NATURAL RESOURCES &
CONSERVATION
CHAPTERS
5.1, 10.4, 11.4 & 15.4
E.Q. – How can water, soil & air be
recycled?
 Standard S6Ej. Describe methods for conserving natural
resources such as water, soil, and air.
NATURAL RESOURCE
 Natural Resource - Any natural material that is used by
humans or
 Resources that the Earth provides for you
 EX: Water, Petroleum, Minerals, Forests
RENEWABLE RESOURCES
 A Natural Resource that can be replaced at the same rate at
which the resource is used.
 EX: Trees,Wind, Water
 Although many resources are renewable, they still can be
used up before they can be renewed.
Nonrenewable Resources
 A resource that forms at a rate that is much slower than the rate at
which it is consumed.
 A fossil fuel is a nonrenewable energy resource formed from the
remains of plants & animals that lived long ago.
 EX: Coal, Petroleum (Oil), Natural Gas
 Once they’re gone, they’re gone!!
CONSERVING NATURAL RESOURCES
 To conserve natural resources, you should try to use them
only when necessary.
 3 R’s
 Reduce
 Reuse
 Recycle
SOIL POLLUTION
How can soil be lost or damaged?
 Exhausted – lose fertility because crops planted year after year.
 Polluted – mining, chemical spills, HUMANS
 Erosion – wind, water
 Desertification – once wet area, undergoes drought conditions
OR grazing animals OR cutting trees
http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/CTW/ChinaDesertification.jpeg
HOW CAN SOIL BE CONSERVED?
 Soil conservation is the management of soil to prevent
destruction.





Contour Plowing
Crop Rotation
Conservation Plowing
Windbreaks
Leaving soil fallow
Contour Plowing
plowing fields along curves of slopes
Conservation Plowing
dead weeds and stalks are left in the ground from year to year
Crop Rotation
plant different crops in a field from year to year
Windbreak
trees planted along the edge of a field
Terracing
 Prevents erosion from heavy rains on steep hills
WATER POLLUTION
How can water be lost or cause
damage?
 Point-Source Pollution- pollution that comes from one
specific site. EX: leak from a sewer pipe
WATER POLLUTION
How can water be lost or cause
damage?
 Nonpoint-source Pollution – Pollution that comes from
many sources; Reaches bodies of water as runoff
 EX: street gutters, fertilizers, eroded soil, drainage from
mines
Water Conservation Video
 http://www.sesamestreet.org/video_player/-
/pgpv/videoplayer/0/3a878aa1-1cff-464d-a0b064b204cdce3c/water_conservation
How can Water be conserved?
 By using only the water needed
 By recycling water
 By using drip irrigation systems.
 Waste water can be treated by sewage treatment plants and
septic systems
Air Pollution
How can Air cause damage or loss?
 Air Pollution - The contamination of the atmosphere by the
introduction of pollutants from human and natural sources
Air Pollutants
PRIMARY POLLUTANTS
 Industrial emissions
 Vehicle Exhaust
 Volcanic Ash
SECONDARY POLLUTANTS
 The formation of smog
SOURCES OF HUMAN-CAUSED
POLLUTION
 Industrial & Indoor Air Pollution
 Acid Precipitation
 The Ozone Hole
How Can Air Be Conserved?
 By legislation, such as the Clean Air Act
 By Technology such as scrubbers
- devices used to remove pollutants before they are released
by smokestacks
 By changes in Lifestyle
Final
Countdown
One way in which something
you learned TODAY relates to
something you learned
previously
Name an
example of a
renewable
resource.
One
Important
fact from
lesson about
Air
Name an
example of a
nonrenewable
resource.
One
Important
fact from
lesson about
Water
One
Important
fact from
lesson about
Soil