Natural resources and sustainability

What are natural resources?

Types of natural resources

· Renewable and non-renewable

How do people view and use natural resources?

· Ways people view and use natural resources:

o Nature-centred: the physical environment is valuable in itself

§ Preservation of the physical environment

o Human-centred: the physical environment is valuable because something can be obtained from it

§ Extraction leading to resource depletion and environmental degradation

· Sustainable use of natural resources to ensure their continued availability for future generations

o Encourage conservation and sustainable practices to reduce the rate of resource extraction and waste (e.g., 4R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle and recover)

o Develop technologies to manage environmental footprint (e.g., low-flush toilets, solar farms)