We always hear that nature provides all the necessary things whether living or non-living for our survival. Nature gives us air, water, soil, minerals etc. and we humans are consumers of all these. But do you know that some of the natural resources cannot be regenerated. It means that once they vanish from our earth then we cannot utilize or regenerate them. Let us discuss more.
All the resources given by nature without any human intervention or human activities are called Natural resources. We humans are continuously using these resources for our survival and upliftment.
Some of the utilization of natural resources are mentioned below -
Use of coal for the generation of electricity
Use of petroleum products for the transportation
Water, air and sunlight are useful for the existence of life.
As we know that there are some natural resources which can be regenerated and in abundance on our Earth or nature, but some of the natural resources are having limited availability. Based on this, they are divided into two categories, namely:
Inexhaustible Natural resources
Exhaustive natural resources
These natural resources are available in enormous amounts and cannot get exhausted after human use. They are available in large amounts on the earth.
Examples of inexhaustible natural resources are Solar light, Water, Wood, etc.
These natural resources are available in limited quantities in our nature. We cannot regenerate them once they get exhausted.
Examples of Exhaustible natural resources are Coal, Petroleum, etc.
As we know that the population of our earth is increasing daily but the natural resources are limited.
For example, a recent survey says that petroleum products will last till next 50 years and coal will last till next 100 years. It means that we are using the natural resources from generation to generation so they are decreasing drastically. So the proper conservation of natural resources will ensure the fulfilment of the needs of the present generation and also for the future generation. It also ensures that all the resources will be equally distributed among all the people.
As we know, we are mostly dependent on exhaustive natural resources in our modern life which will be exhausted after a few years.
For example, most of the electricity in our country comes from the thermal power plant which uses coal as a fuel.
Similarly, petroleum products like petrol, diesel, aviation fuel are mostly used in transportation of humans or goods. Now if we want to conserve these exhaustible natural resources then we need to shift our dependency from exhaustive natural resources to inexhaustible natural resources.
For example, we can switch our dependency from thermal power plant to solar power plant, hydroelectric power plant, geothermal power plant, wind power plant or biomass power plant (shown in Figure 1). It will save the exhaustive use of coal in thermal power plants.
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Figure 1: Various resources of inexhaustible natural resources
Similarly, we can switch to electric vehicles, hydrogen as a fuel for transportation instead of petroleum products.
We should stop using the woods as fuel for cooking, for the furniture and decoration purposes. Because it causes deforestation. Now what is deforestation and how does it affect us? Deforestation means cutting of trees in forest areas and clearing the forest area by cutting of trees. The effects of deforestation are climate change, soil erosion, floods, increase in temperature of earth with increase in greenhouse gasses etc. which may lead to many natural calamities and will also decrease the level of oxygen in the atmosphere. Burning of wood causes atmospheric pollution. Instead of wood, we may use clean sources of energy for the cooking of food. We may use biodegradable materials for the furniture and decorative items.
Three R’s to save the environment can help in conservation of natural resources. They are as follows:
Reduce: Reduce the use of exhaustible natural resources and use it in a sustainable manner.
Recycle: It means that we should recycle the products of paper, plastic, metals again and again such that it will not cause pollution and reduce the usage of natural resources.
Reuse: After recycling we should reuse the same product again and again. Also, some of the products like plastic bottles can be used in multi-purpose to keep jam or pickle at home.
As we know the importance of water as a resource for our existence and also we know that the drinking water is decreasing day by day. So we have to conserve it for the present and the future generation. We should make dams on the river to use the maximum water for irrigation, drinking, etc. We should use the water harvesting methods such as khadin, tanks, nadis, ponds, etc.
As responsible citizens we also have some duties to conserve natural resources.
For example, use of public transport instead of personal vehicles for transportation. We can watch TV in one room at home instead of watching in individual rooms. We can close the tap of water while brushing our teeth or while shaving unnecessarily.
As we know that we are very much dependent on natural resources for our existence, so the conservation or management of natural resources are very much essential. So by using the above methods we can conserve the natural resources and utilize them in a sustainable manner.
Q1. Give some examples of exhaustive and inexhaustible natural resources.
Ans. Exhaustive natural resources are Coal, Petroleum, Wood, Minerals.
Inexhaustible natural resources are Water, Sunlight, Wind.
Q2. What are the replacements of thermal power plants for electricity generation?
Ans. Solar power plants, Hydel power plant, Wind power plant, Geo-thermal power plant and Biomass power plant are few replacements of electricity power generation. These replacements can be used for the conservation of coal in thermal power plants.
Q3. What is the full form of 3 R’s method?
Ans. R - Reduce
R - Recycle
R - Reuse
Q4. What are the methods for conservation of momentum?
Ans. There are few methods of conservation of water -
Rainwater harvesting by making ponds, Khadin, tanks, nadis and also by the use of modern equipment.
By using the dams over rivers, we can utilize maximum water for useful purposes like irrigation, drinking, etc.
We can use some home remedies to save water like by turning off the water while brushing your teeth or while shaving, by checking the leaking of water in any pipe or tap, etc.
Q5. What are the cons of deforestation?
Ans. Deforestation means cutting of trees in forest areas and clearing the forest area by cutting of trees. The effects of deforestation are climate change, soil erosion, floods, increase in temperature of earth with increase in greenhouse gasses, etc.
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