Renewable Resources
Biology: Cambridge International GCSE Supplement, topic 20.4.3
Non-Renewable vs Sustainable Resources
The enormous human population is depleting the Earth’s resources. This problem is being addressed by people recognising the need to conserve the natural resources of the planet. These natural resources are split into two categories:
Non-renewable resources
- Non-renewable resources are finite - once they have been used, they cannot be replaced.
- Fossil fuels are non-renewable because it would take millions of years and precisely the right conditions to create more of them.
Sustainable (renewable) resources
- Sustainable resources are those which are produced as rapidly as they are removed from the environment, and so they don’t run out.
- For example the burning of biomass can be sustainable if the trees selected are mature and are re-planted once felled (cut down).
Test yourself on Renewable Resources
Which of these words describes non-renewable resources?