BackgroundThroughout the realm of history, natural resources have been used by a plethora of people in order to facilitate a strong level of survival. Specifically, most of the early human beings and the Native Americans used rivers and other bodies of water in order to provide food, fertilizer for land, rocks, metal and other substances for daily living. If there were tress available, the individuals took the time to use some of them for firewood and other building materials that could assist towards building a place to live. By using natural resources, there is still an allowance to renew energy that is extremely beneficial for the environment.
Historical Awareness of the Topic in America
Within the United States, natural resources were seemingly first identified in the last 1700s when the nation purchased Alaska. Once this was done, the country’s supply of oil, minerals and even fresh water increased to a significant level. Due to this implication, the awareness of conservation began to expand and more people continued to utilize natural resources on a daily basis (Stables, 2010).
Historical Awareness of the Topic Globally
Although the use of natural resources was seen in the late 1700s in the United States, the awareness of the topic has been around for a longer period of time on a global level. Even tracing back to the days of Ancient Egypt in 332 BC, the individuals utilized the Nile river in order to obtain food and minerals. It was determined that the river contained many different types of fished that were caught for food on a daily basis. Especially after a rainstorm, there was a surge of fish that the ancient Egyptians had a tendency to cook. Furthermore, the river was filled with copper and even quartzite that the individuals used as jewelry and other decorative materials (Nazari, 2015).
Section 2: Local Real-World Applications and Specific Steps
Opportunities for Change
As time progresses, there is a desire for an increased amount of awareness in terms of the use of natural resources. In today’s society, there is a great deal of innovation which is very beneficial, however, people should also learn about the methods of conservation. If a tendency of wastefulness continues to exist on a daily basis, there is a chance that negative repercussions will start to take place on the planet. There are already issues of global warming due to many factors that the human beings have contributed to. Based on this factor alone, there is a need to conserve all of the natural resources that currently exist so that the earth can flourish in a proper manner.
Hurdles to Overcome
While the idea of conservation can be spread to people around the world, there are still hurdles to overcome. For example, with an increase in the amount of fossil fuels that are burned on a daily basis, this plays a role in the ultimate depletion of natural resources (George, 2015). Even though there have been efforts to switch to more renewable forms of energy such as solar power and geothermal energy, there is still a need to increase the amount of awareness. As a whole, the planet is on the brink of an environmental crisis and as time progresses, there is a chance that damages will be seen if the situation is not handled today (Douglas, 2014). .Furthermore, with the increase in the amount of waste disposal, this impacts the amount of natural resources that exist as well because there is a level of hindrance that is seen. As time goes on, there is a strong desire to ensure that natural resources are conserved by taking the initiative such as building a community garden.
- Douglas, L. (2014). High-value natural resources. Science Direct, 45(4), 13-20.
- George, G. (2015). The management of natural resources. Science Direct, 6(5), 11-14.
- Nazari, V. (2015). Ancient Egypt. Journal of Science Society, 1(5), 4-6.
- Stables, A. (2010). Making meaning and using natural resources. Wiley, 45(5), 12-20.
