The Importance of Educating Students about Natural Resources

Studying natural resources gives students the opportunity to learn about the significance of these resources and how they affect the environment and support human needs. Some of these resources include trees, water, soil, plants and animals. Students who study about these resources learn about the importance these resources hold in our society. There are many different kinds of natural resources that are used by humans and animals and are important to learn about.

One of the most important natural resources consumed by humans and animals is water. The world's water which covers approximately 70 percent of the earth only provides about 2.5 percent of fresh water. Educating students about the world's water will help to improve awareness on issues the world faces with water and how to protect the this natural resource that is so critical to life. The average human drinks approximately eight glasses of water each day while animals such as horses drink 8-10 gallons. These are small facts about water but they show how much water impacts the daily lives of both animals and humans. There is also a large amount of water that is wasted due to mainly human use. Some of these methods include flushing toilets, taking long showers, leaky faucets and washing dishes. The numbers of gallons of water-wasted everyday by these basic examples is staggering. Having a leaking faucet and flushing toilets wastes about 50 gallons of water a day. People also need to be educated on how they handle their disposal of chemical wastes so it does not get washed into water supply. It is especially important to educate students about this resource so they can better understand it now and make a difference in the future.

Another natural resource that is vital to both animals and humans is trees. There are many uses for trees in society. One of the most important uses of trees is that they provide oxygen to both humans and animals. They also take in the carbon dioxide that humans and animals produce and change it to oxygen. Trees are also used to build houses and also help to create heat in with their use in fires. In the animal realm, trees also provide shelter and create a place of warmth for animals. It is important to educate people on how to care for trees in order to protect habitats of wild animals as well as to figure out the proper amount of use of trees that humans use.

Other important natural resources that we use daily is minerals. There are many different kinds of minerals that have a deep importance to humans. Oil and gas are two of the most widely used natural resources throughout the world. There uses include fueling homes and cars and industries. They help to keep machinery running. Gems, diamonds and rubies are all natural resources that have various uses. Diamonds, besides being used as jewelry, is often used in parts of cutting tools in machinery.

Natural resources play a very important role in the realms of humans and animals. Educating students on proper care of natural resources is important because if these resources are not properly cared for and are wasted, we could run out of these resources. It would take a very long time to get a handle on these resources because it can take many years for these resources to reproduce.