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Natural Resources

Naturally occurring substances that are considered valuable in their relatively

unmodified (natural) form. A natural resource's value rests in the amount and
extractability of the material available and the demand for it. The latter is
determined by its usefulness to production. A commodity is generally considered
a natural resource when the primary activities associated with it are extraction
and purification, as opposed to creation. Thus, mining, petroleum extraction,
fishing, hunting, and forestry are generally considered natural-resource
industries, while agriculture is not. The term was introduced to a broad audience
by E. F. Schumacher in his 1970s book Small is Beautiful.[1] The term is defined
in the United States by the United States Geological Survey as "The Nation's
natural resources include its minerals, energy, land, water, and biota."
[edit] Renewable resources
Renewable resources are sometimes living resources (trees and soil, for
example), which can restock (renew) themselves if they are not over-harvested
but used sustainably. There are also non-living resources that are renewable,
such as hydroelectric power, solar power, biomass fuel, and wind power. Once
renewable resources are consumed at a rate that exceeds their natural rate of
replacement, the standing stock (see renewable energy) will diminish and
eventually run out. The rate of sustainable use of a renewable resource is
determined by the replacement rate and amount of standing stock of that
particular resource. Non-living renewable natural resources include dirt and
water.

Flow renewable resources are very much like renewable resources, only they do
not need regeneration, unlike renewable resources. Flow renewable resources
include renewable energy sources such as the following renewable power
sources: solar, geothermal, landfill gas, tides and wind.

Resources can also be classified on the basis of their origin as biotic and abiotic.
Biotic resources are derived from living organisms. Abiotic resources are derived
from the non-living world (e.g., land, water, and air). Mineral and power
resources are also abiotic resources some of which are derived from nature.

[edit] Non-renewable resources

Main article: Non-renewable resources
A non-renewable resource is a natural resource that exists in a fixed amount that
cannot be re-made, re-grown or regenerated as fast as it is consumed and used
up.[3]

Some non-renewable resources can be renewable but take an extremely long

time to renew. Fossil fuels, for example, take millions of years to form and so are
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not practically considered 'renewable'. Different non-renewable resources like oil,

coal, natural gas etc. have different levels of demand from different sectors like
transportation and residences with each resource specializing for each sector.[4]
Many environmentalists proposed to tax on consumption of non renewable
resources. NON-renewable resources can not be replaced.

[edit] Natural capital

Main article: Natural capital
Natural resources are natural capital converted to commodity inputs to
infrastructural capital processes.[5][6] They include soil, timber, oil, minerals,
and other goods taken more or less from the Earth. Both extraction of the basic
resource and refining it into a purer, directly usable form, (e.g., metals, refined
oils) are generally considered natural-resource activities, even though the latter
may not necessarily occur near the former. This process generates high profits
due to the high demand for the natural resources and the energies that they are
able to generate.

A nation's natural resources often determine its wealth in the world economic
system and its diplomatic, military, and political influence. Developed nations are
those which are less dependent on natural resources for wealth, due to their
greater reliance on infrastructural capital for production. However, some see a
resource curse whereby easily obtainable natural resources could actually hurt
the prospects of a national economy by fostering political corruption. Political
corruption can negatively impact the national economy because time is spent
giving bribes or other economically unproductive acts instead of the generation
of generative economic activity. This has been seen over the years with
legislation passed to appease companies who will benefit. There also tends to be
concentrations of ownership over specific plots of land that have proven to yield
natural resources.

In recent years, the depletion of natural capital and attempts to move to

sustainable development have been a major focus of development agencies. This
is of particular concern in rainforest regions, which hold most of the Earth's
natural biodiversity - irreplaceable genetic natural capital. Conservation of
natural resources is the major focus of natural capitalism, environmentalism, the
ecology movement, and green politics. Some view this depletion as a major
source of social unrest and conflicts in developing nations.