Natural Resources

A natural resource is anything found in nature that humans use. Air, fresh water, soil, timber, coal, oil, natural gas, and minerals are all natural resources. Some resources are renewable — they can be replaced naturally — while others are non-renewable and will run out one day. Almost everything you own, from your clothes to your phone, began as one or more natural resources dug up or grown somewhere on Earth.

Coal, oil, and natural gas are called fossil fuels because they formed from the buried remains of plants and tiny sea creatures that lived millions of years ago. Squeezed under layers of rock and heated for an enormous length of time, those remains slowly turned into fuels we can burn for energy. Because they take so long to form, we can never make more of them quickly — that is why they are non-renewable.

Fresh water is one of the most precious resources of all. Only about 3% of Earth's water is fresh, and much of that is locked in ice caps and glaciers. Rivers, lakes, and underground aquifers supply the water we drink, grow food with, and use in industry. Because clean water is so important and so limited, saving it — by fixing leaks and not wasting it — is something everyone can do.

Countries with large reserves of resources — like oil in Saudi Arabia, diamonds in Botswana, or timber in Canada — can trade them with other countries. This trade can make a country rich. However, relying on a single resource can cause problems if prices change or the resource runs out, so wise countries try to build many different industries rather than depending on just one.

Around the world, people are turning more and more to renewable energy. Solar panels turn sunlight into electricity, wind turbines turn the breeze into power, and dams use flowing water to spin generators. These clean sources do not run out and do not release the gases that warm the planet, so they are a big part of looking after the Earth for the future.