Name: _________________________( ) Class: ______ Date: _______________
Secondary 1 Geography - Chapter 2: How can we manage natural resources sustainably?
escribe the types of natural resources
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Describe the ways people view and use natural resources.
hapter 2 Part 1: What is a Resource? What affects our identification or resources?
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Aresourceis amaterial that is identified by peopleto be useful.
● When this material is made into a product, the product can be considered a resource as well
because it is useful too.
● Resources canfulfill people’s needsandenhance theirwell-being.
○ For example, food is a resource that fulfills our needs for survival.
● Resources alsoenable tasks to be carried out.
Resources are identified when people find a use for them!
● Note that what is considered a resource to one group of people might not be for another group!
● Culture and technologycan shapehow we decide ifa material or an object is usefulto people.
Example 1:Metal and plastic are usedto make productslikemobile phones
■ Metal and plastic are considered resources because they are useful materials for making things.
■ The mobile phone is a product that can also be considered as a resource.
○ It allows us to complete tasks such as sending text messages, planning journeys with
transport apps and searching for information.
○ It enhances our well-being and enables tasks to be carried out, improving our quality of
life.
Culturerefers to theway of life which a group ofpeople share.
● Culture influences the way people identify resources because it willdetermine what materials
people prefer or require to live their lives. Different cultures will value resources differently!
Example 2:The Penan tribe, hunters and gatherersin the tropical rainforests of Borneo.
■ Wood from trees is used as construction material to build their houses and as firewood (fuel) .
■ In comparison, city-dwelling people prefer to use more durable materials such as bricks, cement
and steel bars to construct our houses in Singapore, hence do not identify wood as a construction
material or a viable resource for building a house.
○ City dwelling people also use gas or electricity for cooking, and do not consider wood from
trees as a suitable fuel for cooking, hence do not consider firewood a useful resource.
■ Based on the lifestyle differences, while city dwelling people may identify gas, cement, steel bars
and electricity as resources, for the Penan, who do not use these items often, they may not even
consider them useful or identify them as resources at all!
echnologycan influence people’s ability to identifyresources because of itsability to increase the
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effectiveness or improve the speed at which a task is being completed.
● E.g. Without advanced technology, at a time before machines were invented, animals were primarily
used for laborious work.
○ In parts of Southeast Asia where rice is a major food crop, rice farmers used to rely mainly
on water buffaloes and simple tools to plough the fields and till the land.
○ Today, advanced machinery such as power tillers and combine harvesters are increasingly
being used.
○ Thus, water buffaloes are less likely to be seen as a valuable resource.
hapter 2 Part 2: Renewable and Non Renewable Natural Resources
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What Is a Natural Resource?
● Natural resources are useful materials found on Earth e.g. water, solar energy
● They are produced by natural processes occurring in the physical environment.
Example 1: Solar Energy as a Natural (Energy) Resource
● Every second, the Sun naturally gives off about 400 trillion watts of solar energy.
● A lot of the Sun’s energy is reflected back into space or absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere
● However, an average of 1,000 watts of solar energy per square meter per hour still reaches the
Earth’s surface during peak times.
Solar panels, or photovoltaic (PV) cells, are able to absorb and convert this solar energy into electricity.
● A PV cell is a specially-treated wafer of silicon, sandwiched between two thin contact plates.
○ When sunlight hits the solar cell, solar energy passes through the silicon and an inverter to
generate electricity that we can use, providing renewable energy to people.
○ The electricity produced is measured through the meter and then fed into the public
electricity grid.
OW ARE NATURAL RESOURCES CLASSIFIED?
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One way natural resources can be classified into is in two categories:renewable and non-renewable.
enewable Natural Resources -Refer to materials thatreplenish naturally more or less within the
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same time period when they are used e.g.water andsolar energy
● The availability of renewable resources is considered to be unlimited.
○ When a renewable natural resource is used by people,its availability is reduced. At the
same time, natural processes continually occur to replenish the resource.
○ Hence, its availability will be increased again after some time.
■ E.g. As sunlight is received daily, solar energy that is used up at the end of each day
can be replenished the next day.
Non-renewable Natural Resources -Refer to materialswhich may or may not replenish naturally.
● Even if they could be replenished, thenatural processesthat do so occur very slowlyandtake
such a long time that it exceeds far beyond the period it is being used.
○ As such, theavailability is considered to be limitedunder natural circumstances.
○ E.g. crude oil, which takes millions of years to form but is used up rapidly. Therefore, its rate
of replenishment is too slow to increase its availability in the near future.
Case Study: Crude Oil
● It is a dark and sticky liquid that is obtained by drilling into oil wells located on land or in the sea.
● This crude oil cannot be used directly. Instead, it must be refined before it is useful to people.
● E.g. Petrol is one of the most common products obtained from crude oil.
○ It is used to power motor engines in vehicles.
○ As people extract large amounts of crude oil from the Earth, its availability is reduced.
Formation of Crude Oil(Time scale of hundreds ofmillions of years)
1. A few hundred million years ago, the remains of plants and animals sank down to the ocean floor
in large quantities and were gradually buried by layers of sand and silt.
2. Over many more millions of years, the layers of sand and silt turned into rock, and buried the
remains deeper and deeper into the Earth.
3. This process subjected the remains to enormous pressure, and together with thermal energy from
the Earth, converted the remains into crude oil.
hapter 2 Part 3: How Do People’s Views Affect the Use of Natural Resources?
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Recap: The Earth provides people with many natural resources that can then be turned into products.
● The use of natural resources is influenced bypeople’sviews.
○ This can benature-centeredorhuman centered.
(1) Nature Centered View
● In the nature-centered view, the physical environment isseen as valuable in itself!
● This means that everything that is naturally found in the physical environment, such as trees,
animals, rivers and mountains, is as important as humans.
● Therefore, thephysical environment should be preserved,meaning it should be protected
and retained in its original state as far as possible,not because it has plenty of useful
resources. People’s use of the physical environment should beminimized and even prohibited.
xample 1: Forest Conservation in Singapore
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E.g. Singapore adopts the nature-centered view towards our forests as a resource.
● Singapore does not rely on forests in the same way as the Penan tribe. Instead, Singapore
acknowledges the importance of preserving our native rainforest trees, plants and animals
through the creation of nature reserves.
● People cannot utilize the natural resources found in these areas as they are protected areas.
● The cutting down of trees or removal of plants and animals within these areas is against the law
because such actions can cause damage to the physical environment and the valuable resources
within.
(2) Human Centered View
● In the human-centered view, the physical environment isvaluable because humans can obtain
materials from it for people’s use and benefit.
● People with this view aremotivated to find ways toextract these natural resourcesto enhance
their personal well-being or to sell them in exchange for money.
● However, extraction of natural resources can causenegative impacts on the availability of the
resources and the physical environment.
○ If extraction occurs at a faster rate than natural renewal, the availability of the natural
resource will be depleted.
○ Environmental degradation can occur too.
■ For example, in tropical rainforests, trees are habitats for animals and plants.
● When large areas of rainforests are cleared, the survival of animals and
plants will be threatened and some may become extinct.
● As the roots of trees hold soil together, without trees, soil can be easily
washed into rivers, in turn affecting aquatic life.
It is possible that we share different views about the use of natural resources as well as the importance of
the physical environment from the people around us. Even so, we can be respectful towards others’ views
and be open to changing our minds as we learn more!
hapter 2 Part 4: What Does Sustainable Use of Natural Resources Mean?
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Sustainable use of natural resources refers to actions people can take to ensure that the natural
resources we have on Earth today continue to be available for future generations.
● When we extract natural resources from Earth in the short term, that is over the next few years, we
need to be aware of the possible impact in the long term, to be mindful about the amount we
consume at present, and to reduce the environmental degradation that may occur.
● If we are using some natural resources at a much faster rate today than it can be naturally
replenished over time, what could happen in the future?
an renewable natural resources become non-renewable?
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Yes! A renewable natural resource can become non-renewable if we use it at a faster rate than it can be
naturally replenished. Hence, its availability changes from unlimited to limited.
● E.g. Tropical rainforests are increasingly becoming a non-renewable resource because wood from
tropical rainforest trees is useful for many purposes such as for manufacturing furniture and paper.
○ To meet people’s demand for wood, trees are being cut down at a much faster rate than can
be naturally grown back.
○ If this continues, there is a chance that tropical rainforests may become non-renewable.
For non-renewable resources, availability may fall to low levels or even become depleted!
● When this happens, our future generations will not be able to access or make use of them.
● They may have to seek alternative resources.
● To avoid such a situation, we can take actions towards sustainable use!
How Can We Use Natural Resources Sustainably?
● Two things we can do to use natural resources sustainably are to(1) encourage conservationand
to(2) develop technologies to manage our environmentalfootprint
Concept of Environmental Footprint
● The concept of the environmental footprint enables people to measure the land area that is
required to make a product as well as absorb the waste that is generated.
● If we are concerned about the sustainability of natural resources, we can choose those products
with a smaller environmental footprint to reduce the consumption of natural resources.
● Products have different environmental footprints, and it helps us compare between products, to
be more aware of our impact on the physical environment and to make wise decisions about our
consumption.
Conservation = Reduce + Reuse + Recycle + Recover
(1) Reduce
● We can reduce our consumption of some products, which in turn reduces the amount of natural
resources used.
● Natural resources are required in the manufacturing processes of most, if not all, the products we
use daily. By reducing the consumption, we eliminate the wastage and excessive use of resources.
○ E.g. to manufacture clothes, factories need electricity and lights as well as water for the
dyeing of fabrics.
○ E.g. Waste gasses such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide and carbon dioxide are released
when diesel is burned to power machines.
(2) Reuse
● Reusing a product or material reduces the need to buy new or additional pieces.
○ For example, cardboard boxes can be repurposed to store our household items.
○ In this way, we require and consume less natural resources, because we would not need
more wood from trees to create a new box for purchase.
(3) Recycle
● Recycling turns used materials into new and useful ones.
● Common materials which are recycled include glass, aluminum and paper. These materials are
widely used in drinks packaging.
○ E.g. Aluminum comes from a mineral called bauxite, which must be chemically defined
before use. Large amounts of electricity and fossil fuels are required to manufacture this
material. When we recycle aluminum drink cans, the material can be reused. Overall, the
need for bauxite can be reduced.
(4) Recover
● We can recover useful materials from waste we produce, especially from organic materials.
○ For example, through food or plant waste composting, waste materials are collected and
stored in a container to be decomposed by bacteria and fungi into nutrient-rich fertilizers.
○ This reduces the amount of waste that needs to be incinerated or disposed of in landfills.
Technological Development can help manage our environmental footprint
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● ecap: Technology can influence our ability to identify and make use of resources.
● Technological development can lead to thediscoveryof more efficient uses of natural
resources so that our environmental footprint can be reduced.
● E.g. With the invention of solar power in the 1950s, it enabled us to turn sunlight into electricity.
○ The electricity generated by solar power in the 1950s was enough to power small devices
like radios.As research continued, scientists foundways to make solar cells smaller,
cheaper and more efficient.
○ Today, solar cells can be found in many products, including cars. People can also buy or rent
solar panels on the rooftops of their homes to generate free electricity for personal
consumption.
