FAQ: Natural Resources

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Jemimah James
5 years ago
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1 Question 1: What is a resource? Answer 1: A resource is any substance that is required to sustain a process. Living organisms require natural resources to sustain life; these can include water, nutrients, oxygen, or space to grow. Each species has a particular set of resource needs based on its biology. When resource supplies are low, individuals of the same or different species may compete for these limited resources. For example, plants may compete for soil nitrogen, birds for nesting space, and humans for water or petroleum resources. Some resources, such as sunlight, are inexhaustible. Question 2: What is a renewable resource? Answer 2: Renewable resources are those that are replenished as quickly as they are used, while nonrenewable resources are depleted by use faster than they can be replenished. Forests and fisheries can be renewable resources if they are used in a manner that allows enough time for trees and fish to reproduce and grow. If they are overharvested, these natural resources are not renewable. Regarding plants and animals, humans are omnivores, so they can eat both plants and animals to provide nutrients and energy. Early humans gathered food and hunted animals. About 10,000 years ago, humans started to domesticate plants and animals. This change in human food production is called the Neolithic Revolution. It allowed humans to settle into villages that provided food for growing human populations (Weisdorf, 2003). Before the Industrial Revolution, raising plants and animals was characterized as small-scale subsistence farming that depended mostly on manual labor and that produced enough food to feed a family and perhaps yield a small cash crop. Subsistence farming has been replaced in industrialized countries by large-scale modern agriculture that is dependent on farm machinery, and it may include increased use of irrigation as well as chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These practices allow greater yields but may also create environmental concerns such as pollution. Humans have practiced selective breeding for centuries to produce plants and animals with desirable traits, such as larger size or better taste. As scientists learned more about genetics, they developed the ability to create genetically modified organisms. Through genetic manipulation in a laboratory, the gene 1

2 for a desirable trait, such as drought tolerance, can be moved from one species to another. The result is a new type of organism a genetically modified organism (GMO) (Coordinated Framework, 2006). Debates about the potential benefits and hazards of GMOs are often in the news. Question 3: What are nonrenewable resources? Answer 3: Fossil fuel is a nonrenewable resource. A nonrenewable resource, such as fossil fuel, is used quicker than it can be replenished. Oil, gas, and coal were formed by natural processes over millions of years, and supplies will eventually run out as their use continues to increase (Renewable Energy Sources, 2004). To keep our industrialized modern society supplied with energy, alternative energy resources may become more important. For example, humans can capture energy supplied by the sun, the wind, or moving water. Biological sources of energy might come from burning trash or from bacterial digestion of organic waste to produce methane, a form of gas (International Energy Outlook, 2009). The use of hydrogen fuel is also being investigated (Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, 2008). As fossil fuels become scarcer, an impetus for the development of alternative fuels and efficient energy use may be driven by economic necessity. Question 4: Why is natural ecosystem a vital service? Answer 4: The natural ecosystems performs vital services such as modification of climate, maintenance of the oxygen and nitrogen cycles, waste treatment, pest management, and maintenance of the carbon cycle. The human population views these ecosystems as resources to be put to use, but unfortunately, that use can be and often is detrimental to the ecosystems. Ecosystems are renewable resources if they are harvested responsibly. Much of the harvesting is done based on a rather subjective comparison of the value of the natural functions versus the value of exploiting the natural resources. The human population uses ecosystems as resources in two distinct ways: for consumptive purposes when ecosystems are harvested for needs like food, shelter, tools, fuel and clothing and productive use, when ecosystems are exploited for economic gain and resources are sold in international markets. 2

3 Question 5: How much of a resource can be used without depleting the capacity for a species or system to renew itself? Answer 5: This elusive line that cannot be crossed is called the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) of an ecosystem. It is based on the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. To safeguard these ecosystems, many governments and agencies have set a fixed quota or maximum number of harvested resources. The development of modern civilization has depended greatly upon the development of energy sources. The three fossil fuels that comprise the backbone of the world's energy use are coal, oil, and natural gas. These are all natural resources with limited supplies that can be renewed if consumption does not rise above the renewal process time line. These are considered primary sources of power because the energy produced is a direct result of their consumption. Of the three, the major resource in question is oil. Society is increasingly dependent upon crude oil, and reserves are not as high as natural gas and coal. Oil, like coal and natural gas, is called a fossil fuel because it was formed over a million year time span from compressed organic materials deep within the earth. Fossil fuels take time to accumulate, and the rate of consumption is overtaking the renewal time. Question 6: What are the prospects for increasing global food production? Answer 6: Per capita food production is decreasing in Africa and the former Soviet Union. In both cases, the decline has been caused by increasing population, a lack of modernization, and poor land management. It is unlikely that per capita food production will increase any time soon. All good agricultural land is presently in production. Any additional land that may be created will be of marginal agricultural value. For example, land created by destruction of the Brazilian rainforest is usually exhausted after only a few years. Finally, some agricultural land is being destroyed by erosion, caused by poor land management, and salinization, caused by overirrigation. Question 7: What are some benefits and concerns about genetically modified crops? Answer 7: These plant species have been genetically engineered to be more resistant to drought, pests, and disease. The plants themselves are more 3

4 resistant to pests, so there is less need for pesticides. Furthermore, because the seeds for these types of plants can be planted using no-till farming techniques, there is less erosion. One concern about genetically modified crops involves their pest-resistant qualities. The concern in this case is that pests will develop their own resistance to the toxins in the plant, thereby making them more resistant to other control methods. Another concern is that pollen from genetically modified crops can spread to neighboring areas where beneficial insects may be killed by the toxins. A third concern is that farmers in developing nations are far less able to afford the new seeds than their counterparts in the developed nations. Question 8: How does loss of biodiversity undercut the ability of species, ecosystems, and agriculture to adapt to changing conditions? Answer 8: By decreasing biodiversity, the available gene pool decreases. Natural selection works on new gene combinations. If you limit the number of genes in a population, you are limiting the ability of natural selection to occur. In agriculture, this becomes extremely important. For example, if you only grow one species of corn, and an insect infestation wipes out all the corn plants, you are in trouble; however, if you have a choice of different types of plants, you can grow several plants, which increases your chances of having some viable crops. Question 9: How has global trade in food changed over the past 50 years? Answer 9: Fifty years ago, developing countries grew enough food to be self-sufficient. Today, the developing world imports food from the developed world. Many developing countries, however, export nonfood crops, such as coffee and spices, to pay for food imports. References Coordinated framework for the regulation of biotechnology. (2006). Retrieved from the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Web site: ble_version/brs_coordframebro.pdf 4

5 Hydrogen and fuel cells research. (2008). Retrieved from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Web site: International energy outlook (2009). Retrieved from the Energy Information Administration Web site: Renewable energy sources: A consumer's guide. (2004). Retrieved from Weisdorf, J. L. (2003). From foraging to farming: Explaining the neolithic revolution. Retrieved from the University of Copenhagen Web site: 5

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