Earth’s Resources Renewable… can be replaced naturally at or near the rate of use – Water –...
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Transcript of Earth’s Resources Renewable… can be replaced naturally at or near the rate of use – Water –...
Earth’s Resources
• Renewable… can be replaced naturally at or near the rate of use– Water – Grain– oxygen
• Non-renewable… – Oil– Freshwater
Sustainable development
• Sustainable development uses resources that are renewable to create a smaller ecological footprint
Land Resources• Space allocation
– Human habitat… housing & recreation, industrial, waste management
– Food… agriculture, livestock– Ecosystem… natural habitat
• Management– Ensures soil composition remains
healthy• Humus• NPK
Agriculture Strategies
• Crop Rotation– Replenishes nutrients
• No till farming– Leaves roots intact… resists
erosion and traps in moisture• Contour farming & terracing
– Resists erosion and helps reduce water usage
Forest Resources• Resources
– Environmental gas exchange– Wood and pulp based products… paper &
building materials– Global soil health– Area of ground water recharge
• Impact of human intervention– ~1/2 of the natural forests of the world are
now gone… deforestation– Considered renewable as long as properly
managed… no clear cutting!• Selective harvesting of mature trees• Replanting• Tree farms• GMO to produce faster growing trees
Fishery Resources• Overfishing… threatens the reproductive cycles of fish… greatly threatens many species– Since the 1990s the US National
Marine Fisheries Service has set many restrictions of size, amount, and season to help sustain this valuable resource
– Aquaculture… fish hatcheries• Raises fish for human consumption
– Causes coastal pollution and eutrophication is not wisely managed
Air Resources
• Industrialization brought with it smog– A toxic layer of chemicals that
creates a brownish haze in the sky• Considered a pollutant by the EPA
(environmental protection agency)• Clean Air Act 1970… limited the
amount of pollutants that can be safely released
• Creates acid rain as the chemicals bind with water in the atmosphere… greatly affects plants by harming leaves and the soil bacteria that they depend on
Freshwater Conservation
• Clean Water Act of 1973