Natural Resources Vocabulary

any energy source, organism, or substance found in nature that people use

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Natural Resource

a natural resource that can be replaced in nature at about the same rate it is used. Ex: sunlight, wind, water, trees, plants, animal waste

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renewable resource

a natural resource that exists in a fixed amount or that is used up faster than it can be replaced in nature. Ex: coal, oil, natural gas, uranium

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nonrenewable resource

a nonrenewable energy source formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals buried in Earth's crust for millions of years. Ex: coal, oil, natural
gas

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fossil fuels

a solid fossil fuel formed underground from buried and decayed plant material

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coal

protecting, restoring, and managing natural resources so that they can last as long as possible

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conservation

electricity produced by moving water​

hydroelectric energy

electricity produced by the sun using solar cells or solar panels. It's a clean unlimited source of energy but expensive and somewhat inefficient

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solar energy

energy produced by heat within Earth's crust

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geothermal energy

clean and renewable type of energy that uses the force of moving air to generate electricity

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wind energy

renewable resource in which organic matter such as plant and animal waste that can be used as fuel

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biomass energy