Chapter 4 Earth’s
Resources
4.1 Energy & Mineral
Resources
Renewable vs. Nonrenewable
Resources
A
renewable resource can be replenished
over a short period of time (Months, years,
or decades)
A
nonrenewable resource takes millions of
years to form and accumulate
Examples
Renewable

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Plants for food
Animals for food
Natural Fibers for
clothing
Trees for lumber/paper
Water
Wind
Sun
Non - Renewable

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
When the current
supply run out there
will not be anymore
Why is this a
problem?
Fossil Fuels

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Coal
Oil (Petroleum)
Natural Gas
Fossil Fuels

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Any hydrocarbon that may be used as a source of
energy
Coal
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Primarily used to generate electricity
Scars the land
Dangerous
Air pollution (High Sulfate)
Petroleum
Natural Gas


Oil trap – geological structure that allows large
amounts of fluids to accumulate
Stops upward movement of oil and gas
Tar Sands & Oil Shale

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Some energy experts believe that fuels
coming from tar sands and oil shales could be
good substitutes for lowering petroleum
supplies
Tar sands are mixtures of clay & sand
combined with water 7 black tar
The oil in tar sands are not easily pumped out
Problems

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Land disturbance
Lots of water
Contaminated water
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Oil Shale is a rock that contains a waxy
mixture of hydrocarbons called kerogen.
Oil Shale is heated to vaporize kerogen
Kerogen vapors are processed to remove
impurities
Around half of the world’s supply is in the
Green River Formation of Colorado, Utah, &
Wyoming

Problem? YES b/c of lower water amounts in
the Green River Formation
Formation of Mineral Deposits

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Important mineral deposits form by igneous
processes & from hydrothermal solutions
Igneous processes produce important
deposits of metallic minerals
Hydrothermal solutions generate important
ore deposits
Placer Deposits form when eroded heavy
materials settle fast from moving water while
less dense particles remain still and settle
Nonmetallic Mineral Resources
 Extracted
& processed either for the
nonmetallic elements they contain or for
their physical & chemical properties
 Ex) Fluorite & Limestone
 Two Groups

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Building Materials
Industrial Minerals
 Not
abundant as building materials
4.2 Alternate Energy
Sources
Solar Energy

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2 advantages – “fuel” is free & non-polluting
Passive Solar Collectors (south-facing windows)
Roof top devices
Heat water
Photovoltaic (Solar) Cells = electricity
Problems?

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Equipment is not cheap
Supplemental unit needed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dngqYjHfr98
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eINAuYg-ftM
Nuclear Energy
 Nuclear
fission, the nuclei of heavy atoms
are bombarded with neutrons. The nuclei
split into smaller nuclei & emit neutrons
and heat energy
 Cost is high
 Dangerous
 Accidents with radioactive materials
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uw
exvaCMWA
Wind Energy
 Sailing
Ships
 Windmills
 1980 Federal Govn’t started wind
program systems
 Estimate that the next 50-60 years, wind
power could meet btw 5-10 % of the
country’s demand for electricity
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYY
HfMCw-FI
Geothermal Energy

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Hot water is used directly for heating and to
turn turbines to generate electric power
Underground reservoirs of steam and hot
water are tapped into
Not expected to provide a large % of the
growing needs for energy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfUQy86
ZMpQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVDBRQ
vBVso
Hydroelectric Power
 Falling
Water = energy
 The water held in a reservoir behind a
dam is a form of stored energy that can
be released through the dam to produce
electric power


Water is renewable but the dam has a
limited lifetime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnPEt
wQtmGQ
Tidal Power
 Ocean’s
energy potential is still untapped
 Harnessed by constructing a dam across
the mouth of a bay or estuary in coastal
areas. The strong in – out flow that results
drive the turbines & electric generators
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSBA
CzRE3Gw