Coal and petroleum is considered as non - renewable resources.
Explain in very detail .
Answers
Answer
Nonrenewable Resource
REVIEWED BY JAMES CHEN Updated Jun 20, 2019
What Is a Nonrenewable Resource
A nonrenewable resource is a resource of economic value that cannot be readily replaced by natural means on a level equal to its consumption.
Most fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas and coal are considered nonrenewable resources, as their use is not sustainable because their formation takes billions of years.
Nonrenewable sources are the opposite of renewable sources. The latter are resources whose supply is infinite, since it can be replaced naturally. Examples of renewable resources include solar power, wind power, timber, and water.
Understanding Nonrenewable Resources
Nonrenewable resources come from the Earth, and don't replenish easily in a short period of time. This is why they are also referred to as finite resources—their natural supplies aren't enough to keep up with demand and/or consumption. In fact, it would probably take millions of years to reach the levels they are at currently. They are released from the ground in gas, liquid, or solid form, and then converted for other uses—mainly as energy sources.
Examples of nonrenewable resources include crude oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium. These sources can be processed into different products that can be used commercially and personally. For example, the fossil fuel industry extracts crude oil from the ground, and converts it to gasoline for use by consumers in their vehicles, and by corporations to use as fuel to transport their goods from manufacturing facilities to retail stores.
Fossil fuels are all nonrenewable. But not all nonrenewable resources are fossil fuels. Crude oil, natural gas, and coal are all considered fossil fuels, but uranium is not. Instead, it is extracted as a solid that is converted by nuclear power plants to be used as a fuel source. All of these nonrenewable resources are valuable energy sources that are inexpensive to extract. Storage, conversion, and shipping is easy and cheap.
Minerals and metals found in the earth are also considered nonrenewable resources. That's because they are formed by geological processes which takes millions of years.
Nonrenewable Resource
Types of Nonrenewable Resources
Fuels created from nonrenewable resources are still the primary source of all the power generated in the world, due to their affordability and high energy content. Nonrenewable resources are usually formed from organic carbon material which, over the course of billions of years, is heated and compressed enough to change form into crude oil and natural gas. Crude oil and natural gas are then used to manufacture everyday forms of fuel, including gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, and propane.
The term nonrenewable resource also refers to minerals and metals from the earth, such as gold, silver, and iron, which are similarly formed as a long-term result of geological processes such as plate tectonics. These resources are often costly to mine, as they are usually deep within the Earth's crust. But they are much more abundant than fossil fuels.
Some types of groundwater are considered to be a nonrenewable resource, if the aquifer is unable to be replenished at the same rate at which it's drained. Nuclear materials such as uranium are also considered nonrenewable resources.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A nonrenewable resource is one with finite supply, so it cannot be readily replaced by natural means on a level equal to its consumption.
Most fossil fuels, minerals, and metal ores are considered nonrenewable resources.
Nonrenewable resources may be harmful to the environment, and may be expensive as their supplies dwindle.
Renewable resources such as solar and wind power, timber, and water can easily be replaced because they have infinite supplies