Difference Between Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources

The key difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources is that the renewable resources are those that can replenish themselves and are infinite in supplies whereas the nonrenewable resources are resources that are limited in supplies.

Here, the term resources refer to energy forms or any other useful source that we use in different applications. We can divide them mainly into two forms as renewable and nonrenewable resources. Although we can use renewable resources for an unlimited extent, humans are depleting the non-renewable at a rate faster than they form. As a result, we may face a number of problems due to the depletion of these essential resources.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Renewable Resources
3. What are Nonrenewable Resources
4. Side by Side Comparison – Renewable vs Nonrenewable Resources in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What are Renewable Resources?

Renewable resources are natural resources that can overcome the resource depletion due to consumption. And, this overcome happens via either biological reproduction or naturally occurring processes. Some examples of renewable resources are as follows:

• Water – a renewable material if we carefully control its usage, do necessary treatments and proper disposal.
• Food – most foods are renewable resources.
• Air
• Wood – wood from forests is renewable
• Sunlight – a renewable energy form.

However, these resources may undergo depletion due to non-regulated industrial development and processes such as overfishing, deforestation, etc. Moreover, what was once renewable may become nonrenewable at some future date. The best example of this phenomenon is fish, which in some areas has depleted to such an extent because of the high rate of fishing that it has become nonrenewable and on the verge of extinction. There are techniques of management to prevent a renewable source from becoming nonrenewable.

What are Nonrenewable Resources?

Nonrenewable resources are resources that do not renew itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction in meaningful human time-frames. Therefore, these are limited to usage.

Above all, the consumption rate of these resources is much higher than the production rate. As a result, these resources are highly expensive, and also we need to consume them carefully without wasting. Some common examples of nonrenewable resources include fossil fuels, minerals, metal ores, aquifers, etc.

What is the Difference Between Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources?

Renewable resources are natural resources which can overcome the resource depletion due to consumption, and nonrenewable resources are resources that do not renew itself at a sufficient rate for sustainable economic extraction in meaningful human time-frames. Therefore, the key difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources is that renewable resources are those that can replenish themselves and are infinite in supplies whereas nonrenewable resources are resources that are limited in supplies.

Moreover, almost all the time renewable resources are environmentally friendly, but the use of nonrenewable resources can harm the environment. As another important difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources, renewable resources are freely available in nature, but nonrenewable resources are less available; thus, are expensive.

Summary – Renewable vs Nonrenewable Resources

Resources are in two forms as renewable and nonrenewable resources. The key difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources is that the renewable resources are those that can replenish themselves and are infinite in supplies whereas the nonrenewable resources are resources that are limited in supplies.

Reference:

1. “Renewable Energy Overview.” CHAPTER 12 – HURRICANE HAZARDS, Inter-American Network for the Prevention of Violence and Crime. Available here 

Image Courtesy:

1.”Douglas des farges 1″By Amalo – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia  
2.”Coal mine Wyoming”By Unknown (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia