NATURAL RESOURCES

Anything obtained from the natural environment to meet our needs or is important for our survival is a natural resource. Thus, air,water,and soil are necessary for survival; whereas metals,other minerals (including fuels),and forests serve to meet our needs. These are all examples of natural resources.

Technological advancements has enabled us to keep adding to  this of resources to support our changing lifestyles. These can be called as human made resources. Plastics, optic fibres and synthetic fibres are examples of such resources.

AIR

Air is a mixture of gases constituting mainly of nitrogen and oxygen and to a smaller extent carbon dioxide,noble gases,a small percentage of water vapour and traces of other gases. Their respective composition are:

Nitrogen: 78.084%

Oxygen: 20.947%

Carbon dioxide: 0.033%

Argon: 0.934% 

Air is very essential for our survival. When we say this, we often refer to oxygen but even other gases are also of equal importance.

About 75% of the earth's air is found in troposphere,the earth's innermost layer. The second layer of atmosphere i.e,the stratosphere also contains a small portion of air and in addition has a higher concentration of ozone. Stratospheric ozone is produced by the action of ultraviolet radiation (from the sun) on oxygen. This acts as a blanket and prevents most of the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching the earth's surface.

CHANGES DUE TO POLLUTION

Air pollution is the presence of substances in air that can harm life forms and alter the climate. The table lists the major types of pollutants that have altered the composition of air .

The effects of air pollution are felt more in urban and industrial areas than in rural areas. Increased built up areas ,tall buildings interfering the air movement and unregulated growth of amenities leading to the reduced green areas are choking the cities.

WATER

We live in a blue planet, a water planet,but only a small fraction of this water i.e ; 0.014% of total volume on this planet is fresh water, available for human use. About 97.4% of water is unusable salt water in Oceans. Of the remaining 2.6% most is locked away either in ice caps and glaciers ( 2%)or in groundwater which isctoo deep or salty to be used.

Interestingly the small quantity of fresh water available is more than enough if used sensibly. This fresh water gets recycled continuously through the hydrological cycle. If we are facing water crisis today, the fault lies in  the way we have misused the water system.

SOURCES OF WATER

The 0.014% fresh water is available as limited Underground water, surface water resources ,soil moisture and water vapour.

GROUNDWATER

Water that has been filtered into the soil and is held between it's particles and between rocks and crevices forms groundwater. However this is getting depleted fast because we consume moter than what gets replenished. Borewells go deeper as we search for groundwater. Recharging of groundwater is insufficient because of our failure to harvest rainwater.

SURFACE WATER

Allwatsr that is naturally open to the atmosphere is surface water. The water in estuaries,rivers,lakes,streams and ponds are examples of surface water. Surface water contamination is the major problem that is on the rise now a days.

REDUCTION OF WATER RESOURCES

Droughts dry climate,rapid evaporation from exposed soil ,water stress due to excessive consumption, and wastes are the reasons for non availability of fresh water.

SOIL

Soil is a mixture of minerals,organic matter,water, air and innumerable micro scopic organisms. Although soil is a renewable resource, it's formation is extremely slow. It needs to be used and taken care of like a non- renewable resource. It takes about a 1000 years to firm an inch of topsoil. Without soil ,food cannot be guaranteed.

The most common problem of so is soil erosion. When soil is exposed to wind and water, it's most fertile particles are carried away. The roots of plants hold soil particles, thereby preventing erosion. But human activities like ploughing, cutting down forests for mining and metal extraction and converting agricultural lands to residential colonies or industries have resulted in loss of vegetation,leaving the topsoil open to such erosion.

Soil erosion has two major effects on the environment--- loss of soil fertility and loss of the ability of soil to hold water and sediments. If soil erosion is not checked, the process of desertification will speed up. Since soil erosion us a slow process,soil conservation has not been a high priority for most countries.

When soil is eroded,other ecosystems are affected. Soil away by water ends up as slit in rivers, dams and other water bodies. Siltation of rivers raises their levels and in large rivers ,it results in floods.

Soil is polluted by excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. Municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes add to the problem.

MINERALS

Minerals can be metallic or non metallic. According to Department of Mines if the Government of India,our country has significant mineral resources. India produces 89 minerals, out of which four are fuel minerals,11 are metals , 52 are non-metals and 22 are minor minerals.

The mineral extraction for commercial use is leading to many dangerous environmental effects. These mining  activities are leaving many tribal communities landless and without livelihood options. For forest dwellers, resettlement and cash incentives are of little help. Dense forest areas are replaced by barren landscapes, wildlife is slowly disappearing and water resources are getting dry. It is a great cost to pay for industrial development.

 Mining of some radioactive minerals leaves the radioactive residues called tailings. These effluents are dumped in tailing  ponds which causes a destructive effects on water ecosystem.

High levels of radon، a radioactive gas released in the mining operations have been found in Jamshedpur,20km away from Jadaguds, Jharkhand.

FUELS 

FUELS are sources of energy. Energy resources can be renewable sources such as wind,water and sun or non-renewable such as coal,oil( petroleum) and natural gas(fossil fuels).

Cultural changes over several thousand years have increased energy usage per person. In a technologically advanced nation such as US energy consumption per person may be about 260,000kcal per day. In contrast, primitive societies may use as little as 2000kcal per day . Most of the energy consumed worldwide (82%) comes from non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear fuels.

FOSSIL FUELS

 COAL has to obtained from underground or from the surface. Mining leads to loss of forest cover and topsoil erosion. Added to this, burning of coal contributes 36%to the total carbon dioxide emissions in the world. Several coal fields are found across the country. Bihar and Jharkhand are the leading producers of coal.

OIL

Oil drives much of the industry. India,there are 12 oil refineries of which 7 are located along the coast . The largest oil reserves are off the shores of Mumbai. New wells have been discovered off the coasts of Andhrapradesh. Ankleshwar in Gujarat and Digboi in Assam are the important oil producing areas .

When the ocean is drilled for oil and gas, the precious and fragile ocean ecosystem gets destroyed.

Our ways of energy usage causes habitat destruction, air, land and water pollution,loss of biodiversity and climate change.

ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF ENERGY

Alternative sources are slowly but steadily gaining importance. Electricity generated from coal based thermal power stations or from large same can be generated through the use of solar cells. Windmills are increasingly being used for electricity generation. Currently there is much discussion about the use if biofuels. But the extraction of fuels from the plant based sources puts food security at risk. Another way of energy generation is using nuclear sources but this is controversial.

What is needed today is a comprehensive, Integrated energy generation and use policy. Such a policy must evolve out of the participation of people accross the country.

FORESTS

India has a forest cover of 678,333sq.km

roughly 20.64% of its geographical area. The reports says," since 1947, 5.3 million hectares of forest area has been exploited for river valley projects, mining, industries, agriculture, townships, roads and other development activities".

Forests perform several ecosystem functions.

* They provide clean and fresh air. They help remove carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen and water vapour.

*They provide habitats for animals, plants,fungi and microorganisms.

* They are the sources of economic growth. Timber production, wood products manufacture and paper manufactureare are examples of  that depend on the forests.  Wood is an important source of fuel for the industries that depend on fruits, nuts, leaves, medicines and other purposes. Recreation tourism is another industry that provides employment potential with minimum destruction to the forests 

*They preserve water and prevent erosion. Plants slow down the rate of flow of water and allow it to percolate into the soil. The roots of trees hold the soil particles together and prevent them from being washed away by the fast flowing water.

* They provide ecological benefits. Forests are ecosystems and help keep ecological relationships intact. They ensure that the biogeochemical cycles are not disrupted. Indirectly this ensures that the planet can sustain life.

CONCEPT MAP 

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