Comprehensive study notes on Natural Resources and the Environment

Negative Impacts of Exploiting Natural Resources:

  • Resource Depletion:
    • Overuse leads to reduction or depletion of resources.
    • Example: Overfishing depletes fish stocks, requiring significant reduction in catches for recovery.
    • Fossil fuels (oil, natural gas) will eventually run out if overused or become uneconomic to exploit.
    • Depletion means resources will be severely reduced or unavailable for future generations
  • Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions:
    • Processing and transporting natural resources involves energy use (electricity, oil, gas).
    • Burning fuel emits carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming and climate change.
  • Environmental Damage and Destruction:
    • Resource extraction can damage or destroy environments.
    • Mining and quarrying for minerals cause destruction.
    • Deforestation/logging damages habitats and ecosystems.
    • Certain fishing methods harm the marine environment; farming practices can damage soil.
  • Pollution from Processing:
    • Processing natural resources into products creates pollution.
    • Affects water, land, atmosphere, vegetation, and animals.
  • Waste from Product Use:
    • Using products (food, clothing, smartphones) generates waste.
    • Includes plastic packaging and discarded items (clothing, laptops).

Positive Impacts of Exploiting Natural Resources:

  • Meeting Basic Needs:
    • Enables food production and meeting needs for water, clothing, and shelter.
  • Improving Living Standards:
    • Allows for comfortable lives and various products.
    • Facilitates travel and communication.
  • Advancing Society:
    • Improves living standards by enabling medicine and building hospitals and schools.
  • Providing Employment:
    • Exploiting resources like oil and natural gas creates jobs.

Natural Resources in Trinidad and Tobago:

  • Exploiting reserves of oil and natural gas provides jobs.
  • Strategies are needed to conserve resources through managed and sustainable exploitation.

Key Vocabulary:

  • Acid Rain: Rain with excessive acid due to fossil fuel burning, harming ecosystems and corroding buildings.
  • Agricultural Waste Water: Polluted runoff from farmland containing sediments, fertilizers, manures, and pesticides.
  • Allocation: The process of distributing or assigning resources.
  • Andesite: A type of volcanic rock used in construction, found mainly in Tobago.
  • Aquifer: An underground layer of rock that holds water.
  • Asphalt: A natural by-product of petroleum, also a non-renewable resource.
  • Atmosphere: The layer of gases surrounding the Earth.
  • Deforestation: Clearing forests, leading to habitat loss and environmental damage.
  • Depletion: Reduction or exhaustion of a resource.
  • Diversification: Expanding into a wider variety of goods and services.
  • Exploitation: The use of natural resources for economic gain.
  • Forest: A large area covered with trees and undergrowth.
  • Fossil Fuels: Non-renewable resources like petroleum, natural gas, and coal which are formed from the remains of ancient organisms.
  • Global Warming: The gradual increase in the Earth's average surface temperature due to the increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
  • Gravel: Small, rounded stones used in construction.
  • Greenhouse Effect: The trapping of the sun's heat in the lower atmosphere by gases.
  • Gypsum: A mineral used in fertilizer and construction materials.
  • Industrial Waste Water: Wastewater produced by industrial processes.
  • Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM): A process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources.
  • Limestone: A sedimentary rock used in construction.
  • Natural Resources: Products of the natural environment used by humans for their benefit.
  • Non-Renewable Resources: Resources that cannot be replenished at the rate they are used (e.g., fossil fuels).
  • Petroleum: A fossil fuel, also known as crude oil.
  • Physical Resources: Material things humans use to live.
  • Pollution: Contamination of the environment with harmful substances.
  • Quarrying: Extracting stone or other materials from a quarry.
  • Reforestation: Replanting trees in deforested areas.
  • Renewable Resources: Resources that can be replenished naturally over time if managed responsibly.
  • Reservoir: A large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply.
  • Solid Waste: Discarded solid materials.
  • Spring: A place where groundwater naturally flows out of the earth.
  • Sustainable Development: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
  • Sustainable Use of Resources: Using resources in a way that they can meet our needs today, as well as the needs of future generations.
  • Uneconomic of resources: Resources were it's to expensive and difficult to exploit
  • Watercourse: A natural or artificial channel for water to flow.
  • Watershed: An area of land from which water flows into a river or lake.

Landforms and Land Surface Resources:

  • Uses:
    • Sites for building (housing, schools, roads).
    • Areas for growing crops and grazing animals.
    • Natural sites (beaches, rivers) for recreation.
    • Materials (sand, gravel, asphalt, clay) for construction.
  • Problems of Over-building:
    • Depletes agricultural land.
    • Reduces recreational land.
    • Destroys wildlife habitats.
    • Increases flash flooding (rainwater runoff from concrete).
    • Increases traffic congestion and air pollution.
  • Conserving the Land:
    • Follow building codes.
    • Enact and enforce land zoning laws.
    • Enforce laws against pollution from waste and toxic substances.
    • Control visitors to natural sites and manage waste disposal.
    • Regulate quarrying and mining.
    • Prevent soil erosion through reforestation, fertilizing, and mulching.

Vegetation and Animal Wildlife Exploitation:

  • Uses:
    • Forests: Timber production, recreation, and tourism.
    • Resources: Game meat, foods, and traditional medicines for local people.
    • Commercial Fishing: Rivers, lagoons, and the sea.
  • Negative Impacts:
    • Illegal logging, poaching, and deforestation.
    • Overuse can damage coral reefs and coastal fisheries.
  • Conserving Vegetation and Wildlife:
    • Control deforestation through laws and fines.
    • Managed reforestation programs.
    • Regulate commercial and other sensitive areas.
    • Prevent and control forest and bush fires.
    • Educate citizens about the importance of protection and preservation.
    • Encourage educational visits to natural areas
    • Create protected areas.

Discussion on Land Use and Environmental Conservation:

  • Forests:
    • Forests covered ~50% of Earth’s land surface at the start of the 20th century.
    • Forest coverage is now approximately 30%.

Water Resources:

  • Importance: Essential for life (cell growth, reproduction, provides oxygen).
  • Sources: Rainfall, rivers, streams, lakes, wells, and springs.
  • The Water Cycle: Constant movement of water above, along, and below the Earth’s surface
  • Threats: Overexploitation and pollution harm water resources.
  • Diagram: Understand the main key details of the process
  • Wells and boreholes extract water from surface

Management of Our Water Resources:

  • Infrastructure: Pipes bring water to homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses.
  • Access: 94% of citizens have access to safe sources (tap, standpipe, borehole, well, spring, rainwater).
  • Government Body: Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) provides water.
  • Surface Water: Caroni or Hillsborough Rivers are used
  • Groundwater: Aquifers are tapped for water
  • Storage: Water stored in reservoirs (artificial lakes).
  • Treatment: Plants remove dirt and impurities to make water safe for drinking.
  • Conservation: WASA encourages water conservation and sustainable use.

Sustainable use of fresh water:

  • Protect and sustain forests, reduce surface runoff, and feed water table
  • Protect wetlands. such as Caroni and Nariva swamps that provide food and shelter to local animals and plants.
  • Avoid excessive Irrigation of agricultural land to prevent pollution.
  • Turn off taps when not in use, and ensure proper maintenance.
  • Avoid wasting water from washing, bathing, cooking, washing cars, and watering
  • Catch rainwater into water tanks for various purposes
  • Avoid pollution of water from chemicals or raw sewage

Air, Wind, and Sunlight:

  • Essential Resources: Air and sunlight, wind is the movement of air, all renewable.
  • Atmosphere: Layer of gases which surround the Earth, provide oxygen while protecting the planet
  • Pollution: Exhaust emissions, smoke from burning garbage/ factories
  • Harmful Gases: Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and dust.
  • Pollution Effects:
    • Human ailments: Skin/lung cancer, asthma.
    • Reduced/stopped photosynthesis.
    • Acid rain: Kills leaves, poisons soil, harms marine animals, corrodes buildings.
    • The greenhouse effect: Build-up of gases trap the sun's heat lower in the atmosphere, which results in:
      • global warming (higher than normal air, land, and ocean temperatures).
      • fiercer storms
      • hurricanes
      • rise in sea levels as glaciers and ice sheets melt in the Arctic and Antarctic.
  • Renewable Energy: Hydroelectricity, tidal power, wind/solar power reduce fossil fuel use.

Fossil Fuels and mineral resources:

  • Basic Facts:
    • Fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, coal): Used to produce energy.
    • Minerals: Non-metal (gypsum, diamonds); rocks (limestone, sand, clay, gravel); metal ores (iron, gold, silver).
  • Key resources: petroleum, natural gas, mineral.
  • Petroleum and Natural Gas:
    • Valuable non-renewable resources found on land and offshore.
    • Major contributors to greenhouse gas, and cause pollution.
  • Pollution Examples:
    • Oil spills damage sea, land, and wildlife.
    • Vehicle exhaust pollutes air, harming human health.
    • Oil refining causes air pollution.
  • Sustainability Strategies:
    • Locate new reserves through exploration (particularly offshore).
    • Use less energy and do so more efficiently.
    • Use alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power.
  • Minerals and Rocks:
    • Found in Earth’s rocks, natural, not created by humans

Minerals and rocks resources in more detail:

  • Gypsum: Is used as fertiliser and to make plaster and board for use in construction. In Trinidad and Tobago gypsum is the only mineral in pure form.
  • Clay: Used to create buildings, tiles, and pottery
  • Gravel and Sand: Very widely used in construction, and quarrying them can cause major damage.
  • Limestone: Used in construction, quarrying it can be damaging to vegetation and to human and animal health.
  • Andesite: Found mainly in Tobago and is used in construction.
    *Trinidad also has small quantities of other minerals, such as fluorspar, graphite and iron, while Tobago has very small quantities of chromium and copper.

Diversification in The Manufacturing Sector:

  • Definition: Making a wider variety of goods and products.

*Diversification, you will recall from Chapter 12, means making a wider variety of goods and products. It is a key factor in sustaining our valuable resources, such as energy, crops and land.
*By manufacturing products we add value to our resources and create more employment for people
*The non-energy manufacturing sector now produces a wide range of products, such as aluminum doors and windows, building materials, bottled beverages, canned food, ceramic tiles, clothing, concrete blocks, cosmetics, furniture, household cleaners, laundry detergents, light fixtures and paint, to name just a few.

Policies on the Use of Natural Resources:

  • Government Role: Policies for conservation and sustainable use of water, forests, and other resources.
  • National IWRM Policy: Integrated Water Resource Management, aims to manage water resources, secure water supplies, protect watersheds/wetlands, restore forests/rivers/coastal areas, reduce flood/drought impacts, and ensure fair water allocation.
    *Trinidad is divided into 54 watersheds and Tobago into 15.
  • Strategies to achieve aims:
    • Pricing water to encourage conservation (i.e. higher prices for higher consumption)
    • tax incentives or grants for protecting
    • water connections
      • Pollution charges and fines.
  • National Forest Policy (NFP) Guides sustainable management of forest resources.
  • Recently it has been estimated that there was a loss of 6% of
    our forests between 1969 and 2000, with now
    only 44% of coverage remaining.
  • Some reforestation is happening because of
    actions taken by both (a) the government,
  • through the National Reforestation and
    Watershed Rehabilitation Programme.
    *The EPA's objectives are to achieve clean sir, clean water, healthy
    ecosystems, less noise and improved waste management for the
    whole of Trinidad and Tobago and its people.

Human population and how it affects the environment:

  • The population distribution refers to settlement patters, while population density is the number of people who live in each Kilometre.
  • Internal migration is the movement of people from one place to another.
  • Factors include economic, social or environmental, and pull or push factors which can cause immigration and emigration.
    *