SUSTAINABLE USE OF EARTH  RESOURCES 

The resources in the earth are limited. They are like land, water, oil, gas and iron core etc. The use of these limited resources are growing day by day. If this situation continued we need another planet to find more and more resources. Therefore we need to find sustainable use of them.

 

For sustainable use of the earth resources, we can use the renewable resources like solar energy, wind etc., same time  minimize none renewable resources like oil, gas etc. Further we can minimize the use of natural resources and follow the "3R" system such as reducing, reusing and recycling in use of none renewable resources.

 

To have sustainable  use of earth resources every person and institution must consider the above.

Resources use and sustainability

 

Resources are the black bone of every economy and provide two basic functions - raw materials for production of goods and services , and environmental services. A common classification of nature resources is as follows

 

.  Non renewable and non recyclable resources such as fossil fuels

.  Non renewable but recyclable resources such as minerals

.  Quickly renewable resource such as fish

.  Slowly renewable resource such as forests

.  Environmental resource, such as air, water and soil

.  Flow resource, such as solar and wind energy

 

The issue of depletion plays an important role in the use of non renewable and renewable natural resources. In the renewable resources depletion occurs when extraction exceeds renewal rate. environmental services include the sink function which assimilates and recycle waste products from production and consumption. Flow and environmental resources are not depleted and always exist. However, environmental resources can be degraded by pollution, and rendered useless.

 

Management of earth resources

The main concerns associated with earth resources, therefore, are generally the costs and environmental impacts of extracting, transporting, and refining them. Scientists who study energy and material resources seek to understand what types of resources are available and where they can be found, and to develop new technologies for locating, extracting and exploiting them. Discovering new supplies and using more energy and materials is one way to derive more benefits. But these resources can be used more efficiently to obtain a rising amount of service from a constant level of inputs. Over the longer term, scientific and technological advances may enable societies to substitute new energy source and material stocks for old ones.

This typically happens when new resources perform as well as or better than current options and produce fewer negative impacts, such as pollution or health and safety risks. Energy resources and other mineral resources is the center of development in developed countries. In situation of high cost and scarce supply of resources every part of the economy will be affected. In such situation, political leaders and major consumers want know which way forward.

However, alternating from resources to another involves more than exploration and exploitation of these resources. It also means altering the systems that produce process and distribute these resources. For example, major commercial energy fuels like coal, natural gas, and uranium are mined, cleaned, processed, refined and delivered through complex, multi-stage systems that represent billions of dollars in infrastructure investments and complicated logistical interconnections.

Facilities built for energy resources averagely operate between 30 to 50 years, hence cannot change to different resource or technology mixes over a short period of time. Retiring them prematurely to replace them with something better, is very costly even if the new plants are not more expensive than the old one . Thus, as there is increase in population in developing countries and their citizens demand better service, global energy use will also continue to rise, with developing nations accounting for a growing share of total world demand.

 

Renewable Resources Exploitation

 

1. Hydropower

 

Hydropower makes use of the kinetic energy water gains when it drops in elevation; is a renewable energy source. Typically, water dammed in a lake or reservoir is released through turbines and generators to produce electricity. Hydropower has been a staple of electricity since the beginnings of the electric age. However, very little of this potential is currently slated for development. Significant legal and regulatory impediments, such as land acquisition and environmental protection, will be a part of any major hydro project. Additionally, reservoirs are typically built and managed as municipal water supply and flood control systems and secondarily for power production.

 

2. Solar Energy

 

Solar energy is energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation emitted from the sun and harnessed using sophisticated technologies such as solar heating, solar photo-voltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis. It is one of the most important sources of renewable energy and its technologies are categorized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar electricity (power). Active solar methods include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power and solar water heating to tap the energy. Passive solar methods include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with advantageous thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air. Businesses and industry also use these methods to diversify their energy sources, improve efficiency, and save cost. Solar photovoltaic and concentrating solar power methods are also being used by developers and utilities to produce electricity to power houses both residential and commercial.

 

 

Environmental Problems of Earth Resources Exploitation

 

·        Environmental impact of  Oil and Gas exploitation

·        Impacts of Mining and Quarrying

·        Acid Rain

·        Acid Mine Drainage

·        Impacts Mitigation

 

Conclusion

Earth resources are materials provided by the Earth and useable to humans to make more complex (human- made) products. In a more simplified explanation, earth resources also referred to as natural resources which are useful raw materials gotten from the Earth. Earth resources are basically divided into renewable, flow and non- renewable resources. Exploitation of earth resources produces so many benefits to mankind as well as associated problems ranging from environmental impacts to their depletion. The issue of depletion plays an important role in the use of non renewable and renewable earth resources. For renewable resources, depletion occurs when extraction exceeds renewal rate. Flow and environmental resources are not depleted and always exist. Major consequence of our exploiting earth resources is that we are interfering with the balance of some natural geochemical cycles (for example, carbon/Sulphur cycles). The adequacy of world mineral reserves and resources is strongly affected by consumption, stockpiles and recycling. However, mineral recycling and substitution alongside transfer of technology from industrially developed to developing nations will contribute significantly to sustainable development of these resources. Geoscientists can and must contribute to solving the basic problems of mankind in the next decade, even more than today.