Weekly Chat
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NEXT CHAT
When:
Thursday, 5/15
at 11 AM CST
Topic:
Team Chat
Speaker:
GoNorth! Team Member
World Resources is the topic of the Weekly Chat for Module 03 during the weeks 7,8 and 9.
Background: A resource can be defined as "something we use." Shelter, clothing, transportation, heat, and so on are all resources. The word also applies to the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we farm, and the space we use for living and recreation. Not only do people use more resources today, but they also use them faster than ever before.
There are three basic types of resources: renewable, nonrenewable, and perpetual. In human terms, wind, solar energy, and the movement of tides last forever, so they can be considered perpetual. Renewable resources are replenished through natural or human actions. For example, trees may grow either naturally or in tree farms. Animals that give us food and other products are replaced naturally through reproduction. But renewable resources must be carefully managed. If a renewable resource is overused, it will not recover. Nonrenewable resources exist in finite amounts and once used are gone. Coal, oil, rocks, and minerals such as gold are examples of nonrenewable natural resources that took millions or even billions of years to form.
Trees are a special kind of renewable resource: They grow, so we have an infinite supply, but they grow slowly, so if our consumption of them outstrips their growth, we will run out. Moreover, there are different kinds of forests. Tree plantations typically grow only a few decades before they are re-cut; old-growth forests, however, are hundreds of years old and, once they are cut can take generations to regenerate, if they are left alone to do so.
Given the special character of trees, we need to think carefully about the way we use the products made from them if we want sustainable forests for the future. In Fennoscandia, where Team GoNorth! is traveling, some old-growth forests are protected, but others are being cut down to supply factories that make paper. Some argue that using ancient trees to make a product that is typically used just once is a misuse of a precious natural resource-but as long as people expect an abundant supply of cheap paper, the paper industry will continue to seek an abundant supply of wood pulp!
Building a sustainable future requires a shift in the ways we extract natural resources, a shift in the ways we use natural resources-and a shift in the way we think about products that are made from natural resources. In other words, every one of us has a role to play in making a sustainable future.
Transcripts
Check here for weekly chat transcripts to read or watch!
World Resources
March 26, 2008
w/ Brian Benson
Read It >>
Watch It >>
World Resources
April 01, 2008
w/ The Green Guardian
Read It >>
Watch It >>
World Resources
April 11, 2008
w/ Peter Sullivan
-canceled-
Some questions to possibly open the chat with or discuss prior to the LIVE chat!
What types of resources do you use in your daily life? Are these mostly renewable or nonrenewable?
Would you be willing to change your actions to use fewer resources? What suggestions can you make to reduce the amount of resources consumed in your life?
Are the world's governments being active enough in conserving resources? Are you?
