CHAPTER 5: NATURAL RESOURCES

Big Idea: Society depends on natural resources for energy and materials.

Key Concept: Resources can be conserved and recycled.

Vocabulary:

1. conservation- protecting, restoring, and managing natural resources so that they last as long as possible

2. recycling- recovering materials that are thrown away

I. Conservation involves reducing waste and reusing natural resources.

A. 1960s: each person in the U.S. produced 2.7lbs. of trash per day

B. Today: each person produces 5.4lbs. of trash per day

C. That is 180 million tons of trash each year (just in the U.S.)

D. Over 60 million tons of trash is buried in landfills

II. Two ways everyone can help!

A. Reduce

1. If products are similar, buy the one with less packaging

**Toothpaste in a pump uses 3 times more plastic than a tube!

2. Turn water off when brushing your teeth

**You can save 2-6 gallons/day! That’s 700-2100 gallons/year!

3. Don’t use too many napkins

**Less garbage to the landfill!

4. Use as many energy efficient light bulbs as you can.

**Just one will save $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in 6 months. It will use 75% less energy and last ten times longer than an old bulb!

B. Reuse

1. Refill plastic water bottles instead of buying new ones

**2006- Americans purchase 31,000,000,000 bottles of water

**NY State Department of Environmental Conservation: Too Many Bottles

2. Donate old clothes and toys instead of throwing them away

**The Salvation Army in Beaver Falls accepts old clothes and other items

3. Rinse and reuse plastic sandwich and storage bags

**Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food

4. Cut off the top of a half-gallon container to make it a watering can

**Ten uses for plastic milk jugs

III. Recycling involves recovering and extending natural resources

A. Recycling 1 aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours

C. Statistics

1. Recycling 90% of Sunday newspapers from just one Sunday would save 500,000 trees. That’s like a whole forest!

2. The energy saved by recycling one glass bottle will light a 100 watt bulb for 4 hours!

3. Five 2 liter bottles provide enough plastic for a whole ski jacket!

D. Read page 159, final paragraph