1. Chapter 19
Conserving Resources

2. I. Resources
Natural Resources – parts of the environment that are useful or necessary for the survival of living things
-ex. Food, water, air, metals, minerals

3. 1. Renewable Resources – any natural resource that is recycled or replaced constantly by nature
-ex. Sunlight, water, air, crops, trees
a) Supply and Demand
-Even though renewable resources are recycled or replaced they are sometimes in short supply.

4. b) Minerals & metals are other nonrenewable resources.
2. Nonrenewable Resources – natural resources that are used up more quickly than they can be replaced by natural processes.
a) Petroleum – oil formed mostly from the remains of microscopic marine organisms buried in the Earth’s crust
b) Minerals & metals are other nonrenewable resources.
Link to Head Jam: Crude Energy

5. Fossil Fuels – fuels formed in Earth’s crust over hundred of millions of years from the remains of organisms
-ex. Coal, petroleum, natural gas

6. 1. Fossil Fuel Conservation
a) Because fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources Earth’s supply of them is limited.
b) In the future, fossil fuels may become more difficult to maintain.
c) The use of fossil fuels can lead to environmental problems. (Strip Mining)
d) The burning of fossil fuels produces waste gases that cause air pollution, smog and acid rain.

7. 2. How we can conserve fossil fuels a) examples:
b) The less fossil fuels we use the more money we can save.
Link to House Hidden Picture

8. Alternatives to Fossil Fuels
-Electricity is generated when a rotating turbine turns a coil of wires in the magnetic field of an electric generator. Fossil fuels are burned to boil water to make steam, which turns the turbine.

9. 1. Water Power
a) Hydroelectric power – electricity produced when the energy of falling water is used to turn the turbine of a generator.
-Good: No pollution because no fuel is burned.
-Bad: Many acres behind dam are flooded.

10. 2. Wind Power
a) Wind turns the blades of a turbine, which powers a generator.
-Good: No pollution because no fuel is burned.
-Bad: Winds must be at least 32 mph.

11. -Good: No air pollution
3. Nuclear Energy – energy released when billions of atomic nuclei from uranium, a radioactive element, are split in a nuclear fission reactor.
-Good: No air pollution
-Bad: Uranium is a nonrenewable resource, mining it disrupts the ecosystem, and radioactive wastes can seriously harm living organisms.
Nuclear Reaction Illustration
Nuclear Power Plant Illustration

12. 4. Geothermal Energy – heat energy contained in the Earth’s crust
-Good: No pollution
-Bad: It’s only available where natural geysers or volcanoes are found.

13. 5. Solar Energy – the most inexhaustible energy resource.
-Indirect: Houses in northern hemisphere should have windows of house facing the south.
-Direct: Solar cells (photovoltaic cells) turn sunlight into electric current
-Good: No pollution
-Bad: Batteries are needed to store energy at night time
Solar Energy Illustrations

14. Pollution Air Pollution
1. Pollutant – a substance that contaminates the environment
-ex. Soot, smoke, ash, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, & sulfur oxides
2. Smog – form of air pollution when sunlight reacts with pollutants produced by burning

15. a) Kills trees and plants by washing nutrients from soil.
Acid Precipitation – mist, rain, sleet, snow, or hail that has pH below 5.6
1. Effects of Acid Rain
a) Kills trees and plants by washing nutrients from soil.
b) Lower pH of ponds or lakes which kills algae & microorganisms in water.
c) Erodes rocks and monuments.
Acid Precipitation Illustration

16. 2. Preventing Acid Rain
a) Use low-sulfur fuels like natural gas or low sulfur coal.
b) Use smokestacks that remove sulfur.
c) Reduce automobile use.
d) Use electric or hybrid cars.
Greenhouse Effect – heat-trapping feature of the atmosphere
-The burning of fossil fuels has increased the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This traps more heat, making Earth warmer.

17. 1. Global Warming
a) Changing rainfall patterns.
b) Increasing number of storms and hurricanes.
c) Melting of polar ice caps.
d) Allowing the spread of tropical diseases.

18. Ozone Depletion
-The ozone layer absorbs some of the Sun’s harmful UV radiation.
-ozone depletion – the thinning of the ozone layer
-CFCs react chemically with ozone breaking it apart

19. Indoor Air Pollution
1. Carbon Monoxide – poisonous gas produced whenever charcoal, kerosene, natural gas, or other fuels are burned
-colorless & odorless
2. Radon – naturally occurring, radioactive gas that is given off from some rock & soil

20. Water Pollution
1. Air pollutants drift into water.
2. Wastewater from factories and sewage treatment plants is often released into waterways.
3. People dump litter or waste materials into rivers, lakes & streams.
4. Oil & fluids from leaky cars are washed away into waterways by the rain.
5. Rain can wash agricultural pesticides and fertilizers into waterways.
6. Algal blooms.
7. Dirt is washed into waterways after rain.

21. Soil Loss
1. Erosion – the movement of soil from one place to another.
Soil Pollution
-Air pollutants drift to the ground.
-Water leaves pollutants behind as it flows through the soil.
-Litter is tossed on the ground.
-Trash is disposed in land fills.

22. 1. Solid Wastes
a) Landfills are designed to seal out air and water and prevent pollutants from seeping into surrounding soil, but it slows normal decay processes.
2. Hazardous Wastes – waste materials that are harmful to human health or poisonous to living organisms.
a) ex. Dangerous chemicals, pesticides, oil & petroleum based solids, radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants or hospitals, & certain household items

23. III. The Three Rs of Conservation
Reduce – use less of a natural resource
1. Ways we can reduce the amount of natural resources we use are:

24. Reuse – use an item made from a natural resource over again
1. Ways we can reuse items made from natural resources:

25. Recycle – form of reuse that requires changing or reprocessing an item or natural resource
1. Plastics
a) Plastics are more difficult to recycle because there are so many different types of plastic.
2. Metals
3. Glass
4. Paper
a) newspapers, notebook papers, printer paper, cardboard, junk mail

26. 5. Compost
6. Ways to Encourage Recycling
a) Recycle bins on trash day
b) Buy recycled
c) Money deposits on bottles/ cans.