Resource Issues
AP Human Geography
Spring 2014
Chapter 14
Why Are Resources Being Depleted?
• Energy resources
– Animate versus inanimate power
– Energy supply and demand
• Five-sixths of the world’s energy supply comes from
coal, natural gas, and oil
– Finiteness of natural resources
• Renewable versus nonrenewable resources
– Proven reserves
– Potential reserves
Per Capita Energy Consumption
U.S. Energy Consumption
Outlook for World Petroleum Production
Coal Production
Proven Reserves of Fossil Fuels
Why Are Resources Being Depleted?
• Energy resources
– Uneven distribution of fossil fuels
• Location of reserves
– Consumption of fossil fuels
– Control of world petroleum
• OPEC
• Changing supply and demand
Why Are Resources Being Depleted?
• Mineral resources
– Metallic or nonmetallic
• Nonmetallic = 90 percent of extraction is for building
stone
• Ferrous metallic minerals = iron ore, chromium,
manganese
• Nonferrous metallic minerals = aluminum, copper, zinc
– Precious metals = gold, silver, platinum
Why Are Resources Being Polluted?
• Air pollution
– Global scale
• Global warming
– Greenhouse effect
– The ozone layer and CFCs
– Regional scale
• Acid precipitation and acid deposition
– Local scale
• Carbon monoxide
• Hydrocarbons and photochemical smog
• Particulates
Global Warming
Acid Deposition in North America & Europe
Smog in Mexico City
Why Are Resources Being Polluted?
• Water pollution
– Sources
• Agriculture
• Water-using industries
• Municipal uses
– Impact on aquatic life
• Biochemical oxygen demand
• Wastewater and disease
Why Are Resources Being Polluted?
• Land pollution
– Solid-waste disposal
• Sanitary landfills
– Two alternatives to landfills: incineration and recycling
– Hazardous waste disposal
• In 2007 = about 47 million tons disposed of in the
United States
Why Are Resources Being Polluted?
• Renewing resources
– Nuclear energy
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Potential accidents
Radioactive wastes
Bomb material
Limited uranium reserves
High cost
Percentage of Electricity Generated
from Nuclear Power
Why Are Resources Being Reused?
• Renewing resources
– Leading renewable energy resources
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Biomass
Hydroelectric power
Wind power
Geothermal energy
Solar energy
– Active
– Passive
• Renewable energy in motor vehicles
Electricity From Hydroelectric Power
Why Are Resources Being Reused?
• Recycling resources
– In the United States recycling has steadily
increased since 1970
– Recycling collection
• Pick-up and processing
– Recyclables are collected in four ways: curbside, drop-off, buyback, and/or deposit
• Manufacturing of recycled products
Sources of Solid Waste
Why Are Resources Being Reused?
• Recycling resources
– Other pollution reduction strategies
• Reducing discharges
• Increasing environmental capacities
– Comparing pollution reduction strategies
• It seems clear that consumers must learn to use/waste
less for a safer, cleaner environment
A Coking Plant
Why Should Resources Be Conserved?
• Sustainable development
– Improving quality of life while preserving
resources for future generations
– Conservation
• Sustainable use and management of resources
– Preservation
• Maintenance of resources in their present condition
– Impact on economic growth
Sustainable Development
Pollution Compared to a Country’s Wealth
Why Should Resources be Conserved?
• Biodiversity
– Geographic biodiversity versus biological
biodiversity
• Biologists = most concerned with genetic diversity
• Geographers = most concerned with biogeographic
diversity
– Biodiversity in the tropics
• Occupy 6 percent of Earth’s land area but contain more
than 50 percent of all species
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Biodiversity (biological diversity)
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10 million to 100 million species
1.75 million species identified
Human travel has introduced new species
worldwide, and has threatened many species
(e.g. Colombian exchange)
Dodo bird: hunted to extinction – Mauritius
Passenger pigeon: last captive one died in
Cincinnati Zoo (1914)
Combination of human pop. pressure,
technology & economic forces lead to species
endangerment & extinction
Dodo Bird
Passenger Pigeon
• The Future
– Global conditions are nonlinear in that future
conditions cannot be reliably predicted; small
actions today may result in large impacts down the
road
– 1970s – OPEC raises oil prices (gas lines, energy
price hikes, increase in smaller automobiles,
reduction in speed limits)
– Today – SUVs (gas-guzzlers) are more popular than
ever, gas is relatively cheap (~1/3 EU), potential for
another crisis
– Future: A “warmer, more crowded, more
connected, but more diverse world”, Kates