Can all of the Earth’s abiotic substances and biotic species be considered natural resources? Explain why or why not.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The answer to this problem may be no or yes, depending on perspective and explanation.

No, not all of the Earth’s abiotic substances and biotic species may be considered natural resources. By traditional definition, a natural resource is something that is useful to human beings, meaning that the substances provide us with food, materials, energy, or culturally significant items. This approach reflects a classic “consumption” approach to natural resources, and there are thousands of living species (biota) that people do not use for food, fibers, or materials. There are likewise many elements and naturally-occurring compounds that we do not use, either. By even stricter definition, a natural resource must be something that is also technologically and economically feasible to harvest or extract.

Yes, all of the Earth’s abiotic substances and biotic species may be considered natural resources. If we consider the concept of ecosystem services (see section 7.3.2), then we can see that all of the substances and species on Earth are interacting in some manner to support human life. Although some of these interactions are at small biogeochemical or ecological scales (such as water purification or plant pollination), these resource interactions are vital to human survival. The resources are not necessarily directly consumed, but they do provide a “life support” service.