Essential Idea: Resource management and sustainable production carefully consider three key issues; consumption of raw materials, consumption of energy, and production of waste, in relation to managing resources and reserves effectively and making production more stable.
Renewable Resources
A natural resource that can replenish with the passage of time [replenished on a human timescale] or does not abate at all - examples include solar, wind, hydro, wave, tidal, thermal and bio fuels.
A natural resource qualifies as a renewable resource if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate almost the same as its rate of consumption by humans or other users.
There is an increasing pressure to use renewable energy sources due to the on-going issue globally of ever increasing costs of oil due to political instability and issues with the security of supply. The issues of the greenhouse effect are leading to noticeable climate change and other pollution.
Examples of renewable resources
There are limitations of the use of renewable energy resources as alternatives for fossil fuels and much talk about the extent to which we can replace our dependence on for fossil fuels with energy derived from renewable resource. While renewable energy holds great promise, there are some limitations to renewable forms of energy such as the high-set up costs, unreliable supply and low energy density.
Non-renewable Resources
A non renewable resource (also can be called a 'finite' resource) is a resource that does not replenish itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction, and this includes coal, petroleum, and natural gas
Modern industrial societies have become dependent on non-renewable fossil fuels as the major sources of energy supply and electricity production because they are cheap and plentiful supplies for electricity production and other energy needs. However, the depletion of supplies of coal, oil, and gas challenges continuity of supply in the longer term.
Reserves vs Resources
A resource is a term used for the theoretical referencing of a source - eg. coal is a resource.
A reserve is the actual available natural resource that has been identified in terms of quantity and quality - economically extracted.
Renewability
Renewability relates to a resource that can be replenished over time or is inexhaustible, for example, wood from trees, and fresh drinking water.
Summary
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