The Nature of Resources

Chapter 9

Natural Resources Natural resources are materials that

are found in nature and exploited to make a profit. Soil is important because it can yield

crops Water is needed for fishing and farming

Hydroelectric power is also produced from water.

Write down three other examples of natural resources

Renewable Resources All natural resources are divided into two

categories: renewable and non renewable Renewable is any resource that can replace

itself in a short period of time, usually 50 years or a human time frame

Non renewable resources are natural resources that have taken millions of years to form. They cannot be replaced within a human timeframe.

What are three examples of non-renewable resources?

Capital Resources

Resources society uses to further the creation of wealth.

A country can be rich in natural resources but if they do not have the capital to extract it, the resources will not be as profitable.

Write down three examples of Capital

Exploiting Resources

Many times, countries sell the rights to develop resources to companies from other countries.

This can be good and bad Explain how it can be both good

and bad.

Human Resources People are also a resource and can make great

profits or losses. They have to exist in sufficient numbers to form

a pool of labour and a supply of consumers They have to have enough health to work

productively They have to be given an opportunity for

education and training which will help them become productive members of society

Which of these 3 characteristics do you think is the most important?

Distribution of Resources Resources are distributed unevenly

throughout the world. Many nations lack capital

resources to educate their people or develop new industries.

Food production takes precedence over everything else and education is limited to a wealthy few.

Uneven distribution

How may human resources be unevenly distributed? Populations may be aging and not

have a work force. They may also be too young to work.

Some populations may face health crises due to disease in specific areas i.e. Malaria

Land Resources

Factors that can affect the distribution of agricultural resources are: Climate-farming does not take place in

extreme temperatures Relief – elevation of land Geology – soil composition Human settlement – housing that takes

over farmland

Types of farmland Farmland is divided into three

classes Commercial – farming which is done

for profit, or is highly industrialized Small holding – basic farming where

small scale farmers produce a little more than needed to feed themselves and sell the surplus

Subsistence- where farming is done to feed the owners of the farm

Water Resources Water is also distributed unevenly Canada has the largest reserves of fresh water

in the world and it is taken for granted. Each year between 3 and 5 million people die

as a result of unsafe water 1.4 billion people do not have access to clean

water 80 percent of diseases in LDCs are related to

lack of water In Canada, we use 350 l per day compared to

Africa where they use 3 l

Mineral Resources Minerals are also unevenly distributed Extracting minerals takes huge amounts

of money and capital. Most deposits are not extracted

because the resource is not worth the cost of extraction.

Prices of minerals rise and fall and may become more or less viable in the future.

Case studies

Read the case studies on page 213 and 217 and answer questions 5 and 7 on page 220