Chapter 1

Natural Resources

Natural resources can broadly be classified into

 Renewable resources:
 Air
 Water
 soil
 Non-renewable resources
 Plants
 Animalss
 Fossil fuels

Renewable Resources
 Air
 Air is a mixture of many gases like nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon
dioxide and other gases.
 Due to the increased number of factories and industries, the air is
increasingly becoming polluted.
 To reduce air pollution, the number of factories can be reduced and
alternate sources of energy can be used.
 Water
 About 71% of the earth’s surface is covered with water
 Most of it is found in seas and oceans
 The available reserves of water are getting polluted
 In order to save the depleting reserves of water, some techniques like
rainwater harvesting can be implemented.
 Soil
 Soil is another important natural resource
 Soil contains many essential nutrients that are required for the growth of
crops
 Soil is increasingly getting polluted due to the following reasons
o Over usage of fertilizers
o Release of polluted water into the soil
o Dumping of wastes in the soil
 Soil pollution can be prevented by
o planting more trees
o reducing the use of fertilizers
o using organic manure

Non- Renewable Resources

Resources that cannot be produced again are called non- renewable resources
 Plants and animals
  due to the over exploitation of the existing plants and animals the diversity
of plants and animals found on earth are getting depleted.
 Human activities like destruction of natural habitat and illegal poaching have
led to the destruction of plants and animals
 Plants and animals can be conserved by
o Preventing the destruction of forests
o Usage of biotechnology in the development of new varieties of plants and
animals
 Fossil fuels
 Fossil fuels like coal and petroleum take millions of years to form
 Burning of fossil fuels cause the pollution of the atmosphere and the increase
in the global temperatures.
 The usage of coal and petroleum can be minimized in order to reverse these
effects
 The use of alternative sources of energy like wind energy, solar energy and
tidal energy can be considered.
The government of India observes August 20 as Akshayya Urja Din

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