Anon-renewable resource (also called afinite resource) is anatural resource that cannot be readily replaced by natural means at a pace quick enough to keep up with consumption.[1] An example is carbon-based fossil fuels. The original organic matter, with the aid of heat and pressure, becomes a fuel such as oil or gas. Earthminerals andmetalores,fossil fuels (coal,petroleum,natural gas) andgroundwater in certainaquifers are all considered non-renewable resources, though individualelements are always conserved (except innuclear reactions,nuclear decay oratmospheric escape).
Conversely, resources such astimber (whenharvested sustainably) and wind (used to power energy conversion systems) are consideredrenewable resources, largely because their localized replenishment can also occur within human lifespans.
Earth minerals andmetal ores are examples of non-renewable resources.[according to whom?] The metals themselves are present in vast amounts in Earth'scrust, and their extraction by humans only occurs where they are concentrated bynatural geological processes (such as heat, pressure, organic activity, weathering and other processes) enough to become economically viable to extract. These processes generally take from tens of thousands to millions of years, throughplate tectonics,tectonic subsidence andcrustal recycling.[citation needed]
The localized deposits of metal ores near the surface which can be extracted economically by humans are non-renewable in human time-frames. There are certainrare earth minerals andelements that are more scarce and exhaustible than others. These are in high demand inmanufacturing, particularly for theelectronics industry.[citation needed]
Natural resources such ascoal,petroleum (crude oil) andnatural gas take thousands of years to form naturally and cannot be replaced as fast as they are being consumed. It is projected that fossil-based resources will eventually become too costly to harvest and humanity will need to shift its reliance torenewable energy such as solar or wind power.
An alternative hypothesis is that carbon-based fuel is virtually inexhaustible in human terms, if one includes all sources of carbon-based energy such as methane hydrates on the sea floor, which are much greater than all other carbon-based fossil fuel resources combined.[2] These sources of carbon are also considered non-renewable, although their rate of formation/replenishment on the sea floor is not known. However, their extraction at economically viable costs and rates has yet to be determined.
At present, the main energy source used by humans is non-renewablefossil fuels. Since the dawn ofinternal combustion engine technologies in the 19th century, petroleum and other fossil fuels have remained in continual demand. As a result, conventionalinfrastructure andtransport systems, which are fitted to combustion engines, remain predominant around the globe.
The modern-day fossil fuel economy is widely criticized for its lack of renewability, as well as being a contributor toclimate change.[3]
In 1987, theWorld Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) classified fission reactors that produce morefissile nuclear fuel than they consume (i.e.breeder reactors) among conventional renewable energy sources, such assolar andfalling water.[7] TheAmerican Petroleum Institute likewise does not consider conventional nuclear fission as renewable, but rather thatbreeder reactor nuclear power fuel is considered renewable and sustainable, noting that radioactive waste from usedspent fuel rods remains radioactive and so has to be very carefully stored for several hundred years.[8] With the careful monitoring of radioactive waste products also being required upon the use of other renewable energy sources, such asgeothermal energy.[9]
The use ofnuclear technology relying onfission requiresnaturally occurring radioactive material as fuel.Uranium, the most common fission fuel, is present in the ground at relatively low concentrations andmined in 19 countries.[10] This mined uranium is used to fuel energy-generating nuclear reactors withfissionableuranium-235 which generates heat that is ultimately used to powerturbines to generate electricity.[11]
As of 2013 only a few kilograms (picture available) of uranium have been extracted from the ocean inpilot programs and it is also believed that the uranium extracted on an industrial scale from the seawater would constantly be replenished from uraniumleached from the ocean floor, maintaining the seawater concentration at a stable level.[12] In 2014, with the advances made in the efficiency of seawater uranium extraction, a paper in the journal ofMarine Science & Engineering suggests that with, light water reactors as its target, the process would beeconomically competitive if implemented on a large scale.[13]
Nuclear power provides about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity.[14] Nuclear energy production is associated with potentially dangerousradioactive contamination as it relies upon unstable elements. In particular, nuclear power facilities produce about 200,000 metric tons oflow and intermediate level waste (LILW) and 10,000 metric tons ofhigh level waste (HLW) (including spent fuel designated as waste) each year worldwide.[15]
Separate from the question of the sustainability of nuclear fuel use are concerns about the high-level radioactive waste the nuclear industry generates, which if not properly contained, ishighly hazardous to people and wildlife. The United Nations (UNSCEAR) estimated in 2008 that average annual human radiation exposure includes 0.01millisievert (mSv) from the legacy of past atmospheric nuclear testing plus theChernobyl disaster and the nuclear fuel cycle, along with 2.0 mSv from natural radioisotopes and 0.4 mSv fromcosmic rays; all exposuresvary by location.[16]Natural uranium in some inefficient reactornuclear fuel cycles becomes part of thenuclear waste "once through" stream, and in a similar manner to the scenario were this uranium remained naturally in the ground, this uranium emits various forms of radiation in adecay chain that has ahalf-life of about 4.5 billion years.[17] The storage of this unused uranium and the accompanying fission reaction products has raised public concerns aboutrisks of leaks and containment, however studies conducted on thenatural nuclear fission reactor in OkloGabon, have informed geologists on the proven processes that kept the waste from this 2 billion year old natural nuclear reactor.[18]
Land surface can be considered both a renewable and non-renewable resource depending on the scope of comparison.Land can be reused, but new land cannot be created on demand, making it a fixed resource with perfectlyinelastic supply[19][20] from an economic perspective.
Natural resources, known as renewable resources, are replaced bynatural processes and forces persistent in thenatural environment. There areintermittent and reoccurring renewables, andrecyclable materials, which are utilized during acycle across a certain amount of time, and can be harnessed for any number of cycles.
The production of goods and services bymanufacturingproducts ineconomic systems creates manytypes of waste during production and after theconsumer has made use of it. The material is then eitherincinerated, buried in alandfill orrecycled for reuse. Recycling turns materials of value that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources again.
In the natural environmentwater,forests,plants andanimals are all renewable resources, as long as they are adequatelymonitored, protected and conserved.Sustainable agriculture is the cultivation of plant and animal materials in a manner that preserves plant and animalecosystems and that can improvesoil health andsoil fertility over the long term. Theoverfishing of the oceans is one example of where an industry practice or method can threaten an ecosystem, endangerspecies and possibly even determine whether or not afishery is sustainable for use by humans. An unregulated industry practice or method can lead to a completeresource depletion.[23]
The renewable energy from thesun,wind,wave,biomass andgeothermal energies are based on renewable resources. Renewable resources such as the movement ofwater (hydropower,tidal power andwave power),wind andradiant energy from geothermal heat (used forgeothermal power) and solar energy (used forsolar power) are practically infinite and cannot be depleted, unlike their non-renewable counterparts, which are likely to run out if not used sparingly.
The potential waveenergy on coastlines can provide 1/5 of world demand. Hydroelectric power can supply 1/3 of our total energy global needs. Geothermal energy can provide 1.5 more times the energy we need. There is enough wind to power all of humanity's needs 30 times over. Solar currently supplies only 0.1% of our world energy needs, but could power humanity's needs 4,000 times over, the entire global projected energy demand by 2050.[24][25]
Renewable energy andenergy efficiency are no longer nichesectors that are promoted only by governments and environmentalists. The increasing levels of investment and capital from conventional financial actors suggest thatsustainable energy has become mainstream and the future of energy production, as non-renewable resources decline. This is reinforced byclimate change concerns, nuclear dangers and accumulating radioactive waste,high oil prices,peak oil and increasing government support for renewable energy. These factors arecommercializing renewable energy, enlarging the market and increasing the adoption of new products to replace obsolete technology and the conversion of existing infrastructure to a renewable standard.[26]
In economics, a non-renewable resource is defined asgoods whose greater consumption today implies less consumption tomorrow.[27]David Ricardo in his early works analysed the pricing of exhaustible resources, and argued that the price of a mineral resource should increase over time. He argued that the spot price is always determined by the mine with the highest cost of extraction, and mine owners with lower extraction costs benefit from a differential rent. The first model is defined byHotelling's rule, which is a 1931 economic model of non-renewableresource management byHarold Hotelling. It shows that efficient exploitation of a nonrenewable and nonaugmentable resource would, under otherwise stable conditions, lead to adepletion of the resource. The rule states that this would lead to a net price or "Hotelling rent" for it that rises annually at a rate equal to therate of interest, reflecting the increasing scarcity of the resources.[28] TheHartwick's rule provides an important result about thesustainability of welfare in an economy that uses non-renewable resources.[29]
Today's primary sources of energy are mainly non-renewable: natural gas, oil, coal, peat, and conventional nuclear power. There are also renewable sources, including wood, plants, dung, falling water, geothermal sources, solar, tidal, wind, and wave energy, as well as human and animal muscle-power. Nuclear reactors that produce their own fuel ("breeders") and eventually fusion reactors are also in this category
The giant Three Gorges Dam across China's Yangtze River has been mired in controversy ever since it was first proposedSee also:Laris, Michael (17 August 1998)."Untamed Waterways Kill Thousands Yearly".The Washington Post. Retrieved28 March 2009.
Officials now use the deadly history of the Yangtze, China's longest river, to justify the country's riskiest and most controversial infrastructure project – the enormous Three Gorges Dam.andGrant, Stan (18 June 2005)."Global Challenges: Ecological and Technological Advances Around the World". CNN. Retrieved28 March 2009.
China's engineering marvel is unleashing a torrent of criticism. [...] When it comes to global challenges, few are greater or more controversial than the construction of the massive Three Gorges Dam in Central China.andGerin, Roseanne (11 December 2008)."Rolling on a River".Beijing Review. Archived fromthe original on 22 September 2009. Retrieved28 March 2009.
..the 180-billion yuan ($26.3 billion) Three Gorges Dam project has been highly contentious.
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