- the physical characteristics of the resource
o location, formation processes, etc…
- human economic and technological conditions
o recognize for resource, ability to find and obtain resources
- from materials that can be replaced or replenished by natural processes
- Perpetual Resources – from inexhaustible sources (solar, wind, waves, geothermal, etc…)
- Potentially Renewable Resources – material that must be managed to be regenerated (groundwater, soils, forests, etc…)
- Materials which exist in nature only in finite amounts or that regenerate so slowly that they cannot be reasonably managed.
- Fossil Fuels, mineral resources, metals, etc…
- Reusable Resources – those resources which can be used again or recycled from previous uses. Requires management of the resources.
- how much of any resource remains available for use
- depends upon several factors
o economics of extraction and conversion
o available technology
o rate of use
o size of deposits
o alternate resources
- Unproven Reserves – deposits which are speculative, cannot be economically recovered, or those which cannot be recovered with existing technology.
- Human
- Animals
- Wood
- Water – Hydro
- Wind
- Coal
- Oil
- Natural Gas
- Accounts for approximately 40% of all commercial energy consumed in the world
- Large numbers of petroleum based products
- Fuel
- Increasing disparities between oil producing and oil consuming nations
- Increasing consumption and production of oil
- Constant search for new reservoirs
- Constant push to improve extraction and refining technology
- Basis for the Industrial Revolution
- Second only to oil for the supply of energy
- Far greater known reserves then those of oil
- Concentrated in the middle latitudes
- Varies in quality (Grade)
- Lignite
- Bituminous Coal – most common form
- Anthracite Coal – most energy
- Rank depends on amounts of ash and sulfur as waste product
- Variable accessibility
- Thickness of deposit
- Depth of deposit
- Continuity of deposit
- Inclination of deposit
- Cost of transport
- Ecological Concerns and Safety of Coal
- Destruction of landsurface and contamination of water sources
- Sulfur and other chemical waste content
- Mine safety
- Development of Industrial Areas near coal sources
- The
- English
- Highly efficient and versatile
- Most environmentally friendly of the fossil fuels
- Mostly used for heating
- Can be processed into other products
- Affordable to transport to land sites
- Expensive and potentially dangerous to transport along sea lanes
- Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
- Uncertain reserves (lack of knowledge)
Oil Shale and Tar Sands
- Oil Shale Rocks contain kerogen
- Waxy, tarlike substance
- Turns liquid with heating
- Very large known reserves of Oil Shale
- Tar Sands saturated with bitumen
- Very large known reserves of Tar Sands
- High extraction costs
- Environmentally unfriendly
Nuclear Energy
- Long term use of fuels
- Environmentally friendly energy production
- Environmentally unfriendly extraction and waste products
- High hazard fears
Nuclear Fission
· Involves the splitting of the atom of U-235
· 1 pound of U-235 = 5,500 barrels of oil
· Provide 16% of the world’s electricity
Nuclear Fusion
· Involves the fusing of atoms to produce energy
· Still under development
· Very environmentally friendly
· 1 KM of sea water = entire known petroleum reserves
Renewable Energy Resources
Biomass Fuels
- Any organic material produced by plants, animals, or microorganisms that can be burned directly as a heat source or converted into a liquid or gas.
· Directly cut plants
· Wastes – manure, trash, sewage
Very significant in the developing word, much less so in the industrialized world
Plants
· The single most utilized type of biomass for light and heating
o deforestation
· Production of alcohol
o Bio-Diesel
o Ethanol (sugar cane, corn, other plants)
Waste
· Methane Gas (from fermentation - biogas)
· Recycled materials
Hydropower
- Uses the energy of falling or moving water – 2nd most common fuel after wood
- Hydropower is site specific – only happens with the correct conditions and generally provides power only for the immediate region
- Balanced with significant social and environmental costs
- submergence of land and resources
- removal of people
- disruption of natural river cycles
- risk of flooding
- Three Gorges Dam,
Solar Energy
- Uses energy directly from the sun but is diffuse and intermittent.
- Direct Heating – solar energy directly heats water or air
- Indirect Conversion – solar energy is converted into thermal energy which is then used to create electricity
- Direct Conversion – uses photovoltaic cells to convert solar energy directly into electrical energy
Geothermal Energy
- Using Energy from the earth’s heat to provide power.
- Geothermal fields tend to be associated with areas where magma is located fairly close to the earth’s surface. This provides direct heat and power.
- Geothermal Heat Pumps (ground-source heat pumps) use the constant temperature of the ground to heat or cool buildings by cycling air or water through deep wells and then the target building.
Wind Power
- Windmills were used for centuries to pump water and grind grain but were replaced by steam power during industrialization.
- Turn turbines directly to produce power
- Do no use any other fuel
- Can be quickly erected
- Do not pollute or use other rare resources
- Equivalent cost to fossil fuels
- Can be unreliable or intermittent
- Hazard to birds
- Unsightly
Mineral Resources
Six steps of mineral exploitation
- Exploration
- Extraction
- Concentration
- Smelting or Refining
- Transporting
- Manufacturing
Practicality and Profitability of Mining
- Mineral value
- Quantity available
- Richness of the ore
- Distance to market
- Land acquisition and royalty costs
- Competing sources
Non-fuel minerals are distributed unequally across the world – the same as with fuel resources.
Copper:
- Native copper can be found on the earth’s surface and can be cold hammered into objects.
- Copper-bearing ore minerals such as green malachite and blue azurite or purplish red cuprite can also be found on or close to the surface but need to be smelted to produce pure copper.
- Copper use began in the regions of
- Today copper is one of the most commonly used minerals and more is mined then any other mineral
- World reserves of copper estimated to expire in approximately 30 years
- replace with other materials
- recycle
- profitable to mine ore with very low copper content (less than 0.5%)
Potentially Renewable Land Resources
Soils – highly modified through cultural activity across the world
- fertilized
- eroded
- farmed
- removed
- built up
- Soil Erosion – the removal of soil through natural means due to natural or cultural processes
- to ensure renewability of soil, soil growth must equal or exceed erosion
- Desertification – the expansion or intensification of areas of degraded or destroyed soil and vegetation cover – generally in arid or semi-arid environments.
- overgrazing
- deforestation
- over cultivation
- burning of cover
- climate change
- Salinization – the concentration of salts in the topsoil due to evaporation of surface water
- accelerated by irrigation in arid and dry climes
- A major problem in the
Wetlands – vegetated zones that are periodically or permanently covered by or saturated with standing water. One of the most diverse and productive of all ecosystems
- grassy marshes
- wooded swamps
- tidal flats
- estuaries
- Inland Wetlands
- generally freshwater
- bogs
- marshes
- swamps
- floodplains
- Coastal Wetlands – found in the Estuarine Zone – where fresh and saltwater mix
- can be either fresh or salt water
- tidal marshes
- mangrove swamps
- Estuarine Zone – where fresh and saltwater mix
Functions of Wetlands
- trap and filter silt, pollutants, and nutrients
- improve water quality
- replenish underground aquifers
- absorb floodwaters and ocean surge
- reduce coastal erosion
- spawning grounds for fish and shellfish
- breeding and living areas for birds
Wetland management in the
- Clean Water Act of 1972 and subsequent amendments
- Managed by the USCOE
- No net-loss policy
- Northern Coniferous or
- largest and most continuous stand remaining
- found immediately below the polar regions
- pine, spruce, fir, and other conifers
- construction lumber
- paper, rayon, other cellulose products
- Temperate Hardwood Forests
- generally in the mid-latitudes
- oak, hickory, maple, and birch
- greatly reduced due to clearing for farming, living space, and commercial uses
- furniture, veneers, and most other wood products
- Tropical Lowland Hardwood Forests
- found generally in Africa, Southern Asia, Oceania, and
- generally used for fuelwood and charcoal
- special quality woods (ebony and other hardwoods)
Managing Forests
- Recreation
o US National Forests and Parks
o National Parks in Other Countries
- Commercial Uses
o Lumber
o Wood chips and plywood
o Other wood products
- Biodiversity
o Old Growth Forests
o Mixed Growth Forests
o Tropical Rain Forests
Benefits of Forests
- Maintain oxygen and carbon balance
- Reduce Air Pollution
- Slow Global Warming by taking up carbon
o Destruction of Forests release large amounts of CO2
o Destruction of Forests contribute to acid rain
o Destruction of Forests deplete ozone layer
- Maintain Biodiversity
o Cutting of Forests cause habitat loss
o Cutting of Forests destroyed species directly
- Reduce Soil Erosion
o Land and mud slides
o Desertification
o Increase in number and severity of floods
Resource Management
- Sustainable Development – development which satisfies current needs without jeopardizing the ability to meet future needs.
- equilibrium in soil development and erosion
- equilibrium in forest regeneration and destruction
- equilibrium in species extinction and regeneration
- equilibrium in fish and animal populations
- equilibrium in pollution generation and system absorption
Three Strategies
1. Conservation
a. Careful use of resources
b. Maintain reserves
2. Reuse
a. Recycling
3. Substitution
a. Alternate energy and mineral resources
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