Understanding and Protecting Earth’s Resources

Earth’s resources are very important for the survival of human civilization. Our existence is practically, and frankly, dependent on their existence. From the most common and vital resources like the air we breathe, water we drink, and food we eat, up to the uncommon yet still valuable resources like fossil fuels (such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas), nuclear power, and even metals, are all important in our daily lives. People might not see the real value of these resources only until they’re gone. But the thing is, once these natural resources have vanished, then you can pretty much expect that human race will also be at its end. And that’s the cold hard truth.

 

Besides, with the current state of our environment, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that the so-called “End of Humanity” is already upon us. And who’s to blame for the scarcity and probably extermination of natural resources? It’s all of us, of course. And let’s not even play ‘The Blame Game’ and start pointing fingers here. We all had our fair share with the destruction of our environment, one way or another; intentionally or unintentionally. Just look at the world we’re living in today:

From Left to Right: (Water Pollution in Indonesia); (Chemical Waste in Russia); (Air Pollution in the United States of America); and (Land Pollution in Zambia)

It’s unbearable, right? Well, that’s reality. And while all of this is true, the fact remains that although we have been the cause of this problem, we can also be the source of its solution. But before we get on with the responsibilities entailed with our past careless actions regarding our treatment to planet Earth, let us first learn some basic knowledge about the nature of earth’s resources.

Earth’s Resources (a.k.a. Natural Resources) are substances that exist naturally in the earth and were not made by human beings. Their value is based on the demand and usefulness in manufacturing products or providing human necessities or comforts. And as mentioned earlier, natural resources are materials such as air, land, water, natural gas, coal, oil, petroleum, minerals, wood, topsoil, fauna, flora, forests and wildlife. 

There are various methods of categorizing natural resources, and two of the most common methods are based by their source of origin, and by their renewability. On the basis of origin, there are Biotic and Abiotic resources. Biotic resources are resources that are derived from the biosphere such as plants, trees, and animals. Abiotic resources, on the other hand, are resources that are nonliving like water, soil, and minerals.

 

However, on the basis of renewability, natural resources are classified into two: Renewable and Non-renewable resources. Renewable natural resources are those that can be replaced in a timely manner and include animal life, plants, trees, water, grass and wind energy. Non-renewable resources may be irreplaceable once hauled out from water or soil and include gold, silver, fossil fuels, diamonds, natural gas, copper and more. All these resources are acquired through extraction. Resource extraction involves any activity that withdraws resources from nature. Examples of extractive industries are hunting and trapping, mining, oil and gas drilling, and forestry. But due to reckless acts of such industries, depletion of natural resources has begun. 

The depletion of natural resources is a continuing concern for society. As technology has improved, the rate of depletion of certain resources has increased dramatically. Many resources are not infinite, and the swift consumption of them will have dreadful consequences now and in the future. Due to that, the loss of these resources will force every society on earth to adapt to rapid and unpredictable change.

But let’s not give-up and lose hope just yet. A variety of efforts are underway to stem the depletion of natural resources. And it starts with you and me. We have done enough damage here on earth and not doing anything to stop it will only hurt us in the end. Even in the smallest ways we can help protect and conserve these resources. One way is by preventing pollution and wise usage of earth’s resources. 

Remember, natural resources are valuable in their own right, as independent works of creation. However, the ultimate survival of all life – including humanity – also depends on the quality of its environment. And since human beings are entrusted with superiority among these resources, great accountability to protect them is likewise weighed on our shoulders. You see, natural resources also belong to the future, and not just to the present. Today’s generation is only the custodian of these resources for future generations. Our children and grandchildren will also need them to support their own quality of life. So let’s do our part for the sake of the Earth, and for the sake of mankind.

 

‘Til next time…

ERICSON OUT.

P.S. If you have queries regarding the subjects I’ve posted, feel free to ask and I’ll share my time to help you out. All these information I'm sharing with you comes from my Natural Sciences class provided by my professor, Mr. Crisencio Paner. And if you’re interested in learning more, click here.

*Check by Mr. Crisencio Paner.

Introducing Rocks & Minerals

In our modern world where we practically live in nests of technologies, there are things we simply take for granted without even noticing it. Good examples are rocks and minerals. Okay. Maybe we care more about minerals more than rocks. You know, with jewelries and stuff. But you have to admit that most of us hardly give deep attention on these things. For instance, how many people can actually say they care about how rocks are formed?  Or where minerals came from? Well, let me tell you that there’s not many of them.

Nowadays, it’s always about high-tech this and high-tech that. How can a rock, or even a mineral, compete with that, right? I mean, not unless someone invents a gadget of some sort made of gold or diamonds, I don’t think we’ll even consider giving much value on these things. 

And yet apparently I think I spoke too soon because someone had made a ‘Golden Gadget’! It’s Apple! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! And if you’re wondering if the iPods (Limited Edition Gold iPod Touch & iPod Classic Diamonds Edition) or laptops (24 Carat Gold MacBook Air) in the images are real, they are. 

 

Now let’s move past these ‘techie’ things for a while (though I feel it’ll be hard for some of us) and perhaps focus our minds on learning something new! Let’s talk about Rocks and Minerals! Alright, I know it sounds lame or something specially after seeing luxury gadgets at its finest, but hang in there. Maybe you’ll gain knowledge over the things I’ll be talking about.  

 

What are minerals anyway? A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid usually crystalline in nature. They are characterized by a specific chemical composition while they also possess specific geometries on an atomic level. Their physical properties are also invariant irrespective of the region from which they are excavated or prepared. And as of today, there are about 3,000 known minerals on the planet Earth.

 

Minerals are divided into seven types, based on the type of crystal that they form. Carbonates have a central carbon atom covalently bonded to three oxygen atoms and ionically bonded to one or more positive ions. Halides combine a halogen atom with atoms of a more electropositive element. Oxides are composed of negative oxygen ions bonded to one or more positive metallic ions. Silicates are compounds of silicon and oxygen with other elements or minerals. Sulfates comprise positive sulfur ions bonded to negative oxygen ions, while sulfides comprise negative sulfur ions bonded to positive metallic ions. Finally there are natural elements, which are minerals that exist in relatively pure form.

What about rocks? Well rocks, on the other hand, are hard natural materials of mineral origin. Different kinds of rocks make up the crust of our planet Earth. A rock is defined as an aggregate of mineral grains, which means that rocks are a bunch of minerals all stuck together. The mineral grains may be large enough to be seen with the naked eye (phaneritic) or microscopic (aphanitic). Though let’s not get confused with the relationship of rocks and minerals just yet. Because you see, all rocks are made of two or more minerals, but minerals are not made of rocks. A mineral is the same all the way through unlike rocks. However a rock might not be comprised of only minerals and can also be a concoction of other substances and hence the best definition of a rock would be an indeterminate mixture of naturally occurring substance, majorly minerals.

 

The three types of rocks are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks form when molten rock, or magma, cools and hardens. Sedimentary rocks result from erosion of any rock type, followed by depositing the resulting sediment into a natural basin, and finally cementing the sediment into stone. Metamorphic rocks form when any rock is subjected to great heat and pressure, but not enough heat to melt the rock.

A rock can begin as one type and can change many times. In fact, rocks are always changing. However, the changes happen so slowly that they are difficult to see. We have seen above that heat and pressure can change rocks which then break down by weathering and move by erosion. It can take thousands of years for rocks to weather and erode. This process of changing is called the rock cycle.

 

To be honest, studying rocks and minerals are fascinating. We’ve always been surrounded with these things; we just don’t take the time to take a closer look at them. And as much as learning about rocks and minerals, we can also draw inspiration from them. If you’re a fan of western comics then just think about Marvel’s Fantastic Four! Jack Kirby and Stan Lee (creator of The Thing) took their vision of creating a superhero made of rocks. How cool is that? And if you know about The Thing, then I’m sure you are also familiar with The Silver Surfer. This character, made entirely out of silver (mineral), was also created by Stan Lee but this time with the help of artist, John Buscema. And it’s all because of being observant in the environment we’re in. Now I call that fantastic creativity. ‘Til next time… 

 

I hope you learned new things from my blog. And wherever this pursuit of knowledge takes me, you can expect that it’s going to be about science; and it’s going to be fun! 

ERICSON OUT.

P.S. If you have queries regarding the subjects I’ve posted, feel free to ask and I’ll share my time to help you out. All these information I'm sharing with you comes from my Natural Sciences class provided by my professor, Mr. Crisencio Paner. And if you’re interested in learning more about rocks and minerals, click here.
  

*Checked by Mr. Crisencio Paner.

Introduction to Earth Science

Why is Earth Science important? Well, if you think about it, Earth Science affects all our lives. Just with the sudden changes of weather; or the natural calamities that we have to prepare for; or even the origins of the ordinary things we use every day, everything from a piece of paper to the clothes we wear, even from the vehicles we use for transportation up to the oils needed for it to operate, if deconstructed, have all once been natural materials produced and extracted from this very planet. And all that’s mentioned is only a minuscule portion of what you can actually ascertain from earth science. 

You see, the study of Earth Science allows you to understand many other areas of life with great depth such as atmospheric and weather changes, environmental issues, horticulture and even agriculture. Many different sciences are used to learn about the earth, however, the four basic areas of Earth Science study are: geology (study of Earth), meteorology (study of the atmosphere and the processes that produce weather), oceanography (the study of the ocean) and astronomy (study of the universe). Earth Science is a fascinating field which develops our ability to identify and describe the Earth, its structure, and its composition and explain processes that affect change in it. 

Alright, learning all these might sound dreary for some people but they are important. It is truthfully an exciting science with many interesting and practical applications. For instance, if you just consider the significance of having adequate knowledge about our current environmental issues and their solutions, then all that education can be used to HELP SAVE THE EARTH! Okay. Maybe that was an overstatement. But imagine for a minute that you can. Besides, with every hazardous condition our world is throwing right at us, maybe you’re the ‘Superman’ we’ve been waiting for all along yet instead of being the defender of humankind, you can be the defender of nature! And humankind, again! Now how does that sound? Or you can be like Disney’s WALL-E! You know, all rusty and cute, WALL-E? The one who proved that despite the tacit death of earth, there’s still a chance to save it! Or revive it, or whatever. Ha! And it’s all thanks to Earth Science…

But enough about all this ‘END OF THE WORLD’ stuff. We’ll get back to that some other time. For now, why not put back the light on a different perspective. Like ‘THE BIRTH OF EARTH’! Now, what better way to begin studying Earth Science than to discuss how our solar system was formed, right? Well, it all started in the year 1734 when Emanuel Swedenborg first proposed the nebular hypothesis. The nebular hypothesis describes the formation of the solar system. The planets and Sun began forming about 5 billion years ago from a large cloud of dust and gases. As the cloud contracted, it began to rotate and assume a disk shape. Material that was gravitationally pulled toward the center became the protosun (a term for a star that is still forming). Within the rotating disk, small centers, called protoplanets, swept up more and more of the cloud's debris. Because of their high temperatures and weak gravitational fields, the inner planets were unable to accumulate and retain many of the lighter components. Because of the very cold temperatures existing far from the Sun, the large outer planets consist of huge amounts of lighter materials. These gaseous substances account for the comparatively large sizes and low densities of the outer planets. An image below is presented to better understand the nebular hypothesis.

If the ‘Birth of the Earth and our Solar System’ still baffles you, then check out this video by an awesome YouTuber ‘MIKOLBZ’ who made a montage of how the ‘Nebular Hypothesis’ supposedly occurred billions of years ago.

 

Focusing on Earth itself, our planet’s physical environment is traditionally divided into three major parts: the solid Earth or geosphere (which consists of the crust, mantle, and core); the water portion of our planet, the hydrosphere; and Earth's gaseous envelope, the atmosphere. In addition, the biosphere, the totality of life on Earth, interacts with each of the three physical realms and is an equally integral part of Earth. 

One thing’s for sure though; the Earth is so dynamic that there is always something new to study and discover. So let’s take this learning experience step by step. Let this ‘Introduction to Earth Science’ be enough for now to allow our tiny minds get wrapped around in the massive universe of intelligence. Think of this as a warm up because in the weeks to come, it’s certainly going to be intense. Or not. It will all depend on the topic I’ll be blogging, of course. But either way, you’ll just have to prepare yourself and buckle up! This is not going to be an ordinary walk in the park. No way! THIS… IS… NAT SCI 102!

 

P.S. I’m not scaring you or anything, okay? Science should be fun! So we’ll make it fun for everyone! Do comment and share your thoughts about my blog. Whether you learned something or nothing just let me know. Maybe I can shake things up a little bit to make it better. If you have queries regarding the subjects I’ve posted, feel free to ask and I’ll share my time to help you out. ‘Til next time…

ERICSON OUT. =.)

P.P.S. All these information I'm sharing with you comes from my Natural Sciences class provided by my professor, Mr. Crisencio Paner. If you want to learn more, click here.