Natural Resources Overview

Natural Resources

• Earth's natural resources can be categorized as renewable and non-renewable.
• Renewable resources are inexhaustible and can regenerate, like wind energy, biomass energy, tidal energy, and solar energy.
• Non-renewable resources cannot be regenerated, such as fossil fuels like coal and petroleum.
• Over-exploitation of renewable resources can make them non-renewable. For instance, if a species is exploited beyond its regeneration rate, it can become endangered or extinct.
• Ecological uses of forests:
  • Forests produce oxygen through photosynthesis, acting as Earth's lungs.
  • Forests absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and play a role in mitigating global warming.
  • Forests serve as habitats for millions of species, especially in tropical rainforests.
  • Forests regulate the hydrological cycle by absorbing rainfall, slowing runoff, and recharging springs.
  • Forests conserve soil by binding soil particles with roots, preventing erosion, and acting as windbreaks.
  • Forests can absorb toxic gases and help purify the air.
  • Forests can also absorb noise, reducing noise pollution.

Over-exploitation of Forests

• Growing human demands for timber, pulp, minerals, and fuel wood have led to large-scale logging, mining, road-building, and deforestation.

Water Resources

• Water is essential for all life on Earth.
• It is used for drinking, irrigation, transportation, washing, waste disposal, and industrial processes.
• Water shapes the Earth's surface and regulates climate.

Water Over-exploitation

• Over-exploitation of water resources, particularly for agriculture, can lead to droughts.
• Over-exploitation can lead to depletion of groundwater reserves.
• To mitigate the effects of drought and desertification, the text suggests using indigenous knowledge, practicing mixed cropping, and implementing social forestry and wasteland development.

Water Conflicts

• Unequal distribution of water resources can lead to inter-state and international disputes.
• Major conflicts are mentioned:
  • The Nile River basin conflict: Ethiopia controls the headwaters of 80% of the Nile's flow and plans to increase its water usage, impacting downstream countries like Egypt.
  • The Jordan River basin conflict: Jordan, Syria, and Israel are in a struggle for water sharing rights.

Metallic and Non-metallic Mineral Uses

• Metallic minerals:
  • Iron: Used for construction, tools, and machinery.
  • Aluminum: Used for packaging, construction, and aircraft materials.
  • Copper: Used for electrical wiring, plumbing, and roofing.
  • Gold: Used for jewelry, electrical contacts, and medical treatments.
  • Silver: Used for photography, electronics, and jewelry.
  • Nickel: Used in chemical industry, steel alloys, and electroplating.
  • Platinum: Used in automobiles, catalysts, electronics, and medical applications.
  • Manganese: Used for making high-strength, heat-resistant steel alloys, batteries, paints, and ammunition.
• Non-metallic minerals:
  • Silicate minerals: Used for construction materials like sand, gravel, bricks, and paving.
  • Limestone: Used for concrete, building stone, neutralizing acidic soils, and in the cement industry.
  • Gypsum: Used in plaster wallboard and agriculture.
  • Potash and phosphorite: Used as fertilizers.
  • Sulphur pyrites: Used in medicine, car batteries, and industry.