natural resources exploitation

Economy-And-Finanzas

2022

We explain what the exploitation of resources is and its consequences. Types of natural resources and examples of exploitation.

Oil is one of the most valuable resources of all time.

What is the exploitation of natural resources?

The exploitation of natural resources refers to the extraction and processing activities of the raw material available in the nature by the human being, for the purpose of obtaining Energy and of manufacturing of industrial inputs or products made from consumption.

From the fruits collected and the animals hunted for food, or cut wood and mined stone to make houses and tools, to the raw material of the complex industrial, energy, oil and manufacturing processes of which modern industry is capable, humanity has always taken advantage of the natural resources of your environment to make your life easier and better. And that is the exploitation of natural resources.

This type of activity, however, witnessed a gigantic increase as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the subsequent technological revolutions that allowed the emergence of the society contemporary. The new consumer society needed to mass-produce its goods, which required constant raw material and in large quantities.

Although this allowed a development technological unmatched and substantial improvement in quality and human life expectancies, compared to pre-industrial times, also brought with it pollution, overexploitation and ecological destruction.

Types of natural resources

Today various types of natural resources are exploited, which can be classified into three categories:

  • Nonrenewable resources. Those that exist in finite quantities and that once exhausted will not be produced again, or will take long periods of time. weather in doing it. For example, him Petroleum.
  • Partially renewable resources. Those that are constantly being produced in nature and do not run the risk real to be exhausted soon, since they are produced more quickly than they are consumed. For example, the fishing of certain species of fast reproduction.
  • Renewable resources. Those that are not exhausted with their use or that recover their original condition with speed, so there is no possible risk that they will be exhausted. For example, the sunlight used to generatesolar energy.

Examples of exploitation

The exploitation of wood is an important industry worldwide.

Some examples of exploitation of natural resources are:

  • Oil exploitation. Oil is one of the most valuable resources of all time, from which many inputs are derived for various human industries and also various hydrocarbon fuels. Oil is non-renewable and is obtained from ancient deposits of organic material in the subsoil, which after centuries of Pressure Y temperature they become a homogeneous fossil mass.
  • Logging. The felling of trees to take advantage of their wood is also a industry important worldwide, since wood is used as a raw material in the manufacture of furniture, toys, tools, ornaments, etc. And the pulp is also used in the production of paper.
  • Commercial fishing. Fishing exploitation can be of several types: coastal and artisanal, massive and trawling, or specific, as was the whaling during the early twentieth century. Either way, it's about extracting the life from the ocean To generate food and other commercial inputs.
  • Atomic Energy. The production of electricity By means of controlled nuclear explosions, it requires very particular inputs, such as isotopes of Uranium or Hydrogen, some of which can be extracted from the subsoil, and others can be manufactured in the laboratory from, in turn, other mineral inputs.

Consequences of overexploitation

Is named overexploitation to the excessive or uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources, especially those that are not renewable or only partially renewable. The consequences of this uncontrolled activity are usually:

  • Resource depletion. The extinction of species, rapid depletion of mines or termination of exploitable areas (as in the farming), which weaken the industry and lead to a raw material crisis.
  • Environmental destruction. The destruction of habitats natural influences quality of life of numerous species, leading to extinction and impoverishment of the biodiversity world.
  • Pollution. Overexploitation throws up a greater amount of toxic, radioactive or modifying waste in the ecological balance, without giving time to ecosystem to deal with them or recover from their impact.
  • Socio-economic crisis. The imbalance of extraction mechanisms usually leads to raw material crises and, therefore, to imbalances in the international market, now that the economy is globalize. This translates into poverty and social and economic damage for the weaker countries.
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