ABSTRACT
The chapter discusses the current state and human use of physical resources: soil, water, and biotic resources. The chapter addresses climate and energy resource issues in greater detail. The Earth is a huge system of natural capital, which also serves as a vast recycling system for living things. Soil is formed from the minerals derived from the breakup and weathering of rocks combined with decaying organic material derived from wastes and the remains of plants and animals. Life is possible because of the solar-driven circulation of water through the hydrological cycle from the ocean to the atmosphere, from the atmosphere to the land, and back to the ocean. Agriculture is the most inefficient use of water worldwide. Much of the world’s food is produced using irrigation. Irrigation has increased food productivity, but it has done so with significant costs. In wealthy countries, clean piped water running into homes is a taken-for-granted part of life.
