Natural Resources: Renewable and Non-Renewable
Natural resources are assets that humanity obtains from the physical environment to meet their biological or social needs.
- Renewable resources are those that regenerate naturally at a rate equal to or greater than the pace at which they are exploited by society.
- Non-renewable resources are generated in nature so slowly that, for practical reasons, they are considered to exist in finite quantities.
Fossil Fuels
The three main fossil fuels:
Oil: Accounts for 40% of global energy. The process of oil consumption involves: underground mining, refining, separation of hydrocarbon compounds, and distillation. Distillates are separated and processed in series, producing lubricants and plastics. Oil is of key importance as a transportation fuel (gasoline). Major oil-producing countries and exporters are often members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
OPEC
OPEC was founded in 1960 in Baghdad by five founding countries: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and Venezuela. OPEC’s headquarters is in Vienna, Austria. OPEC’s purpose is for producing countries to control and negotiate directly with oil companies regarding production volume, prices, and barrel rights. The “7 brothers” cartel previously held significant power.
The 1973 Oil Crisis
In 1973, OPEC countries refused to supply crude oil to Western countries that had supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War against Egypt. This supply disruption caused a strong surge in prices that lasted five months. On January 7, 1975, OPEC decided to increase the price of crude oil by 10%. OPEC currently consists of the five founding countries plus seven additional members: Algeria, Angola, Nigeria, Libya, Indonesia, Qatar, and Ecuador.
Coal and Natural Gas
Environmental Impacts
Environmental impacts are the set of environmental changes caused by human activities, including industry, mining, and urbanization. These impacts include pollution and biodiversity loss.
Biodiversity Loss
Biodiversity encompasses all animal and plant species distributed across the Earth. Biodiversity is also of fundamental importance to the pharmaceutical industry, as most chemicals and active ingredients in medicines derive from structures initially found in wild plants and animals. Scientists now speak of a sixth mass extinction, caused for the first time in the planet’s history by a single animal species: humans.
Economic Development
Economic development is an attempt to encourage mining in privileged states in Asia, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, and also to help improve the living conditions of the population. GDP increases with capital movements and technological advancements.
Human Development
Human development allows people to fully develop their personal capabilities. This is achieved through both human and economic development. Economic development is closely related to the exercise of human rights. The opposite of human development is poverty. The UN has defined absolute poverty as a situation where a person’s basic needs are not met. This occurs when there is insufficient access to food, hygiene, and health, and when there are no social mechanisms provided by the state to address situations of illness or unemployment. Urbanization is the phenomenon whereby cities grow rapidly in population and area, and their lifestyles become widespread.
Globalization of the Economy
With the emergence of new technologies, production systems have changed. Control of the economy is no longer solely dependent on dominating traditional industries. This is known as a post-industrial society. Everything is folded into the current economic system, characterized by fragmentation and relocation of production, and a growing number of exchanges of all types. Communications and exchanges can only be conceived from a global perspective. Companies producing goods and services no longer have markets limited to their country of origin; they compete anywhere on the planet. This is the globalization of the economy, seen as the growing integration of the entire world economy into a single economic system dominated by capitalism. Economic interdependence is reinforced by the variety and effectiveness of modern transport and communication.