Why Are Natural Resources Important?

Undoubtedly, the world is full of natural resources that humans use in a various ways. Typically, the use depends on the users’ creativity and needs at any given moment. Nevertheless, the resources have proved themselves highly crucial for the survival of the world’s ecosystems. What is more, it is safe to conclude that the world – as we know it – would probably be completely different without these types of resources. In this article, we look at the reasons that make the resources as important as they are today.

Essential for Food and Drink

A big percentage of the world’s natural resources are crucial for the production of what humans need to eat and drink. In this regard, water probably falls right at the top. Without it, foods and drinks would be unavailable, which could then cause untold suffering and starvation. The resources are essential for agriculture. Humans need them to plant crops and rear animals. Additionally, the resources also support the growth of foods that occur naturally, which include the following:

1. Seeds and nuts
2. Herbs and plants
3. Fresh water fish
4. Sea fish/animals/plants
5. Wild game
6. Domesticated animals

Improved Mobility and Transportation

The world has become a global village, as you have probably heard and read countless times. Today, movements within and outside countries or continents are at their peak. Each year, more than 1.2 billion people travel to various destinations for tourism. Without oil, it would be impossible for them to move in these numbers. Additionally, they also need cars, ships, and airplanes among others to travel safely and efficiently. All these tools of mobility are made using from metal and many other natural resources too.

Housing and Infrastructure

Where would the world’s population, especially the people with houses, live without natural resources? Forests provide us with wood that we use for constructing houses and building furniture. What us more, the world’s economy also relies on the quality of infrastructure we have around. For this reason, there is no doubt that we all need roads, which would be impossible to put up without rocks and asphalt among other natural resources. Other resources that support all the construction that takes place in this industry include:

1. Oil
2. Gas
3. Coal
4. Timber
5. Minerals
6. Water

Medication and Healthcare

It is also worth mentioning that plenty of the world’s natural resources help in boosting healthcare. Many of the medication that healthcare providers prescribe to patients come from some of these resources. In the absence of some of these resources, the world would probably be at the risk of complete annihilation courtesy of the diseases that could have attacked humanity. Fortunately, we have the resources to thank for the medication they provide. Other than that, the resources boost the healthcare sector in many other ways too.

Examples of natural resources that prove beneficial to healthcare include:

• Plastics from oil
• Paper from forests
• Medical equipment from titanium, steel, and other types of metals

Source of Fresh Air

Natural resources also guarantee the quality of air we breathe. Here, the focus is on the forests that surround different communities all over the world. For years, there has been intense debate regarding climate change and all issues related to it. One of the most overly debated concerns has been on the dwindling forest cover. It’s great to see the world appreciating that more needs to happen to ensure that all humans have clean, quality air to breathe. That just shows the importance of natural resources in providing the oxygen needed for quality life.

Therefore, there is no doubt that quality of life has a close relationship with the presence of natural resources around us. The resources provide humanity and all the ecosystems around us with everything needed for life to proceed without much interference. In the absence of these resources, life would never be the same. Foods, drinks, quality air, infrastructure and housing, medication and healthcare, as well as mobility and transportation would all suffer greatly in the absence of such resources.