Ch. 2: “Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources”

Lesson 2.2: “Availability of Resources”

Availability of Resources:

Nearly every resource from food to fuels needs to be removed from the Earth and processed in some way before it can be made available to the consumer. Some extraction and processing methods are relatively simple and involve little or no equipment and energy. Other resource removal and processing methods are complex and involve sophisticated machinery run by computers. The availability of our natural resources is related to the costs of extracting and processing them.

Removing Earth’s Resources-- Harvesting Food and Fiber:

1. Name some of the simple tools used by early farmers.

• hoe, sickle, animal-drawn cart, ax, handsaw, etc.

Removing Earth’s Resources-- Harvesting Food and Fiber:

2. Briefly describe what each of the following modern tools is used for.a. cultivators: have hoe-like parts that look like claws & turn the soil between rowsb. disks: have sharp, round blades that turn the soil in the springc. windrowers: cut swaths of grasses or forage crops into neat rows to dry in the sund. combines: cuts the crop & removes the seed from its protective layers/the combine’s header cuts the grain, which is then delivered to the threshing machine e. chain saws: used for felling trees or remove unwanted limbsf. circular saws: same as chainsaw

Removing Earth’s Resources--Natural Events Can Affect Resource Availability:

• Technology plays an important role in extracting Earth’s resources and making them available to consumers. But the availability of natural resources also depends on natural disasters, including severe weather, biological infestations, fires, and natural oil seeps, among others.

Removing Earth’s Resources--Natural Events Can Affect Resource Availability:

• Briefly describe how each natural event can affect resource availability.a. severe weather: flood, drought, extreme cold, etc.b. biological infestations: pathogensc. natural oil seeps: oil enters water through cracks in the Earth’s crustd. fire: wildfires, volcanic eruptions