Renewable & Non-renewable Resources WCPSS 8 th Science

Natural resources A natural resource is any energy source, organism, or substance found in nature that people use There are four parts: –Atmosphere: the source of the air we breathe and weather –Hydrosphere: includes all the Earth’s water— lakes, rivers, oceans, and underground water –Biosphere & Geosphere: the sources of all food, fuel, clothing, and shelter

3 Categories of Resources Renewable resources: natural resources that can be replaced in nature at about the same rate that it can be used Non-renewable resources: natural resources that exist in a fixed amount or the supply will be used up faster than it can be replaced in nature Inexhaustible resources: resources that will never run out

Renewable Resource Examples Trees and other plants Animal waste Biomass Water (hydroelectric) These resources are considered sustainable because continue to regenerate at the same rate they are used.

Non-renewable Resources Examples Nuclear energy Coal Oil Natural gas Minerals and Rocks (ex. copper) Coal, oil, and natural gas are considered fossil fuels, which are formed from ancient plants and animals buried deep in the Earth’s crust for millions of years. The high pressure and heat change it chemically into these resources.

Inexhaustible Resources Examples Wind Solar Geothermal Tidal energy

Conservation Conservation means protecting, restoring, and managing natural resources so that they last as long as possible. Reduce-Reuse-Recycle!

Reduce Reduce: to make something smaller or use less, resulting in a smaller amount of waste Source reduction is reducing waste before you purchase an item or purchasing items that are not wasteful in their packaging. Select items that do not have to be added to landfills. What are some things you can do to reduce: –Buy products in packages that can be easily recycled –Avoid single-serve products, like water bottles –Refuse plastic store (grocery) bags

Reuse Reuse materials in a their original form What can you do? –Use travel mugs to get drinks at restaurants and corner stores –Wash and reuse plastic utensils, cups, plates and food storage bags instead of throwing away after one use –Instead of ripping off gift wrap, carefully remove it and reuse it later –New is not always better: repair broken items like bicycles, washers, dryers, refrigerators

Recycle Don’t just throw everything away! Many items can easily be recycled: –Aluminum cans (soda cans) –Glass bottles –Paper –Cardboard –Metals –Electronic equipment Check out this website to see what you can recycle: aspx aspx

Why conserve resources? We use a lot of fossil fuels, which are nonrenewable resources. We need to shift our use to renewable or inexhaustible resources instead because nonrenewable resources will run out and are being rapidly depleted by the human populations. Electricity comes from nuclear power or coal power plants and cars use petroleum (oil);all three are nonrenewable and will eventually run out. When fossil fuels are burned, they give off excess carbon dioxide, air pollution, acid rain and global warming. Other negative influences of fossil fuels include oil spills and water pollution, loss of wilderness areas, construction of new power plants, foreign energy dependence and the risk of international conflict over energy supplies.

Reduce Nonrenewable Dependence Resource depletion: eventually these nonrenewable resources will disappear Save money!: use fluorescent bulbs, solar electricity which are expensive at first but pay back Reduce carbon dioxide emissions: this will help people who suffer from respiratory illnesses like asthma Acid rain: power plants and automobiles emit sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxides, which when mixed with water vapor can become acid rain; acid rain is harmful to marine life, lungs in people, trees and crops and soil as well as properties.

Resources Inexhaustible Resources: Reduce-Reuse-Recycle: Wastes—Resource Conservation: Earth’s History & Resources; Science 8; McDougal-Little; ©2005 Why conserve energy? future.com/WhyConserveEnergy.phphttp:// future.com/WhyConserveEnergy.php

Template Provided By 500,000 Downloadable PowerPoint Templates, Animated Clip Art, Backgrounds and Videos