- Purchase less stuff (use items as long as you can, ask yourself if you really need some-
thing new.) - Reduce excess packaging (for example, drink water from the tap instead of buying it
in plastic bottles). - Recycle materials like metal cans, old cell phones, and plastic bottles.
- Purchase products made from recycled materials.
- Keep air and water clean by not polluting in the environment.
- Prevent soil erosion.
- Plant new trees to replace ones that we cut down.
- Drive cars less, take public transportation, bicycle, or walk.
- Conserveenergyathome(forexample, byturningoutlightswhentheyarenotneeded).
Lesson Summary
- We use natural resources for many things. Natural resources give us food, water,
recreation, energy, building materials, and luxury items. - Many resources vary in their availability throughout the world. Some are rare, difficult
to get or in short supply. - Weneedtoconserveournaturalresources, protectingthemfrompollutionandoveruse.
- We can use materials less or recycle to conserve resources.
- We can also make efforts to reduce pollution and soil erosion in order to conserve
resources.
Review Questions
- List five general things we get from natural resources.
- We depend on forests as habitat for wildlife. How does this make a forest an important
resource for people? - How could human life be affected if a large amount of soil erosion affected our soil
resources? - How does discarding products lead to more resource use?
- How does choosing to walk or ride a bicycle instead of riding in a car help conserve
resources?
Further Reading / Supplemental Links
- Maps of Renewable Resources in the United Stateshttp://www.nrel.gov/gis/maps.
html - What to Recycle [* Maps of Renewable Resources in the United Stateshttp://www.
nrel.gov/gis/maps.html