Water
– Geothermal
– Biomass
Renewable Resources - Solar
• Energy from the sun is collected and
converted into a useable form
• Solar Panels (Photovoltaic Cells)
– Found on buildings and in technology (ex.
calculators)
Renewable Resources - Solar
• Advantages
– Creates energy during the day
– Saves money / Tax incentives
– Pollution Free
– Noise Free
• Disadvantages
– Doesn’t work at night or when
its overcast
– Expensive
– Requires land/area for panels
Renewable Resources - Wind
• Energy from the wind is collected and turned
into useable energy
• Examples:
– Wind Turbines
Renewable Resources - Wind
• Advantages
– No pollution
– Great potential
– Renewable
– Space-Efficient
• Disadvantages
– Not consistent
– Large upfront costs
– Threat to wildlife
– Loud
– Ugly
Renewable Resources - Hydropower
• Hydropower (water power) is power gained
from the energy of falling water and running
water
• Provides 1/5 of the
worlds energy
Renewable Resources - Hydropower
• Advantages
– No pollution
– Reliable
– Flexible (changing water
flow)
– Safe
• Disadvantages
– Harms wildlife (fish
habitats)
– Expensive
– Droughts
– Limited Reservoirs
Renewable Resources - Geothermal
• Converts the heat of the earth to usable
energy
Renewable Resources - Geothermal
• Advantages
– Pollution Free
– Consistent
– Little land needed
• Disadvantages
– Requires large amounts of water
– High construction costs
– Difficult
– Prime sites are location specific and far from cities
Renewable Resources - Biomass
• Material from plants and animals is burned to
produce energy
– Examples include wood, corn, garbage, vegetable
oil
Renewable Resources - Biomass
• Advantages
– Widely available
– Abundant supply
– Helps deal with waste
• Disadvantages
– Requires a lot of energy
with little gain
– Leads to deforestation
– Expensive
– Creates pollution
Renewable vs Nonrenewable
Resources
Renewable vs Nonrenewable
Resources
• Renewable
– Can be replenished/replaced within a human life
span
• Nonrenewable
– Cannot be replenished/replaced within a human
life span. These took millions of years to form and
exist in fixed amounts in the earth
If renewable resources are better for
the environment why do we use so
many non-renewable resources?
• Established
• Easier
Resources
• What we require to live
• Natural Resources
– Resources we get from earth / found in nature
– Includes organic materials
– Examples:
• Air, Soil, Minerals, Metals, Plants, Animals, Water, Energy
• Synthetic
– Resources that are man made
– Often starts natural but humans try to make advances
within the product
– Examples:
• Clothing, Medicine, Alternative Energy, Food
Examples of Synthetic Materials
•
•
•
•
Clothes
Medicines
Foods
Alternative Fuels
Conservation
• Process of managing
earths resources more
effectively
• Helps maintain the health
of the natural world
• Helps maintain biodiversity
• Follow the 4 R’s
4 R’s
• Reduce
– Buy and use less
– Buy in bulk  Less packaging
– Eliminate junk mail
• Recycle
– Almost everything can be recycled
• Reuse
– Using materials again instead of
throwing them away
– Ex. Plastic water bottles, Tupperware
• Rebuy
– Buy from thrift stores
– Buy recycled items
Carbon Footprint
• Measures how much carbon dioxide (CO2) you
produce in your daily life
– CO2 contributes to global warming
• Behaviors that contribute to
your carbon footprint
– Transportation
– Electricity
– Water
– Heat
– Mail
– Food