Natural Resources & Pollution

Natural Resources

raw materials and energy sources that societies consume

Renewable resources

can be replenished within a timeframe relative to the one during which they are taken from the environment and used

Non-renewable Resources

cannot be replenished within a timeframe relative to the one during which they are taken from the environment and used

Provisioning services

benefits humans receive from taking natural resources from ecosystems

Regulating and supporting services

benefits from the transfers and transformations of energy and matter in ecosystems that keep them clean, functional, resilient, and sustainable

Cultural services

aesthetic, cognitive, recreational, scientific, and spiritual services we receive from nature

Natural Capital

stock of natural resources available on Earth

• includes all storages of energy and matter in ecosystems, like water, soil, living organisms, minerals, and other natural resources

Natural Income

outflow of resources, or yield, from Earth's storages when we extract these resources to use them for our benefit

Instrumental value

• useful to humans

come from goods (such as food and water), services (such as decomposers breaking down waste) or human development (such as knowledge or inspiration)

instrumental value of natural capital changes over time as social, economic, and technological developments occur that alter human needs and wants

Intrinsic value

valuing something for its own sake, not for its use to humans. Like humans, living organisms have intrinsic value because they have parts, processes, and behaviours organised to survive and reproduce.

pollution

The contamination of the Earth and atmosphere to such an extent that normal environmental processes are adversely affected

point pollution

• Sources of contaminants (pollutants) from single points on a map.

• The source can be tracked

non-point pollution

• Sources of contaminants (pollutants) are from more dispersed sources and entering into the natural environment

• Sources = many and widely dispersed

primary polution

active on emission

secondary pollution

Come from primary pollutants, but transformed into another pollutant undergoing physical or chemical change

persistent pollutants

• cannot be broken down by living organisms

• pass long food chains

  • bioaccumulation

  • biomagnification

biodegradable

• not stored in biological matter

• not being passed along food chains

bioaccumulation

increase of concentration of a chemical/toxin in an organism over a period of time

biomagnification

increase of concentration of chemicals/toxins is passed upwards and maximized to the top predator of the food chain