Resources

"Any physical material on earth that is of use to us and satisfies individual or social needs & requirements is said to be a resource."

1.0Introduction

• "Anything that can be used to satisfy a need is a resource. Look around you and observe, you will be able to identify many types of resources. The water you drink when you are thirsty, the electricity you use in your house, the rickshaw you use to get home from school, the textbook you use to study are all resources.
• Water, electricity, rickshaw, vegetable, and textbook have something in common. They have all been used by you, so they have utility. Utility or usability is what makes an object or substance a resource.
• Things become resources only when they have a value. Its use or utility gives it a value. All resources have some value.
• Value means worth. Some resources have economic value (in terms of rupee or medium of exchange), some do not.
• For example, metals may have an economic value, a beautiful landscape may not. But both are important and satisfy human needs.
• Some resources can become economically valuable with time. Grandmother's home remedies have no commercial value today. But if they are patented and sold by a medical firm tomorrow, they could become economically valuable.
• Time and Technology are two important factors that can change substances into resources. Both are related to the needs of the people.
• People themselves are the most important resource. It is their ideas, knowledge, inventions, and discoveries that lead to the creation of more resources. Each discovery or invention leads to many others.
• The discovery of fire led to the practice of cooking and other processes while the invention of the wheel ultimately resulted in development of newer modes of transport.
• The technology to create hydroelectricity has turned energy in fast flowing water into an important resource.

2.0Types of Resources

Resources are generally classified into natural, human made and human.

Natural Resources

Resources that are drawn from Nature and used without much modification are called natural resources. The air we breathe, the water in our rivers and lakes, the soils, minerals are all-natural resources. Many of these resources are free gifts of nature and can be used directly. In some cases, tools and technology may be needed to use a natural resource in the best possible way. Natural resources can be broadly categorised into renewable and non-renewable resources.

• Renewable resources: are those which get renewed or replenished quickly. Some of these are unlimited and are not affected by human activities, such as solar and wind energy. Yet careless use of certain renewable resources like water, soil and forest can affect their stock. Water seems to be an unlimited renewable resource. But shortage and drying up of natural fresh water sources is a major problem in many parts of the world today.
• Non-renewable resources: are those which have a limited stock. Once the stocks are exhausted it may take thousands of years to be renewed or replenished. Since this period is much more than human life spans, such resources are considered nonrenewable. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are some examples. The distribution of natural resources depends upon number of physical factors like terrain, climate, and altitude. The distribution of resources is unequal because these factors differ so much over the earth.

• Coal

Human Made Resources

• Sometimes, natural substances become resources only when their original form has been changed. Iron ore was not a resource until people learnt to extract iron from it.
• People use natural resources to make buildings, bridges, roads, machinery and vehicles, which are known as human made resources.
• Technology is also a human made resource.
• The rate at which resources are produced is called productivity.
• Productivity depends on the level of technology used, the law-and-order situation, the political and social institutions, and the infrastructure available.
• Countries which use a high level of technology have peaceful law and order situations, good banking facilities, uninterrupted electricity and water supply, good transport and communication network, a stable government and high productivity.

Human Resources

• People can make the best use of nature to create more resources when they have the knowledge, skill, and the technology to do so. That is why human beings are a special resource.
• Human Resource refers to the number (quantity) and abilities (mental and physical) of the people. Though, there are differing views regarding treatment of humans as a resource, one cannot deny the fact that it is the skills of human that help in transferring the physical material into a valuable resource.
• People are human resources.
• Education and health help in making people a valuable resource.
• Improving the quality of people's skills so that they are able to create more resources is known as human resource development.

3.0Conserving Resources

• Non-renewable resources get exhausted as they are consumed.
• Even renewable resources when consumed take some time to get replaced. Some, like crops, are replaced quickly.
• Some like soil nutrients and water, may take several years
• Resources may also become unfit for use due to our to get restored. activities. If we do not preserve the quality of our resource and protect our resources from depletion, a time may soon come when usable resources will be completely exhausted.
• For continuous economic development, we must ensure the future availability of resources. For this, we must use resources carefully.
• Conserving resources means protecting them from getting polluted or depleted so that they can be used in future.
• Conservation helps us use our resources in such a way that present needs can be met without destroying the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This is known as sustainable development.
• Sustainable development involves following these principles.
• Respect and care for all forms of life.
• Improve the quality of human life.
• Conserve the earth's vitality and diversity.
• Minimise the depletion of natural resources.
• Change personal attitude and practices towards the environment.
• Enable communities to care for their own environment.
• The future of our planet and its people is linked with our ability to maintain and preserve the life support system that nature provides. Therefore, it is our duty to ensure that :
• All uses of renewable resources are sustainable.
• The diversity of life on the earth is conserved.
• The damage to natural environmental system is minimised.

4.0Glossary

1. Utility - Want satisfying power of anything.
2. Technology - It is the application of latest knowledge and skill in doing or making things.
3. Stock - It is the amount of resources available for use.

5.0Mind Map

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