MANNAM FOUNDATION

CENTRE FOR EDUCATION

TECHNOLOGY

ONLINE ASSIGNMENT

Submitted to,
Ms. Rintu chacko
(Lecturer in Natural Science)

Submitted by
Name

: MEERA MADHAVAN.R

Reg.No : 18114373015
Subject : NATURAL SCIENCE

INDEX
No

CONTENT

PAGE NO

INTRODUCTION

NATURAL RESOURCES: ENERGY

RESOURCES, WATER RESOURCES,
OCEANIC RESOURCES, LAND
RESOURCES, LIVING RESOURCES

2 -14

CONCLUSION

15

REFERENCE

16

Topic

NATURAL RESOURCES

INTRODUCTION
Until the beginning of the 20th century natural resources were viewed
primarily as a source of useful commodities. They were the raw materials in
the environment that were used or were capable of being used by man. More
recently, however , the concept of natural resources has been broadened to
include the total natural environment the entire surface layer of the planetbecause all parts of the earths surface are of use and of value to humans. In
this context, atmosphere, oceans, deserts and polar regions have all become
valuable resources that were and are being exploited by the mankind.
For over there million years the man maintained reasonable balance with
the organisms around him. Although the utilized plants and animals, yet the
extent of depreciation was limited and reversible since the human race was in
small numbers.

NATURAL RESOURCE:
Natural resources are both living and non-living recources on land as
well as in the ocean. The living resources include forests, wild life, and
creatures living in water or on land. The non-living resources are water in the
riverse on under ground water, soil and mineral deposits. Some of these
resources are found in abundance. While others in limited quantities and that
too in some restricted parts of our land or the ocean.
Natural resources
(on the basis of abundance)
Inexhaustible
Eg: wind
Tidal energy

exhaustible
renewable
Eg: forest,
wild life

non-renewable
eg: fossil fuels like,
coal, petroleum.

ENERGY RESOURCES:
Energy is a key input in economic growth and there is a close link
between its availability and growth of a nation. It is consumed by all sectors of
the economy and all sections of the society. It needed both for production as
well as consumption. Dynamism of physical as well as biological components
of the environment is characterised by a multitude of activates. All activities

demand energy under natural environment, man has been sharing available
energy sources with other organisms. During the hunter gatherer stage of
civilization per capita energy requirement was only 2000-4000 kilo calories per
day.
Some of the biotic energy sources are as follows.
Fuel Wood
The use of wood as a fuel for heating and cooking dates back to the
beginning of the civilization. In recent centuries, it has given way to fossil
fuels, produced by extensive forests of the geological past. Even though today
much less wood is used than before, the total consumption of wood for fuel
still exceeds its use for any other purpose. Nearly half of the worlds total
wood production of over two billion cubic metres is used for fuel.

Dung Cake
Total rural and urban consumption of cow dung cakes per year is
between 70 and 75 Mt of dry dung of this, nearly 5 Mt is burnt every year in
urban areas. However, the present demand is about at 200 Mt.

Agricultural residues.
Agricultural residues like straw, sugarcane chaff, weeds etc, form a very
significant source of energy for rural poor.

Fossil Fuels.
Coal, lignite, petroleum and natural gas are called fossil fuels, as they
are derived from prehistoric plants and animals under the effect of intense heat
and pressure in the earths crust. Coal and lignite are supposed to be formed
from plants buried in situ or drifted in from outside to a place covered by
sedimentary deposits.

Natural gas
The origin of natural gas which consists mostly of lower hydrocarbons,
is similar to petroleum. Almost every petroleum well gives off some gaseous
products, but in addition there are large deposits of gas without any liquid
petroleum being associated.

1) Animal energy
The energy obtained from animal sources is known as animal energy. Of
the total energy generated in the country, the contribution of animal energy is

close to 50 percent. This is mainly used for farming operations and

transportation. Animal energy is available in two forms (i) human muscle
power (HMP) and (ii) draught animal power (DAP). The energy present in our
muscles comes from the chemical energy of the food which we eat.

Alternative sources.
Due to our growing demands for energy and constant depletion of
conventional renewable resources of energy, it has become necessary to think
of alternate, non-conventional sources of energy. Solar energy, wind energy,
wave and tidal energy, geothermal energy and atomic energy are some
important non-conventional sources of energy. Besides biogas, petrocrops and
energy cropping are important biotic energy resources of this category. A brief
description of them is given below.
1. Bio-gas - Large quantities of wastes (solids and liquids) are generated in
India in Urban, municipal and industrial sectors. They mostly find their
way into the environment with title or no treatment. This results in their
natural biodegradation with consequent release of methane into the
atmosphere. These resources can offer viable option for energy generation
with additional benefits of reducing emission of green house gases and
minimising environmental pollution.

WATER RESOURCES.
The importance of water is obvious to everyone Water is synonymous
with life. The most common substance in the body of any organisms is water.
The evolution

of human civilization has been closely linked with the

availability of this natural and replenishable resource. Life continues to

revolve around water . water is the single key factor which determines the
environment regulating the health of the soil and also the availability of
nutrients for plants. It is also required for various purposes like navigation,
generation of the hydro-electricity and domestic and industrial needs. Water
management is one of the leading concerns of man today. The natural water
cycle has not been able to compensate for the effects of human actions on
water resources. The amount of water that is fit for human consumption has
decreased over the years and quality has deteriorated. To a large extent this
due to increased population, higher demands of water for personal use,
agriculture and industry. Management of water resource means a programme
to provide an adequate supply of good quality of various use without
endangering the life of the source or the reserve of water.

OCEANIC RESOURCES
As we know about 97 percent of the total volume of water in the
hydrosphere is ocean water unsuitable for direct human use man is directly
depended upon fresh water yet oceans provide a resource which is no less
important.

Through the global hydrological cycle oceans maintain

perennial flow of fresh water. A large number of food items, minerals and
products of industrial and domestic use are obtained from the sea. Oceans
form one of the richest and most productive environments for diverse kinds of
organism Marine vegetation comprises phytoplankton and numerous
seaweeds as primary producers, Various industrial products like agar-agar,
carragenin alginates etc. are obtained from sea weeds. The living resources of
the ocean such as fish and sea weeds serve as good food to meet the need of
the people or provide some medicines.

LAND RESOURCES.
Land is our most precious resource. It is in fact, the foundation on
which the entire ecological system rests and is the living ground for all
terrestrial plants and animals. The capability of land to support life and
various activities of man and animals is dependent both on its biological

productivity and load bearing capacity of the soil and rocks. Of the total
surface of the earth 51000 million hectare only 14,960 mha or 29.22% is land,
the rest 36,100 Mha or 70.78% is oceans. About 30% of the land surface
includes sterps mountains, inhospitable deserts, marshy swamps etc. and so is
not suitable for agriculture and purposes.

LIVING RESOURCES
Various types of organisms which form a part of the biosphere are our
living natural resources. Life forms are found in compatible and mutually
sustaining communities. These communities are components of a system
called ecosystem.

While meeting their collective requirements through

natural process they regenerate and the replenish the natural resources
mankind is also one of the dynamic ecological communities. It indeed is
completely dependent up on natures great bio-geochemical cycle for its
survival productivity and improvement. For survival human society has to
live in harmony with about 1.3 million varieties of plants, animals and
microbial organisms living around it.

Plants
The land and waters of the earth sustain a vast assemblage of plants
upon which all other living forms are directly or indirectly dependent. These
autotrophs have the remarkable property of capturing the inexhaustible energy
of the sun to synthesize organic compounds which are vital for the existence
of all life on the earth. Organic deposits such as coal, lignite, peat and
petroleum are evidence of the photosynthetic activity of plants in the
geological past. In addition plants stabilise soil , conserve moisture and
preserve an equable climate. After violent disturbances of the earth, such as
volcanic eruptions and upheaval of mountains, plants cover the denuded
ground with a carpet which protect the surface from being washed away. Man
is dependent on plants for food, fodder, fuel, clothing, shelter, medicines,
paper, rubber, vegitable oils and for raw materials for many of his industries.

Animals
The rich diversity of wild animals is a heritage of our planet. Various
kinds of food fibers leathers, manures, chemicals and other human necessities
are obtained from animals. Livestock and wild animals help in maintaining

ecological balance.

Animals also help in bio-degradation of organic

compounds and pollination.

Micro-Organisms
Micro-organisms are important in the recycling of matter. They can be
both friends and foes of humans. Some micro organisms fix atmospheric
nitrogen and many others are used in industry for the production of many
important organic chemicals. In early ages people in various cultures have
learnt to make wine, beer or other fermented drinks using bacteria or yeast
or even fungi to produce a variety of food products.

These

traditional

processes were developed without any scientific knowledge and without even
the realisation that micro-organisms play specific roles. However in recent
times, with the aid of bio-technology, the controlled activity of microbes is
utilisd in getting several beneficial products like alcohols, antibiotics,
enzymes, pharmaceutical products.
ALTERATIONS IN THE ENVIORNMENT
It appears that environmental problems have been accentuated by the
rapid growth of human population. With the present world wide population
growth rate of about two percent per year, there was more than seven billion

people on our planet by the turn of the century. Man is one of the millions of
life forms on this earth which has limited resources both living and non-living.
However he is the only one who has interfered in the natural process for his
survival as well as for the growth and development of his society. Almost all
activities of the human society have degraded the environment physically ,
chemically biologically and even ethically.

Agriculture
In this highly industrialised world agriculture is the back bone of mans
existence. Until the middle of the past century expansion of agriculture had
been an easy option for meeting increased consumption needs of growing
population. This means large scale invasion of natural resources, forests, grass
lands, river valleys sea coast etc. Modern agriculture rely heavily on a wide
range of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and use of high yielding varieties.

CONCLUSION
Man has always been using natural resources around his dwellings to
meet his basic social and cultural needs. The customs, traditions, practices,
beliefes, and rules ensured a balance between human needs and environmental
conservation in ancient times. However , with passage of time this symbiotic
relationship was gradually replaced by destructive dependence.

Mans

activities became so heavily dependent on his surroundings that the process of

development became synonymous with divestment of natural ecosystems. At
some point during this phase he apparently forgot that the ecosystem has
certain carrying capacity that reflects a limit to its exploitability.
Excessive utilization of a natural resource without carrying to replenish
it is called overexploitation. Overexploitation of natural resources is mainly
because of increasing human greed.
desertification and loss of wildlife.

This has resulted in deforestation,

REFERENCE
I)

NOOTAN ZOOLOGY, Class XII, written by Prof. V.Singh, and

Dr.D.K.Jain.

II)

ENVIORNMENTAL STUDIES, written by A.R.Ajith Kumar

Ramesh and K.K.Bhaskaran