Test: Resources- 3 - UPSC MCQ

Sustainable development is the organizing principle for meeting human development goals while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services upon which the economy and society depend. The desirable end result is a state of society where living conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural systems.

Natural Resources can be classified as Biotic and Abiotic on the basis of origin:-
Resources obtained from the biosphere, like forests, wildlife, fisheries, livestock, human beings, etc., which have life, are called biotic resources.
Resources which are obtained from non-living things are called abiotic resources. Iron, copper, gold and lead are abiotic resources.

1.Renewable resources -These can be renewed or reproduced by physical, chemical and mechanical processes. For example, water , forests, wildlife, etc.

2.Non-Renewable resources -These occur over a very long geological time and take millions of years in their formation. For example, minerals and fossil fuels 

Actual resource are resources whose quantity is known and are used in present.eg black soil in maharashtra . potential resources are resources whose quantity is not known and are not used in present.eg uranium in ladakh. Actual resources are coal,Water, petrol Potential resources are uranium in Ladakh etc.

They can also be classified as actual and potential on the basis of level of development and use, on the basis of origin they can be classified as biotic and abiotic, and on the basis of their distribution, as ubiquitous and localized (private resources, community-owned resources, natural resources, international .

Sun is a natural resource because it occur in nature millions of years ago.But in the case of bridges, roads, railway tracks they are built by human being. They are not naturally occurring in nature.

A relatively small amount of ammonia is produced by lightning. Some ammonia also is produced industrially by the Haber-Bosch process, using an iron-based catalyst, very high pressures and fairly high temperature. But the major conversion of N2 into ammonia, and thence into proteins, is achieved by microorganisms in the process called nitrogen fixation (or dinitrogen fixation).
The organisms utilize the enzyme nitrogenase to catalyze the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to ammonia (NH3). Plants can readily assimilate NH3 to produce the aforementioned nitrogenous biomolecules. These prokaryotes include aquatic organisms, such as cyanobacteria, free-living soil bacteria, such as Azotobacter, bacteria that form associative relationships with plants, such as Azospirillum, and most importantly, bacteria, such as Rhizobium.

Resources that can be drawn from nature without much modification are called natural resources.

Biotic resources are resources derived from the biosphere such as living things and from forest and the materials derived from them. This mainly include fossil fuels like petroleum, coal gas, etc. Abiotic means other than living things that mean non-living things examples are fresh air, land ,heavy metal.

Biotic and abiotic resources are classified on the basis of origin.renewable resources are on the basis of exhaustion., but on the basis of their use resources can be classified as actual. potential developed and stock.

Resources whose quantity is known and which are being used at present are called actual resources.

Actual resources are those that have been surveyed, their quantity and quality determined, and are being used in present times. For example, petroleum and natural gas is actively being obtained from the Mumbai High Fields.

Petroleum found in the West Asian areas is a good example of actual resource.

Actual resources :- 

The actual resources are those that have been surveyed and put to good use and their total quantity and quality is determined and they are being used in the present times.

Example of Actual resources - 

# The petroleum which is obtained from Mumbai High. 

# The rich deposits of coal in Ruhr in Germany.

# The dark soil of the Deccan Plateau in Maharashtra.

Potential resources are resources which exist in a region and which can be used in the future. For example:- Mineral oil may exist in many parts of India where sedimentary rocks are found but till it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains a potential resource.

Due to increasing demand in this fast moving world and rapid industrialization, there is substantial increase in usage of natural biotic resources which are offcourse limited. With increasing the cost of these resources, people started to look after other renewable resources not just because of availability but also to reduce the hazards i.e. Air Pollution, Water Pollution etc. caused by resources like fossil fuels and petroleum. So more the renewable energy got into picture, people started to understand it's importance and as a result due to even low cost these are getting status of actual resources. Summarising in following points to the answer - 1. Limited Biotic Resources 2. Health and Environmental hazards by Nuclear Energy and Pollution 3. Wind Power, Bio Waste and Solar Energy are cheap and renewable. 4. Also these are unharmful to environment.

Natural resources may be further classified in different ways. Resources can be categorized on the basis of origin: Abiotic resources comprise non-living things (e.g., land, water, air and minerals such as gold, iron, copper, silver). Biotic resources are obtained from the biosphere.

Renewable energy never runs out, example: solar energy is powered by heat the sun and never runs out. Examples include oxygen, fresh water, solar energy and biomass. New resources may include goods or commodities such as paper and leather.

A renewable resource is a resource which can be used repeatedly and replaced naturally. Examples include oxygen, fresh water, solar energy and biomass. ​Solar energy - Energy from the sun. The sun can be used to charge batteries, can be collected with solar cells to make electricity, or used passively to heat a building.

The term 'non-renewable' suggests the limited nature of a natural resource. Essentially, the term can be used for any resource that cannot be recovered from the earth readily, after once it has been exhausted. For example: Coal:- it takes thousands of years for coal to form in-between the rocky layers of earth from organic materials that have decomposed. Whereas wind is a renewable resource, it is not limited.