USES OF EARTH

RESOURCES

By- Steve, X ‘E’

 Acknowledgment
I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to Mrs. Leena
mam for her tremendous support and assistance in the
completion of my project. I would also like to thank our
Principal, Mr. John sir, for providing me with this wonderful
opportunity to work on a project with the topic innovations and
inventions due to industrial revolution . The completion of the
project would not have been possible without their help and
insights.
Earth’s natural resources include air, water, soil, minerals, fuels, plants, and
animals. Conservation is the practice of caring for these resources so all living
things can benefit from them now and in the future.

All the things we need to survive, such as food, water, air, and shelter, come
from natural resources. Some of these resources, like small plants, can be
replaced quickly after they are used. Others, like large trees, take a long time
to replace. These are renewable resources.
Other resources, such as fossil fuels, cannot be replaced at all. Once they are
used up, they are gone forever. These are nonrenewable resources.

People often waste natural resources. Animals are overhunted. Forests are

cleared, exposing land to wind and water damage. Fertile soil is exhausted and
lost to erosion because of poor farming practices. Fuel supplies are depleted.
Water and air are polluted.
If resources are carelessly managed, many will be used up. If used wisely
and efficiently, however, renewable resources will last much longer. Through
conservation, people can reduce waste and manage natural resources wisely.

The population of human beings has grown enormously in the past two

centuries. Billions of people use up resources quickly as they eat food, build
houses, produce goods, and burn fuel for transportation and electricity. The
continuation of life as we know it depends on the careful use of natural
resources.

The need to conserve resources often conflicts with other needs. For some

people, a wooded area may be a good place to put a farm. A timber company
may want to harvest the area’s trees for construction materials. A business may
want to build a factory or shopping mall on the land.
All these needs are valid, but sometimes the plants and animals that live in the
area are forgotten. The benefits of development need to be weighed against the
harm to animals that may be forced to find new habitats, the depletion of
resources we may want in the future (such as water or timber), or damage to
resources we use today.

Development and conservation can coexist in harmony. When we use

the environment in ways that ensure we have resources for the future, it is
called sustainable development. There are many different resources we need to
conserve in order to live sustainably.
Forests
Forests are home to more than two-thirds of all known land species. Tropical
rainforests are especially rich in biodiversity.

Forests provide habitats for animals and plants. They store carbon, helping
reduce global warming. They protect soil by reducing runoff. They
add nutrients to the soil through leaf litter. They provide people
with lumber and firewood.

Deforestation is the process of clearing away forests by cutting them down or

burning them. People clear forests to use the wood, or to make way for
farming or development Trees can also be conserved if consumers recycle.
People in China and Mexico, for example, reuse much of their wastepaper,
including writing paper, wrapping paper, and cardboard. If half the world’s
paper were recycled, much of the worldwide demand for new paper would be
fulfilled, saving many of Earth’s trees. We can also replace some wood
products with alternatives like bamboo, which is actually a type of grass.
Soil

Soil is vital to food production. We need high-quality soil to grow the crops that

we eat and feed to livestock. Soil is also important to plants that grow in the
wild. Many other types of conservation efforts, such as plant conservation and
animal conservation, depend on soil conservation.

Poor farming methods, such as repeatedly planting the same crop in the same
place, called monoculture, deplete nutrients in the soil. Soil erosion by water and
wind increases when farmers plow up and down hills.

One soil conservation method is called contour strip cropping. Several crops,

such as corn, wheat, and clover, are planted in alternating strips across a slope or
across the path of the prevailing wind. Different crops, with different root
systems and leaves, help slow erosion.
Biodiversity
When a species becomes extinct, it is lost to the world forever.
Scientists estimate that the current rate of extinction is 1,000 times the natural
rate. Through hunting, pollution, habitat destruction, and contribution to global
warming, people are speeding up the loss of biodiversity at an alarming rate.
It’s hard to know how many species are going extinct because the total number
of species is unknown. Scientists discover thousands of new species every year.
Based on various estimates of the number of species on Earth, we could be
losing anywhere from 200 to 100,000 species each year. We need to protect
biodiversity to ensure we have plentiful and varied food sources. This is true
even if we don’t eat a species threatened with extinction because something we
do eat may depend on that species for survival. Some predators are useful for
keeping the populations of other animals at manageable levels. The extinction
of a major predator might mean there are more herbivores looking for food in
people’s gardens and farms
Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels formed over millions of years. Once we use them up, we cannot
replace them. Fossil fuels are a nonrenewable resource.

We need to conserve fossil fuels so we don’t run out. However, there are other
good reasons to limit our fossil fuel use. These fuels pollute the air when they
are burned. Burning fossil fuels also releases carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Global warming is
changing ecosystems.

Scientists are exploring alternatives to fossil fuels. They are trying to produce
renewable biofuels to power cars and trucks. They are looking to produce
electricity using the sun, wind, water, and geothermal energy
Minerals

Earth’s supply of raw mineral resources is in danger. Many mineral deposits

that have been located and mapped have been depleted. As the ores for minerals
like aluminum and iron become harder to find and extract, their
prices skyrocket. This makes tools and machinery more expensive to purchase
and operate.

Electronic products contain minerals as well as petroleum-based plastics. Many

of them also contain hazardous materials that can leach out of landfills into the
soil and water supply.
Many governments are passing laws requiring manufacturers to recycle used
electronics. Recycling not only keeps materials out of landfills, but it also
reduces the energy used to produce new products. For instance, recycling
aluminum saves 90 percent of the energy that would be required to mine new
aluminum.