GEO STANDARD SIXTEEN
Slide 1
Text: Standard 16: The meaning and importance of natural resources
[Image of the Earth]
Audio: Standard 16 is the meaning and importance of natural resources. For something to be
considered a resource, it must be a component of the earth that human beings value and find
useful to maintain and enrich their lives. Some things that were resources in the past may not be
resources today, or in the future. Some resources may become too depleted to extract, or to use
them, or better and more appropriate substitutes may be found for them. The three most basic
resources that humans need are land, water, and air. Without these three resources, we could not
survive. Imagine a world without clean water, clean air, sustainable land, or living oceans. Our
natural resources exist in a delicate balance, and are vulnerable to changes in environment. That's
why it's important that we all do our part to conserve, preserve, and care for the planet's
resources, and protect the environment that sustains us with food, fuel, shelter, and medicine.
Slide 2
Text: Natural Resources
[Map of the United States solar, wind, biomass and geothermal energy location]
Audio: In addition to the three resources just mentioned -- land, water, and air, many other
materials found on earth's surface are also valued, and utilized by humans. As noted in earlier
units, geographers are concerned with the concept of the spatial distribution on the planet. In this
slide, we see a map of the United States that shows us where some of the more sustainable,
renewable, or perpetual energy sources, such as geothermal, biomass, wind, and solar energy are
located. If you hark back to Standard 15, and the topographical and precipitation maps, you can
add this map to your accumulate map information. You will see how, especially the
topographical map of the United States, when overlaid with this renewable energy map of the
United States, shows a correlation between mountain areas in the US, and wind energy potential,
and geothermal energy potential, which is energy generated from seismic activity in earth's crust.
You can also note that the region of the United States with the most solar energy potential is
located in the southwestern portion of the country, here in Arizona. And finally, in the midsection of the United States, around the Mississippi watershed and valley, we see the highest
potential for biomass, which is crop residue and organic matter energy.
Slide 3
[Four maps of the United States’ solar, wind, biomass and geothermal energy locations]
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Audio: On this slide, you see the same resources as in the previous slide -- solar, wind, biomass,
and geothermal energy broken apart and mapped separately. Take a closer look. Note once again
how the information on these maps corresponds with the topographical and precipitation maps
that you studied in standard 15.
Slide 4
Text: Perpetual, Renewable, Non-renewable Energies
[Map of United States average daily solar insolation]
Audio: Natural resources are categorized as perpetual and renewable, or potentially renewable,
and non-renewable resources. Perpetual energy is energy that will never run out, like the sun.
Renewable, or potentially renewable energies, are those that although they are not perpetual or
everlasting resources, if we conserve and use them wisely, are able to be replenished and
renewed, and we can continue to rely on them, unless we overuse and abuse them, rendering
them unable to keep up with human use. In some cases, we can overuse a resource to a point
where we have done irreversible damage, and it can no longer be replenished. Trees and
vegetative resources, water, and air resources are considered potentially renewable. Nonrenewable resources are finite, and once they are depleted, they are gone for human extraction
and use. Hence, they are non-renewable. The most common non-renewable energy sources are
the fossil fuels -- oil, natural gas, and coal. Once they are gone, they are gone. The best example
of a perpetual resource is the sun, as mentioned earlier. We enjoy the sun's passive energy every
day when we walk outside into the light, or when it shines in our homes during the day. Active
solar energy is becoming a greater source for powering our homes and businesses, with solar
panels that generate electricity.
Slide 5
Text: Tempe, AZ, March 31, 2009 – At a launch ceremony today, Arizona State University
marked the completion of Phase One of its plan to install 12 MW of solar power systems across
its campuses. The five installations in Phase One have a combined capacity of 1.88 MW and
represent the largest solar portfolio on a single U.S. university campus.
[Photo of solar panels]
Audio: This slide is the same slide that we saw in standard 15. Solar panels installed at Arizona
State University, what a great way to be innovative, and environmentally and economically
responsible simultaneously.
Slide 6
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[Topographical map of wind speeds in the United States] [Map of Arizona average wind speed]
[Photo of a wind turbine]
Audio: Once again, if you overlay the topographical map you saw from Standard 15 with this
map of wind speed, you will see that wind speeds are highest as they blow east off the Rocky
Mountains, precisely in the direction where this country experienced the dust bowl in the 1930s.
Wind serves to facilitate the drying and movement of the soil, and therefore dust production.
Although the nation's wind potential is very large, only part of it can be exploited economically.
The economic viability of wind power will vary from utility to utility. Important factors to
consider with wind potential are production and demand match, both seasonal and daily,
transmission of energy to homes or industry or commercial locales, and access constraints, such
as public acceptance of wind energy, and other technological and institutional constraints. In the
bottom left of this slide, we see a wind turbine in a flat land area. Although for the most part,
wind is a good, clean, and sometimes abundant resource, it is not distributed evenly across the
planet, and to some can be considered an eyesore, and in addition it is thought to throw birds off
their migratory routes north and south, seasonally.
Slide 7
[Map of United States biomass resources] [Graph of types of biomass] [Graphic of a compost
heap]
Audio: Biomass is any plant or animal matter used to produce energy. Many plants and plantderived materials can be used for energy production. The most common is wood. Other sources
include food crops, gasses, agricultural residues, manure, and methane from landfills. Biomass
electrical generation, or bio power, is second only to hydropower as a renewable energy source.
Most electricity generated using biomass today is by direct combustion using conventional
boilers. These boilers burn waste wood products generated by the agricultural and wood
processing industries. When burned, the wood waste produces steam, which is used to spin a
turbine. The spinning turbine activates a generator that produces electricity. Many coal-fired
power plants also add biomass to their coal-burning process to reduce the emissions produced by
burning the coal, which is a much dirtier form of energy, and also non-renewable. Biomass can
also be gasified prior to combustion. Gasses generally burn cleaner and more efficiently than
solids, which allows for removal of toxic materials. The map in the upper left-hand corner of this
slide shows the availability of biomass in the United States. It is clear that most of the potential
biomass energy comes from the Midwest and eastern portions of the country. At the bottom of
this slide is a graphic of a compost heap. Compost is partially decomposed organic matter. It is
dark and easily crumbled, and has an earthy aroma. It is created by the biological processes in
which soil-inhabiting organisms break down plant tissue. When decomposition is complete,
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GEO STANDARD SIXTEEN
compost has turned to a dark brown powdery material called humus. The process occurring in a
compost pile is similar to those that break down organic matter and soil. However,
decomposition occurs much more rapidly in the compost heap, because the environment can be
made ideal for the microbes to do their job. Do you keep a compost heap in your yard? You can
put all your vegetable peelings, egg shells, coffee or tea grounds, and other non-meat
biodegradable kitchen refuse in your compost heap. And then you can watch it as the
decomposers, such as bugs, beetles, lizards, and other critters break it down over time into good
soil, rich in organic matter and plant nutrients. It's a microcosm of activity in your back yard.
Slide 8
[Photo of a dam] [Diagram of underwater turbines]
Audio: This slide focuses on hydropower and tidal energy for electricity generation. Energy
generated from the action of water and waves and tides can be considered renewable, or
potentially renewable. But tidal energy and dams have a life cycle, and can become nonrenewable over time. Tidal energy comes from the gravitational effects of the sun and moon on
the seas. The ebb and flow of the tides creates a rise and fall in sea levels twice each day.
Electricity comes from tidal energy, using barrages or dams, where the tide moves in and out of
the by or inlet, or from tidal streams that drive underwater turbines. Hydroelectricity from dams
comes from kinetic energy production, when water passes through a dam and spins the turbines,
which in turn produce energy. Like wind and solar and biomass and geothermal energies,
hydroelectricity is only available in certain places, that is either in coastal areas, or along fast
moving rivers. Like other renewable, or potentially renewable energies, hydropower is cleaner
and more abundant than fossil fuel, or other non-renewable energy sources.
Slide 9
Text: The Meaning and importance of natural resources
[Photo of stacks of gold bricks]
Audio: A resource is a cultural concept. That is, every culture through time has valued different
commodities. What is a resource in one place, and at a given time, varies from place to place,
and period to period. The value of a particular resource can be economic or legal, or strategic, or
ethical, and even aesthetic and recreational. For example, gold is used -- viewed as a valuable
resource. Gold is traded on the stock market, and is an alternative to currency, although not one
that can be traded in a store. And while gold may have some other uses, most often we think of
gold as something to wear on our fingers or on our ears, or on our arms as bracelets. Gold is a
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great example of a resource that is important in economic terms, and important aesthetically.
Cultures worldwide have used gold for millennia as something that expresses beauty and wealth.
Slide 10
Text: National Parks – Another natural resource
[Logo for National Parks Conservation Association] [Map of United States National Parks]
Audio: Another example of a natural resource, although not an energy source, is our system of
national parks in the United States.
In this case, we value the land that has been set aside by the federal government for development
and preserved for us and for the benefit of future generations. With national parks, the value is an
ethical one that the parks and open space should be a part of what all Americans and visitors can
enjoy for many years. We also value the parks for aesthetic reasons, for recreation and
relaxation. Resources that for many Americans are often in short supply.
Slide 11
Text: Forest & Field Resources
[Photo of a cornfield]
Audio: Renewable, or potentially renewable resources, such as plants and animals can be
replenished after they have been used, if their physical environment has not been destroyed. In
this slide we see a cornfield that is used to raise corn that will be used to produce ethanol. We
can plant corn for several years in the same field, but eventually that field will become depleted
of nutrients, because corn takes nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient, from the soil. For a year or
two, rotating the crop by planting soybeans, alfalfa, or another leguminous plant will replenish
and extend the land's productivity.
Slide 12
Text: Forest & Field Resources
[Photo of a field of harvested trees]
Audio: Trees and forests are another example of a renewable or potentially renewable resource.
If trees are harvested carefully and selectively, a new forest can continue to grow and replace the
one that is being cut.
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If animals eat grass in a pasture to a certain level, grass will grow again and provide food for
animals in the future as long as the caring capacity of the land is not exceeded by the pressure of
too many animals depleting the grasses beyond their ability to replenish themselves.
Slide 13
[Map of coal reserves in the United States]
Audio: Non-renewable resources, such as minerals and fossil fuels, coals, oil, natural gas, can be
extracted and used only once. When they are gone, they are gone. These and other nonrenewable resources are good examples of resources that may cease to be resources to us if they
become too depleted, and exist in such small quantities that they are no longer able to be
extracted profitably and efficiently.
Slide 14
Text: Human settlement & resources
[Photo of a glass of water on the desert floor]
Audio: The location of resources influences the distribution of people and their activities on
Earth. People live where they can feed and sustain themselves and eek out a living even if it's
only a subsistence living. Human migration and settlement are linked to the availability of
resources ranging from fertile soils and supplies of fresh water to deposits of metals or pools of
natural gas. According to the company, Nestle Waters, 97 point 5 percent of the earth's water is
salt water and therefore not suited for human use. The remaining fresh water is for most locked
into ice caps and glaciers. This leaves a mere 1 percent that is actually available for human use
and environmental needs. Water is a fragile but a renewable resource and it is consumed
primarily by agriculture followed by the industrial sector and domestic uses. Currently there's
enough water available on the planet for both environmental and human needs. Yet the overall
picture must not hide several local difficulties. Water is an unfairly distributed resource and 60
percent of all available fresh water is found in only 10 countries. According to the International
Water Management Institute, by 2025 as many as 3 billion people will face water shortages.
Uneven distribution, growing populations, changing standards of living, changing diets and
urbanization are among the main causes of the predicted water shortages that will result in rising
local water stress and constitute the most pressing issue of the century.
The water problem can be solved. Providing access to water in sufficient quantity and quality is
the responsibility that everyone with a stake in water use shares, agriculture and farming,
industry and energy and domestic users.
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Slide 15
Text: Changing resources, changing economies
[Black and white photo of a horse-drawn carriage] [Photo of character-actors dressed as cowboys
and saloon girls at a tourist attraction]
Audio: Population distribution and infrastructure development change and evolve as a resource
changes. In previous standards, we saw how sometimes in Arizona experienced boom and bust
cycles like the old mining town of Bisbee. During the boom phase, populations rose and towns
cropped up in previously unoccupied locations. When the mines were depleted or the town's
reason for being established in the first place was diminished, the town's population declined and
many of them turned into ghost towns. Some towns, however, redefined themselves and looked
to alternative economies that revived and morphed the old mining towns or old cowboy towns
giving them new identity and income sources, which once again brought new settlers. A good
example of an old cowboy town turned ghost town turned tourist town is Tombstone, Arizona,
which was dubbed the town too tough to die.
Slide 17
Text: Too many people or too much consumption?
[Charts of world fossil fuel consumption] [Map of the world]
Audio: Demand for resources varies spatially. More resources are used by economically
developed countries than by developing countries. For example, the United States uses petroleum
at a rate that is 5 times the world average. As countries develop economically, their demand for
resources increases faster than their population grows. The wealth that accompanies economic
development enables people to consume more. However, wealth can also be used to figure out
ways to use resources more sustainably so they last longer especially when we take into
consideration that the consumption of a resource does not necessarily occur where the resource is
produced or where the largest reserves of the resource are located. In fact, sometimes quite the
opposite is true. Most of the petroleum produced in Southwest Asia, for example, is consumed in
the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Slide 17
Text: Conflict over natural resources
[Image of journal cover for Development: conflicts over natural resources] [Photo of a guard
standing watch at an illegal diamond mine in Angola, Africa] [Political cartoon]
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Audio: Sometimes users of resources feel insecure when they have to depend on other places to
supply them with materials that are important to their economy and their standard of living. This
feeling of insecurity can become especially strong if two independent countries do not have good
political relations, share the same values or understand each other. In some situations, conflict
over resources breaks out into warfare. In this slide we see 3 images. The picture of the journal
cover development focuses this particular issue on conflicts over natural resources. The picture
in the upper right corner shows a scene from Angola, Africa, with a guard standing watch at an
illegal diamond mine in the country during its civil war. The cartoon in the bottom right shows
how several countries even countries on the outside of a conflict may have a strategic interest in
the outcome of the conflict and may back one side or another.
Conflicts over resources are likely to increase as demand increases further resources and will
potentially escalate when the resource space declines and becomes even scarcer. If we are meant
to coexist as a human species the planet's resources must be managed to guarantee adequate
supplies for everyone. That means reserves of renewable resources need to be sustained at a
productive level. New reserves of nonrenewable resources need to be found and exploited.
New applications for flow resources need to be developed and whenever possible, cost effective
substitutes especially for nonrenewable resources need to be developed. Therefore, students must
understand the different kinds of resources, the distribution of resources on the planet, and the
ways in which humans value and use and compete over resources. Also, students should begin to
imagine a world in which people can share resources to mitigate potential conflict and suffering.
Slide 18
[Photo of Elizabeth Larson]
Audio: Standard 16 is presented by Elizabeth Larsen [phonetic], School of Geographical
Sciences and Urban Planning, at Arizona State University, 2011.
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