Our Natural Resources

Introduction

     The Environment is everything which surrounds an organism and influences its life in many ways. It includes physical and biological components. The physical components of the environment are soil, water, air, light and temperature. These are termed as abiotic components. The plants and animals are collectively referred to as biotic components. All these components of the environment work together, interact and modify the effect of one another.

Types of Natural Resources

     These resources are unlimited in nature, and they are not likely to be exhausted by human activities. Example are solar radiation, air, water, precipitation (rainfall, snow fall, etc.,) and atomic power.

Water

     About 70-73% of earth is covered by water. Water is available in the form of oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, pools, polar ice caps and water vapour and this forms the hydrosphere. The main component of hydrosphere is water. Water exists in all the three forms i.e., solid (snow), liquid (water) and gas (water vapour).

Air

     It is an inexhaustible natural resource. It is very essential for the survival of all the living organisms on earth. In atmosphere, about 95% of the total air is present upto a height of 20 km above the earth's surface. The remaining 5% of air is present up to a height of about 280 km. Air is a mixture of different gases; nitrogen and oxygen are the major components. Thus, total volume of air present in atmosphere consists of 78% nitrogen 21% oxygen and remaining 1% is made up of other gases such as argon, neon, helium, krypton, xenon and radon.

Soil

     The word soil is derived from a Latin word solum meaning ground. It is a stratified mixture of inorganic and organic materials, both of which are products of decomposition.

Minerals

     Earth's crust is rich in inorganic materials which includes ores, that are used on a large-scale to yield metals such as iron, aluminium, copper, tin, nickel, silver, gold, platinum etc. These minerals are very useful in industrial and technological growth. Some of the metals are used as catalysts, for e.g., vanadium, tungsten and molybdenum.Some of the non-metallic materials (minerals) are vital to industrial growth such as sand, fluxes, clay, salt, sulphur, phosphorus, diamonds, gems, coal and by-products of petroleum (petrol, kerosene, lubricants).

Energy

     Fuel wood, agricultural waste and cow dung (gobar), form the major sources of energy for rural India and most of the urban Indian population consumes energy from coal, petroleum, natural gas (CNG), hydel power (hydroelectricity), sun, wind and nuclear power. At present, India produces 97,800MW of energy from different sources.

Types of Non-Conventional Energy Resources

     Sun is the biggest source of non-conventional energy. Energy is in the form of photons. India receives abundant sunlight for about 250-300 days in a year. Conversion of solar energy to electric energy and thermal energy takes place mainly by solar thermal pathways and through photovoltaic cells.

Flora and Fauna

     Flora refers to plant species and fauna refers to animal species. The term biota includes both plant as well as the domesticated and wild species of animals. Our country has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. There are over 45,000 plant species and 81,251 animal species. It represents about 7% of world's flora and 6.5% of world's fauna.

Management and Replenishment of Natural Resources

     There is an urgent need to think deeply about destruction of natural resources. With the exponential increase in human population and increased technological advancement, the natural resources get relentlessly exploited. There is a need for optimisation of its usage. This is possible only when we adopt the concepts of management and conservation of natural resources. Management and conservation mean scientific utilisation of resources while maintaining their sustained yield and quality.

Conservation of Forests

     Mutual relation exists between forests (trees), rainfall concentration, the amount of water in rivers and conservation of wild animals.

Conservation of Wild Life

     A species is considered extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that its last individual has died, e.g., mountain quail, pink headed duck, one horned rhino and cheetah.

Public Awareness Programmes

     In India, birds and animals are worshipped from time immemorial. They are considered to be cultural assets and have a profound effect on Indian art, sculpture, literature and religion. It is imperative that we protect wildlife. An awareness should be created amongst the masses using the various media of communication like the TV, radio, newspapers and the magazines.

Soil Conservation

     Soil conservation means protection, improvement and sustained renewal of soil at any place. Soil has to be protected from erosion and should also be replenished.