Probably, many people have heard that exhaustible and inexhaustible resources are the key to the survival of mankind as a biological species. However, not everyone knows what it is customary to attribute to the concept of resources, what types and subspecies they are divided into. We will try to fill this knowledge gap.
What are resources?
This term comes from the French word ressource and literally translates as "auxiliary tool". They are called everything that is used by mankind in any targeted way. However, the activity itself can also be called a resource - a worker.
But more often than not, using this term, people mean natural resources. Consider them in more detail before moving on to specific categories.
What are the resources
All natural resources can be divided into exhaustible and inexhaustible resources. Both the first and second are actively used by mankind. It is this that ensures survival and the dawn of luxury that we are witnessing now - in the entire history of mankind, it has not experienced anything like it, never consumed resources in such quantities.
However, ecologists and economists have been saying for several years that human appetites must be urgently tempered - otherwise this will lead to the most sad consequences. And if inexhaustible resources are not a problem (they simply cannot end in at least the next hundreds, thousands and even millions of years), then with exhaustible things are not at all so rosy. Let's start with the first.
What are inexhaustible resources?
As the name implies, inexhaustible resources are those reserves that, in principle, cannot run out. Alas, there are not as many of them as we would like, and they are used very inefficiently, in small quantities, which could well put humanity on the brink of extinction, and not in the distant future, but according to the most pessimistic forecasts of experts, in the coming decades.
So, inexhaustible resources include: sunlight and heat, energy of air masses (in other words, wind), falling water, tides, and underground heat.
If humanity could learn to use at least a few percent of these huge reserves, the energy crisis would be resolved once and for all. Alas, the number of hydroelectric power plants is not too large, and many people, if they have an idea, are very vague about windmills, solar and geothermal stations.
But all these resources, in principle, cannot be exhausted. While the sun warms, solar panels could work, in addition, uneven heating of the Earth's surface creates winds that can generate a huge amount of energy. The presence of the moon provides constant ebbs and flows, capable of generating almost free and environmentally friendly energy, which simply cannot end (well, except that the natural satellite of the Earth will go somewhere).
What types of exhaustible resources are divided
Now you know what resources are inexhaustible. But what about the exhaustible? Somehow today they are very actively used, which leads to a rapid reduction in world reserves.
All exhaustible resources are usually divided into the following categories:
- renewable
- non-renewable
- partially renewable.
Now let's talk about each type in more detail.
Renewable resources are usually called the resources of the animal and plant world. This term means that humanity can very well produce resources at the same rate as it will consume. Everything is quite simple here - correctly located farms under good management and with the introduction of modern technologies are able, without expanding, to provide a large number of people with everything necessary. At the same time, resources are not taken directly from nature - only solar heat is used, which allows you to grow plants, as well as animal feed, meat or other products that go into food. Even active consumption does not create a deficit that can harm future generations.
With non-renewable things are more complicated. This includes energy and a variety of minerals. People burn millions of tons of oil and gas, use metals and minerals without an account. But every extra liter of gasoline spent will not resume! The formation of the oil from which it is made took many millions of years. If at least one of these resources runs out, there will simply be nothing to replace it with.
Partially renewable include forests and soils. People can grow trees for construction, paper making and other needs, as well as artificially form soils so that they can grow useful plants in the future. However, this process takes a lot of time - today 7.5 billion people consume a tree much faster than they grow it.
Conclusion
This concludes our article. Now you know that exhaustible and inexhaustible resources are an invaluable gift of nature that must be used wisely. Can you imagine how important they play in the life of humanity? You also have an idea of which resources can be renewed and which are irreplaceable.