Conserve Non Renewable Resources
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What are Renewable and Non-renewable Resources?
Can you list several ways one can help to conserve the other?
Thank you! 
Renewable = can be replenished, restored regenerated, returned to the environment.
Non-Renewable = can’t be replenished, can’t be regenerated, can’t be restored, can’t be returned to the environment.
Wind and solar power are both renewable resources because the sun is going to be shining for the next several billion years without much change in output. Water and tides will always flow so hydraulic power is also renewable. The wind will blow and the sun will shine every day so these are considered to be renewable resources.
Any process that burns something is almost always consuming a non-Renewable Resource; like wood, fossil fuel (natural gas, oil and Coal). The processes to make these fuels are incredibly long and depend on the existence of fallow swamp land, which mankind is draining and we are consuming those resources far more quickly then they can possibly be replaced. Iran may be sitting over an ocean of oil, but once that oil is drained it won’t be replaced.
The use of uranium fuel in a nuclear reactor is consuming a non-renewable resource, but it burns at an extremely efficient rate so it makes a good power source; if it weren’t for the dangerous waste produced by it.
Uranium will decay no matter what so it is next to impossible to conserve it, but burnable resources are conserved by either NOT burning them OR by burning them more efficiently. For example a basic internal combustion engine is only 40% efficient, but with turbo fuel injection the efficiency can be increased. An engine’s efficiency can also be increased by using a lighter material for the engine block like aluminum. The single best way though is to simply NOT use the fuel. Most non-renewable resources also create pollution as a waste product while few renewable resources produce waste.
Wood can be considered a renewable resource IF there is proper management of the resource, but that is seldom the case. The famous Sherwood Forest of England has been reduced to a small grove of trees because of the extreme use of wood by the British Empire. One reason for the establishment of the American Colonies was to provide a new source of timber. Forest management is the best way to control wood; replanting as much or more than is consumed (this is very hard to do), but you can’t replace coal, oil, or natural gas once it is burned. An algae that converts carbon to oil is a much more efficient resource and since it can be easily regrown it can be considered as a renewable resource.
Geothermal energy uses the internal heat of the Earth to create energy. Most of Iceland is heated with geothermal energy, but that is possible because the island nation is over a volcanic vent so the energy is easy to get at. It is not so easy in most other regions of the world. Eventually the earth will cool and this power source will be exhausted, but the sun will go out long before that happens so it is considered a renewable resource.
Moving water is the first and most common renewable resource used. Tidal energy is a new development and it has been found to be quite powerful. Currents like the Gulf Stream are always moving and can be relied on to provide a constant source of power. Wind currents are not so reliable and the sun always sets at night so it to is not that reliable. Battery power is usually used to try and bridge the gap. However, the sun will always shine and the wind blows almost every day making them renewable resources.
The Use Of Renewable Resources can cause problems, dams have interfered with the reproduction of trout and put the species in danger of extinction. Poorly designed windmills can be a danger to birds and are a blight on the landscape. Solar cells cause less environmental problems and can be designed to fit into the landscape. The primary material used in them is silicon and that is not a pollution causing problem. One of the biggest benefits of most renewable resources is that they don’t create much waste, aren’t much of a danger to the environment and don’t produce greenhouse gases which could contribute to global warming. Almost all non-renewable resources do cause those secondary problems.
Energy
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G.P. Marsh’s 1847 Speech on Conservation (Environment) $0.99 George Perkins Marsh is widely believed to be the father of the environmental movement. His speech in 1847 set the tone for all future discussions on the matter and is must reading for anyone interested in conservation or environmentalism. A nutshell biography is included…. |
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