Earth’s Resources

• Renewable… can be replaced naturally at or near the rate of use– Water – Grain– oxygen

• Non-renewable… – Oil– Freshwater

Sustainable development

• Sustainable development uses resources that are renewable to create a smaller ecological footprint

Land Resources• Space allocation

– Human habitat… housing & recreation, industrial, waste management

– Food… agriculture, livestock– Ecosystem… natural habitat

• Management– Ensures soil composition remains

healthy• Humus• NPK

Agriculture Strategies

• Crop Rotation– Replenishes nutrients

• No till farming– Leaves roots intact… resists

erosion and traps in moisture• Contour farming & terracing

– Resists erosion and helps reduce water usage

Forest Resources• Resources

– Environmental gas exchange– Wood and pulp based products… paper &

building materials– Global soil health– Area of ground water recharge

• Impact of human intervention– ~1/2 of the natural forests of the world are

now gone… deforestation– Considered renewable as long as properly

managed… no clear cutting!• Selective harvesting of mature trees• Replanting• Tree farms• GMO to produce faster growing trees

Fishery Resources• Overfishing… threatens the reproductive cycles of fish… greatly threatens many species– Since the 1990s the US National

Marine Fisheries Service has set many restrictions of size, amount, and season to help sustain this valuable resource

– Aquaculture… fish hatcheries• Raises fish for human consumption

– Causes coastal pollution and eutrophication is not wisely managed

Air Resources

• Industrialization brought with it smog– A toxic layer of chemicals that

creates a brownish haze in the sky• Considered a pollutant by the EPA

(environmental protection agency)• Clean Air Act 1970… limited the

amount of pollutants that can be safely released

• Creates acid rain as the chemicals bind with water in the atmosphere… greatly affects plants by harming leaves and the soil bacteria that they depend on

Freshwater Conservation

• Clean Water Act of 1973