Patent:
It means the exclusive right over any idea or invention.
Value means
worth. Some resources have economic value, some do not. For example, metals may
have an economic value, a beautiful landscape may not.
Technology:
It is the application of latest knowledge and skill in doing or making things.
Time and technology are two
important factors that can change substances into resources.
TYPES OF
RESOURCES
Resources are generally classified
into natural, human made and human. Natural Resources
Natural
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.
People use natural resources to
make buildings, bridges, roads, machinery and vehicles, which are known as human made resources.
Human
Resources 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.
Natural
resources are classified into different groups depending upon their
level of development and use; origin; stock and distribution.
On the
basis of their development and use resources can be classified into two groups,
actual resources and potential resources.
Actual
resources are those resources whose quantity is known. These resources
are being used in the present. The dark soils of the Deccan plateau in Maharashtra are all actual resources.
Potential
resources are those whose entire quantity may not be known and these are
not being used at present. These resources could be used in the future. The
uranium found in Ladakh is an example of potential resource.
Based on
their origin, resources can be Abiotic or biotic.
Abiotic
resources are non-living while biotic resources are living. Soils, rocks
and minerals are Abiotic. plants and animals are biotic
resources.
Natural
resources can be broadly categorized into renewable and non-renewable resources.
Renewable
resources are those which get renewed or replenished quickly such as
solar and wind energy.
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.
On the
basis of their distribution resources can be ubiquitous or localized.
Resources
that are found everywhere like the air we breathe, are ubiquitous.
Those which are found only in
certain places are localised, like copper and
iron ore.
Using resources carefully and
giving them time to get renewed is called resource conservation.
Balancing
the need to use resources and also conserve them for the future is called
sustainable development.
Some
Principles of Sustainable Development
Respect and care for all forms of
life Improve the quality of human life Conserve the earth’s vitality and
diversity Minimize the depletion of natural resources Change personal attitude
and practices toward the environment Enable communities to care for their own
environment.
Ways of
conserving resources. Each person can contribute by reducing
consumption, recycling and reusing thing.
Land,
Soil, Water, Natural Vegetation and Wildlife Resourceschapter 2
The rugged topography, steep
slopes of the mountains, low-lying areas susceptible to water logging, desert
areas, and thick forested areas are normally sparsely populated or uninhabited.
Plains and river valleys offer
suitable land for agriculture. Hence, these are the densely populated areas of
the world.
Land is
used for different purposes such as agriculture, forestry, mining,
building houses, roads and setting up of industries.
The use of
land is determined by physical factors such as topography, soil,
climate, minerals and availability of water. Human factors such as population
and technology are also important.
Community
land is owned by the community for common uses like collection of
fodder, fruits, nuts or medicinal herbs. These community lands are also called
common property resources.
Land degradation, landslides, soil
erosion, desertification are the major threats to the environment.
CONSERVATION
OF LAND RESOURCE
Afforestation, land reclamation,
regulated use of chemical pesticide and fertilizers and checks on overgrazing
are some of the common methods used to conserve land.
Soil
The thin layer of grainy substance
covering the surface of the earth is called soil.
Soil is
made up of organic matter, minerals and weathered rocks found on the
earth.
Factors of soil formation
The major
factors of soil formation are the nature of the parent rock and climatic
factors. Other factors are the topography, role of organic material and time
taken for the composition of soil formation.
DEGRADATION
OF SOIL AND CONSERVATION MEASURES
Factors
which lead to soil degradation are deforestation, overgrazing, overuse
of chemical fertilizers’ or pesticides, rain wash, landslides and floods.
Some
methods of soil conservation
Mulching: The
bare ground between plants is covered with a layer of organic matter like
straw. It helps to retain soil moisture.
Contour
barriers: Stones, grass, soil are used to build barriers along contours.
Trenches are made in front of the barriers to collect water.
Rock dam:
Rocks are piled up to slow down the flow of water. This prevents gullies and
further soil loss.
Terrace
farming: These are made on the steep slopes so that flat surfaces are
available to grow crops. They can reduce surface run-off and soil erosion
.
Intercropping: Different crops are grown in alternate rows and are sown
at different times to protect the soil from rain wash.
Contour
Ploughing: Ploughing parallel to the contours of a hill slope to form a
natural barrier for water to flow down the slope.
Shelter belts:
In the coastal and dry regions, rows of trees are planted to check the wind movement
to protect soil cover
Water
Two-thirds of the earth’s surface
and support a rich variety of plant and animal life. Fresh water
accounts for only about 2.7 per cent. Nearly 70 per cent of this occurs as ice
sheets and glaciers in Antarctica, Greenland
and mountain regions. Only 1 per cent of
freshwater is available and fit for human use. It is found as ground water, as
surface water in rivers and lakes and as water vapour in the atmosphere.
Shortage
of Water
Increasing population, rising
demands for food and cash crops, increasing urbanisation and rising standards
of living are the major factors leading to shortages in supply of fresh water.
CONSERVATION
OF WATER RESOURCES
Water
pollution can be controlled by treating chemical effluents suitably before
releasing them in water bodies.
Water
harvesting is another method to save surface runoff.
The canals
should be properly lined to minimize losses by water seepage.
Sprinklers,
drip or trickle irrigation is very useful.
Ecosystem
In the biosphere living beings are
inter-related and interdependent on each other for survival. This life
supporting system is known as the ecosystem.
Vulture
is a scavenger and considered a vital cleanser of the environment.
Classification
of forests
Evergreen
forests do not shed their leaves simultaneously in any season of the
year. Deciduous forests shed their leaves in a
particular season to conserve loss of moisture through transpiration.
CONSERVATION
OF NATURAL VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE
The animals are poached for
collection and illegal trade of hides, skins, nails, teeth, horns as well as
feathers. Some of these animals are tiger, lion, elephant, deer, black buck,
crocodile, rhinoceros, snow leopard, ostrich and peacock.
National
parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves are made to protect our
natural vegetation and wildlife.
Awareness
programmes like social forestry and Vana mohatasava should be
encouraged.
Many
countries have passed laws declaring that the trades as well as killing
of birds and animals are illegal.
An
international convention CITES has been established that lists several
species of animals and birds in which trade is prohibited.
CITES (the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an
international agreement between governments.
Chapter 3Mineral
and Power Resources
A naturally occurring substance
that has a definite chemical composition is a mineral.
TYPES OF
MINERALS
There are over three thousand
different minerals. On the basis of composition, minerals
are classified mainly as metallic and non-metallic minerals.
The
metallic minerals contain metal in raw form. Iron ore, bauxite,
manganese ore are some examples.
The
non-metallic minerals do not contain metals. Limestone, mica and gypsum
are examples of such minerals.
The process of taking out minerals
from rocks buried under the earth’s surface is called mining.
Minerals that lie at shallow
depths are taken out by removing the surface layer; this is known as open-cast mining.
To reach mineral deposits that lie
at great depths. This is called shaft mining.
Deep wells are bored to take Petroleum
and natural gas out, this is called drilling.
Minerals that lie near the surface
are simply dug out, by the process known as quarrying.
DISTRIBUTION
OF MINERALS
metallic minerals are found in igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Sedimentary
rocks contain non-metallic minerals like limestone.
China
and India
have large iron ore deposits.
China ,
Malaysia and Indonesia
are among the world’s leading tin producers
Europe
is the leading producer of iron-ore in the world
Brazil is the largest producer of
high grade iron-ore in the world.
Africa
is rich in mineral resources. It is the world’s largest producer of diamonds,
gold and platinum.
India has deposits of high grade
iron ore. The mineral is found mainly in Jharkhand, Orissa.
A green
diamond is the rarest diamond. • The oldest rocks in the world are in Western Australia . They
date from 4,300 million years ago, only 300 million years after the earth was
formed.
DISTRIBUTION
OF MINERALS
DISTRIBUTION
IN INDIA
: Major bauxite producing areas
are Jharkhand, Orissa,
Copper: It is mainly produced in
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.
USES OF
MINERALS
Minerals are used in many industries.
These are then set in various styles for jewellery.
Copper is another metal used in
everything from coins to pipes.
Silicon, used in the computer
industry is obtained from quartz.
Aluminum obtained from its ore
bauxite is used in automobiles and airplanes, bottling industry, buildings and
even in kitchen cookware.
CONSERVATION
OF MINERALS
To reduce wastage in the process
of mining. Recycling of metals is another way in which the mineral resources
can be conserved.
POWER
RESOURCES
Power resources may be broadly categorized
as conventional and non-conventional resources.
Conventional sources of energy are
those which have been in common use for a long time. Firewood and fossil fuels.
Remains of plants and animals
which were buried under the earth for millions of years got converted by the
heat and pressure into fossil fuels.
The coal which we are using today
was formed millions of years ago when giant ferns and swamps got buried under
the layers of earth. Coal is therefore referred to as Buried
Sunshine.
Petroleum and its derivatives are
called Black Gold as they are very valuable.
NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF ENERGY
Non-conventional sources such as
solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy which are renewable.
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