NATURAL RESOURCES

Lesson 5

Flow Resources

Review: Flow ResourcesFlow resources are natural

resources that are usually replaced by nature whether humans use them or not.

Flow resources are often used to produce energy that we can use.

Fast flowing rivers are flow resources. The power of the flowing river can be used to create hydro-electricity.

The wind is a flow resource. On this wind farm, it is being used to turn turbines, which produce electricity.

Ocean currents and tides are flow resources. Their energy can also be used to produce electricity.

Sunlight and heat are flow resources. They can also be transformed into energy that we can use.

Running Water as a ResourceWe use water in many ways. Water flows downhill in rivers and streams in places where there

is a surplus of water like here in Ontario. In some parts of the world there is not a surplus of water (e.g. desert regions) so there is much less or no running water to use.

USES OF WATER

Use the picture map on page 265 to complete the chart in your organizer.

IRRIGATIONThe largest user of running

water in the world is agriculture (farming).

One way water is used is “irrigation” – that means adding water to farm land that otherwise would not get enough water for crops to grow. Without irrigation, large areas of the world would not be able to grow crops.

There are three types of irrigation:

1. Surface irrigation2. Sprinkler irrigation3. Drip irrigation

Use page 266 to complete, in point form, the section in your organizer.

Surface irrigation

Sprinkler irrigation

Drip irrigation

Hydro-Electric PowerElectrical power is generated by

flowing water from a reservoir – often created by a dam. Water flows down a chute called a penstock then makes the turbine spin. A generator converts the spinning motion to electricity.

What are the positive and negative effects of hydro-electric power?

Use the red headings on pages 270-271 to complete the chart in your organizer – use point form.

When done, study the diagram and photo on pages 270-271.

The massive Three Gorges Dam in China, built to provide hydro-electric power to millions of people. Many people were forced to move from their homes so that the valley behind the dam could be flooded.

Threats to Running Water

Human activity has led to many threats to running water as a resource.

In point form, complete the section in your organizer, using the chart on page 273.

Waste from a clothes dying factory has turned the river red. More scary than the colour, are the chemicals in the waste – and the effects they may have on wildlife and humans who live downstream.

Threats to the OceansWe also use the ocean for many

things: transportation, fishing, producing energy, leisure, recreation, and natural beauty, to name a few.

But our oceans are also under threat from human activity. One threat is over-fishing. If we take too many fish from the ocean, stocks of certain species will be put at risk. Read the chart on page 282, to see the effects of overfishing on cod fishing in eastern Canada.

We are also polluting the oceans. Copy the web on page 283 into your organizer.