Earth Resources

1
GLY 120 Sustainable Planet The Geology of
Natural Resources   Course Introduction and
Earth Resources  
2
Earth Resources

• Basic definitions and concepts
• What are Earths (Natural) Resources?
• Naturally occurring concentrations of mineral
  substances which can be economically extracted

3
Earth Resources

• Basic definitions and concepts
• Renewable vs. Non-renewable
• Renewable resources
• Those Earth materials that are replenished on
  short time scales of a few months or years (i.e.,
  organic materials derived from plants and
  animals)
• As well as energy from wind, flowing water, and
  the Suns heat
• Non-renewable resources
• Those materials which
• are contained in the Earth as a fixed quantity
• and are not replenished by natural processes
  operating on short time scales (i.e., oil,
  natural gas, coal)

4

• Main difference between renewable and
  non-renewable resources is the time it takes for
  the resource to be replenished by natural
  processes

5

• When are renewable resources not renewable?
• Non-renewable "renewable" resources
• Plants and Animals
• Fresh water
• Trees
• Oxygen/Clean Air
• Land/Soil
• Fish
• Biospheres of living things

6

• Renewable is defined as capable of being
  replaced by natural ecological cycles or sound
  management practices"
• So humans need to think of "renewable" as
  replenishable only in the right circumstances and
  within the laws of the balance of nature
• Allow the natural ecological cycles to remain
  natural
• "Don't mess with Mother Nature!"

7

• "Renewable" resources become non-renewable due to
  mismanagement by humans and due to pollution of
  the environment by humans

8

• How can natural resources affect our environment
  unnaturally?
• It is not the natural resources by themselves
  that harm the Earth's environment
• It is what humans do with the natural resources
  that cause the problems to the environment and to
  the health of living things, including other
  human beings

9

• What are the fundamental resource needs of any
  developed society?
• - Water (fresh, clean)
• - Food (sustainable)
• - Shelter
• - Tools
• - Energy

10

• Energy uses in modern society (each requires a
  different type of energy source)
• - Transportation
• - Industry
• - Individual/household
• Potential energy resources available today
• - Fossil fuels petroleum (oil), natural
  gas,coal
• - Solar
• - Hydroelectric
• - Nuclear
• - Geothermal/hydrothermal

11

• Every material on which our developed society is
  based is directly or indirectly derived from the
  Earth
• Human history is a history of resource discovery
  and exploitation
• - Flint (chert) or obsidian primitive tools and
  arrowheads
• - Iron Age, Bronze Age, etc.
• - Fishing, hunting, agriculture
• - Coal heating, steam power, electricity
• - Petroleum and automobiles
• - Nuclear bombs, nuclear power, and radioactive
  waste

12

• Resource Development Process (e.g., coal)
• Demand Power generation Steel Production
• Exploration finding where the resources
  are
• Extraction Mining surface and/or
  underground
• Refinement crushed, washed
• Application combusted in power
• plant electricity
• Disposal/Recycle ash

13

• Each step has
• Economic
• Political
• Social
• Environmental
• implications

14

• Why does wood decline in the late 1800s?
• Why does coal in the 1950s?
• What happens to oil in the future? Nuclear? Why?
• How are wood, coal, oil, and nuclear different
  from hydrogen and solar power?

15
Natural Resources

• Our entire society rests upon - and is dependent
  upon - our water, our land, our forests, and our
  minerals. How we use these resources influences
  our health, security, economy, and well being.
• John F. Kennedy
• February 23, 1961
• p. 1, Resources of the Earth