Natural Resources, Their Classification and Impacts Report

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Updated: Jan 25th, 2024

Abstract

The given paper revolves around the peculiarities of various natural resources and the major concerns related to their usage. The work tends to classify natural resources and provide the information about the main ways of their usage. Moreover, the relations between the natural resources and the environment are investigated to determine the way these two phenomena impact each other.

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Resting on the great importance of natural resources which are considered the basis of the functioning of our society, the precise analysis of their global significance and the way they promote the prosperity and development of a certain country are suggested. Additionally, the paper also provides certain recommendations related to the further developing and exploitation of various kinds of sources. Finally, at the end of the paper conclusions are given, and the main ideas are summarized. The work rests on credible sources that provide the credible information needed to analyze the given issue.

Main Body

Humanity has always been using the gifts of nature to guarantee its survival and create the comfortable environment. At the dawn of civilization, such resources as wood, coal, and other minerals provided people with warmth, shelter, and tools. However, the further sophistication of society and the invention of different tools conditioned the appearance of the need for new materials that would be able to meet the existing requirements and guarantee the further evolution of various communities.

Finally, the industrial revolution and the blistering development of technologies conditioned the growth of the importance of natural deposits and gave rise to another concern related to the excessive usage of non-renewable resources which might result in the collapse of industry and human society. In these regards, the precise investigation of the major aspects of natural resources is crucial in terms of the further evolution of our society. Speaking about the UAE one should admit the great topicality of the given issue for it.

The state depends on oil producing and refinery greatly, and its further development is conditioned by the state of natural resources. Being one of leading oil producers, the UAE also has some other deposits which though do not play such a significant role in the development of the state. For these reasons, the investigation of the major concerns related to resource development becomes crucial for the existence of the UAE and other countries. Yet, the main aim of the given paper is to provide the detailed classification and delve into the peculiarities of the usage of various natural resources and their potential.

At first, there are several classifications which could be used while speaking about various resources. However, the modern science adheres to the approach which is based on the ability to renew. That is why there are renewable and non-renewable resources which play the great role in functioning of our society. Moreover, it is vital to admit the relative character of the given classification as some resources could be taken as both renewable and non-renewable. For instance, such substances as oil and coal are taken as non-renewable; however, they have the organic character and might appear in the course of time. Therefore, using the above-mentioned classification as the background, the information about various types of natural resources should be provided and analyzed.

Renewable resources could be considered the first ones used by human beings to guarantee their survival and dominance. Numerous facts evidence that primitive communities were dependent on this group (Holechek, Cole, Fisher, & Valdez, 2003). Besides, the further evolution of society promoted the development of tools and approaches used to collect materials.

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This fact resulted in the increased importance of this sort of resources and conditioned the growth of their exploitation. Furthermore, the continuous sophistication of human thought and evolvement of industry promoted the reconsideration of the role of renewable sources which lost their dominant role still remaining important for the existence of numerous communities. At the moment, this group of resources could be considered the main factor that could guarantee the further growth of the society. Additionally, numerous scientists accept its great significance in terms of the non-renewable resources deficit.

Plants could be considered one of the main renewable resources that provide people with food and other substances needed for their beneficial existence. Being one of the oldest sources of food, plants still have the great potential for their further usage. Yet, numerous debates related to the excessive development and usage of non-renewable sources promoted the increase of the level of attention given to plants. Nowadays, apart from the traditional spheres of their usage, such as agricultural sector and logging and woodworking industry, this kind of natural resources could also be used to obtain energy, numerous substances, gas, fuel, etc. Moreover, there are many perspectives for the further usage of various plants to satisfy consumers needs and replace some non-renewable resources.

Furthermore, animals could also be considered the renewable natural resource that provides the basis for the existence of human society. Animal breeding has always been an important sphere of human activity that provided food, meat, skin, horn, and other materials and conditioned the further evolution of numerous communities.

The development of society did not trigger the reconsideration of the role this resource played and just emphasized the significance of the given issue. However, the inconsiderate development of this sort of natural resources resulted in the extinction of numerous spices. In this regards, the modern approach highlights the necessity of the creation of the environment beneficial for the recreation of endangered species. Additionally, the animal breeding should also provide society with the needed materials and satisfy its need for meat, milk, skin, etc.

Finally, speaking about the renewable resources, one should admit the significant growth of the interest towards such phenomena as sun, water, and wind. These elements comprise the new group of renewable resources that is taken as the most promising alternative to such materials as coal, oil, gas, etc. The fact is that due to the numerous investigations of the character and practical applicability of this group, the humanity obtained the vision of the possible ways of their usage (Holechek et al., 2003). Thought, the power of the sun is considered the main alternative to traditional sources of energy. Moreover, wind and water are also used by humanity to satisfy its need for green sources of power. In general, the inexhaustible character of these phenomena conditions their great potential and promotes the further investigations of the possible ways of their usage to replace the traditional and environmentally unfriendly approaches.

If to speak about the second large group of resources, non-renewable one, it is vital to admit their overwhelming impact on the modern world. The industrial revolution and the rapid development of technologies introduced the requirement of the efficient sources of energy which would be able to satisfy the existing needs. For this reason, the extensive resource development started.

The coal era was replaced by the gas and oil ones; however, the modern world still depends on these resources greatly. Moreover, the appearance of the new peoples needs contributed to the increase of the amount of resources needed to satisfy all existing demands. In these regards, non-renewable resources and their exhaustible character become one of the major concerns of the modern age as the lack of various minerals might trigger the contraction in manufacturing and collapse of the economy (Holechek et al., 2003).

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Traditionally, non-renewable resources are subdivided into three subgroups which are minerals, fossil fuels, and soils. Minerals could be considered very important in terms of the modern industry. Being one of the main sources of energy, coal could also be related to this group. Statics show that nowadays about 8 million tons are produced every year (Wright & Boorse, 2010). However, such an extensive usage of this mineral could result in the appearance of numerous problems related to its exhaustible character. Furthermore, there are also many other minerals which are widely used all over the world by various spheres of industry to guarantee the further evolution of society. In these regards, resources of this group provide the basis for our society and determine its beneficial functioning.

Besides, despite their organic character, soils are also related to the non-renewable resources which importance could hardly be overestimated. Creation of the fertile soil is the long-termed process that might take thousands of years and demand the combined influence of a number of beneficial factors that might contribute to the creation of the topsoil.

For this reason, scientists consider it the non-renewable resource that should be given great attention. There are several concerns related to this issue and its nature. First, in consequence of the heavy use of soils the significant deterioration of their quality could be observed. Additionally, such processes as erosion, deforestation, desertification, etc. introduce significant shifts in the natural balance and result in the reduction of land dedicated to agricultural production. That is why it is crucial to investigate the modern state of soils to be able to predict the further changes of their state.

Finally, fossil fuels are the third group of non-renewable mineral resources which changed the image of the modern world and introduced the new pattern of the distribution of energy. One admits the significant role oil and natural gas play in the modern world. All modern enterprises and manufacturers use gas as the main source of energy while oil is the basis of various innovational branches of industry.

The growth of the importance and price of these resources resulted in rapid development of oil extraction industry and evolution of countries characterized by great oil and gas deposits. The countries of the Gulf region including UAE became one of the richest states that impact the world policy and condition some changes in the world energy market. However, numerous researches warn about the dangerous character of the excessive use and development of this sort of natural resources as their exhaustible character might result in the collapse of the economy which now depends on oil greatly (Wright & Boorse, 2010).

Nevertheless, alongside with the above-mentioned classification, there is also the tendency towards distinguishing metallic and non-metallic resources. Therefore, all inorganic resources might include metals. The metallic components make these substances harder, shiny, flexible and provide the ability to form new products under the influence of high temperatures.

Iron, copper, and some other ore minerals are the bright examples of metallic resources. However, non-metallic minerals do not have any metallic constituent, and that is why they are soft. Yet, both these groups have the great importance in terms of their industrial utilization. Moreover, the usage of metallic or non-metallic resources also results in the appearance of the problem of excessive use of various substances as they are of the non-renewable character and could hardly be recreated.

Besides, notwithstanding the above-mentioned classification or the renewable or non-renewable character of a certain mineral resource, one should admit their crucial role in the modern model according to which the world functions. It is impossible to imagine the further development of industry in terms of the lack of coal of oil. Moreover, the further evolution of society also depends on various resources used to satisfy the basic peoples needs. In these regards, one could hardly deny the crucial role of natural resources and the necessity of their wise development.

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At the moment, humanity uses minerals, fossil fuels, plants, etc. in all spheres of its activity. For instance, the oil refinery industry provides the basis for the rapid development of various states and conditions the increase of their prosperity. At the same time, this process impacts the development of other industries that manufacture goods needed to guarantee peoples comfortable existence. It becomes obvious that all resources are interdependent, and the development of a certain one promotes the growth of the need for another one.

In these regards, the future of our planet, industry and society is conditioned by the perspectives of resource-extractive production as it provides the basis for the further evolution of science, community, etc. Unfortunately, numerous scientists have the pessimistic vision of the nearest future and are sure in the collapse of the economy conditioned by the lack of natural resources (Wright & Boorse, 2010). That is why it is vital to provide the efficient strategy that will be able to mitigate the negative effects of the excessive usage of and extraction of various resources and create the conditions beneficial for the restoration of some of them.

Altogether, there are two groups of mineral resources which are the renewable and non-renewable ones. The given classification is based on the exhaustible character of various resources. However, the modern society depends on both these groups greatly as the elements belonging to them provide the basis for its further evolution. Additionally, the modern world faces the problem related to the theoretical lack of materials needed to satisfy the main peoples needs. Under these conditions, the reconsideration of the approach towards resource-extractive production is the main aspect needed to guarantee the further existence of humanity.

Resting on the above-mentioned facts, it is possible to recommend to reduce the amount of extracted resources and implement the precise monitoring of the all industries that work in the given sphere. The existing problem of overproduction (Wright & Boorse, 2010) introduces the possibility to use less minerals and preserve some deposits for the further generations. Finally, the new strategy related to the replacement of the non-renewable resources with the renewable ones should also be created.

References

Holechek, J., Cole, R., Fisher, J., & Valdez R. (2003). Natural Resources: Ecology, Economics and Policy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Wright, R., & Boorse, D. (2010). Environmental Science: Towards a sustainable Future. New York: Pearson.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Natural Resources, Their Classification and Impacts." January 25, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/natural-resources-their-classification-and-impacts/.

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