13.4.4: Preservation of Natural Resources
- Page ID
- 214010
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)PRESERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Given the tremendous impact that human activities and settlements have on the environment, the question of how to preserve and protect the Earth’s land areas and its resources is particularly important, especially as the global population continues to grow. Two major concepts in this effort are conservation and preservation. Conservation involves using the Earth’s resources sustainably, which means they will be available to future generations. Ways in which conservation can be applied include not overfishing, replanting trees when they are logged, and protecting soil in farming areas from erosion. Preservation is the idea of protecting natural areas and trying to keep them as close as possible to their original, unspoiled state. As such, human impacts should me minimal, and resources in preserved areas are not for human use.
One of the foremost examples of preservation is the national park. The governments in nearly 100 countries worldwide have established these parks in wilderness areas where visitors can come and enjoy the scenery and the flora and fauna. The United States is a world leader in national parks, and in fact, the first national park in the world, Yellowstone, was created in the United States in 1872. However, the United States only has 59 national parks, much less than the 685 parks in Australia, the world leader in total parks. In Asia, China boasts the largest number of parks at over 200.
Figure | Sundarban National Park, India Author | User “Pradiptaray” Source | Wikimedia Commons License | Public Domain
These parks help protect some of the most vulnerable plant and animal species in the world. For example, in the coastal mangrove forests of eastern India, the Bengal tiger, an endangered species, is protected in the Sundarban National Park. Endangered species are species that are at risk of becoming extinct, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature is an international organization aimed at protecting habitats, such as forests, and species around the globe (website at: https://www.iucn.org/). Deforestation is one of the greatest threats to endangered species, particularly in tropical rainforests in places like the Brazilian Amazon, as depicted in Chapter 1, but also in the United States in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, for example. Thousands of endangered species exist worldwide, and in the United States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversees the identification, protection and restoration of endangered species. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 protects vulnerable plant and animals in the United States, but the needs and demands of human development often clash with the preservation of habitat. With the world in the midst of one of the highest rates of extinction in the history of the Earth, the necessity to protect the remaining species from disappearing is a cause for alarm, both in the United States and abroad.
Figure | Sundarban National Park, India Author | User “Pradiptaray” Source | Wikimedia Commons License | Public Domain
Chapter 13 Part 3: KEY TERMS DEFINED
Biofuels – energy sources from living matter.
Conservation – using natural resources in a sustainable way so that they are preserved for future generations.
Eutrophication – the process by which nutrient-rich waters promote the growth of algae, and when the abundant algal blooms die, the decomposition of the dead plant material consumes large amounts of oxygen.
Fossil Fuels – energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas, derived from ancient plant and animal matter.
Greenhouse effect - the trapping of longwave radiation (heat) by certain greenhouse gases in the lower atmosphere; greenhouse gases absorb and reradiate the heat radiated from the Earth, increasing global temperatures by 35o C compared to an atmosphere with no greenhouse effect.
Landfill – An area where solid waste is deposited and buried to reduce odor, vermin proliferation, and unsightly trash.
Nonrenewable resource – a resource that is in finite supply and is depleted by humans.
Potential reserves – estimates on available energy in deposits that are thought to exist but have not been completely verified.
Production – the extraction of fossil fuels from the ground.
Proven reserves - state in which the territorial boundaries encompass a group of people with a shared ethnicity.
Preservation – setting aside areas so that resources are essentially untouched with as little human impact as feasible.
Renewable resource – a resource that is in infinite supply such as solar and wind energy.
Chapter 13 Part 3: WORKS CONSULTED AND FURTHER READING
“China Aims to Spend at Least $360 Billion on Renewable Energy by 2020.” The New York Times. December 22, 2017. Accessed April 23, 2018. https://www.nytimes. com/2017/01/05/world/asia/china-renewable-energy-investment.html.
“Home.” ETIP Bioenergy-SABS. Accessed April 23, 2018. http://www.biofuelstp.eu/ global_overview.html.
Kirk, Ashley. “Paris Climate Summit: Which EU Countries Are Using the Most Renewable Energy?” The Telegraph. November 30, 2015. Accessed April 23, 2018. http://www. telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/energy/renewableenergy/12021449/Renewableenergy-in-the-EU-Which-countries-are-using-the-most-renewable-energy.html.
Kleven, Anthony. “Powering Asia’s Renewable Revolution.” The Diplomat. January 07, 2017. Accessed April 23, 2018. https://thediplomat.com/2017/01/powe...le-revolution/.
“Paris Agreement.” Wikipedia. April 23, 2018. Accessed April 23, 2018. https:// en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement.
Torgerson, Ross. “Untapped: The Story behind the Green River Shale Formation.” Bakken. com. November 06, 2014. Accessed April 23, 2018. http://bakken.com/news/ id/225072/untapped-story-behind-green-river-shale-formation/.
Vaughan, Adam. “Almost 90% of New Power in Europe from Renewable Sources in 2016.” The Guardian. Accessed April 23, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/ environment/2017/feb/09/new-energy-europe-renewable-sources-2016.
Attributions:
This text was remixed from the following OER Texts under Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share and Share a like 4.0 international license unless otherwise specified.
- OER (1 of 2): Introduction to Human Geography edited by Dorrell & Henderson, Published by University of North Georgia University Press. https://web.ung.edu/media/university-press/human-geography_v2.pdf?t=1700179494361
2. OER (2 of 2): Introduction to human Geography A Disciplinary Approach 3rd Edition by Graves. Published California State University Northridge Department of Geography https://sites.google.com/site/gravesgeography/introduction-to-human-geography