Spring 2006 GEOS 1024 Test 1 Weekly Outlines
Resources Geology, Week 1,2 Outline
US oil production is decreasing, consumption is increasing
World oil production is remaining constant, consumption is increasing
Price of resources
Resource definition
oEconomics โ the study of how individuals and societies chose to use scarce
resources to satisfy societies unlimited needs
oPolitics โ process through which individuals and groups try to influence or
control government policies and actions that affect the local, state, national, and
international communities
Metals โ Possesโ high electrical and/or thermal conductivity, malleable, and ductable
Non-metals โ everything else (water, soils, rock, sand, gravel)
Energy โ capacity to do work by performing mechanical, physical, chemical, or
electrical tasks or cause a heat transfer between 2 objects at different temperatures
Coal Mining
oDangers, safety record
- One of the safest industries
- Lower rate of injuries and illness per 100 employees than the agriculture
or construction
oElectricity
oSurface vs underground
oEnvironmental Impacts
- Air pollution
๏งGenerate majority of acid rain
- Water
- Mountaintop removal (visual)
๏งFlattens tops of peaks
Resources
oRenewable โ resources that are replenished on a time scale of less than a human
lifetime (100)
- Days โ solar, wind
- Years โ food crops
- Decades โ trees (in theory)
oNon-renewable โ resources that are not replenished on the time scale of 100
years
- Fixed quantity and formed over long periods of time
- Example: ocean water
Resource Base
