Lesson video

Hello there, my fellow geographers and welcome to the fifth lesson on our unit of natural resources.

My name is Mr. Pedroza and in this lesson, we're going to tackle the following question, are you ready? So the question is going to be, how does resource exploitation cause problems? What an interesting topic I have, now before we get there, make sure that you taken your knowledge quiz.

If you already done so, great job, if you did an awesome job with the quiz, even better job, if you haven't done it already, make sure that you go back and do it.

Pause the video at this point and then once you're done, you can restart it.

Good luck! Awesome job, my friends, I know you did your best.

So let's have a look at the structure of this lesson.

So we're going to begin with the star words, going to share some key vocabulary with you and then we're going to have a look at how are natural resources extracted? Then, we're going to have a look at what problems this creates.

Then, we'll have a look at two case studies, one from the UK and then one from another region of the world.

And then, we'll end with our end of lesson quiz as always.

Now, things that you're going to need in this lesson, you're going to need your exercise book or paper, you'll need your pencil or your pen and then you also need your brain 'cause I'm giving you lots of interesting information and lots of key facts.

If you haven't got those things now, go and get them, go! Great job, that was really quick.

So let's have a look at the key star words and we've got five star words today.

So we got natural resources, now, natural resources, as a reminder, they are materials in the natural environment that are useful to humans and most natural resources are unevenly distributed around the world and they are exhaustible.

That means they're going to eventually run out.

Then, we got consumption and consumption is the action of using a resource, the action of using a resource is called consumption.

Great job.

And the next one, we got extraction, I like to use this one as an action, extraction and extraction is the removal of something, such as a natural resource.

So in our lesson today, when we talk about extraction, we're talking about the removal of natural resources from the Earth.

So the removal of something, such as a natural resource, is called extraction, good job.

And we got deforestation and deforestation occurs when trees are cut down across a wide area, which is then permanently cleared for another use.

So when trees are cut down across a wide area and this area is then permanently cleared for another use, that is called deforestation.

And then the last one, we got pollution, now, pollution includes poisons, waste or other materials that pollute.

So poisons, waste and other materials that pollute are called pollution.

Now, let's have a look at how natural resources are obtained.

So since the dawn of civilization, humans have learned how to access and utilise natural resources.

And as we have progressed technologically, humans have got better at getting access to those resources, extracting them but also making use of them.

Now remember, that we use natural resources in order to create all of the products that we use around.

And our natural resources are vital for our society and our economy, without natural resources, life would be really tough.

So how do we extract them from the environment? So I'm going to give you three ways in which natural resources are obtained.

And the first one is farming and through farming humans have learnt how to cultivate, how to grow crops.

And humans were first able to move away from the really tough hunter-gatherer lifestyle when they discovered agriculture.

And there is evidence that the first crops were cultivated in around 10000 BCE and these included wheat, barley and lentils.

So farming is the number one way, it's the first way in which we get natural resources.

Second one is through logging and logging involves cutting trees for sale as timber or for pulp.

And humans have tended to use timber for construction but they also began to use trees to use as a biomass in order to produce energy.

So two ways to get natural resources are farming and logging.

What'd you think the third one's going to be? Farming, logging, and mining.

Great job if you said mining.

Now, since civilization began, people have used mining techniques to access minerals in the surface of the Earth.

And the ancient Egyptians, they mined copper as far back as 3000 BCE, and in the earliest days, mining was really slow but it was really dangerous process.

And however, as time progressed, society has developed safer and more accurate methods of locating and uncovering substances found in the Earth.

So three ways to get natural resources are farming, logging and mining.

And that leads us on to our first question, so how are natural resources obtained? So can you name the three ways in which humans obtain the majority of the natural resources that they use? This information, it's really fresh in your brain, so I know that you know the answer to this.

Have a go and then we'll come back, we'll check.

Okay, let's check it, are you ready? So can you name the three ways in which humans obtain the majority of the natural resources that they use? So humans obtain the majority of the natural resources that they use through farming, logging and mining.

Great job, if you got it that, if you got it right.

Now, let's have a look at a little bit more information about each one, so we're going to begin with farming.

So farming is the business or practise of raising crops and livestock.

And wild grains were first collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago, so a long, long time ago.

And starting from around 9500 BCE, the first site of crops, it was eight crops, these were called the neolithic founder crops, were cultivated in an area of the world called the Levant, which covers the modern day East Mediterranean.

And these crops included peas, they included lentils, they included chickpeas, they included barley but they included wheat as well.

Now, in China, rice was cultivated by around 6200 BCE.

Now, in terms of animal cultivation, so animal domestication, the first set of animals were domesticated in Mesopotamia.

And the first set of animals that was domesticated were pigs, that was followed then by sheep and then later on, it was followed by cattle.

Now, moving back to the present day, in Britain, there are around 280,000 farms in Britain.

And these farms actually produce around 61% of the country's food and they look after 71% of the country's land.

So Britain is quite self-sustaining in terms of the food that it produces because it produces over half the food that it needs.

Now, this leads us on to the next question, so how many farms are there in Britain? Now, I've got four options for you, is it 280? Seems a bit farfetched.

Is it b, 2,800? Is it c, 28,000 or is it d, 280,000? So a, b, c or d? How many farms are there in Britain? Have a go.

Okay, let's see if you got that one right.

Ready, so how many farms are there in Britain? So the answer was d, great job, guys and there are approximately 280,000 farms in Britain and they produce around 61% of the country's food.

So if you got that right, make sure you give it a tick, if you didn't, you can fix it now.

Now, let's learn a little bit more about logging.

So logging involves cutting trees for sale and these are sold then as timber or pulp.

And humans have tended to use timber for construction, but as I said before, they also began to use it as a biomass in order to produce energy.

Now, felled logs are generally transported to sawmills to be cut into lumber and paper mills for paper pulp or for other uses as well.

Now, traditionally, felled logs are transported on barges down the river, but now, they're mostly transported either on rail, on trains, or on trucks.

Now, logging is also a feature in agriculture, with a substantial number of trees cut in order to create land for grazing and for farming.

So logging, it either involves cutting trees to be sold as timber or pulp, or it can either be part of agriculture where trees are cut down in order to make space for grazing land or for farming.

So here we got to compete three sentences.

So at this point, pause the video and then have a go.

Right, let's see how you got on, my friends.

So number one, so logging involves cutting trees for sale as timber or pulp.

Number two, felled logs are normally transported on barges, trains and trucks.

And then, number three, trees are also cut to create land for farming and grazing.

Great job, give yourselves a pat on the back.

So at this point, again, if you got it right, give it a tick, if you need to make some fixes, then do so now.

Great job, guys, now let's continue.

So let's move on, so we done farming, we done logging and then now we're going to do mining, exciting.

Now, mining is the extraction of valuable minerals from the Earth.

And in the beginning, miners used really primitive tools for digging and miner shafts were usually dug up by hand, or using stone tools, which made the entire process really, really lengthy.

Eventually, the pick and hammer were replaced with fire and fire was used to weaken and fracture rocks, allowing humans to clear tunnels and reach greater depths at a faster rate.

Further on, technological innovations, such as dynamite, and motorised mining tools, such as drills, where a feature on the Industrial Revolution and this allowed access for other minerals, mostly coal.

And mining today, still uses heavy machinery but it's increasingly reliant on advanced technology, such as robots.

Now, the majority for all mining for fossil fuels involves the extraction of coal and coal can be extracted either close to the portion of the Earths crust and that's called surface mining.

And recovering coal from surface mining is actually relatively easy, you can do it with shovels and a couple of bulldozers and that's a really effective way of just getting the coal from the surface.

Once depleted, workers will then replant a surface mine and then they will move on.

So we've got surface mining and then we also got deep underground mining, which obviously involves drilling into deeper shafts and drilling deeper tunnels.

And that's a lot more expensive and that's a lot more dangerous and time consuming as well.

Now, another resource that we can extract from the Earth is oil and offshore oil rigs and onshore oil wells pump most of the petroleum that is extracted throughout the world.

A hole is drilled into a potential oil patch and then the oil is pumped out through a long tube.

Now, natural gas and petroleum, they tend to be found in the same patch of land, so when you're mining for oil, when you're drilling for oil, you're probably likely to find some gas as well.

And scientists, they look for gas and oil with special equipment that causes a vibration on the ground.

Pumps then separate the oil and gas and there's a new technology, which is called digesters, and they can create natural gas from plant matter by simulating and speeding up the natural process.

So we talked about the fact that fossil fuels, they are nonrenewable, they're exhaustible, well, there's a new technology, which stimulates that process under which fossil fuels were created and scientists believe that that's one of the ways in which, they hopefully, they're going to be able to replace fossil fuels.

Now, once these fossil fuels are collected, they are transported to a power plant and these fossil fuels are burned to heat water.

This releases steam and the steam forces a turbine to spin and this turbine is used to rotate a magnet, which is incasing a generator, at really high speeds and as the magnet spins electricity is created.

So mining is the last one and mining involves extracting from the Earth.

Mining is mostly, when we're talking about fossil fuels, is mostly about mining coal but we can also extract oil and gas from the Earth.

And all of these fossil fuels are used in power plants in order to generate steam, which in turn generates electricity.

So, here we got our next task, we got some blanks to fill out and the key words that you can use are coal, you can use stone, you can use gas, you can use hand, you can use oil and you can use steam.

So have a think about where those words are going to fit in those sentences to make sense.

Once you think you got it right, read it back, see if it makes sense and then we'll come back and we'll review it, so have a go, good luck.

Okay, let's have a look and see how we did.

So, in the beginning, mining shafts were dug out by hand or using stone tools.

So there's your first two.

Mining mostly involves the extraction of coal but also involves other fossil fuels, such as oil and gas.

Good job, you could have said gas and oil as well.

These fossil fuels are used to create electricity through the generation of steam.

Excellent job, guys.

So we got hand, we got stone, we got coal, we got oil and gas and then lastly, we have steam.

So at this point, pause the video, make sure that you got that right.

Okay, so now, we're going to move on to the problems that extraction of these resources creates.

So what problems does farming create? Now, although agriculture is obviously essential in sustaining human life because it grows the food that we eat, the practises associated with it have been known to have certain negative impacts on the environment.

The most notable of these impacts include climate change, deforestation, pollution and general soil degradation.

So let's begin with the first one, so it's pollution.

And so in order to enhance agricultural production, so in order to increase the amount of food that is created and the quality of it, farmers tend to use a lot of pesticides and a lot of fertilisers.

And these often end up as pollutants in the water runoff from the soil and this runoff can adversely affect more people and animal wildlife.

So the first one is pollution, then we got soil degradation.

So although agriculture is not the sole cause of soil degradation, poor farming practises are known to cause a considerable decline in the quality of the soil.

And when soil becomes eroded, it tends to lead to a loss of its fertility, so it loses its nutrients and it potentially leads to desertification.

Then, we got climate change and agriculture and climate change, they have a reciprocal relationship, so climate change affects agricultural productivity and in return, poor agricultural practises, they increase climate change, so the two are interlinked.

The most significant climate change associated with farming is brought about by greenhouse gases, which is released into the Earth's atmosphere from farming.

And these gases are known to be a contributor to a rise in the Earth's temperature.

Next one, we got deforestation and deforestation tends to lead to destruction of animal and plant habitats.

So across the globe, there have been cases of forests which have been cleared for agricultural reasons, either for grazing or for farming.

And deforestation provides more land for crops and pasture for animal grazing, but this in turn, leads to the destruction of the habitats of many animals and many plants.

Deforestation also decreases the planets ability to absorb carbon dioxide, which is a leading contributor to global warming.

Lastly, we got irrigation, farming in irrigation it involves the act of redirecting water for a specific purpose.

Now, farming involves a quite intensive use of water and so that puts a really big strain on the environment, and as a result, it can cause environmental damage.

So what problems does farming create? So we got pollution, we got soil degradation, we said that it can contribute to climate change, we said it can contribute to deforestation.

And there are problems with irrigation because it requires large amounts of water to be sustainable.

Now, here we got a matching game, so we've got the key times on the left, so that's the consequence, we got pollution, soil degradation, climate change, deforestation and then irrigation.

And then on the right hand side, you have a short summary, a short definition of what it is.

So what you got to do is you're going to match it to the correct one.

Have a go and then when we come back, we'll mark it together, good luck.

Okay, let's see how we did, are you ready? So the key term, the first one was pollution, so what is pollution? So pollution involves pesticides and fertilisers ending up as pollutants and they affect people and wildlife.

Next one, so soil degradation, that potentially leads to soil erosion and desertification.

Climate change involves the increase in greenhouse gases, which leads to a rise in the Earth's temperature.

Deforestation, so land is cleared for grazing and farming, which leads to the loss of habitats and the potential extinction of certain species.

Then lastly, we got irrigation, so farming involves large amounts of water and it puts pressure on the natural environment.

So there you go, the answers for that section.

At this point, again, tick or fix.

Great job, guys.

Okay, let's have a look at the next consequence.

So what problems does logging create? Now, forest can cover, they cover approximately 30% of the world's landmass, but sadly, that has been decreasing very steadily for a number of years.

Now, farming, grazing of livestock, mining and drilling, they combined to account for more than half of all deforestation in the last few years.

And logging operations, which provides the worlds wood and paper products, also result in the cutting down of countless trees each year.

Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to access more and more remote forest, which leads to further deforestation.

Now logging, when coupled with deforestation, are one of the leading contributors to the loss of trees, which absorb not only the carbon dioxide that we exhale but also the heat-trapping greenhouse gases that humans emit, in terms of climate change.

Now, in terms of climate change, cutting trees both adds carbon dioxide to the Earth and then removes the Earth's ability to absorb existing carbon dioxide.

Now, deforestation also leads to a loss of habitat for many animals and plant species, sometimes leading to their extinction.

And lastly, deforestation by logging also leads to soil erosion and flooding, as trees, they keep the soil stable by absorbing rainwater.

And without trees, important nutrients in the top layer of soil are more susceptible to being washed away.

So trees are really important because they keep the soil nice and compact, so when it rains, that's the job of the tree, if the trees are cut down, there's nothing holding the soil and it's more likely for it to be washed away.

So the consequence of logging include deforestation, they include contributions to climate change and they include the loss of habitat for animals and plants.

I got two questions here, so question number one is, what percentage of the world's landmass is covered by forest? And then, question number two is, how does logging contribute to climate change? So at this point, pause the video and then have a go.

Okay, let's have a look at the answers.

So what percentage of the world's land mass is covered by forest? Notice that I'm answering in full sentences.

So forests cover approximately 30% of the world's land mass.

Give it a tick if you got it right.

And then, how does logging contribute to climate change? Well, logging contributes to climate change as it reduces the planet's ability to absorb heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

So those are the answers for those two questions.

So again, at this point, make sure you've got those right, if you need to make any changes, do so now.

Okay, let's have a look at the last set of consequence and this is going to be about mining.

So what problems does this create? So here we're going to link mining and fossil fuels together.

So fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, they're mainly used in the production of energy and for transportation, so in order to fuel our vehicles that we use.

And fossil fuels, unfortunately, they produce a lot of pollution when they are burnt.

So when petroleum and coal burn, they release really harmful gases into the atmosphere and these gases often react with the atmosphere, with moisture in the atmosphere, to create acid rain, which is a really dangerous form of pollution.

Pollution from fossil fuels also leads to breathing problems amongst lots of people.

Now, oil spills, which can occur when extracting or transporting oil across the seas, across the oceans, can result in damage to marine life, with ocean wildlife polluted and smothered.

Large oil spills are lethal to coral reefs as well and coral reefs are an important habitat in the ocean.

Now, scientists believe that fracking, which is a method of obtaining oil and gas from deep underground, is also highly polluting, as well as possibly causing small earthquakes.

Now, remember that fossil fuels are exhaustible, so they're nonrenewable, meaning that they will eventually run out and they cannot be replaced.

And scientists think that coal is going to run out in around 2050.

Now, fossil fuels, luckily, they're slowly being replaced by renewable sources of energy, such as biomass energy, including firewood but also wind power and hydroelectric power.

So what problems does this create? So have a go at this one.

So fossil fuels are used for the production of mm and mm.

So here are the keywords that you can use, so we got breathing, we got transportation, we got energy and we have acid rain.

So have a go at this one and then when we come back, we'll mark it together.

Okay, let's have a look.

Right, fossil fuels are used for the production of energy and transportation, well done.

And the burning of fossil fuels produces a lot of pollution, such as acid rain and the release of harmful gases, which can lead to breathing problems. So we got energy, transportation, we got acid rain and we got energy, we got breathing at the end, sorry.

So at this point, again, pause the video, make sure you got that right.

Now, let's have a look at two case studies.

So I have a case study from the UK about how the use of extraction and the use of natural resources has an impact on the environment and on people.

So in the UK, burning fossil fuels for energy has a long, long history.

And in 1306 AD, King Edward the 1st, he actually banned the use of coal because it was making his mother, Queen Eleanor, really sick.

So the fumes for burning coal were making his mom so sick that he decided I'm going to ban the burning of fossil fuels, I'm going to ban the burning of coal.

Now, in the Industrial Revolution, there was an increase in the use of fossil fuels, as we covered before, mainly coal for the production of steam.

Remember? Good.

Remember that coal was used to heat up water in order to generate steam and that powered engines.

So since the Industrial Revolution, the UK has been burning coal, oil and gas in large amounts in order to fuel its development.

And the UK used to have many coal powered stations that were powered by coal but most of these have now closed down.

And the small number of remaining coal fire power stations are slowly being converted to gas, which is a less pollutant fuel to burn or biomass.

Now, the problem is that burning fossil fuels, as I said before, releases lots of harmful gases, such as carbon dioxide.

We need carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but at the moment, there is now so much that it's beginning to cause climate change and coal is the most harmful fossil fuel to burn.

Now, in 1952, a severe air pollution event affected London and this was mostly arising from the use of coal.

And this event was known as the Great Smog of London and it led to approximately 12,000 deaths.

And this actually forced the government to pass a series of laws intended to improve air quality, such as banning the use of coal in fireplaces.

Now, today, we have moved away from fossil fuels for energy production and we have tended to move, the UK has tended to move away from burning fossil fuels in order to generate electricity.

It still uses some coal but not as much, that has been replaced by nuclear energy and some renewable energy.

And in a previous lesson, I told you that the last UK coal mine was closed in 2015.

And actually this year in 2020, the UK went two entire months without burning any coal for the purpose of producing electricity.

So the UK has gone from being reliant on coal for producing electricity, to going two months without producing any with it and that's because coal is really pollutant.

Right, let's have a look at this question.

So, in the UK, why has there been a move away from fossil fuels for the production of energy? Think about the effects of burning fossil fuels on the environment and on people to answer this question.

Make sure that you're writing in full sentences.

So at this point, pause the video and then have a go at answering that question.

Okay, let's take a look at the answer to this question.

So, in the UK, why has there been a move away from fossil fuels for the production of energy? So the UK has moved away from using coal for the production of energy in order to reduce the release of harmful gases which cause pollution and global warming.

So that's the answer for that one, we want to reduce the amount of pollution that we're blowing out into the air and especially the harmful greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change and global warming.

So that's the answer to that one.

So at this point, pause the video, make sure you've got that answer down.

Okay, let's have a look at the last case study and this is a case study about the Amazon Rainforest.

Now, the Amazon Rainforest is the world's largest tropical rainforest and it covers around 5.

5 million square kilometres.

And this is an area of immense natural beauty and it plays an important role in limiting climate change because it's rich vegetation takes carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas, out of the air and releases oxygen.

Now, this region is believed to be home to around 10% of the known species on Earth.

Now, sadly, the Amazon Rainforest is rapidly decreasing in size and it's estimated that a quarter of the rainforest has been lost to a variety of human activities.

Now, the farming of soybeans has encouraged farmers to clear large areas of the forest and cattle ranchers have done the same, in order to clear the land for grazing.

Now, logging is a really big business in the Amazon and although governments, that are meant to take care of the Amazon, have attempted to protect the rainforest, illegal logging is a huge problem.

And it's difficult to deal with for the government because the Amazon Rainforest is such a big area, it's really difficult to police.

Now, the building of hydroelectric dams, which are used to produce electricity along the rivers in the Amazon, that also requires a lot of deforestation, both for the dam itself and for the access use for the infrastructure.

So things that are causing the Amazon Rainforest to decrease, you would say, it would be farming, you would say deforestation, you would say clearing land away for cattle grazing and clearing land for building hydroelectric dams. Okay, here I have a summary of the information that I've just given you and I got four questions on the right hand side.

So again, my tip is read the text at least two times and then have a go at answering the questions.

Make sure that you're answering in full questions where it's necessary.

So again, read the text twice at least and then have a go at answering the questions, good luck! Okay, let's have a look.

So I'm going to read it and then we'll go straight into the answer.

So, often referred to as the lungs of the Earth due to its importance in supplying the world's oxygen, the Amazon Rainforest is the world's largest tropical rainforest.

So, home to around 10% of the known species on Earth, it plays a crucial role in limiting climate change as its rich vegetation takes carbon dioxide out of the air, releasing oxygen.

The Amazon Rainforest is rapidly decreasing as a result of deforestation, with large areas being cleared for the purposes of farming, cattle grazing, logging, as well as the construction of hydroelectric dams. So let's have a look at the questions.

So question number one was, why is the Amazon Rainforest referred to as the lungs of the Earth? So, the Amazon Rainforest is known as the lungs of the earth due to its importance in supplying the world's oxygen.

So that's the answer to question number one, give it a tick.

Number two, the Amazon Rainforest is home to 10% of the Earth's known species, there you had to fill in the blank.

Number three, why is the Amazon Rainforest rapidly decreasing? The Amazon Rainforest is rapidly decreasing in size as it's being cleared away for farming, cattle grazing, logging and the construction of hydroelectric dams. And question four, last one, what do you think will happen if the Amazon Rainforest continues to decrease in size? So this is a prediction question.

So my prediction was, if the Amazon Rainforest continues to decrease in size, the effects of global warming will increase as there will be less capacity to absorb the greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change.

In addition to this, there will be an extinction of many species of plants and animals due to the destruction of their habitats.

So it's really important that the world as a whole, looks after its rainforests but especially the Amazon Rainforest being the biggest one, because it provides a huge amount of the world's oxygen but it also takes in a huge amount of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases, which are heating up the Earth.

So that's my answer to that question.

So again, at this point, pause the video and make sure you got those answers there.

And that is it, my friends, we have finished for today, oh sorry, it's time to complete your end of lesson quiz.

Again, if you'd like to, you can share what you learnt, you can go on Twitter @OakNational and then you going to do #LearnWithOak.

Make sure that you ask for permission from your parents or your carers if you want to share a picture or just your work.

Now, in our next lesson, we're going to be learning about the linear and the circular economies, hmm, you might not have heard those terms before but well, you're going to learn them in our next lesson.

Guys, thank you so much for working really hard in this lesson, I know I gave you lots of information but we covered all of the main ways in which natural resources cause problems for the environment and for people in general.

So thank you so much for joining me today, I hope you have a lovely day and I shall see you in our next lesson, goodbye.