The natural resources They are all those goods obtained directly from nature, without the intervention of man. These resources, such as air, water, minerals or light, are essential for life on planet Earth, this is for animals, plants and human beings. According to its durability, we will have renewable and non-renewable natural resources.
The nonrenewable resourcesThey are those goods that nature offers, and that cannot be replaced. That is to say, that there is a certain endowment and that once they are exhausted by consumption, there will be no more available for future use. For example: oil, natural gas, coal, gold.
Non-renewable resources are usually formed through very slow processes, which take billions of years, and are heterogeneously distributed on the earth’s surface and in the subsoil, the latter is that what happens with the so-called geological resources that comprise the energy and minerals.
All can be used as raw materials for different industrial processes, but energy sources have the strategic value of being energy sources that also satisfy the needs of everyday life. The available quantity of non-renewable natural resources functions as a stock, that is decreasing with its use.
Europe was a continent that in Middle Ages It had a considerable area of forests, however, the continuous deforestation that began around the middle of the 13th century did that in less than 300 years (for us a lot, for the life of a planet like Earth, just a blink of an eye) Europeans will run out of wood and many people will begin to die of hunger and cold, having nothing to warm up and cook with.
Today forests are considered a renewable resource, since they can (and should) plant new forests as they are used, in order to replenish that natural capital. Many species such as eucalyptus and pine are being planted today in the world to replace the wooded area that has been diminishing so much.
Examples of non-renewable resources
| Coal | Uranium (nuclear use) |
| Petroleum | Aquifers |
| Natural gas |
Metals and minerals
| Iron | Bauxite |
| Silver | Pyrite |
| Copper | Diamond |
| Nickel | Chrome |
| Titanium | Tin |
| Gold | Zirconium |
| Aluminum | Palladium |
| Tin | Cobalt |
| Ruby | Coal |
| Emerald | Pitch |
| Zinc | And it is |
| Sapphire | Vanadium |
| Platinum | Mercury |
Renewable resources
The renewable resources they are, on the contrary, those that regenerate over time. As can be seen, this classification is based on the availability of the resource over time, which in turn depends on its current availability, its generation or regeneration rate, and its rate of use or consumption.
That is why those resources that are consumed at a much faster rate than nature’s ability to replace them are also usually considered non-renewable, that is why a sustainable use of these resources. Undoubtedly, these are the ones that must be taken care of the most, for the benefit of future generations.
