Introduction to Geography
People, Places, and Environment, 6e
Carl Dahlman
William H. Renwick
Chapter 5: Earth’s
Resources and
Environmental
Protection
Holly Barcus, Morehead
State University
And Joe Naumann, UMSL
Resources
• Click on the animation below to see the video
on resources
2
What Is a Natural Resource?
• Anything from nature that exists in finite quantities
which people use and value
• Elements of
–
–
–
–
Atmosphere
Biosphere
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere
• Distinguished from human creations and
inventions
3
RESOURCES ARE
ESSENTIAL TO OUR
WAY OF LIFE
4
A CLEAN
ENVIRONMENT IS
ALSO ESSENTIAL
TO OUR LIFE!
5
Resource Characteristics
• Defined by
– Cultural values
• What is used and valued by people
• Wood, mud or brick building
• Swamps become wetlands, cultural shifts
– Available technology
• Potential resources
• Ability to extract and use
– Economics
• Supply and demand – influences prices
• Externalities
6
Natural Resource Use
• Substitutability
– Stabilizes prices
– Limits resource scarcity
• Nonrenewable resources
– Limited amounts
• Gas, oil, coal, metals
– Reusable – metals, silica (glass), etc.
• Renewable resources
– Replaced continually unless . . . . .
• Air, wind, water, solar
7
Conservation is the Answer to
Natural Resource Use
• Conservation is the wise use of resources
• Wise use – keeping the 4 laws of ecology
in mind
• Wise use – seeking maximum efficiency in
an environmentally safe way
• Not using resources is preservation, not
conservation
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Mineral Resources
• Metallic
– Copper, lead, silicon
• Nonmetallic
– Building stone, graphite, slate, quartz
• Distribution of deposits is uneven
– Cartels
• Depletion and substitution
9
Keep in mind
that these are
per capita
amounts
They are not evenly
distributed around the world.
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Resources & Technology
• Generally, the higher the level of
technology, the larger the
number of things viewed as
natural resources or resources.
• 19th Century Native Americans
and 19th Century Americans and
– Amerindian world view &
technology
– European/American world view &
technology
13
European View of Coal
• Greatly desired after the industrial revolution
– Explored for coal deposits & paid high prices
– Took territory with coal fields as “spoils” of war – i.e.
Saar Valley (France/Germany border area)
• 1793 occupied by France in French Revolution]
• 1801-15 – France controlled it
• 1815-1919 – Prussia controlled it (Germany)
• 1919-35 – League of Nations
• 1935-45 returned to Germany
• 1945-48 – France
• 1948-57 – Economic union with France
• 1957-Present – part of Germany
14
More Resource Terminology
• Resource Reserves – What has not been
extracted from the earth or been harvested.
– Proven reserves – known deposits that are
economically feasible to exploit – the only
quantity we can really count on using.
– Known deposits – not currently economically
feasible to exploit at current prices or
technology
– Undiscovered deposits that may exist– can’t
be counted on for the future – some may be
feasible to exploit & some may not be.
15
Reusable
16
Efficiency is the key
• Efficiency prolongs the use of all types of
resources
– Efficiency in extraction – minimize waste
– Efficiency in use – get the most out
– Most important in the nonrenewable resources
• Sustained yield is the best approach to
renewable resources – use them at nature’s rate
of renewal
• Expanded recycling will maximize the quantity of
reusable resources and expand the parameters.
• Finding substitutes & alternatives where
possible
17
Solid Waste
• Landfills
– Sanitary landfills
– NIMBY
• Incineration
– Reduces volume
– Provides energy
• Concept of Urban Ore
18
Recycling of reusable resources
• Reduces need for landfills and
incinerators
• Reuses natural resources
• Barriers
–
–
–
–
–
Waste separation
Consumer resistance
Lack of market
Hidden costs
Indirect losses
• New products and technologies
• Shared costs with consumers
19
Waste & Recycling
Waste – how much more in 2004?
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Energy Resources
•
•
•
•
•
Solar
Hydroelectric
Wind
Fossil fuels
Geothermal
22
Energy Resources & Industry
• Energy Resources = “Master” Natural
Resources – the mainspring of industry
– Fossil fuels currently are the major source –
“solar” power -- NONRENEWABLE
• Energy can be Extracted in a Number of
Ways
– Muscle power
– Water power
– Solar power
– Fossil fuel power
– Nuclear power (only one that isn’t releasing solar23
energy)
Trends in US Energy Use 1950-2002
Energy & GDP
correlation
• As more developing
countries develop
economically, the use of
energy world-wide will
greatly increase.
• As more energy is
demanded world-wide, the
cost of energy will increase
(laws of supply & demand)
25
Fossil Fuels & Wood Pollute
Tropical rainforest fire
Industrial consumption
• Forest fires
• Industrial consumption
• Domestic consumption26
Fossil Fuels
• Oil, natural gas, coal
– Stored energy created over millions of years
•
•
•
•
Nonrenewable
Wood primary energy source until 19th century
Oil is most important energy resource today
U.S. and Canadian industry
– Natural gas, oil, coal
• Distribution of fossil fuels
– Uneven
– Reserves
27
Oil
• Distribution
– 2/3 of oil reserves in Middle East
– North America and Europe have highest per capita oil
consumption rates
• Oil production and pricing
– OPEC, 1960
– Oil crises
• Future of fossil fuels
– Proven reserves
– Unconventional sources
28
Energy
Resources
• Non-Renewable
– Crude Oil (40% of
all energy –
excluding wood)
– Coal
– Natural Gas
– Oil Shale
– Tar Sands
• Renewable
– Wind & solar
– Hydropower
– Biomass
Coal: most abundant fossil fuel
• Pollution from use of coal & production of coal is a
problem (costs money to reduce it, otherwise costs
are passed on as medical problems for people not
associated with the production of coal)
• Coal can be converted to gas to produce power too
• Needed
– Efficiency through new technology
– Pollution control at all levels
• Large quantities exist in Siberia, but most are not
economically feasible to develop at this time
30
Abundant but problematical
1
2
3
31
Feasibility increases as oil & gas
prices increase
32
General mining–coal particularly
• Surface mining – cheaper initially, but
restoration of the land surface can be costly
• Shaft mining – more expensive initially
Back-filling shaft
mines can be very
costly. Mine safety is
also a major concern.
33
Petroleum Prices
Oil – major energy fuel
• Crude petroleum
– Major fuel: gasoline, kerosene, diesel, aviation fuel, etc.
– Lubricants
– Petrochemicals: plastics (tapes, CDs, & other flexible
plastics); fertilizers; insecticides; pesticides; & others
– More than 60% of oil reserves are around the Persian Gulf
– U.S. imports approximately 50% of its petroleum
• Extending use
–
–
–
–
New deposits (unlikely); improved extraction efficiency
Improved efficiency in use of petroleum
Substitutes
Limited recycling (motor oil to fuel oil)
36
Proved oil reserves: see Mid East
37
Non-Renewable
38
39
Notice the volume from the Middle East
40
Still Not a Feasible Source
41
Natural Gas – fossil fuel
• Cleanest burning – least polluting
• Limited quantities
• Shipping it great distances requires
liquefaction or pipelines
• As with other fossil fuels, it
contributes to the “greenhouse” gases
in the atmosphere and promotes
global warming
42
World flows of
natural gas and
U.S.A. pipelines 43
Former USSR & Middle East Lead
44
Nuclear Energy
• Nuclear Processes
–Fission verses
fusion
–Fusion Problems
• Potential accidents
(safety)
• Radioactive waste
(safety)
• Public opposition
(NIMBY)
• High cost
45
Fusion Power
–Nuclear Fusion – has the potential to
provide power without nuclear waste
• Currently only a theory
• Have been unable to produce more
energy than is consumed
• Holds hope for the future if
technological problems can be solved.
46
Nuclear Power Generator
• Chernobyl was built without adequate containment to save
money.
47
• 3 Mile Island had double containment structures.
Nuclear Accidents
• Click on the mad scientist below to see the video
48
Nuclear Energy
• Largely
developed
by the
developed
countries of
the world
51
Renewable Energy
• Biomass
– Wood – traditional source of energy in many developing
countries – renewable but also destroyable
– Waste – plant wastes such as corn stalks
– Methane production from “digesters”
• Hydroelectric Power – methane release is pollution
– Depends on good sites at economically feasible
distances from potential markets
• Solar Power – climate and weather related
– Research discouraged by utility companies
• Other Renewable Energy Resources
– Geothermal Energy – depends on geological conditions
– Wind Power – only feasible in some areas
52
Biomass & Solar power
Solar power is
well suited for
desert areas
where cloudy
days are rare.
• Biomass can be
converted to gas
almost anywhere.
53
Geothermal Energy
• Sites: Iceland, New Zealand,
Yosemite (USA), Kamchatka
Peninsula (Russia)
54
Hydroelectric Power
• Approximately 25% of world’s
electricity is generated by
hydroelectric power facilities.
55
Hydroelectric Power Sites
• Abundant, year-round flow of water
• Sufficient fall – the greater the fall, the
greater the power transferred
• Good building Site such as a narrowing of
the valley or a gorge
• Available consumers or potential consumers
within reasonable distance
• Financing – this isn’t inexpensive
• Sites in order: #1 Three Gorges Dam,
China; #2 Congo basin #3 Amazon basin
(poorest)
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Aswan Dam: the negatives
• Dam does produce much electricity & reduce
floods & expand irrigation, BUT. . .
• Disrupted natural flooding and siltation of farmland
– Farmers now need to purchase fertilizers
– Irrigation water is pumped where nature took it before
– Spread schistosomiasis – snail fever or bilharziasis
• Reduced quantity of nutrients reaching the
Mediterranean & put fishermen out of work
• Rich Nile delta is eroding due to reduced silt
deposits
– Richest farmland is being lost
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Water availability is important
58
Energy policies for the future
• More hydroelectric power
• Alternative fuels for transportation – hybrid,
etc.
• Research into practical solar power
• Continue increasing efficiency of appliances
• Design more energy-efficient homes
• Operate schools 12 months a year (a
smaller building could accommodate the
number of students)
59
Nonfuel Mineral Resources
• The Distribution of Resources
– Little relationship to size of country
– Uneven distribution of resources among countries
• Copper: A Case Study
– World reserves may last only 33 years
– Demand for copper
• Conducts both heat and electricity well
• Can be hammered into thin sheets or drawn into thin
wires
• Resists corrosion
– Uneven distribution – convergence of W. S & N America
w/Pacific plate & in Australia
– Increasing efficiency & recycling
60
Minerals in the global economy
• No country is self-sufficient in natural resources
• World trade is the only way for countries to obtain
what they lack and sell what they have in
abundance – all countries benefit from this trade
• Self-sufficiency and isolation are not feasible for
any country, even the USA, unless people are
willing to GREATLY lower their standards of living
– not a popular alternative to the way of life to
which they have become accustomed.
61
62
New technology makes it economically
feasible to mine lower concentrations of
copper
• Shrinking
supply of
copper
causes it
to sell at
higher
prices and
makes it
more
feasible
too.
63
Air Pollution
• Human causation
– Predominately fossil fuels
• Acid deposition
– Acid rain - sulfur, nitrogen oxides
• Urban air pollution
– Wind, temperature, sunlight
64
Major Sources of Air Pollution *
•
•
•
•
•
Transportation sources using fossil fuels
Industries processes
Electric power generation
Residential consumption of fossil fuels
Poor soil conservation practices and
farming marginal lands
*Not in order of impact
65
Pollution types
& sources
Acid
rain
Dealing With Pollution
• The best way is to deal with the problem at the
source – prevent the pollutants from entering the
air in the first place.
– Pollution control measures – industrial & domestic
– Changed life-style
68
Thermal Inversion
Water Pollution
• Source
– Point
– Non–point
• Concentration and dilution
• Reduced oxygen levels
– Biochemical oxygen demand
• Wastewater and disease
• Chemical and toxic pollutants
70
Nature has the ability to clean water
•Nature is self sustaining through natural processes
•Humans often overload the processes and cause
breakdowns in nature’s abilities – pollution
Land–Coastal Resources
• Coastal Wetlands
– Estuarine zone – essential to health of the neritic zones
– the commercially productive shallow coastal waters.
– Breeding ground for much wildlife
– Scientists say 50% of wetlands have been lost to
“development”
– Outflow of fresh water from streams & action of tides mix
deep ocean waters with surface waters in estuaries,
contributing to their biological productivity & diversity
• Lower saline content than the open sea
• Many shellfish do better in lower salinity at some point
in their life cycle.
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Pollution threatens estuarine zones
• Dead zones develop in the neritic zone near the mouths of
major rivers like the Mississippi – agricultural & other
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pollutants
Controlling Pollution
• Controlling pollution
– Common strategy
– Removal before entering environment
• Sewage treatment
• Catalytic converters
• Smoke stack scrubbers
• End of pipe strategies
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Preventing Pollution
• Paradigm shift in the 1990’s
– Stop producing pollution
• Factors
– Mounting liability and regulation concerns
– Reduce costs
– Improve image with consumers and
regulators
76
Forests
• Uses
– Renewable natural resource
– Timber, paper, wood products
– Recreational
• Ecosystem
– Habitat
– Carbon production
– Biodiversity
77
Land Resources -- forests
• Forest Resources have greatly shrunk
– Cutting for farming and lumbering
• Lumbering done for years without replanting – sustained
yield is the only sensible approach for national health
• Controversy over cutting methods – selective, or clear
• Increased erosion and run-off (flooding)
– U.S. National Forests effort to preserve some
• Some administrations in D.C. have been more willing to
allow private companies to exploit timber and minerals
– Tropical Forests – major oxygen producers
• Cutting threatens climate change & plant gene pool
• Loss of potentially important plants for medicine
78
Cutting Methods
• Selective reduces erosion and runoff
– May be initially more expensive
– Fits in easily with sustained-yield programs
• Clear-cutting promotes erosion & more runoff
– Passed-on costs make this more costly
79
80
Wise use demands the sustained
yield approach to lumbering
81
Wood harvests – extending usability
• Substitutes – metals, plastics, etc.
• Efficiency – masonite, particle board, paper etc
82
Disappearing Treasure
• Services of forest–home & life-source of
people
• Protects soil from erosion & reduces flooding
• Major oxygen producers & pollutant filters & humidity “pumps”
(helps maintain the tropical rainforest climate)
• Habitat for wildlife
• Greatest variety of plant species than any other biome – many
with medical uses – many not catalogued as yet
83
Often overlooked soil
• The food chain depends on 4 basic factors: sunlight, soil,
air, and water.
• Soil: the foundation & it can be destroyed – it takes far
longer to create 1” of topsoil than to destroy one.
• To keep food production ecologically maximized:
– Anti-erosion farming methods
– Maintain the micro-organisms that normally live in soil
– Renew humus content to keep it loose and absorbent of water and
to return nutrients to the soil
• Give farming a higher priority than urban development –
good level land reserved for farming
84
Forest Management
•
•
•
•
Resolving user conflict
Balancing resource and recreation
Government involvement
Marketplace demands
85
Resource Management
• Environmentally Sustainable Economy – the only
sensible approach – satisfies current needs without
jeopardizing the prospects for future generations
– Sustained yield – environmentally friendly logging
– Efficiency in extraction and in use for production
• Principles of environmentally sustainable economy
–
–
–
–
–
Soil erosion cannot exceed soil formation.
Forest destruction cannot exceed forest regeneration
Species extinction cannot exceed species evolution
Fish catches cannot exceed the regenerative capacity
Pollutants can’t exceed capacity of system to absorb
them.
86
More Resource Management
• Conservation – Wise use, not preservation
• Reuse of Materials -WEALTH FROM WASTE
– Finite materials that can be reused
– The costs of recycling may offset other costs that will be
incurred if recycling is not practiced
• Substitution – extends the usefulness of any resource,
particularly those finite ones which are non-renewable and
non reusable.
– Alternative energy sources are vital
• Cooperate with natural processes
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Water – So Very Vital
• Earth’s total of fresh water in lakes, rivers, &
streams = .3% of the earth’s total water store.
• The hydrologic cycle keeps replenishing it within
the limits of the process
• Fresh water occurrence varies
– Ireland – excess 878,000 yrd3 per person annually
– Persian Gulf countries desalinate sea water
– Average US citizen uses 62 times as much as the
average citizen of Ghana
• 69% of water withdrawn used for agriculture –
varies by country: USA 42%; China 87%
88
Stop All Waste
• Reusable fresh water getting scarce
– World population keeps growing but water supply is
rather fixed.
– Pollution is increasing (developing nations often
ignore pollution control)
• What can be done?
– Redesign industrial processes to use less – also
recover & recycle
– Redesign appliances–use less–i.e. clothes washers
– Ban planting of Midwestern plants in desert states
– More efficient irrigation methods (currently only 37%
89
of water gets to the plants)
• Recycling must be part of
the solution – it can reduce
some of the pollution
resulting from improper
disposal of products and
industrial wastes.
90
Alternatives to Landfills
• It is getting increasingly difficult to find
acceptable sites for the elimination of solid
wastes in landfills
• Maximizing the use of reusable components
of solid waste
– Reduce quantity of solid waste to be disposed of
– Landfills would take longer to reach capacity.
– Reduce the NIMBY reaction
91
“Wealth from Waste” – “Urban
Ore”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Metal Recovery—copper, steel, aluminum
Some plastics can be recycled several times
Glass – melted and reused
Auto tires – ground up & used to surface roads
Combustibles (paper etc.) – burn in electric
generating plants (reduce amt. of coal used)
6. Garbage (organics): methane & man-made oil
(very $ now)
7. Recycle feces – sludge from sewage treatment
plants can produce methane and be dried,
sanitized, pulverized, and deodorized and sold
as fertilizer – e.g. Milorganite
92
Recovery example
• Electric utility in the northeast required to reduce sulfur
dioxide emissions from its smokestacks
• Complied under protest of excessive expense that would
drive the utility out of business
• Sulfur recovered by the “scrubbers” was sold to a nearby
chemical company and that sale helped pay the costs of
cleaning up the emissions
– Reduced the need for mined sulfur somewhat
– Produced cleaner air and contributed to better lung health in
downwind areas & less acid rain
– All of the clean-up costs were not passed on to consumers &
the company survived
93
What consumers can do
• Products made from or using
recycled materials
• Energy efficient appliances – they
may save you more money than
their initial higher cost.
• Think about a gas efficient
automobile or a “hybrid” – in
2001, Toyota and Honda started
selling them.
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What Industry Can Do -• Research ways to get greater efficiency in
production and in products’ use of energy
• Example: Saturn automobile introduced in 1991
– Polymer door and quarter panels
• No dings or rust holes & uses less steel (substitution)
• Less weight allows for smaller gas-efficient engine
– Used recycled materials in some parts
– Numerous parts could be recycled, including polymer
panels
– Used environmentally friendly paint & painting process
– Longevity features – steel timing chain & instantly
available oil filter feature (should extend engine life and
95
efficiency)
End of Chapter 9
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