Chapter 2

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

Natural Resources:

All of Earth’s organisms, air, water and soil as well as oil, gas and ores that are removed from the ground

Renewable Resources

Any material or energy source that cycles or can be replaced within the period of a human lifespan

Renewable Resources Crops (Food and Fiber)

Soil

Wind

Sunlight

Water

Organic Matter

Geothermal Energy

Food and Fiber•Crops grown for human and livestock consumption

•Wild and planted forest crops

•Wild and domesticated animals

Have to be careful not to use these faster than we can replenish them

SoilMixture of living and nonliving things (tiny rocks, minerals, organic matter, water and air) that provides habitat for plants and organisms.

Takes thousands of years to form

Hot, humid climates form larger amounts more quickly

Dry climates form small amount over longer periods

Soil only “renewable” as long as living organic matter stays fertile.

Wind •Air in motion

•Blows because the Earth’s surface is not heated evenly

•Considered a resource because it generates energy

•Renewable because it is inexhaustible

Sun

•Solar energy•Provides heat and light

•Provides energy needed by autotrophs (producers) to produce their own food

•Essentially inexhaustible; estimated that it can continue to provide energy for 5 billion years

Water•Amount of water on Earth today is same as when Earth was formed•Constantly cycles and changes form•Only 3 percent is fresh water for use•In many parts of world, clean, unpolluted water becoming scarce

•Water used to generate energy

Biomass Fuels

•Organic matter that contain stored solar energy

•Mostly plant parts; wood, dried vegetation, crop residues and aquatic plants•Some derived from animal wastes

•Become one of the most commonly used and renewable energy sources

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/sources/renewable/biomass.html

Geothermal Energy•Heat generated deep within the Earth•Fueled by the decay of radioactive elements•Heat is transferred by water that absorbs heat from center of Earth•Used to drive electric generators and heat buildings

•Inexhaustible energy source

Non-Renewable Resources

Any material or energy source that CAN NOT be replaced within the period of a human lifespan

Ores

Rocks

Coal

Petroleum and Natural Gas

Non-Renewable Resources

Ores•Mineral deposits from which valuable metals and nonmetals can be recovered at a profit•Metallic Ores: iron, aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, silver, gold, manganese and others•Non metallic Ores: fluorite, salt, clay, sand, gravel, quartz, diamonds, gypsum, sulfur, talc and others•Once they are gone… they are gone

Rocks•Mixtures of one or more minerals

•Marble, sandstone, granite, limestone shale and slate

•Mostly used as ornamental stones in buildings and the grounds around them

•Fossil fuels do NOT come from dinosaurs! They come from decayed plant and animal remains from the ocean. From the TIME of the dinosaurs!

Fossil Fuels

Coal•Fossil fuel that forms when wetland plants die, become buried, and undergo physical and chemical changes over millions of years•Starts out as peat~50% carbon•Over time peat becomes lignite ~ 70 % carbon•Lignite becomes bituminous coal (soft coal) ~ 85 % carbon•Bituminous coal becomes anthracite (hard coal) > 90% carbon… burns very cleanly

Petroleum and Natural Gas•Fossil fuels that are the remains of plants, bacteria, algae, and other microscopic marine organisms

•Oil well drilled in Titusville PA in 1859 marked the beginning of the oil boom in US•Source rocks: rocks in which oil and gas form

•Reservoir rocks: rocks that collect flowing oil and gas

Petroleum and Natural Gas

•Oil is denser, found at the bottom of the reservoir

•Gas migrates to the top

•Oil and natural gas used as fuels and in manufacturing of lubricants, fertilizers, plastics, and many other substances

Fractional distillation of oil

Global Energy Use and Production•Experts say that the world’s total energy consumption increased by nearly 50% from 1973 to 1993

•In the US, we only produce 5% of the world’s petroleum, but USE 31% of it!

coal

Nuclear

Nat gas

petrol

hydro

other

•In PA •55% Coal

•33% Nuclear

•2% Natural gas

•2% Petroleum

•.5% Hydroelectric

Alternative Energy Resources

Solar Energy

Wind

Hydropower

Geothermal Energy

Nuclear Power

Trash

Hydrogen

Solar Energy•Passive Solar Heating System: sun’s energy is collected through large south facing windows and absorbed by water, tile, bricks and released slowly as air cools

•Solar Cells (photovoltaic cells) convert solar energy directly into electricity

Solar Energy•Solar Thermal Systems: concentrated sunlight used to heat water to boiling… produces steam

• Steam rotates a turbine which generates electricity

Wind

•Wind used for many years to produce energy

•Newer “wind farms” have many turbines that produce electricity to run farms, schools, business, hotels.. Etc..

Hydropower

•Energy from rivers and streams

•Dams create large bodies of water that can be released to run through turbines and create electricity

•23 dams in PA that generate electricity

Geothermal Energy

•Energy from water that is heated thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface

•Brought to the surface as either hot water or steam

•Used to run turbines

Nuclear Power•Uses fission (splitting of nucleus) of uranium to generate electricity•Fission generates heat which turns water into steam to run turbines

•Problems with safety and waste disposal•Non-Renewable

Trash•Trash can be burned to generate electricity

•Trash can also produce fuel as it decomposes; pipes drilled in landfills release methane

Hydrogen •Because H is in water the supply is almost inexhaustible

•Works like a battery

•Only waste is water

•Problem with H and O storage and transportation

Availability of Resources•Resource availability can be affected by several things:

•Costs of extracting them from Earth

•Costs of processing

•Natural Events

Removing Earth’s Resources

Harvesting Food and Fiber•Early farmers used tools like; hoe, sickle, animal drawn car, ax and handsaw

•Now have tools like; cultivators, tractors, combines, and chain saws or circular saws (for harvesting timber)

Removing Earth’s ResourcesQuarries

•Quarries are excavation pits in Earth’s crust from which rock resources are removed •Dimensional stone:

rock removed as large slabs•Crushed stone: rock removed by blasting to fragment rock

Removing Earth’s ResourcesOil and Gas Wells•Oil rig has four major systems

•Power supply

•Mechanical system

•Rotating equipment

•Circulation system

Natural Events Can Affect Resource AvailabilitySevere Weather

•Drought: crops wither or die•Too much precipitation: crops rot•Unseasonably Cold: crops freeze and spoil

•Unseasonably Warm: crops bloom too soon and then are subject to damage when it gets cool again

Natural Events Can Affect Resource AvailabilityBiological Infestations•Occur when unwanted organisms enter or infect a natural resource•Pathogens: organisms that cause disease

•Cryprosporidium: pathogen whose eggs can enter surface water when heavy rains increase the amount of animal wastes in runoff

Natural Events Can Affect Resource AvailabilityNatural Oil Seeps•Oil seeps are NATURAL events (not accidents)•Oil seeps through reservoir rocks into water supply•Can cause contaminated freshwater and affect aquatic organisms that are used as human food sources

Natural Events Can Affect Resource AvailabilityFire•Fire important to forest regeneration•Timber industry looses millions of dollars each year to fires•1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens destroyed almost 99,000 acres of timber land.

Distribution and Management of Natural ResourcesPennsylvania Coal•PA produces more than half of it’s electricity in coal burning power plants

•Mostly bituminous coal from western part of state

Mining Pennsylvania CoalUnderground Coal Mines

•Two main methods:•Room and pillar method: miners dig “rooms” in the coal beds and leave “pillars” to help support the mine roof. Once most of the coal is removed from the room, the pillars are removed and the roof falls in

•Longwall Method: a cutting head moves back and forth across a coal seam, causing pieces of coal to fall onto conveyor belts. Special supports moved along wall as it is mined. Roof falls in as work down the wall and supports are moved.

Mining Pennsylvania CoalAbove Ground Coal Mines

•Bulldozers and front-end loaders remove coal that is close to the surface•Explosives used to loosen coal

•Three methods:•Area surface: flat terrain

•Contour surface: coal seam along side of hill•Open pit: coal seams are relatively thick

Municipal Solid WasteLandfills

•A landfill is a regulated area where wastes are placed in land

•Lined with plastic or clay to prevent leaks

•Wastes compacted and covered with soil •Groundwater monitored•Gas produced (50% methane, 50% carbon dioxide) captured and converted to fuels

Municipal Solid WasteCombustion (burning)

•Advantages•Reduces waste volume up to 90%•Reduces waste mass up to 75%•High temperatures destroy bacteria•Generates energy, electricity

•Disadvantages•Pollutes air

•Technology developed to reduce most of the dangerous substances: SCRUBBER- uses liquid spray to neutralize acidic gases in smoke FILTERS-remove ash from smoke

Municipal Solid WasteBioremediation Plants

•Heated tanks filled with bacteria that break down municipal solid waste

•By-products: Carbon and Methane. Methane burned to produce heat and electricity which is reused by the plant

Municipal Solid WasteComposting•Biological method of waste disposal in which worms, bacteria, fungi and other organisms decompose wastes•Organisms digest and excrete the organic matter•As the biological processes occur, temperature increases and more organisms are attracted to waste pile•Produces dark brown substance called HUMUS

Municipal Solid WasteReduce, Reuse, Recycle

Source Reduction•Alters the design, manufacture, or use of materials to reduce the amount and toxicity of the waste generated

•Purchasing goods with little or no extra packaging•Using environmentally friendly cleaning products to reduce toxic wastes•Reusing products

Municipal Solid WasteReduce, Reuse, Recycle

Recycling•Activities that reuse a product’s raw materials to manufacture new products •Collect recyclable materials•Manufacture new materials:

•Glass, plastic, steel, aluminum melted down and reformed •Paper is shredded, mixed with water to make slurry, pressed, and dried produce recycled paper

Municipal Solid WasteReduce, Reuse, Recycle

Recycling•Purchasing recycled products

•Creates incentive to collect recyclables

•Saves resources for future

Municipal Solid WasteReduce, Reuse, Recycle

Recycling•What can be recycled:

•Most paper

•Some glass; beverage bottles

•Plastics with codes from 1-7

•PETE: Polyethylene terephthalate - Fizzy drink bottles and oven-ready meal trays •HDPE: High-density polyethylene - Bottles for milk and washing-up liquids •PVC: Polyvinyl chloride - Food trays, cling film, bottles for squash, mineral water and shampoo.

•LDPE: Low density polyethylene - Carrier bags and bin liners.

•PP: Polypropylene - Margarine tubs, microwaveable meal trays.

•PS: Polystyrene - Yoghurt pots, foam meat or fish trays, hamburger boxes and egg cartons, vending cups, plastic cutlery, protective packaging for electronic goods and toys.

•OTHER: Any other plastics that do not fall into any of the above categories. - An example is melamine, which is often used in plastic plates and cups.

•Metals: aluminum, steel

•Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy used to process raw aluminum

•Takes less than 60 days•Collect cans take to recycling center•Cans are cleaned, crushed and baled•Shredded, melted, mixed with raw aluminum; cast into ingots•Rolled into long, thin sheets and used at manufacturing plants