Nonrenewable Natural Resources
Nonrenewable resources are formed when plants and
animals (often aquatic) are buried and have heat and
pressure applied to them over thousands of years.
These plants and animals are called fossils and the
resources that are created from their remains are called
fossil fuels.
Fossil Fuels= CON
 Coal (Formed from peat)
 Oil
 Natural gas
Fossil fuels are used to produce electricity and oil for cars/
vehicles and are also used to heat / power our homes and
businesses.
Fossil fuels are considered to be non-renewable resources.
This means that once they are used up, we cannot get more
because the process to create them takes too long.
Rocks and minerals are also considered to be nonrenewable because it takes a very long time for the Earth to
produce new rocks and minerals.
Rocks are part of a cycle, but the rock cycles takes
thousands of years to produce new rock.
Renewable Resources
Renewable resources can be produced again in a short
amount of time.
Although they can be used up, they can be reproduced
within a lifetime, which is why they are considered
renewable.
Renewable resources go through a cycle.
 Plants
 Water
 Oxygen
 Animals
 Soil/land
Inexhaustible/ Alternative Resources
Alternative/ Inexhaustible resources cannot be used up.
We can use as much as we need and it does not hurt the
supply.
1. Wind- energy from the movement of air
a. Captured by wind turbines
b. Wind energy can be converted into other
forms of energy.
c. No pollution
**Drawbacks – Expensive construction;
can only be located in windy areas.
2. Solar- energy from the Sun
a. Solar panels are used to capture solar energy
and convert it into useable energy.
b. No pollution
**Drawbacks – Expensive; requires a lot
of space; only produces energy during the
daytime and on “sunny” days and locations.
3. Water- “Hydro”
a. Hydroelectric power uses water to create
energy.
b. Dams are used to collect the energy from
water flowing over turbines.
c. Electricity can be constantly generated using
water.
** Drawbacks – Significantly alters the
landscape; limited suitable locations for power
plants; can affect wildlife; expensive.
Alternative Energy Resources
4. Geothermal- “Earth Heat”
a. Heat from the Earth is used to heat homes/
buildings.
b. Heat energy is converted into useable energy
by drilling into the earth and converting water
to steam which powers turbines.
** Drawbacks – Drilling down to heated rock
is difficult ; expensive to build power plants;
prime locations for power plans are remote
and energy is lost in transportation.
5. Biofuels- “Life fuels”
a. Energy that comes from plants or animal
waste.
b. “Bioconversion” uses plants (like corn and
sugar cane) and animal waste (poop) to
produce biofuels such as methanol, ethanol,
and biodiesel.
c. We can use biomass (recently living plant and
animal material), animal manure, woodchips,
seaweed, cornstalks, etc. to create biofuels.
d. Biofuels are created from
organic material and increasing
crop production reduces CO2 levels
**Drawbacks – Land needed for food production is used to
produce crops for fuel contributing to the food shortages
and hunger. Raises prices for crops needed for food since
some will be used for fuel. Crops for fuels can only be
produced during their growing season.