Post on 03-Jan-2016
transcript
World Resources
• Capital Resources: the money and machines used to produce goods and services
World Resources
• Human Resources:
the people who perform various tasks
World Resources
• Natural Resources:
materials that people take from the natural environment to survive and satisfy needs
3 Types of Natural Resources
• Renewable – the environment continues to supply or replace them– Soil is always being
replaced by weathering rocks and decomposition of living material
– Water cycle (hydrologic cycle) returns water in the form of rain or snow
Natural Resources
• Non-renewable: cannot be replaced once they have been used– Fossil fuels – coal,
oil, natural gas– Other minerals include
iron, copper, aluminum, uranium, gold
Inexhaustible Resources
• Solar or planetary processes that are unlimited in quantity
• Sunlight, geothermal heat, winds, tides
Resources
• Main energy source today: non-renewable fossil fuels
• At present rate of consumption, oil reserves will be tapped in less than a century
• There is enough coal left for 200 years, but:– Causes air pollution, like acid rain
Nuclear Energy
• Produced by fission (splitting uranium atoms)
• Possible Drawbacks: leaks, explosions, radioactive waste
Geothermal Energy
• Energy from the earth’s internal heat in volcanic areas; magma heats underground, which produces steam that can be used as heat or electricity
• Iceland, New Zealand, Japan, Italy
Solar Energy
• Energy produced by the sun. Although difficult, solar radiation is potentially the greatest source of inexhaustible energy
Other energy sources
• Wind Power
• Tides
• Vegetable Oil
• Sugarcane
• Resources are not distributed evenly throughout the world; therefore, countries have to interact with each other.
• Imports – resources brought into a nation
• Exports – resources shipped out of a nation
World Economic Activity
• Economic Activities: the way people make their living
• Primary Activities – activities that use natural resources directly
Secondary Activities
• Activities that process raw materials
• Manufacturing: turning raw materials into finished products
Tertiary Activities
• Activities that provide a professional service• Transportation, law, journalism, health care,
sales, banking, etc.
Quaternary Activities
• Activities that provide information, management, or research by highly trained people