Natural Resources Presentation

Click on this link to see a presentation on Natural Resources types, places where they occur, benefits,  three types of pollution, the three R's and Natural Resources conservation.

Mind Map

Now, you are going to create a similar "Mind Map" by using the information posted in the  entry "How do we Use and Conserve Natural Resources?". Focus your attention on the benefits people get from Natural Resources, the three types of pollution, the three R's and Natural Resources Conservation.

How do we Use and Conserve Natural Resources?

In this  new entry, we will continue learning more about natural resources so that you have a better idea of where they come from, how they are used every day, how we can pollute them if we do not dispose our waste properly and  how we can conserve them. What are natural resources? Water, wind, sunshine, soil and coal are all natural resources. Every living thing uses natural resources every day.

Resources come from different parts of our planet and they belong to you, to me, to everyone. The problem is that once we use up a resource, it has gone forever. When do you use water? Do you use water everyday? What about this morning? Did you use water this morning to brush your teeth?  Did you drink a glass of milk for breakfast? If you did, then you used a natural resource. What about now? Are you wearing a cotton shirt or a pair of leather shoes? If you are, that means you are benefiting from natural resources. Remember that a natural resource is anything useful or necessary for living beings that occurs naturally on Earth. People all around the world depend on natural resources every day.  Human beings use many of them without even thinking about it.

As we saw before, there are two groups of natural resources: renewable and non-renewable. Renewable resources are resources that nature can replace when they are used.  For example, when trees are cut down, new trees could be planted for new ones to grow. Animals, plants, wind, sunlight and air are other renewable resources.  Farmers use natural resources such as soil, air, water, and sunlight to produce food.

Nonrenewable resources are those that nature cannot replace after they have been used. Unfortunately, sometime in the future, they may disappear completely. Soil and minerals are examples of nonrenewable resources. If used carefully, soil can last a long time, but if it is destroyed, it cannot be replaced. Another example of nonrenewable resources is fossil fuels which is an energy source formed deep inside Earth from the remains of organisms that lived long ago. Natural gas, coal and oil are fossil fuels. Most of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels. They are burned in many energy stations in order to produce electricity. In fact, natural resources are used to make products of all sorts. Every product you use started out as a natural resource.

Have you ever asked yourself where natural resources come from? Well, some occur near where you live.   Let us say, when you go to a market, the local farmers bring their goods such as corn and potatoes to the market soon after crops are harvested or products are made. Customers looking for fresh foods go the market. Goods sold at a farmers’ market probably travel short distances between where they are grown and where they are sold. Other resources occur in other parts of the world and are transported long distances to get to the places where they are needed.  For example, oil is moved by tanker ships and pipelines to places where it is needed. The United States uses more oil than it produces,   this country has to import oil.  Other countries produce more oil than they use.  Countries like Venezuela can sell the extra oil they produce. They export some of it to the United States. Most imported oil arrived in the United States on huge tanker ships. When the oil arrives in the United States, it is converted into fuel and other products. These products are carried around the country in pipelines and on trains and tanker trucks.

Millions of people around the world benefit from natural resources all day every day. Let us picture yourself at home. When you wake up in the morning, what do you do? You may take a shower and watch TV; your mother probably makes breakfast for you. Each of these activities uses natural resources. The food that you eat and the water that you use to wash your hands and brush your teeth are renewable resources. Now, let us think about your TV, how does it work? Well, it uses electricity that may have been generated from the nonrenewable resource coal. The plastics, metals and other materials the TV is made of also come from nonrenewable resources. If you walk into your bedroom and look around, you will probably  notice that many of your toys started as a natural resource, and they are what they are after going through a factory process.

Why is it that you do not realize that you use natural resources on daily basis? It is mainly because you do not use most natural resources in their original form. Although you can eat some fruits and vegetables just as they are picked, most foods are cooked. Incredibly, every product you use was made from one or more natural resources. For example, the paper you use to print your homework comes from trees. What about the plastic cup you used to drink water? Plastic can be made from oil.

Natural Resources help people do many things, but the use of natural resources can cause pollution. As we have previously learned, pollution is the contamination of air, water, or soil by materials that are harmful to human beings and all living things. Water, soil or air are some of the most important natural resources. Most air pollution comes from the burning of fossil fuels. Cars and trucks are the main cause of air pollution, but many factories are also a great source of contamination.  Air pollution can harm the health of people, plants and animals.

In the same way, water can become polluted when trash and chemical waste from factories get into oceans, lakes and rivers. Water pollution harms organisms, including people that need water to drink, to wash and to live. Likewise, soil can be polluted. Chemicals contaminate soils making them unusable for growing crops.

We have to stop for a moment and think about ways on how to conserve resources and help our planet. People around the world throw away millions of tons of trash every year. Trash is a big issue. There is too much trash, and not enough places to put it. Garbage, in fact, pollutes natural resources especially soil and water. That is why it is very important to conserve resources. What is conservation? The answer is very simple. It is using resources carefully and not wasting them.  If you are good and save as many resources as possible, you are practicing conservation. Conservation is easy to do and it is good for the planet and for everyone who lives on it. Have you heard before about the 3 Rs, reducing, reusing and recycling? Well, let me refresh your memory.  To reduce means to use less. You can reduce the amount of waste by using cloth shopping bags instead of plastic or paper bags every time you go to the store. The second ‘R’ is reuse. You reuse an item when you turn it into something else. You can use an old T-shirt by tearing it into pieces of cloths to remove the dust from your house furniture.  Finally, the third ‘R’ is recycle.  Recycling means to reduce the amount of natural resources we use and the amount of trash we put in landfills. A recycled product is made from materials recovered from thrown-away objects by reprocessing them. For example, a playground equipment is made out of milk containers. Metals from cans may be recycled to make a new baseball bat. A metal can also be reused as a planter.  As you may have seen, we only need to use our creativity to come up with bright ideas at the moment of recycling.

There is so much to do to help the world to be a better and safe place to live. We could start by protecting natural resources such as soil.  Soil is one of the world’s most valuable natural resources because it contains nutrients that plants need in order to grow. Most of our food comes from crops that grow in soil.  Animals also depend  on soil to provide  the food they eat. Some ways that humans destroy soil are pollution, road construction and deforestation.

Water is another very important renewable   resource, but only some of it is available for use. It is crucial to keep an eye on how much water we use to make sure we always have enough. You can help conserve water at home by fixing leaky faucets or pipes. Did you know that by fixing a leaky faucet, you could save more than eight gallons of water every day? Another way to save water is by collecting rainwater in barrels  during the rainy season to water the plants in your house garden.  We need to understand that we all need water, even animals, but there is only so much water on Earth. Therefore, it could run out of if we use too much. There are many people on the plane, and there is only a small amount of water for drinking and using, we need to save as much water as possible.

Besides soil and water, we have fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil. Every time you ride in a car or bus, turn on a light, work on your computer, or turn on the heat on a cold day, natural resources work for you!

Electricity and heat are forms of energy that you use at home. The resources mentioned above help provide energy. These resources are limited, and burning them causes pollution. Therefore, using less of them help their conservation and helps clean the environment. Another easy way to conserve energy in your home is by turning off the lights and any other electrical appliances when you are not using them. Also, by keeping your house curtains closed helps your home stay at a comfortable temperature, thus, it will not be necessary to turn on the air conditioner nor the fans. What about outside your home? How can you conserve energy?  You can start by riding your bike to go places near your house.  Bikes do not use fuels as cars and buses do, and it is good exercise for your health. Alternative energy sources as wind and sunlight can produce energy without the need for coal, oil or gas. Not only they conserve natural resources, they do not pollute either.

In conclusion, the Earth gives us lots of good things that we need to survive. Consequently, we should use natural resources carefully so that we do not run out. We should all act responsibly in order to conserve both renewable and nonrenewable resources. We should not take for granted that we can always benefit from them because if we are careless, they will not be enough of them for your children or for your children’s children. Some day in the future, we may run out of drinking water or clean soil to grow our food.  For this reason, we  all have to work together  to keep land, water and air clean by putting trash in trash cans. We can keep waste away from water, that is, we have to dispose our waste wisely.   Your parents can drive less to help air clean. You can help by planting tree as trees help cleaning the air.  You should keep in mind that the Earth is our home and we have to keep it clean, nice and safe. Our planet needs to be a safe place to live, but it  is in our hands for this to take place. We need to be conscious of today’s environmental problems and be active caretakers of our planet. Do not wait for tomorrow! You can start now making the difference for future generations. They will thank you for the resources that you take care of today and will still be conserved for them tomorrow.

Renewable Natural Resources

In this entry, we are going to learn about Earth Natural Resources. We will see some examples and the benefits people get from them. 

Earth is our home. We use things on Earth to help us live. A resource is something we can use. Natural resources come from Nature; this means that they are not created by humans. People use and modify natural resources in ways that are beneficial to them. Examples of natural resources are air, water, sun, plants and animals, rocks and soil. 

There are two types of natural resources: renewable and non-renewable. Renewable resources are any natural resources that can be used by people and be replaced. For example, we use tomatoes. We use tomatoes to make food. Tomatoes come from a plant that can grow back and produce more tomatoes. On the other hand, natural resources that cannot be replaced once they have been used are called non-renewable. An example of it is petroleum, once it leaves the ground, we cannot put it back or grow more. Even when we cannot replace non-renewable resources, we can recycle some things and use them again. 

Now we are going to focus on seven renewable resources that are commonly used on daily basis. 

We breathe air. Wind is moving air. We need air to live. That is why it is important to keep it clean by driving less or by planting trees. What benefit can we get from air? For example, a wind farm changes wind into useful energy. Energy gives light and heat to homes. 

Water is another natural resource. We use water in many ways. We use water to drink, cook, water plants and wash. Water is indeed a very useful resource. Who needs water? We all do! Most plants and animals need water as well. Plants and animals would not be able to survive without water and this would affect people too. In fact, we need water to stay healthy. We also need water for fun activities such as swimming or travelling by ship. 

Where can we find water? We can find water in streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. 71% of Earth is covered with water. The water in the streams, rivers and lakes is fresh, but the water in the oceans is salty. Most of Earth’s water is in oceans. It is crucial to protect water and keep it clean by using less of it for baths and showers and by not putting trash in water. 

Sun is a very important natural resource that gives off heat and light. We need heat to keep us warm and help plants grow. The light from the sun gives off energy that provides food for plants and for all living things on Earth. 

Plants and animals are natural resources too. Trees are very important because they give off oxygen which is necessary for life. We get food from both plants and animals. We also use them to make clothes and other things we need. For example, we make shirts from cotton. We make chairs and tables from trees. We make food from potatoes. We make a scarf to keep warm in the cold weather from a sheep’s wool. We make leather shoes from the cow’s skin. We make cheese and butter from a cow’s milk. We get meat from pigs, chickens and cows. Horses are also very beneficial because we can get around by riding them. In the past, horses were a primary means of transportation. Other animals as oxen help in farming. Another animal that is relevant in people’s nutrition is the hen. We get eggs from a hen. Plants and animals are very important resources because we greatly benefit from them. Imagine if we could not get eggs from hens! We would not be able to make delicious dishes or desserts. 

Another example of a natural resource is “rocks”. A rock is a hard nonliving object from the ground. We use rocks to build things. We can build houses, streets, bridges, etc. Rocks may be different color and shapes. Rocks may be big or small. Color, shape and size are properties of rocks. A property is one part of what something is like. Have you ever noticed how rocks vary in color? Some rocks may be white, others brown, grey and even green. If we talk about size, there are some that are small, but there are others that are very big. 

Soil is a natural resource, too. Soil is the top layer of Earth. We use soil to grow plants. If you have a garden outside your house, you can plant a seed in the soil for later to have a beautiful flower or even a juicy fruit. We grow food in soil. We can also use it to make things. We can make bricks out of soil. We use bricks for building. 
Soil is made up of small pieces of rock and once-living thigs. How does soil form? This is how: wind and water break down rock. Pieces of rock form the base of soil. Dead plants and animals fall to the ground. They break into bits. These pieces mix with the bits of broken rock. Soils may be different. Soils may have different colors and textures. Texture is what an object feels like. Color and texture are two properties of soil. Why are there different soil colors? The color of soil comes from the rocks and other things found in it. The size and shape of the rock pieces make different textures. Once-living things make different textures, too. Some soils are better than others for growing plants. 

So, why do we need all these natural resources? Because without them we would not be able to survive as they provide food, energy, light and all the essentials for our daily life. All living things depend on water and sun without one, the others will be useless. Keep in mind that natural resources are necessary and for this reason, we have to do everything we can to conserve our resources by taking care of Earth.

Next, you can see some pictures of the natural resources we have mentioned above:

Now, let us watch a video about  the different natural resources mentioned above:

Click in this link  and print the sheet to solve the phrase in the Cryptogram.

Click in the following link, print and complete the crossword  by filling in a word that fits each clue.