3.2.1 Natural Resources Review

    Natural resources, or energy resources, are products that we can obtain from the Earth. We have renewable and nonrenewable resources. The purest form of renewable energy we get is from the sun, which supplies our planet with 99% of our heat, the other 1% is from commercial use. 

    Fossil fuels come from the earth and consist of decaying plants and animals. Fossil fuels are how we make some of our commercial energy, however they have terrible impacts on the planet like air pollution which is adding to the issue of global warming, and the fact that they are limited means that they are going to run out, unless we find new ways to use them. 21% of commercial energy in the world is powered by coal, the U.S. alone is at a high 62%. Another fuel that we use is crude oil, which we use to make asphalt, diesel oil, heating oil, jet fuel, and gasoline. In 1970 a barrel of crude oil was about $3, in 2004 it was up to $70. Natural gases are more abundant than oil, so they may help us bridge to an alternative energy supply than coal. One source of renewable, yet also not renewable is nuclear energy. We make nuclear energy by splitting the nuclei of uranium and plutonium and mak heat energy. The heat energy made is renewable, however the fuel required to power the expensive nuclear plants is not.  So this form of making energy isn't really efficient in saving the planet, because of the risks, and prices, and we have no storage for radioactive waste to do so. 32 countries have nuclear plants, and are responsible for 16% of the world's energy, the U.S. has 100 factories alone.

    One renewable source of energy is moving water, which we call hydropower. Hydropower uses moving water to make energy. Things like dams use the water to flow through turbines to make reservoirs. Biomass energy uses plant materials or animal waste to make energy. When we do things like build fires, we are creating biomass energy. We can also make biomass energy from corn to make ethanol and methanol, which can be used in engines. There is also solar energy, which is also renewable and comes from the sun. Solar energy is hard and expensive to capture. We use solar cells that are collected from solar panels or well insulated windows to make energy. One alternative to solar energy is wind energy. Wind energy is much more price efficient than solar energy, but wind is not a guarantee all over the world, which doesn't make it too ideal to power the globe. Industrialized countries are believed to generate about 25% of their energy from wind by 2025. One last natural renewable resource to mention is geothermal energy. This is using natural things like hot springs and erupting volcanoes, and taking their energy to use for ourselves. Iceland is powered by 75% of geothermal energy, and California uses their geysers to power 6% of their state!