Renewable resource A renewable resource is a natural resource which can replenish with the passage of time, either through

biological reproduction or other naturally recurring processes. Renewable resources are a part of Earth's natural environment and the largest components of its ecosphere. A positive life cycle assessment is a key indicator of a resource'ssustainability. In 1962, Paul Alfred Weiss defined Renewable Resources as: "The total range of living organisms providing man with food, fibers, drugs, etc...".[1] Renewable resources may be the source of power for renewable energy. However, if the rate at which the renewable resource is consumed exceeds its renewal rate, renewal and sustainability will not be ensured. The term renewable resource also describes systems like sustainable agriculture and water resources.[2] Sustainable harvesting of renewable resources (i.e., maintaining a positive renewal rate) can reduce air pollution, soil contamination, habitat destruction and land degradation.[3] Renewable resources endangered by the industrial world Overfishing "Ocean overfishing is simply the taking of wildlife from the sea at rates too high for fished species to replace themselves."[4] Tuna meat is driving overfishing as to endanger some species like the bluefin tuna. The European Community and other organisations are trying to regulate fishery as to protect species and to prevent their extinctions.[5] The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea treaty deals with aspects of overfishing in articles 61, 62, and 65.[6] Examples of overfishing exist in areas such as the North Sea of Europe, the Grand Banks of North America and the East China Sea of Asia.[7] The decline of penguin population is caused in part by overfishing, caused by human competition over the same renewable resources[8] [edit]Sustainable agriculture The phrase sustainable agriculture was coined by Australian agricultural scientist Gordon McClymont.[9] It has been defined as "an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will last over the long term.[10] Expansion of agricultural land has an impact on biodiversity and contributes to deforestation. TheFood and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates that in coming decades, cropland will continue to be lost to industrial and urban development, along with reclamation of wetlands, and conversion of forest to cultivation, resulting in the loss of biodiversity and increased soil erosion.[11] Deforestation Main article: Deforestation The destruction of rain forests is one of the critical causes of climate change. Deforestation causes carbon dioxide to linger in the atmosphere. As carbon dioxide accrues, it produces a layer in the atmosphere that traps radiation from the sun. The
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radiation converts to heat which causes global warming, which is better known as the greenhouse effect.[20] Trees are renewable resources as they protect our environment by absorbing carbon dioxide and by creating oxygen.[21] Deforestation also affects the water cycle. It reduces the content of water in the soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture.[22]Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that erosion, flooding and landslides ensue.[23][24] Rain forests are also sheltering many species and organism providing local populations with food and other commodities. Are biofuel sustainable if they contribute to deforestation?[25] Endangered species Some renewable resources, species and organisms are facing a very high risk of extinction caused by growing human population and over-consumption. It has been estimated that over 40% of all living species on Earth are at risk of going extinct.[26] Many nations have laws to protect hunted species and to restrict the practice of hunting. Other conservation methods includes restricting land development or creating preserves. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best-known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system.[27]Internationally, 199 countries have signed an accord agreeing to create Biodiversity Action Plans to protect endangered and other threatened species. Water resources Water can be considered a renewable material when carefully controlled usage, treatment, and release are followed. If not, it would become a non-renewable resource at that location. For example, groundwater is usually removed from an aquifer at a rate much greater than its very slow natural recharge, and so groundwater is considered nonrenewable. Removal of water from the pore spaces may cause permanent compaction (subsidence) that cannot be renewed. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water, and 3% is fresh water; slightly over two thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps.[28] The remaining unfrozen freshwater is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air.[29] Water pollution is one of the main concerns regarding water resources. It is estimated that 22% of worldwide water is used in industry.[30] Major industrial users include hydroelectric dams, thermoelectric power plants, which use water for cooling, ore and oil refineries, which use water in chemical processes, and manufacturing plants, which use water as a solvent. Renewable energy Wind Power Solar Energy Hydropower Geothermal Energy Biofuel

Non-renewable resource
A non-renewable resource is made up of mostly dead animal skin. The skin then turns into a resource such as oil. Also considered non-renewable are resources that are consumed much faster than nature can create them. Fossil fuels (such ascoal, petroleum, and natural gas), nuclear power (uranium) and certain aquifers are examples. Metal ores are prime examples of non-renewable resources. In contrast, resources such as timber (when harvested sustainably) and wind (used to power energy conversion systems) are considered renewable resources.

Fossil fuel
Natural resources such as coal, petroleum (crude oil) and natural gas take thousands of years to form naturally and cannot be replaced as fast as they are being consumed. Eventually fossil-based resources will become too costly to harvest and humanity will need to shift its reliance to other sources of energy. These resources are yet to be named. At present, the main energy source used by humans is non-renewable fossil fuels. Since the dawn of internal combustion enginetechnologies in the 17th century, petroleum and other fossil fuels have remained in continual demand. As a result, conventionalinfrastructure and transport systems, which are fitted to combustion engines, remain prominent throughout the globe. The continual use of fossil fuels at [1] the current rate is believed to increase global warming and cause more severe climate change.

Radioactive fuel
The use of nuclear technology requires a radioactive fuel. Uranium ore is present in the ground at [3] relatively low concentrations and minedin 19 countries. This mined uranium is used to fuel energygenerating nuclear reactors with fissionable uranium-238 which generates heat that is ultimately used to [4] power turbines to generate electricity. Nuclear power provides about 6% of the world's energy and 1314% of the world's electricity. The expense of the nuclear industry remains predominantly reliant on subsidies and indirect insurance [6][7] subsidies to continue. Nuclear energy production is associated with potentially dangerous radioactive contamination as it relies upon unstable elements. In particular, nuclear power facilities produce about 200,000 metric tons of low and intermediate level waste (LILW) and 10,000 metric tons of high level [8] waste (HLW) (including spent fuel designated as waste) each year worldwide. The use of nuclear fuel and the high-level radioactive waste the nuclear industry generates is highly hazardous to people and wildlife. Radiocontaminants in the environment can enter the food chain and [9] become bioaccumulated. Internal or external exposure can causemutagenic DNA breakage producing teratogenic generational birth defects, cancers and other damage. The United Nations (UNSCEAR) estimated in 2008 that average annual human radiation exposure includes 0.01 mSv (milliSievert) from the legacy of past atmospheric nuclear testing plus the Chernobyl disaster and the nuclear fuel cycle, along with 2.0 mSv from natural radioisotopes and 0.4 mSv fromcosmic rays; all [10] exposures vary by location. Some radioisotopes in nuclear waste emit harmful radiation for the [11] prolonged period of 4.5 billion years or more, and storage has risks of containment. The storage of waste, health implications and dangers of radioactive fuel continue to be a topic of debate, resulting in a controversial and unresolved industry.
[5]

Renewable resources
Natural resources, called renewable resources, are replaced by natural processes and forcespersistent in the natural environment. There are intermittent and reoccurring renewables, andrecyclable materials,

which are utilized during a cycle across a certain amount of time, and can be harnessed for any number of cycles. The production of goods and services by manufacturing products in economic systemscreates many types of waste during production and after the consumer has made use of it. The material is then either incinerated, buried in a landfill or recycled for reuse. Recycling turns materials of value that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources again. The natural environment, with soil, water, forests, plants and animals are all renewable resources, as long as they are adequatelymonitored, protected and conserved. Sustainable agriculture is the cultivation of plant materials in a manner that preserves plant and animal ecosystems over the long term. The overfishing of the oceans is one example of where an industry practice or method can threaten an ecosystem, endanger species and possibly even determine whether or not a fishery is sustainable for use [12] by humans. An unregulated industry practice or method can lead to a complete resource depletion. The renewable energy from the sun, wind, wave, biomass and geothermal energies are based on renewable resources. Renewable resources such as the movement of water(hydropower, tidal power and wave power), wind and radiant energy from geothermal heat (used for geothermal power) and solar energy (used for solar power) are practically infinite and cannot be depleted, unlike their nonrenewable counterparts, which are likely to run out if not used sparingly. The potential wave energy 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 the planet 30 times over, wind power could power all of humanity's needs alone. Solar currently supplies only 0.1% of our world energy needs, but there is enough out there to power humanity's needs 4,000 times over, the entire global projected energy demand [13][14] by 2050. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are no longer niche sectors that are promoted only by governments and environmentalists. The increasing levels of investment and that more of the capital is from conventional financial actors, both suggest that sustainable energy has become mainstream and the future of energy production, as non-renewable resources decline. This is reinforced by climate change concerns, nuclear dangers and accumulating radioactive waste, high oil prices, peak oil and increasing government support for renewable energy. These factors are commercializing renewable energy, enlarging the market and growing demand, the adoption of new products to replace obsolete [15] technology and the conversion of existing infrastructure to a renewable standard.

Economic models
In economics, a non-renewable resource is defined as goods, where greater consumption today implies [16] less consumption tomorrow. David Ricardo in his early works analysed the pricing of exhaustible resources, where he 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 by Hotelling's rule, which is a 1931 economic model of non-renewable resource management by Harold Hotelling. It shows that efficient exploitation of a nonrenewable and nonaugmentable resource would, under otherwise stable conditions, lead to a depletion of the resource. The rule states that this would lead to a net price or "Hotelling rent" for it that rose annually at a rate equal to therate of interest, reflecting the increasing scarcity of the resources. The Hartwick's rule provides an important result about the sustainability of welfare in an economy that uses non-renewable source.