Running Head: NATURAL REOURCES 1

Natural Resources Worksheet

Name

Institution

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Running Head: NATURAL REOURCES 2

Complete the following table:

Fossil Fuel Alternative Energy

Identify 3 types of both 1 Coal: Used in keeping Solar energy: used to

energy categories and lights on in homes and generate electricity and heat

what they are most often working places. water

used to power.
2. Gasoline: Used as fuel 2. Wind: generating

for vehicles. electricity using windmills.

3.Natural gas: used as fuel 3. Geothermal: heating

for cooking and warming buildings through boiling

water,

Benefits to using these Coal is cheap compared to Solar power can be used to

energy types other fossil fuels (or generate electricity.

alternative energy sources.

Wind energy is cost

Use of gasoline as fuel for effective it falls under the

vehicles is efficient lowest priced renewable

energy.
Because natural gas burns

cleanly, it doesn't leave Geothermal energy is clean

behind any unpleasant soot, and safe from carbon

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Running Head: NATURAL REOURCES 3

ash, or odor monoxide that can cause

poisoning.

Environmental impacts of Mining of coal results in the Alternative energy has

using these energy types destruction of habitat and fewer negative effects on

scenery. the environment than fossil

fuels.
Natural gas is highly

volatile and can be Major effects to the

dangerous is handled or environment can be

transported carelessly. attributed to land use for

solar panels and wind mills.

Oil has its negative impact
The manufacturing process
on environment oil spills on
of materials used may also
water destroys the living
have toxic byproducts. The
organisms under water.
generation process involves
Burning fossil fuels
use of water. Noise
contributes heavily to
produced by wind mills
climate change
cause noise pollution.

Are these energy types Oil, natural gas and coal are Alternative energy is

renewable? Explain. not renewable energy as it preferred and lauded for

takes million years for being abundant and

fossil fuels to form. renewable

Copyright 2015 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

Running Head: NATURAL REOURCES 4

Using the textbooks, the University Library, or other resources answer each of the

following questions in 150- to 300-words. Be sure to provide references for the sources

you use

Question Response

Explore water supply and The main source of water in the region is

management in your area using groundwate. A bore is made on the surface to get

the internet. What is the source of to the water. The water is then pumped from the

your municipalitys drinking aquifer to the surface and treated by removing the

water? Describe any concerns pollutants or chemically converting them to

related to the quantity and harmless compounds. The purification process

quality of this water source. involves aeration, clarification, filtration and

Explain one thing you can do in mineralization. The water is then distributed to

your everyday activities to homes through underground piping.

conserve water.
A major concern is the purity of the drinking

water. Contamination of groundwater due to

infiltration, leaking from landfills, industrial spills

and agrichemicals could lead to poisoning and

diseases. Chemicals used during purification, such

as fluorides, are also a cause for concern as the

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Running Head: NATURAL REOURCES 5

water may be over treated.

To converse water, one measure that can be

applied is to make sure theres no water loss

through taps and faucets left running. When a tap

is not in use, it should be properly closed so that it

does not drip.

Visit this Fish and Wildlife This type of a fish called Alabama sturgeon is a

Service website freshwater fish that was historically widespread in

(http://www.fws.gov/endangered/) the Mobile River Basin of Alabama and

and perform a search of Mississippi. The fish has an appealing gold color.

endangered species for your state. The last capture of this kind of a fish was in April

Select one species and explain 2007 by the biologists with the Alabama

why it is endangered and what is Department of Conservation and Natural

being done to help it recover.

Alabama sturgeon is so endangered to the point of

getting extinct. While State law currently protects

the sturgeon from overutilization, the primary

threats to the Alabama sturgeon are its small

populations size and its reduced range.

Complicating these threats are the limited

knowledge of its life history and habitat

requirements

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Running Head: NATURAL REOURCES 6

What is being done to ensure it recovers is use of

eDNa to discover the species for conservation

efforts to be carried out.

What reason(s) for conserving life There are good reason to save endangered species.

on Earth found in A Closer One of these reasons is that humans has

Look 13.3, pages 299-301, do accelerated extinction exponentially, and they have

you find convincing? Explain. a responsible to reduce it. Another reason is to

conserve the beauty of biodiversity. Some species

such as bees are also very important to the

ecosystem and their extinction could result in

devastation of the natural world.

Perform an internet search using Sustainable agriculture enables sufficient food

the search term agricultural production without depletion of natural resources

sustainability article. Read one or pollution. Agriculture is the backbone upon

of the articles you find and which the economy is built, but its sustainability

summarize it in 1-2 paragraphs. has been ignored. While the rate of food

Based on this article and the production has grown over the years, the methods

readings in the text do you think most commonly used are not sustainable and are

that current large-scale industrial ruinous on the environment. Large scale farming

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Running Head: NATURAL REOURCES 7

agricultural practices are has resulted in deforestation, loss of habitats, soil

sustainable? Why or why not? degradation and water contamination. The cost of

Give an example of a more these effects is high and will only rise if

sustainable agricultural practice. agricultural practices dont embrace sustainability.

It should therefore be a priority to decrease adverse

environmental effects without reducing

productivity. Agricultural research, which has

mostly focussed on productivity, should make

room for research on sustainability to safeguard

natural resources. As agriculture is a major sector

in the economy, achieving agricultural sustainable

is paramount to achieving sustainable

development.

Current large scale agricultural models are

unsustainable as they do not take environmental

considerations into account. Factory farms produce

large amounts of greenhouse gasses resulting in

global warming and climate change. They would

need to undergo major overhauls to approach any

degree of sustainability.

A sustainable agricultural practice is crop rotation,

which reduces pest infestation and facilitates land

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Running Head: NATURAL REOURCES 8

rejuvenation

REFERENCES

Okun, D. A. (1988). The value of water supply and sanitation in development: an

assessment. American journal of public health, 78(11), 1463-1467.

Chiras, D. (2013). Natural Resource Conservation: Pearson New International Edition

(1st ed., pp. 199 - 201). Pearson.

Tilman, D., Cassman, K. G., Matson, P. A., Naylor, R., & Polasky, S. (2002).

Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices. Nature, 418(6898), 671-

677.

Sims, R. E., Rogner, H. H., & Gregory, K. (2003). Carbon emission and mitigation cost

comparisons between fossil fuel, nuclear and renewable energy resources for electricity

generation. Energy policy, 31(13), 1315-1326.

Copyright 2015 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.