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We all know that survival on our planet has occurred thanks to the natural resources that it offers us and without which life would not be possible. However, what do you know about these natural resources? Do you know which ones and how many there are? It may seem irrelevant, but knowing the answer to these questions will cause us to reconsider their importance and the danger they face today.
At Ecologista Verde we know them very well and so that you are also informed and learn more about our planet and how it works, we bring you this article about what are natural resources and their types.
What are natural resources
Natural resources are elements or goods that nature provides us and that they are in the natural environment without being altered by the action of man, that is to say, that they do not intervene in their production.
These resources can be used to satisfy vital needs, both of man and of the rest of the living beings. The latter is important, since when we talk about natural resources we seem to forget about the rest of the living beings on the planet that also need them. In fact, from an economic point of view these resources are very important for the well-being and development of human society.
In the first place, we can comment that natural resources can exist in nature independently of each other, such as water; or they can exist in a slightly less accessible way, but that after a specific process through other elements can become equally important natural resources, such as metallic minerals.
Types of natural resources
Natural resources are divided into different types depending on the sources. In general, all of them coincide when classifying these natural resources into two large groups: renewable natural resources and non-renewable natural resources. This distinction is based on the time it takes for these resources to generate and regenerate themselves in nature. In this article we will develop and focus on this classification of natural resources.
However, there are also other classifications that may be complementary. Some classify natural resources as ubiquitous resources, those that are found all over the planet such as air or solar radiation; or in localized resources, those that appear sporadically in very specific places.
Furthermore, these resources can also be separated into resources located in the soil (mining resources), mineral resources, water resources, biological resources and energy resources.
In this Green Ecologist article you will be able to discover more related topics like this one on Renewable energies and non-renewable energies: examples and summary.
Renewable natural resources
Renewable natural resources, as we mentioned, refer to the fact that they are permanently available, that is, that they don't run out Despite their use, they regenerate at a much higher rate than they are consumed. But we must be careful in this last aspect. If the utilization rate were higher than the rate at which the resource is regenerated, it would begin to be in danger of being depleted and ceasing to be a renewable resource. For this reason, we must always bear in mind to make responsible use of our natural resources.
Some examples of renewable natural resources are:
- Water
- Solar radiation
- Wind
- Biomass
In addition, renewable natural resources are also considered those energies that can be obtained from these sources, called renewable energy, such as hydraulic energy, tidal energy, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy or biofuels.
Learn more with these other Green Ecologist articles on renewable resources: what they are and examples and Examples of inexhaustible natural resources.
Non-renewable natural resources
Once the renewable natural resources are known, we can get an idea of what non-renewable natural resources consist of. They are those whose formation has greater difficulties in terms of the time it takes to generate (on a geological scale they take many thousands of years). Therefore, cannot be reused, regenerated or produced at a sufficient rate as to maintain a high rate of consumption. This rate is usually very high for all the time it took to generate. In addition, these resources exist in limited quantities.
Some examples of non-renewable natural resources are:
- Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, or natural gas.
- Minerals
- Metals
- Nuclear fuels.
- Groundwater confined in isolated aquifers.
Read more about Non-renewable Resources: what they are and examples here.
What is the importance of natural resources
We know that there are many resources we need today and that not all of them are natural. Moreover, it may seem to you that natural resources may take a backseat to, for example, energy resources. But if you look for the background of these man-made resources you will find their importance.
First of all, these natural resources are completely essential for life to develop. Examples of this are air or water, which are used directly.
From this, these resources are usable from the practical point of view for the production of other raw materials or energies (transport, electricity, industry …). That is, these resources are the basis and responsible for us to enjoy our current lifestyle.
We recommend that you also consult the information on What is the importance of natural resources in this other informative article by Ecologista Verde. In addition, with this video you can learn more about renewable and non-renewable natural resources.
If you want to read more articles similar to What are natural resources and their types, we recommend that you enter our category of Other environment.
