ABSTRACT
Natural capital in the geoenvironment can be classified into two major categories: (1) renewable natural resources and (2) nonrenewable natural resources. Renewable natural resources consist of two subcategories: (1) living resources, such as forests and fishes and other aquatic species, and (2) nonliving resources, such as soil and water. Biodiversity, as a natural resource (see Section 1.2.2), is not within the purview of this book, and is therefore not included in this discussion of the natural capital in the geoenvironment. The key to classification as a living natural resource is the ability of the resource to regenerate or renew itself, and obviously, if the resource is not overharvested, it will be a sustainable resource. Farming and agricultural production are not included in the renewable resources group. The prominent nonrenewable natural resources include minerals and fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas). The discussion in this chapter will be confined to industrial activities associated with the extraction of nonrenewable mineral, nonmineral, and energy mineral natural resources (uranium and tar sands). The materials that constitute these resources are extracted or harvested by primary industries devoted to such activities as mining, excavation, extraction, processing, drilling, and pumping. The outputs from these upstream industries are raw materials for their respective downstream industries (see Chapter 7).
