Text 5. TYPES OF RESOURCES

You know now that there are several causes of growing production among which modern economists attribute special importance to resources.

Resources are things that can be used to provide the means to satisfy wants — in other words, they are not resources until people are able to use them. Because human wants are very diverse and extend from basic physical requirements such as food and shelter, through to ill-defined aesthetic needs, resources encompass a vast range of items. It is the intellectual resources of a society — its ideas and technolo­gies — that determine which aspects of the environment meet that society’s needs, and therefore become resources. In the 19th century, uranium was simply a curios­ity used only in the manufacture of coloured glass. Today, with the advent of nu­clear technology, it is a vital energy resource. Though minerals such as coal and iron ores tend to dominate the perception of resources, the concept also embraces less tangible things such as beautiful landscapes and pleasant climates.

Resources are often categorized into human resources, such as labour supplies and skills, and natural resources, such as climate, fossil fuels, and water. Natural resources are divided into those which are non-renewable and others that can be replenished (renewable). Non-renewable resources are things like coal, copper ores, and diamonds, which exist in strictly limited quantities. Once consumed, they will not be replenished within the time-span of human history. In contrast, water supplies, timber, food crops, and solar power and similar resources can, if managed properly, provide a steady yield virtually for ever. These are termed replenishable or renewable resources, which may, in turn, be continuous (where supply is largely independent of people’s actions) or flow (where supply is de­pendent on people’s actions). However, inappropriate use of renewable resources can lead to their destruction, as, for example, when a fishery or forest is over-uti- lized and totally consumed.

Demands for resources es made by present-day societies are causing concern among many people, who consider that the present and future demands of indus­trial societies cannot be sustained for more than a century or two, and that once a resource base fails to meet a society’s needs that society will collapse.

However this view is not universally held, and other authorities contend that such analyses misunderstand the nature of resources. Resources for future genera­tions will, they believe, be determined by the level of knowledge of future societies, and cannot be properly assessed by our current perceptions. As knowledge in­creases, new technologies will emerge, enabling materials that are currently of little importance to become valuable resources. The resource base can therefore expand as societies become better able to harness their environment to meet their needs.

Minerals are substances with a regular atomic structure and a composition that lies within defined limits. The term is also used to mean any material that is extracted from the earth.

Crops are plants grown for human use. Over 80 crops are grown worldwide, providing people with the majority of their food, and supplying fibres, rubber, pharmaceuticals, dyes, and other materials. Four main groups of crops are readily idenifiable: food crops, forage crops, fibre crops, and miscellaneous crops.

Commodities are essentially things produced for sale. They may be consumer goods like radios, or producer goods such as copper bars. Commodity markets deal in raw or semi-raw materials that can be stored for considerable periods without deterioration. They developed to their present form in the 19th century, when in­dustrial growth facilitated trading in large, standardized quantities of raw materi­als. Most markets encompass trading in «commodity futures», which is trading for delivery several months ahead. Major commodity markets exist in Chicago,Tokyo, London, and elsewhere. Most trade relates to cereals and metals. «Softs» is a term used for most materials other than metals.