 Something in the environment that can be used to aid in survival  Raw materials  agriculture  Minerals  Can be processed into usable materials at an affordable cost  Energy sources

 LIMITED natural resources  Cannot be replaced or reproduced (within a generation)  Humans cannot manage their renewal

 Surface mining  Removal at shallow depths  Subsurface mining  Deep deposits removed

 Open Pit Mining  Machines dig large holes  Toxic groundwater can accumulate at the bottom  Area Strip Mining  Earth movers strips away overburden, and giant shovels removes mineral deposit  Often leaves highly erodible hills of rubble called spoil banks.

 Contour strip Mining  Used on hilly or mountainous terrain.  Unless the land is restored, a wall of dirt is left in front of a highly erodible bank called a highwall  Mountaintop Removal  Machinery removes the tops of mountains to expose coal.  The resulting waste rock and dirt are dumped into the streams and valleys below

 Natural resources that can be replaced by human efforts

 Subcategory of renewable resources  Can last forever regardless of human activities

 It is the year 2094  Earth’s natural resources are nearly depleted and the planet is heavily polluted  Nearly all of the freshwater is polluted  A new planet, Zorcon, has been found  Pollution free  Resource rich

UnitsResourceUnitsResource 1350Wheat231Zinc 901Corn451Crude Oil 37Cotton135Copper 180Trees524Gold 352Edible Oil225Silver 250Domestic Animals94Aluminum 346Seafood301Water 99Lead251Unknown 173Iron

 4 trips  1. Surveyor – only one resource collected at a time  2. Surveyor – no collection restrictions  3. Surveyor + Resource Specialist – Time restriction and no scooping  4. Entire Team – Time restriction and 2 cup maximum

UnitsResourceUnitsResource 43.5%Wheat55.8%Zinc 42.2%Corn53.2%Crude Oil 97.3%Cotton73.3%Copper 52.2%Trees52.3%Gold 60.0%Edible Oil75.5%Silver 52.0%Domestic Animals60.6%Aluminum 56.6%Seafood57.1%Water 64.6%Lead44.6%Unknown 58.4%Iron

BEFORE AFTER

 Minerals  solid inorganic elements and compounds  can sometimes be used as resources  Mineral resource :  a concentration of naturally occurring material in or on the earth’s crust that can be extracted and processed into useful materials at an affordable cost.

 The U.S. Geological Survey classifies mineral resources into four major categories:  Identified :  known location, quantity, and quality or existence known based on direct evidence and measurements.  Undiscovered :  potential supplies that are assumed to exist.  Reserves :  identified resources that can be extracted profitably.  Other:  undiscovered or identified resources not classified as reserves

 Examples are fossil fuels (coal, oil), metallic minerals (copper, iron), and nonmetallic minerals (sand, gravel). Figure 15-7

 The extraction, processing, and use of mineral resources has a large environmental impact. Figure 15-9

Fig , p. 344 Natural Capital Degradation Extracting, Processing, and Using Nonrenewable Mineral and Energy Resources Steps Environmental effects Mining Disturbed land; mining accidents; health hazards, mine waste dumping, oil spills and blowouts; noise; ugliness; heat Exploration, extraction Processing Solid wastes; radioactive material; air, water, and soil pollution; noise; safety and health hazards; ugliness; heat Transportation, purification, manufacturing Use Noise; ugliness; thermal water pollution; pollution of air, water, and soil; solid and radioactive wastes; safety and health hazards; heat Transportation or transmission to individual user, eventual use, and discarding

 future supply of a resource depends on:  its affordable supply  how rapidly that supply is used  A rising price for a scarce mineral resource can increase supplies and encourage more efficient use.

 Depletion curves for a renewable resource using three sets of assumptions.  Dashed vertical lines represent times when 80% depletion occurs. Figure 15-16

 New technologies  can increase the mining of low-grade ores at affordable prices  Can have harmful environmental effects can limit this approach  minerals in seawater and on the deep ocean floor:  cost too much to extract  there are squabbles over who owns them

 Hydrothermal deposits form when mineral-rich superheated water shoots out of vents in solidified magma on the ocean floor. Figure 15-17

 Recycling  saves money  has a lower environmental impact then mining and extracting them from their ores.

Fig , p. 351 Solutions Sustainable Use of Nonrenewable Minerals Do not waste mineral resources. Recycle and reuse 60–80% of mineral resources. Include the harmful environmental costs of mining and processing minerals in the prices of items (full-cost pricing). Reduce subsidies for mining mineral resources. Increase subsidies for recycling, reuse, and finding less environmentally harmful substitutes. Redesign manufacturing processes to use less mineral resources and to produce less pollution and waste. Have the mineral-based wastes of one manufacturing process become the raw materials for other processes. Sell services instead of things. Slow population growth.

 Growing signs point to an ecoindustrial revolution taking place over the next 50 years.  The goal is to redesign industrial manufacturing processes to mimic how nature deals with wastes.  Industries can interact in complex resource exchange webs in which wastes from manufacturer become raw materials for another.

Fig , p. 352 Sludge Pharmaceutical plant Local farmers Sludge Greenhouses Waste heat Fish farming Oil refinery Surplus natural gas Electric power plant Fly ash Surplus sulfur Surplus natural gas Waste calcium sulfate Waste heat Cement manufacturer Sulfuric acid producer Wallboard factory Area homes