Man has long learned to use all the benefits that the planet provides him. Since our inception, the number of people has increased hundreds of thousands of times. Our “appetites” are growing, resource consumption too. Sometimes people forget that they are not eternal. What happens to the inexhaustible riches of the earth? What types of resources exist?
Resource Types
The constituent elements of the world that a person uses in economic activity are called natural resources. Over time, people's perceptions of resources have changed. Discovering new elements, developing technologies, man turned more and more components of nature into his resources.
By the origin or type of natural components, they are divided into mineral, animal, land, water, soil, climatic and plant. Depending on the scope, they are divided into agricultural, industrial, recreational, scientific and aesthetic. In terms of importance, they distinguish interchangeable and irreplaceable components. The former include fuel and mineral resources, the latter include air and drinking water.
All living beings use the components of nature, the greatest extent covers man. Their number is not always unlimited, on the basis of this, they are divided into exhaustible and inexhaustible. We will learn more about them later.
Exhaustible resources
Reserves of some resources are strictly limited. In this case, they are called exhaustible. Usually they are divided into recoverable and non-recoverable. The latter include the wealth that man obtains from the bowels of the earth. They include mineral and fuel resources, for example, oil, gas, metal ores, precious and semiprecious stones.
It is estimated that metals, such as tin, copper and lead, will be exhausted by humans for 50 years. Iron and aluminum will last from 300 to 500 years. For oil and gas, the resources on which many countries of the world depend, the forecasts are also disappointing. Researchers say their reserves will run out in 200 years.
Soils, flora and fauna are renewable resources. They closely interact with each other and with other resources, so their condition affects the environmental situation.
What happens to the inexhaustible riches of the earth?
Resources are called inexhaustible if their amount remains virtually unchanged over time. Even after prolonged use, they do not stop. These include solar, light, heat and wind energy, tides. Sometimes the list includes water, air and soil.
These resources are considered inexhaustible. It is hard to imagine that you can fully use the energy produced by the forces of nature or destroy all the water and soil on the planet. However, there is a nuance here. What happens to the inexhaustible riches of the earth? They lose their quality.
Irrational human activity leads to their pollution. In this case, resource efficiency is significantly reduced. It’s more correct to call them conditionally inexhaustible, since even the sun will ever go out.
Climatic
Climate is a multi-year weather regime that has formed in a particular area. It includes solar and thermal energy, pressure, humidity, etc. The combination of its properties is used for agricultural activities.
They create the conditions for the existence of various plant and animal species, and therefore are widely used in agriculture. An important factor is the number of days of light per year, the mode of precipitation and winds, the thickness of the snow cover in winter.
On the territory of our planet they are distributed unevenly. The most favorable conditions for agricultural activities are temperate zones, the northern regions are the least suitable.
The climatic wealth of the Earth is used to create solar and wind power plants. In tropical latitudes, the sun is more active, therefore photovoltaic cells are installed there for energy production. In places with constant strong winds (Baltic, North Sea) windmills are placed.
Water resources
Water is the main wealth of the Earth. Water resources may include both groundwater and surface water. They cover all the rivers, seas, lakes that people use. Their total number on the planet is approximately 1400 million cubic kilometers. The largest numbers are Canada, Brazil and Russia. Extremely arid regions exist where water bodies or rainfall are rare.
People use this wealth of the Earth everywhere for domestic purposes, and they also use water in agriculture and industry. Moreover, certain manipulations with natural reservoirs are often carried out. For their needs, people often desalinate or change the direction and boundaries of objects, for example, during the construction of reservoirs.
The resource is used for irrigation, to produce steam, to heat rooms. In industry, water is used for cooling. A person uses mineral water for treatment and recreation. In everyday life, it is necessary for sanitary purposes, as well as for drinking.
Human Impact on Resources
Anthropogenic activities are a major factor in resource depletion. With the development of mankind, consumption only increases. People often do not realize what is happening with the inexhaustible wealth of the Earth.
Considering them to be eternal resources, a person forgets about the gradual deterioration of their quality. Reckless consumption of water without the use of treatment plants leads to its pollution. Every year on the planet there is less water suitable for drinking.
Exhaust gases, industrial emissions from factories and plants alter the composition of the atmosphere. More impurities of nitrogen, methane and carbon dioxide appear in it. Deforestation, in turn, reduces the amount of oxygen that plants produce.
All this is reflected not only in the state of nature. The quality of human life is also getting lower. This does not mean that a person should stop using resources. It is enough to just change your approach and technology for their consumption.