Earth's Natural Resources

1
Earth's Natural Resources

• Unit 4
• World Geography

2
What Are Natural Resources?

• natural resource- any useful material found in
  the environment
• raw material- a resource or material that is
  still in its natural state, before being
  processed or manufactured into a useful product
• recyclable resource- a resource that cycles
  through natural processes in the environment
  (water, nitrogen, carbon)
• renewable resource- a natural resource that the
  environment continues to supply or replace as it
  is used (trees, water)
• nonrenewable resource- a resource that cannot be
  replaced once it is used they include fossil
  fuels such as coal and oil, and minerals such as
  iron, copper, and gold
• fossil fuel- any one of several nonrenewable
  resources created from the remains of plants and
  animals

3

• A raw material is a resource that must be altered
  or changed before it can be used. Most resources
  must be changed before people use them.
• Example Trees are the raw materials for paper
  and wood.
• A natural resource is anything from the Earth
  that helps meet peoples needs for food,
  clothing, and shelter.
• Examples water, trees, animals

4
Three Kinds of Resources
Recyclable Renewable Nonrenewable
Cycle naturally through the environment because of the way the Earth works The Earth will always have the same amount of them. Examples water, nitrogen, carbon Includes trees and other living things They can be destroyed or wiped out. However, these resources can be replaced, if careful, to maintain a steady supply. Examples trees, chickens, corn When these are used up, they cannot be replaced. Most nonliving things are nonrenewable. Examples minerals, coal, natural gas, petroleum (oil), metals
5
Ancient Energy Fossil Fuel

• Turning lights on, keeping your house heated or
  air conditioned, and running your car all require
  fossil fuels.
• Fossil fuels include coal, natural gas, and
  petroleum.
• Fossil fuels were created over millions of years
  from the remains of prehistoric plants and
  animals.
• Fossil fuels are no longer being created. As a
  result, they are nonrenewable resources.
• If people continue using coal, natural gas, and
  petroleum at todays rate, the Earth will run out
  of fossil fuels in 100 to 200 years.

6
A Special Resource Energy

• Everyone in the world needs energy, but energy
  resources are not evenly spread around the world.
• If a country does not have enough energy
  resources of its own, it must buy them from other
  countries.
• The biggest users of energy are industrial
  nations such as the United States and the
  countries of Western Europe.

7

• In the 1970s, the United States used so much
  energy that it had to begin buying oil from OPEC
  (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
  Countries).
• As a result, the United States had to pay
  whatever the producing countries asked.
• When OPEC limited supplies and raised prices, the
  United States experienced oil shortages.
• Americans began to see that they needed to find
  more sources of energy.

8
Top Petroleum Consumers and Producers
9
Stages of Resource Development
First Level Second Level Third Level
People use land and resources directly to make products. People are beginning to develop their land. Examples hunting, fishing, mining, herding, farming People turn raw materials into things they use. This process is called manufacturing. Example A farmer takes his corn to a mill. The miller grinds corn into corn meal, and the miller sells the corn meal for more processing. Products are distributed to people who want them. People are producing a service. Examples Service industries include transportation systems and communications products such as computers and satellites.
10
Economic Patterns Developed and Developing
Countries

• Two hundred years ago, people produced goods in
  their homes or small shops. Then, came a great
  change People invented machines to make goods
  and found new sources of power to run the
  machines. Today, most manufacturing takes place
  in factories.
• This change in the way people made goods was
  called the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial
  Revolution created a new pattern of economic
  activity. It separated countries into two groups
• Developed Nations are those countries that have
  many industries
• Developing Nations are those countries that have
  few industries.

11
Industrial Societies

• Developed Nations A Fact Sheet
• About one quarter of the worlds population lives
  in developed nations.
• They use goods made in factories.
• Their industries consume a lot of raw materials
  and use power-driven machinery.
• Factories produce goods for the countrys
  citizens and for sale to other countries.
• Most people live in towns and cities and work in
  business and industry.

12
Industrial Societies

• Developed Nations A Fact Sheet
• Most people have enough food and water and can
  get a good education and adequate health care.
• They rely on commercial farming, which raises
  tremendous amounts of food.
• These farms are run by companies and use modern
  technology.
• Each part of the economy relies on the other.
• Problems unemployment, pollution, shortages of
  natural resources

13
Developing Nations

• Every culture is not like the United States. Most
  of the people of the world (about 75) live in
  developing countries.
• They do not have great wealth.
• Many work at subsistence farmingraising just
  enough food for their families or communities,
  not for profit.
• These farms require a lot of labor and do not
  yield a lot of crops.
• The only commercial farms are plantations, which
  produce a single crop for export.
• They are usually owned by only a few people.
• Certain groups herd animals.
• In desert regions, nomads travel from place to
  place to find food and water for their animals.
• In some developing nations, people live as
  hunter-gatherers.

14
Challenges in Developing Nations

• What challenges do they face?
• Disease
• food shortages
• unsafe water
• poor education
• poor health services
• job scarcity in the cities
• and frequently changing governments are just a
  few of the challenges developing nations face.

15

• Why do they face so many challenges?
• One reason is rapid population growth, which
  strains resources.
• In the late 1990s, for example, the supply of
  fresh water became a problem.
• There are many other reasons as well.

16

• Is anything being done to improve conditions?
• Yes. Some developing nations are beginning to use
  their natural resources, or sell them to other
  countries.
• Developed countries sometimes help in the form of
  foreign aid, or gifts and loans from one
  government to another.
• Businesses in developed countries may also help
  by building factories in developing nations.
• These factories provide jobs and money.

17
The World Economic Activity
18
Danger to Land, Water, and Air

• An ecosystem is a place where living elements
  depend on one anotherand on nonliving
  elementsfor their survival.
• Examples of ecosystems the Sahara Desert, the
  Amazon River valley, the Great Plains
• If one part of an ecosystem changes, other parts
  are also affected. Some changes can destroy an
  ecosystem.
• Example Deforestation in South America is an
  example. Many rain forests are being destroyed.
  As a result, many plant and animal species will
  become extinct.

19
Protecting Endangered Species

• Usually, more than one thing threatens a species.
• Causes of Extinction
• People may build houses or businesses on land
  that is the habitat of particular animals or
  plants.
• The air, soil, or water may become too polluted.
• A species may be hunted until it disappears.

20
Protecting Endangered Species

• Methods of Prevention
• Laws, such as the Endangered Species Act of 1973
  gave the government power to protect species that
  might become extinct.
• Some people disagree with such laws.
• They believe that humans should be able to use
  natural resources as they need them.

21
Other Forms of Damage

• Acid Rain
• Acid rain carries dangerous chemicals. It is
  formed when fossil fuels used by industries are
  released into the air and combine with water
  vapor in the air.
• What is being done? Canada and the United States
  have laws to reduce acid rain. Factories and cars
  are installing devices to clean up the fumes they
  release.

22

• Pollution
• Waste dumped into rivers, lakes, and oceans
  destroys or harms living things in the water and
  also endangers people. Fertilizers and pesticides
  from farms also pollute water.

23

• The Ozone Layer
• The ozone layer, a layer of gas in the upper part
  of our atmosphere, blocks most of the suns
  harmful ultraviolet rays. Chemicals such as
  chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) destroy the ozone
  layer.
• What is being done? The Montreal Protocol of 1987
  led nations to limit their use of
  ozone-destroying chemicals, including CFCs.

24
Global Warming

• What is global warming?
• Global warming is a slow increase in Earths
  temperature.
• What causes it?
• It may be caused by gases like carbon dioxide
  that are released into the air.
• They are called greenhouse gases.

25

• Where do these gases come from?
• Industrial countries produce 75 percent of these
  gases.
• They are released when fossil fuels (which
  produce most of the worlds electricity) burn.
• Developing countries produce these gases when
  they burn forests to clear land and use wood for
  heating or cooking.

26

• How does global warming take place?
• Normally, heat on Earth escapes back into space.
• Some scientists theorize that greenhouse gases
  trap the heat and reflect it back to Earth,
  resulting in a rise in Earths average
  temperature.
• This is called the greenhouse effect.

27
The Challenge of Energy

• Because pollution is often tied to using fossil
  fuels, scientists are exploring other ways to get
  inexpensive energy.
• Their research concentrates on nuclear power,
  water, wind, and the sun.

28
The Challenge of Energy

• Individuals can protect the environment too.
• For example The United States produces more
  waste than any other nation in the world.
• To change that, people now recycle old materials
  to make new products.
• Today, most American cities have recycling
  programs.