Chapter 1: Resources
What is a Resource?
Anything that can be used to satisfy a need is a resource. All resources have a value or 'utility'. For example, water, electricity, a textbook, all have utility. Value means worth. Some resources have economic value, some do not. For example, metals may have an economic value, but a beautiful landscape may not. However, both are important and satisfy human needs. Time and technology are two important factors that can change substances into resources.
Types of Resources
Resources are generally classified into three types:
- Natural Resources: These are drawn from nature and used without much modification. Examples: air, water from rivers and lakes, soil, minerals. They can be further classified as:
- Renewable Resources: Those which get renewed or replenished quickly. Example: solar and wind energy.
- Non-renewable Resources: Those which have a limited stock and take thousands of years to be renewed. Example: coal, petroleum, and natural gas.
- Human-Made Resources: When humans use natural resources to make something new that provides utility and value, it is called a human-made resource. Examples: buildings, bridges, roads, machinery, and vehicles.
- Human Resources: People are human resources. It is the knowledge, skill, and technology that humans possess that allows them to turn natural substances into valuable resources.
Conserving Resources
Using resources carefully and giving them time to get renewed is called resource conservation. The future of our planet and its people is linked with our ability to maintain and preserve the life support system that nature provides.
Sustainable Development
Balancing the need to use resources and also conserve them for the future is called sustainable development. It means carefully utilizing resources so that besides meeting the requirements of the present, it also takes care of future generations.
Exercise Questions and Answers
1. Answer the following questions.
(i) Why are resources distributed unequally over the earth?
(ii) What is resource conservation?
(iii) Why are human resources important?
(iv) What is sustainable development?
(i) Why are resources distributed unequally over the earth?
The distribution of natural resources depends upon a number of physical factors like terrain, climate and altitude. Since these factors differ so much over the earth, the distribution of resources is unequal.
(ii) What is resource conservation?
Resource conservation is the practice of using resources carefully and giving them adequate time to get renewed or replenished. It is essential for protecting our environment and ensuring that future generations have the resources they need.
(iii) Why are human resources important?
Human resources are important because it is people, with their knowledge, skills, and technology, who can create more resources from the natural world. A substance only becomes a resource when humans find a use for it. Therefore, people are the most valuable resource.
(iv) What is sustainable development?
Sustainable development is the principle of carefully utilizing resources so that besides meeting the requirements of the present, it also takes care of the needs of future generations. It involves balancing the use of resources with their conservation.
2. Tick the correct answer.
(i) Which one of the following does NOT make a substance a resource?
(a) utility (b) value (c) quantity
(ii) Which one of the following is a human-made resource?
(a) medicines to treat cancer (b) spring water (c) tropical forests
(i) (c) quantity
(ii) (a) medicines to treat cancer
3. Differentiate between the following.
(i) Potential and actual resources.
(ii) Ubiquitous and localised resources.
(i) Potential and Actual Resources:
• Actual Resources are those resources whose quantity is known and which are being used in the present. For example, the rich deposits of coal in the Ruhr region of Germany.
• Potential Resources are resources whose entire quantity may not be known and which are not being used at present. They could be used in the future. For example, the uranium found in Ladakh is a potential resource.
(ii) Ubiquitous and Localised Resources:
• Ubiquitous Resources are resources that are found everywhere. For example, the air we breathe.
• Localised Resources are resources that are found only in certain places. For example, copper and iron ore.
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