Overview

Resource Terminology Energy Resources and Industrialization Nonrenewable Energy Resources Renewable Energy Resources Nonfuel Mineral Resources Land Resources Resource Management

Resource Terminology

Natural resource Physically occurring, exploitable material that a

society perceives to be useful Renewable resources

Replaced by natural processes Perpetual

From sources that are virtually inexhaustible Potentially renewable

Can last indefinitely if natural replacement rate is not exceeded

Resource Terminology

Nonrenewable resources Exist in finite amounts

May be reusable

Resource reserves Some have been identified, others undiscovered Proved reserves

Can be extracted profitably from known deposits Subeconomic

May become economic with improved technology or increased prices

Energy Resources and Industrialization

Energy is used to make all other resources available

Wood Predominant source of fuel for most of human history

Fossil fuels Economic base of wealth in industrialized countries

Correlation between energy consumption and gross national income per capita

Nonrenewable Energy Resources

Crude oil Coal Natural gas Oil shale and tar sands Nuclear energy

Crude Oil

Almost 40% of commercial energy consumed Refined into waxes, tars, and various fuels Largest reserves are in the Middle East OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

U.S. imports about 66% of oil consumed Pessimists: production could peak by 2010 Optimists: supplies will last far into the future

Advances in exploration and production

Coal

Very large world supplies China and the U.S. are dominant producers Electric power generation, coke for steel

production, home heating and cooking Rank: reflects transformation of organic material

Lignite through bituminous coal to anthracite Grade: based on content of waste materials Bulky and not as easily transported as oil

Major heavy industrial centers on or near coal fields

Natural Gas

Efficient, versatile, burns cleanly Mostly for industrial and residential heating Flows easily and cheaply by pipeline Liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Liquefied by refrigeration for storage or transport Russia and the Middle East contain 2/3 of the

world’s proved reserves

Oil Shale and Tar Sands

Oil shale Sedimentary rock rich in organic material (kerogen)

Extracted and converted into a crude oil by distillation Enormous world reserves

Rich deposits in Green River Formation (CO, UT, WY)

Tar sand Sand and sandstone saturated with heavy oil

Mined, crushed, and heated to extract petroleum Resources many times larger than conventional oil

Major deposits in Alberta

Monetary and environmental costs

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear fission Controlled splitting of an atom to release energy About 20% of electricity in the U.S. Recent revival of interest in nuclear power worldwide No new plants ordered in the U.S. since 1979

High costs, safety concerns, lack of safe storage for radioactive waste, potential terrorist targets

Nuclear fusion Combining two atoms to release energy Technological problems with controlled fusion

Tremendous potential if overcome

Renewable Energy Resources

Biomass fuels Hydropower Solar energy Geothermal energy Wind power

Biomass Fuels

Energy from organic material produced by plants, animals, or microorganisms

Wood Source of most biomass energy Key source of energy in developing countries

Ethanol Alcohol produced from plants

Brazil: ethanol derived from sugarcane U.S.: most ethanol derived from corn

Waste Fermenting crop residues, animal and human refuse

Hydropower

Flowing water drives turbines Location-specific About 7% of electricity in the U.S.

Vast majority of electricity in Pacific Northwest Environmental and social costs

Reservoirs flood land, alter streamflow patterns, trap silt Displacement of people, disruption of ecosystems

Solar Energy

Inexhaustible and nonpolluting Ultimate origin of most forms of utilized energy Chief drawback: diffuse and intermittent Hot water and space heating Electricity generation

Converting solar energy into thermal energy Photovoltaic (PV) cells

Convert solar energy directly into electrical energy

Geothermal Energy

Generated by harnessing the naturally occurring steam and hot water produced by contact with heated rocks in the earth’s crust

Usually where magmas are near the surface E.g., Iceland

Electricity generation, heating, and cooling Geothermal heat pumps

Wind Power

Windmills can turn turbines directly, do not use any fuel, can be built rather quickly

Technological advances in design Lowered cost of electricity generation

California dominated development in 1980s Since then, growth in other states and Europe

Chief disadvantage: unreliable and intermittent Aesthetic impact, hazard to birds

Nonfuel Mineral Resources

Ore Mineral deposit that can be extracted at a profit

Exploitation of a mineral resource Exploration, extraction, concentration,

smelting/refining, transporting, manufacturing Practicality and profitability of mining a deposit

determined by: Value, quantity available, richness of the ore,

distance to market, land acquisition and royalty costs

The Distribution of Nonfuel Minerals

Larger countries are more likely to contain commercially exploitable deposits Russia, China, Canada, the U.S., Brazil, Australia

Roughly half of the nonfuel mineral resources

Many types of minerals are concentrated in a small number of countries E.g., South Africa

Gold ore, chromium and platinum-group metals

Copper: A Case Study

Important to industrialized societies Conducts heat and electricity well, malleable,

resists corrosion Largest deposits found in western North

America, western South America, Australia Chile leads the world in production Demand outstrips supply

Significant price increase in recent years Grade of ores mined in the U.S. has decreased Increased recovery by recycling Spurred the search for substitutes

Land Resources

Soils Wetlands Forest resources

Soils

Formed by physical and chemical decomposition of rock material and decay of organic matter Formation equals or exceeds erosion under most

natural conditions Erosion is accelerated by removal of vegetation

Soil converted to a nonrenewable resource Pressures upon land have increased with

population growth E.g., clearing and conversion of tropical rain forests

has accelerated erosion

Soils

Desertification Conversion of arid and semiarid lands into deserts

Due to climatic change and human activity Africa is most at risk

Evidence of accelerated soil erosion is found in all parts of the world Recently at an all-time high in the U.S.

Soils

Secondary effects of soil erosion Croplands become less productive Siltation of streams and reservoirs accelerates Erosion-borne silt pollutes water supplies Danger of floods increases Costs of maintaining navigation channels grow

Salinization Concentration of salts in topsoil as a result of the

evaporation of surface water Occurs in poorly drained soils in dry climates Often as a result of improper irrigation

Wetlands

Vegetated land surfaces periodically or permanently covered by standing water

Inland Freshwater bogs, marshes, swamps, floodplains

Coastal Covered by either fresh or salt water Estuarine zone

Narrow area of wetlands along coastlines where salt water and fresh water mix

Wetlands

Perform a number of vital functions Trap and filter silt, pollutants, and nutrients that

rivers bring downstream Habitat and food for a variety of plants and animals Absorb floodwaters and help stabilize shorelines

Many wetlands have been lost or degraded

Forest Resources

Commercial forests Northern coniferous Temperate hardwood Tropical lowland hardwood

Serve a variety of purposes Timbering; soil and watershed conservation; wildlife

habitat; recreation; recycling of water, carbon, oxygen Clear cutting

All the trees removed from a given area Selective cutting

Medium and large trees cut singly or in small groups

U.S. National Forests

155 national forests Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act

Recreation, timber production, watershed protection, wildlife habitat preservation

Much timber has been cut in recent years Old growth forests in Washington and Oregon

Tongass National Forest Clear cutting and road building are endangering

wildlife habitats

Tropical Rain Forests

Some countries subsidize conversion of forests To farming, cattle ranching, mining, etc.

Millions of acres are cleared every year Brazil has the largest area of tropical rain forests

One of the highest rates of clearing Policy of developing the Amazon Basin

Global concerns about clearing tropical forests Oxygen and carbon balance Contribution to air pollution and climate change Loss of biological diversity

Resource Management

Sustainable development Satisfies current needs without jeopardizing the ability

of future generations to meet their own needs Sustainable use of resources

Using them at rates within their capacity for regeneration

Wise management of resources entails: Conservation Reuse Substitution