High School Earth Science: Human Actions and Earth’s Resources - Use and Conservation of Resources — Flashcards

Many of the resources we depend on are non-renewable. Non-renewable resources vary in their availability. Some are very abundant, whereas others are very rare. Resources such as gravel and sand are technically non-renewable but are so abundant that running out is not an issue. Other resources are truly limited in quantity, including many minerals. When they are gone, they are gone, and something must be found to replace them. Some non-renewable resources, such as diamonds and rubies, are costly in part because they are very rare.    
Besides abundance, the cost of a resource is determined by how easy it is to locate and extract. If a resource is difficult to find or obtain, it may go unused unless there are no other cheaper alternatives. For example, the oceans are filled with an abundant supply of water, but removing salt from ocean water (desalination) is very costly, so this source of water mainly goes unused. However, if the cost of desalination were to decrease, more ocean water would likely be used.    
Politics may also affect resource availability and cost. Nations that have a desired resource in abundance will often export that resource to other countries. Countries that need the resource must import it from one of the countries that produces it. This situation is a potential source of political conflict. Oil is a good example of this. Only 11 countries have nearly 80 percent of all of the world’s oil. They are Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya,  Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

However, the biggest users of oil are the United States, China, and Japan. This leads to a situation in which the availability and price of oil is determined largely by oil-producing countries, which have their own interests to look out for. They may raise the price of oil for reasons that have nothing to do with the cost of obtaining it. Wars may even be fought over oil or other resources that are not evenly distributed.