The terms renewable and nonrenewable apply to the sustainability of resources, whether the gas going into your car or the produce you buy at the grocery store. The basis for what makes a resource renewable or nonrenewable lies in how it responds to market demand. Many factors can influence supply, blurring the division between renewable and nonrenewable resources.
Supply and Demand
A resource is renewable if the supply can be replenished to keep up with consumer demand. If the process takes long or the resource is finite, the resource is nonrenewable. Demand may fluctuate during different seasons or in response to other conditions. For example, during the pleasant weather, you may not use your heater or air conditioner and your demand for energy will wane.
Considerations
Management of a resource can affect its availability. For example, if hunters wipe out an entire deer herd, it is no longer possible to replenish the game resource. However, if resource managers manage the herd with limits on the take, the resource is renewable. Sportsmen will be able to hunt the following season. Management maintains the balance between demand and supply.
Significance
The renewability of a resource can have a significant role. Because the development of fossil fuels requires millions of years, these resources are nonrenewable. Their supply is finite because it can become depleted before a new supply is available. This factor adds complicates the relationship of supply and demand, driving prices higher in order to curb consumer demand.
Types
Renewable resources include energy sources such as solar and wind energy. The supplies of sunlight and wind power are infinite. Hydroelectricity is also a renewable resource. Renewable resources include timber, crops and livestock. With proper management, these resources are renewable. Nonrenewable resources include petroleum, coal and natural gas. Uranium also represents a resource which is subject to depletion and therefore nonrenewable.
Time Frame
Time is an important consideration in the definition of renewable and nonrenewable. For example, old growth forests can contain trees which are hundreds of years old. These ancient trees create unique habitat for wildlife which require larger trees in order to nest, such as owls. These trees also may provide desirable lumber. Yet, the time needed to replenish these trees is far too long, making them nonrenewable resources. Similar considerations can apply to endangered plants or animals with longer generation times and low reproduction rates.
References
- "Journal of Political Economy: The Economics of Exhaustible Resources"; H. Hotelling; 1931
- "International Review of Economics Education: Teaching the Economics of Non-renewable Resources to Undergraduates"; W. Holahan and C. Kroncke; 2004
- Union of Concerned Scientists: How Coal Works
- "Ecology: From Individuals to Ecosystems"; M. Begon, C. Townsend, J. Harper; 2006
- Oregon Wild: What is an Old-Growth Forest?
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