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Encyclopedia > Resource
Gold has been treasured through the ages.
Gold has been treasured through the ages.

A resource is any physical or virtual entity of limited availability, or anything used to help one earn a living.[citation needed] In most cases, commercial or even ethic factors require resource allocation through resource management. Commons:Image:Gold ingots. ... Commons:Image:Gold ingots. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... In strategic planning, a resource-allocation decision is a plan for using available resources, for example human resources, especially in the near term, to achieve goals for the future. ... This article is confusing for some readers, and needs to be edited for clarity. ...

Contents

Types of values attached to resources

Clean drinking water is a resource required by all people.
Clean drinking water is a resource required by all people.

As resources are very useful, we attach some value to them. Resources help to produce goods so they have economic value. Natural resources like forests, mountains etc. are very beautiful so they have aesthetic value. Gifts of nature such as water also have a legal value because it is our right to enjoy them. On the other hand, resources have an ethical value as well because it is our moral duty to protect and conserve them for the future generations. Image File history File links Drinking_water. ... Image File history File links Drinking_water. ... Tap water Mineral Water Water of sufficient quality to serve as drinking water is termed potable water whether it is used as such or not. ... In general, the economic value of something is how much a product or service is worth to someone relative to other things (often measured in money). ... This article is about a community of trees. ...


Characteristics of resources

Resources have three main characteristics: utility, quantity (often in terms of availability), and use in producing other resources. However, this definition is not accepted by some, for example deep ecologists who believe that non-human elements are independent of human values. For other uses, see Utility (disambiguation). ... In economics, scarcity is defined as a condition of limited resources, where society does not have sufficient resources to produce enough to fulfill subjective wants. ...


Value of a resource

The value or the importance of the gifts of nature depends upon several factors:

The needs of the people

Human needs are not uniform all over the world. Over the years, they have grown and become more complex with the progress of human society. In very developed societies, people use a variety of products which are highly processed. On the other hand, in developing countries, the consumption of processed items is much less; while primitive communities like the Pygmies in Africa hardly use any processed items. Complexity in general usage is the opposite of simplicity. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with consumption (economics). ... Baka dancers in the East Province of Cameroon Batwa dancers in Uganda This article is about the Pygmy people. ...

The level of technology possessed by the people

The level of technology also influences the utilization of resources. For example, the Prairies of North America were inhabited by the American Indians who used the Prairies as hunting grounds. Later when the European settlers arrived, they used the Prairies for agriculture. Today the Prairies are famous for the cultivation of wheat and the rearing of animals on a commercial basis. By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ... For other uses, see Prairie (disambiguation). ...

Time

The value of the resource changes with time as well. For example, water was used by early man purely for his personal needs. As time went on, water was used by humans for agricultural purposes namely irrigation. Later, water was also used as a means of transportation and humans built boats to travel on water. Nowadays, water is also used to generate electricity. Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. ... For the movement of people or objects, see transport. ... Electricity (from New Latin ēlectricus, amberlike) is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. ...


Types of resources

Natural resources

Main article: Natural resource

Natural resources are derived from the environment. Many of them are essential for our survival while others are used for satisfying our wants. Natural resources may be further classified in different ways.


On the basis of origin, resources may be divided into:

  • Biotic - Biotic resources are the ones which are obtained from the biosphere. Forests and their products, animals, birds and their products, fish and other marine organisms are important examples. Minerals such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category beacause they were formed from decayed organic matter.
  • Abiotic - Abiotic resources comprise of non-living things. Examples include land, water, air and minerals such as gold, iron, copper, silver etc.

On the basis of the stage of development, natural resources may be called: For other uses, see Biosphere (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... Petro redirects here. ... A LAND attack is a DoS (Denial of Service) attack that consists of sending a special poison spoofed packet to a computer, causing it to lock up. ... Look up air in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

  • Potential Resources - Potential resources are those which exist in a region and may be used in the future. For example, mineral oil may exist in many parts of India having sedimentary rocks but till the time it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains a potential resource.
  • Actual Resources are those which have been surveyed, their quantity and quality determined and are being used in present times. For example, the petroleum and the natural gas which is obtained from the Bombay High Fields. The development of an actual resource, such as wood processing depends upon the technology available and the cost involved. That part of the actual resource which can be developed profitably with available technology is called a reserve.

On the basis of renewability, natural resources can be categorised into: Mineral oil or liquid petrolatum is a by-product in the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline. ... Wood processing is an engineering discipline comprising the production of forest products, such as pulp and paper, construction materials, and tall oil. ... In economics, business, and accounting, a cost is the value of inputs that have been used up to produce something, and hence are not available for use anymore. ...

  • Renewable Resources - Renewable resources are the ones which can be replenished or reproduced easily. Some of them, like sunlight, air, wind, etc., are continuously available and their quantity is not affected by human consumption. Many renewable resources can be depleted by human use, but may also be replenished, thus maintaining a flow. Some of these, like agricultural crops, take a short time for renewal; others, like water, take a comparatively longer time, while still others, like forests, take even longer.
  • Non-renewable Resources - Non-renewable resources are formed over very long geological periods. Minerals and fossils are included in this category. Since their rate of formation is extremely slow, they cannot be replenished once they get depleted. Out of these, the metallic minerals can be re-used by recycling them. But coal and petroleum cannot be recycled.

On the basis of ownership,resources can be classified into:individual,community,national,and international Indivisual resources: A renewable resource is a natural resource that is not depleted when used by human beings. ... Bold textItalic text Wyoming coal mine. ... The geologic time scale is used by geologists and other scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occurred during the history of the Earth. ... Resource depletion is an economic term referring to the exhaustion of raw materials within a region. ...


Human resources

Human beings are also considered to be resources because it is the ability of humans what helps to change the gifts of nature into valuable resources. The term Human resources can also be defined as the skills, energies, talents, abilities and knowledge that ( can, should, are)use for the production of goods or the rendering of services. While taking into account human beings as resources, the following things have to be kept in mind:

  • The size of the population
  • The quality

Human-made resources

Human-made resources are those aids of production which have been created by humans to transform and utilize the gifts of nature as well as improve or increase productivity. These include:

  • Equipment, machinery, buildings etc. - These are essential for the production of commodities. They are also referred to as the physical capital of production.
  • Technology - Technology refers to the process or method by which goods are produced. Rapid industrialization in many parts of the world has been possible due to the advancement in technology.
  • Legal bodies and political, cultural and social institutions - Legal bodies and political institutions maintain law and order thus ensuring that people are free to move about and carry their business. The policies of the government concerning international trade and foreign investment also influence productivity.
  • Entrepreneurship - Innovation, vision, creativity, and risk. This is by far the most abstract.[1]

Industrialisation (or industrialization) or an industrial revolution (in general, with lowercase letters) is a process of social and economic change whereby a human society is transformed from a pre-industrial to an industrial state . ... International trade is the exchange of goods and services across international boundaries or territories. ... Investment is a term with several closely-related meanings in finance and economics. ...

Resource use and sustainable development

The gifts of nature cannot be consumed in their original form. They have to be processed in order to change them into more usable commodities. This is known as resource development. With the rise in human numbers all over the world, the demand for resources has also increased. However, there is a difference in the distribution of resources to different regions or countries. Developed countries use more resources than developing countries. Resource Distribution refers to the distribution of resources, including land, water, minerals fuel and others between comparable areas. ...

The rising demand coupled with the over-utilization of resources has led to several problems: Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (4128x1132, 951 KB) Summary Los Angeles and Griffin Observatory, as viewed from the Hollywood Hills. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (4128x1132, 951 KB) Summary Los Angeles and Griffin Observatory, as viewed from the Hollywood Hills. ... For other uses, see Smog (disambiguation). ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Resource depletion is an economic term referring to the exhaustion of raw materials within a region. ... Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife. ...

See also

Look up resource in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... Natural resource management is a discipline in the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations. ...

References

  1. ^ Colander, David. "Econoics". New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. Ed 6.

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A resource name is intended to provide a stable handle to refer to a resource long after the resource itself has moved or perhaps gone out of existence.
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