Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources (2024)

Natural resources are materials or things that people use from the earth. There are two types of natural resources. The first are renewable natural resources. They are called renewable because they can grow again or never run out. The second are called nonrenewable natural resources. These are things that can run out or be used up. They usually come from the ground.

Renewable natural resources

Let's look more closely at renewable natural resources. They are the ones that can grow again. Trees are a good example. If cut down, they can regrow from seeds and sprouts. Animals are another example. Baby animals are born and grow up. They replace older animals that die.


Trees are one of the most useful renewable natural resources. We use trees to produce almost 8,000 different things, like this cardboard box. Wood is used to make most of these products. Tree wood is in our homes, furniture, paper, and on and on. Tree chemicals are also used to produce things like rayon cloth, food, medicine, and rubber.


Recycling a cardboard box


By-products are things made out of leftovers. For example, when a tree is cut down and sawn up for wood, the leftover sawdust can be used for fuel, making particle board like in the picture, or animal bedding. These are by-products. Another by-product from harvesting trees is bark mulch for gardens.

Air and water are renewable natural resources too. They don't regrow like trees or have babies like animals. But, they are always being renewed. They move in cycles. They go from one place to another, and often back where they started, again and again. This is a good thing, because all living things need air and water to survive. There is one other type of renewable natural resource. It includes sources of power like sun and wind energy. These are never ending. Finally, remember this: renewable resources can regrow or be replaced within a person's lifespan.


Nutrients are chemicals that living things need. They are renewable natural resources. They move round and round in cycles and never run out. When an animal like this cow eats a plant, it takes in nutrients. The nutrients are used in the animal's body and then many come out as waste, which returns the nutrients to the soil. When the animal dies, nutrients will return to the soil as well. Plants take up the nutrients in the soil and continue the cycle.

Nonrenewable natural resources

Now, let's look at nonrenewable natural resources. They are found in the ground. There are fixed amounts of these resources. They are not living things, and they are sometimes hard to find. They don't regrow and they are not replaced or renewed. They include the fossil fuels we burn for energy (natural gas, coal, and oil). Minerals, used for making metals, are also nonrenewable natural resources. Nonrenewable natural resources are things that take longer than a person's lifespan to be replaced. In fact, they can take millions of years to form.


Fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas will not last forever. They are nonrenewable. People are trying hard to find new fuels that are clean and will provide the power we need. Wind, solar, and hydrogen power are renewable resources that offer hope for the future.

People use both types of natural resources to produce the things they need or want. Our homes, clothing, plastics, and foods are all made from natural resources. Let's look at each one of these to be sure.

Your home is in a building. Buildings are made out of wood and minerals. Wood is from trees. Minerals are mined from the ground. Bricks, cement, and metals are made from minerals. How about your clothes? Most of your clothing is made from cotton, polyester, or nylon. Cotton comes from cotton plants. Polyester and nylon are made from oil. Plastics are made from oil too. How about your food? People eat grains, fruits, and other parts of plants. You may also enjoy dairy products and meat from animals. Everything we have or use is made from a natural resource. Which of those mentioned here are renewable? Which are nonrenewable?

  • Are ears of corn a renewable or nonrenewable resource?
  • What about coal? Is it renewable or nonrenewable?
  • Are rocks and minerals renewable or nonrenewable resources?
  • Is wood a renewable or a nonrenewable resource?

All natural resources should be used wisely. We must conserve natural resources. Conserve means to not use up, spoil, or waste things. This is especially true for the nonrenewable resources. However, even some renewable natural resources can run out if they are all killed or overused. We must also protect our natural resources from pollution. Pollution occurs when people put harmful chemicals and other things into nature. Oil spilled in water, toxic chemicals in the air, or garbage dumped on the side of the road are examples of this problem.

So what can you do to take care of natural resources?

You can reduce, reuse, and recycle! For example, turn off the lights when you are not in a room. This will reduce the use of fossil fuel used to make electricity. Ride your bicycle and walk more, to reduce the amount of gasoline used to transport you. You can reuse things. Things like plastic jugs, jars, paper, and bags can be reused. Each time you reuse something, you conserve the natural resources that would have been used to make new ones.

Finally, you can recycle. Recycle means to reuse a natural resource or product to make something new. It also means to collect and send these things for reuse. Items that can be easily recycled include: glass, some plastics, paper, cardboard, aluminum, and steel. Some plastics and metals are hard to recycle. They are often made from mixtures of materials. Mixtures can be hard to separate. Try to buy and use things that you can recycle.


Where does your garbage go when you throw it away? One place it goes is to a landfill. A landfill is a place made for safely putting garbage. Garbage must stay closed in the landfill so it doesn't pollute the ground, air, or water. Another place that garbage can go is into an incinerator. An incinerator is a large oven that burns garbage down to ashes. The ashes are then put in a landfill. A third place that some types of garbage can go is into a compost pile. A compost pile is made from natural garbage such as food scraps, leaves, and grass clippings. Compost piles help this garbage rot. After it rots, it can be put back on the earth to fertilize plants. The movement of garbage from a home or community to one of these places, like a landfill, is called the waste stream.

Natural resources, both renewable and nonrenewable, are important to all of us. We must conserve and carefully use natural resources. Our future depends on them.

Written by Sanford S. Smith, extension specialist in Natural Resources and Youth Education, and Barbara R. Deeter, undergraduate student

Support for the production and printing of this document was provided by the U.S. Forest Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Bureau of Forestry.

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources (2024)

FAQs

Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources? ›

Final answer: Renewable resources, like sunlight and wind, can naturally replenish themselves quickly enough to keep up with human use, whereas nonrenewable resources, such as fossil fuels, exist in limited amounts that are being used up much faster than they can be naturally replaced.

What is renewable and nonrenewable resources answer? ›

Renewable resources cannot be depleted over time. Non-renewable resources deplete over time. Sources. Renewable resources include sunlight, water, wind and also geothermal sources such as hot springs and fumaroles. Non-renewable resources includes fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum.

What are renewable and nonrenewable resources reading passage? ›

Theoretically, there is an “infinite” amount of these resources. Water, sunlight, plants, animals and wind are examples of renewable resources. Nonrenewable resources cannot be regenerated or replenished by natural processes. There is a finite amount of nonrenewable resources, so once used up, they are forever gone.

Which is renewable resources answer? ›

A renewable resource is a resource of which there is a seemingly endless supply because it can be replenished. For example, renewable resources such as the sun, the wind, and geothermal heat are considered inexhaustible. Water is also considered a renewable natural resource, as long as there is precipitation.

What are 5 examples of renewable and nonrenewable? ›

Renewable ResourcesNonrenewable resources
Solar EnergyOil
SoilSteel
TreesAluminum
GrassCoal
1 more row

What are the 7 types of renewable resources? ›

What are 7 Types of Renewable Energy?
  • Solar. By using photovoltaic cells to capture and convert the sun's rays into electricity, solar panels transform light into usable energy. ...
  • Wind Energy. ...
  • Hydroelectric. ...
  • Ocean Energy. ...
  • Geothermal Energy. ...
  • Biomass. ...
  • Hydrogen.

What is an example of 10 renewable resources? ›

Renewable resources include solar energy, wind, falling water, the heat of the earth (geothermal), plant materials (biomass), waves, ocean currents, temperature differences in the oceans and the energy of the tides.

What are 3 renewable and nonrenewable resources? ›

Resources are characterized as renewable or nonrenewable; a renewable resource can replenish itself at the rate it is used, while a nonrenewable resource has a limited supply. Renewable resources include timber, wind, and solar while nonrenewable resources include coal and natural gas.

What is an example of a renewable resource and a nonrenewable resource? ›

Fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and gas will not last forever. They are nonrenewable. People are trying hard to find new fuels that are clean and will provide the power we need. Wind, solar, and hydrogen power are renewable resources that offer hope for the future.

What are renewable and nonrenewable resources list for kids? ›

Nonrenewable energy sources, like coal, oil, and natural gas, cannot be easily replenished. A renewable energy source can be more easily replenished. Common examples of renewable energy include wind, sunlight, moving water, and Earth's heat.

Is water renewable or nonrenewable? ›

Water is a renewable resource when properly managed and used responsibly. Water circulates in nature in numerous states of matter, including liquid, vapour, and ice. As a result, the water that evaporates returns to the earth in the form of rain. As a result, water becomes a renewable resource.

What do renewable and nonrenewable resources have in common? ›

Answer and Explanation:

Renewable and non-renewable resources are similar in which both are natural resources which are produced by nature itself, without intervention of human activity. The only difference between both resoruces is the regeneration rate of the natural resources.

Is nonrenewable one word? ›

/nɒnrɪˈnuable/ "Nonrenewable." Vocabulary.com Dictionary, Vocabulary.com, https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/nonrenewable. Accessed 18 Jul. 2024.

What are 5 differences between renewable and nonrenewable resources? ›

Natural resources are materials present in nature and are used by humans. Renewable resources are those which cannot be depleted and could be reused. Examples of renewable resources include air, water, soil, solar energy, etc. Natural resources that are limited in quantity are referred to as non-renewable resources.

What are 6 nonrenewable resources? ›

Earth minerals and metal ores, fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas) and groundwater in certain aquifers are all considered non-renewable resources, though individual elements are always conserved (except in nuclear reactions, nuclear decay or atmospheric escape).

What are 3 examples of nonrenewable resources? ›

Nonrenewable energy resources include coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear energy. Once these resources are used up, they cannot be replaced, which is a major problem for humanity as we are currently dependent on them to supply most of our energy needs.

What are renewable renewable and nonrenewable resources? ›

Renewable resources will naturally replenish themselves over time, like wind, solar, plants, trees, etc. Non-renewable will be gone forever once used, like coal, fuel, etc.

What is renewable and renewable energy resources with examples? ›

Renewable energy is energy that comes from a source that won't run out. They are natural and self-replenishing, and usually have a low- or zero-carbon footprint. Examples of renewable energy sources include wind power, solar power, bioenergy (organic matter burned as a fuel) and hydroelectric, including tidal energy.

What are the renewable resources and nonrenewable resources activities? ›

Fossil fuels are referred to as nonrenewable energy sources because, once used, they are gone. Scientists are exploring the practicality of other sources called renewable energy sources. These include sun, wind, geothermal, water, and biomass.

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