30 Examples of Non-Renewable Resources

The natural resources They are all those goods obtained directly from nature, without the intervention of man. These resources, such as air, water, minerals or light, are essential for life on planet Earth, this is both for animals, as for plants and humans. According to its durability, we will have renewable and non-renewable natural resources.

The nonrenewable resourcesThey are those goods that nature offers, and that cannot be replaced. That is to say, that there is a certain endowment and that once exhausted by consumption, there will be no more available for future use. For example: oil, natural gas, coal, gold.

Non-renewable resources are usually formed through very slow processes, which take billions of years, and are heterogeneously distributed over the terrestrial surface and in the subsoil, the latter is that what happens with the so-called geological resources that include energy and minerals.

All can be used as raw Materials for different industrial processes, but energy sources have the strategic value of being energy sources that also satisfy the needs of daily life. The available amount of non-renewable natural resources functions as a

stock, that is decreasing with its use.

Europe was a continent that in Middle Ages had a considerable extension of woodsHowever, the continuous deforestation that began around the middle of the 13th century meant that in less than 300 years (for us a lot, for the life of a planet like the Earth, just the blink of an eye) Europeans will run out of wood and many people will begin to die of hunger and cold, having no where to warm up and to cook.

Today forests are considered a renewable resource, since they can (and should) plant new forests as they are used, in order to replenish that natural capital. Many species such as eucalyptus and pine are being planted today in the world to replace the wooded area that has been diminishing so much.

Examples of non-renewable resources

Fossil fuels

Metals and minerals

Renewable resources

The renewable resources they are, on the contrary, those that regenerate over time. As can be seen, this classification is based on the availability of the resource over time, which in turn it depends on its current availability, its generation or regeneration rate and its rate of use or consumption.

That is why those resources that are consumed at a much faster rate than nature's ability to replace them are also usually considered non-renewable, that is why a sustainable use of these resources. Undoubtedly, these are the ones that must be cared for the most, for the benefit of future generations.