Geography Class 8th NCERT Notes

Chapter 1. Resources

• Value means worth; some resources have economic value while others do not, yet both are important as they satisfy human needs.

• Resources like metals have economic value, whereas things like a beautiful landscape may not have commercial value but still hold great importance.

• Some resources that lack economic value today can gain it in the future due to changing needs.

• Time and technology can transform substances into economically valuable resources.

• Knowledge such as grandmother’s home remedies may become valuable if patented and marketed.

• People are the most important resource because their ideas, knowledge, inventions, and discoveries create new resources.

• Every invention or discovery leads to further developments, such as fire leading to cooking and other processes.

• Technological advances, like using fast-flowing water to produce hydroelectricity, convert natural elements into valuable resources.

Types of Resources

• Resources are generally classified into natural, human made and human.

Natural Resources:

• Natural resources are drawn from nature and used without much modification.

• Air, water, soil, and minerals are examples of natural resources.

• Many natural resources are free gifts of nature and can be used directly.

• In some cases, tools and technology are needed to use natural resources effectively.

• Natural resources are broadly classified into renewable and non-renewable resources.

• Renewable resources are those that can be renewed or replenished quickly.

• Some renewable resources like solar and wind energy are unlimited and not affected by human activities.

• Careless use of renewable resources such as water, soil, and forests can reduce their availability.

• Water appears to be an unlimited renewable resource, but its shortage is a serious problem in many parts of the world.

• Non-renewable resources have a limited stock and take thousands of years to replenish once exhausted.

• Because their renewal period is much longer than human life spans, they are considered non-renewable.

• Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are examples of non-renewable resources.

• The distribution of natural resources depends on physical factors like terrain, climate, and altitude.

• Due to variations in these factors, the distribution of resources across the earth is unequal.

Human Made Resources:

• Sometimes natural substances become resources only after their original form is changed.

• Iron ore was not considered a resource until people learned to extract iron from it.

• Natural resources are used to create buildings, bridges, roads, machinery, and vehicles.

• These created items are called human made resources.

• Technology is also a human made resource.

Human Resources:

• People can use nature most effectively when they have proper knowledge, skills, and technology.

• Human beings are considered a special resource because they can create and improve resources.

• People themselves are known as human resources.

• Education and health play an important role in making people a valuable resource.

• Improving the quality of people’s skills to help them create more resources is called human resource development.

Conserving Resources

• Using resources carefully and allowing them time to renew is called resource conservation.

• Balancing present needs with the protection of resources for the future is known as sustainable development.

• Resources can be conserved in many ways, and every individual can contribute.

• Reducing consumption, recycling, and reusing things help in conserving resources.

• Individual actions matter because all lives on earth are interconnected.

• The future of the planet and its people depends on preserving the life support system provided by nature.

• It is our duty to ensure that the use of renewable resources remains sustainable.

• Conserving the diversity of life on earth is essential.

• Damage to natural environmental systems should be minimised.