1. Earth’s Natural Resources

2. Natural Resources - actual or potential form of wealth supplied by nature.
Examples:
Metals
Arable land
Fossil fuels
Old-growth forests
Coal
Oil
Water
Sun
Air
Crops

3. Renewable Resources - energy sources that can be recycled or replaced by natural processes in less than 100 years
Advantages:
Stays for a long time
They are constant
Disadvantages:
Expensive
Can harm wildlife
Not reliable
Some put off carbon dioxide (biomass)
Examples:
Sun
Wind
Water (groundwater)
Geothermal energy
Forests (trees)

4. Nonrenewable Resources - resources that cannot be replaced by natural processes in more than 100 years
Disadvantages:
Will eventually run out
Acid rain
Air pollution
Water pollution
Advantages:
We need it to make gasoline
Examples:
Fossil fuels
Natural gas
Nuclear energy

5. Fossil Fuels - an energy resource formed from the decayed remains of ancient plants and other organisms
Disadvantages:
Pollutes the atmosphere
Possibly causing climate change
NONRENEWABLE
Advantages:
A chemical energy is changed into heat and light
Easy to find
Produce large amounts of energy
Examples:
Coal
Oil
Natural gas

6. Coal - formed from the remains of ancient swamp vegetation that turned into a soft, brown/black material
Advantages:
Changes a chemical to heat and light
Creates energy/electricity
Easy to burn
Disadvantages:
Pollutes the atmosphere
Mining it can scar landscape
NONRENEWABLE
Examples:
Lignite
Bituminous
Anthracite

7. Oil and Natural Gases - formed over millions of years from the decay of algae and other microscopic ocean organisms called plankton
Advantages:
Changes into heat and light
Power vehicles
Power stoves, ovens, fireplaces
Disadvantages:
Develops over long periods of time
Air/Water pollution
NONRENEWABLE
Examples:
Lamp oil
Gasoline
Diesel fuel
Crude oil

8. Solar Energy - energy from the sun
Advantages:
Does not cause hazardous/toxic pollution
RENEWABLE
Examples:
Solar panels
Flat mirrors
Disadvantages:
We do not have the technology to harness all of its energy
Expensive to cover large areas with solar panels
Noise pollution

9. Wind Energy - energy produced by wind
Advantages:
Nonpolluting (air, land)
Not harmful to the environment
Does not produce waste
RENEWABLE
Examples:
Windmills
wind farms
Disadvantages:
Few regions have winds strong enough to generate electricity on a large scale
Noise pollution

10. Hydroelectric Power - production of electricity using water
Advantages:
Does not cause pollution and it is
RENEWABLE
Examples:
Niagara Falls
Water falls
Dams
Disadvantages:
Reservoirs behind the dam can fill up with sediment
Increased erosion

11. Geothermal Energy - heat from the magma and hot rock that surrounds it that can be used to generate electricity
Advantages:
Does not cause pollution
Does not use fuel
Efficient
RENEWABLE
Examples:
Geysers
Hot springs
Disadvantages:
Sometimes not found, close to Earth’s surface
Can release hot, salty water at Earth’s surface

12. Nuclear Energy - energy produced by splitting the nuclei of certain elements in a process known as fission (releasing the energy by changing water to steam)
Advantages:
Powerful and efficient
Reduces fossil fuels used (lessens cost and lessens greenhouse gas emissions)
Examples:
Power plants fueled by uranium
Nuclear weapons
Disadvantages:
Storing nuclear waste makes its use limited
Radioactive wastes take a long time to break down
Nuclear accidents

13. Groundwater - water that soaks into the ground and collects in small spaces between bits of soil and rock
Advantages:
Part of water cycle
Free to harvest
RENEWABLE
Example:
Used in industries and on farms
Disadvantages:
It takes a long time for it to move through rock layers
Much to be done to keep water safe
Huge effort to harvest

14. Forests - a thick growth of trees and underbrush covering an extensive tract of land
Advantages:
Takes in carbon and stores it
Purifies the air
Ingredients for medicines
Balances the climate
Regulates the water cycle
RENEWABLE
Examples:
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Amazon
Disadvantages:
No forests = more carbon in the atmosphere
Might cause global warming)

15. Mineral Resources - metal objects that come from rocks
Example:
hematite makes motorcycle parts and saw blades
Diamonds
Gold
Salt
Copper
Iron, etc.
Advantages:
Sometimes large deposits of valuable minerals are found in one place
Can be mined for profit
RENEWABLE
Disadvantages:
Costs a lot to get the minerals out of the rocks
Air/Water pollution

16. Abiotic Factors - any nonliving part of the environment
Examples:
Air current
Temperature
Moisture (water)
Light
Soil

17. Biotic Factors - any living or once living organism in the environment
Examples:
Animals
Plants
Insects
Humans

18. The End!!!