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The Next Big thing? The memristor, a microscopic component that can "remember" electrical states even when turned off. It's expected to be far cheaper and faster than flash storage. A theoretical concept since 1971, it has now been built in labs and is already starting to revolutionize everything we know

Natural resources are the raw materials and sources of energy that we use. Petrol, metals, soil, sand, wind, water, and everything in between are natural resources. Manufactured items such as plastic, sheet metal, fabrics, microchips, electricity and concrete are not natural resources, but are most definitely derived from natural resources.

Natural resources are the raw materials and sources of energy that we use.

Petrol, metals, soil, sand, wind, water and everything in between are natural resources. Manufactured items such as plastic, sheet metal, fabrics, microchips, electricity and concrete are not natural resources, but are most definitely derived from natural resources.

Think about the relationship between natural resources and manufactured products. In essence, we call them “natural” resources because they are things human society uses that are created (or were created in the case of fossil fuels) without human intervention.


Perpetually Renewable Resources
Perpetually renewable resources are the easiest resources to understand; these are natural resources that are constantly replenished by the Sun’s and Earth’s natural processes. For example, every day the sun delivers an average of 198 Watts of energy to every square meter (m

) of the Earth’s surface. For comparison a standard incandescent light bulb in a bedside lamp uses 40 Watts, or a 100kg person climbing a step in 2 seconds uses roughly 200 Watts. Every day without fail for the last 5 billion years (plus or minus a few hundred million years) the Sun has delivered this solar energy.


Together with geothermal energy (heat from the Earth’s interior), the Sun’s perpetual energy powers the winds, ocean currents, precipitation and most of the Earth’s plant life. Solar and geothermal natural resources currently energise a significant and growing percentage of many nations’ electrical grids. It is perpetually renewable in the sense that no matter how much we use in terms of human time-scales (e.g decades to millennia), the Sun and the Earth will always make more.


Intermediate Renewable Resources
Intermediate renewable resources are only renewable resources if we don’t use them too quickly. They are resources such as freshwater, soil, crops and trees for timber. If we didn’t use them, they would be perpetually renewable, but because they require time (on human time-scales) to regenerate or grow, we can overuse them until they are no longer available.


Freshwater is a great example of an intermediate renewable resource. Through the water cycle, the sun evaporates water from the surface of saltwater oceans that travels over land and falls back to earth as freshwater rain. This rain fills the lakes, rivers and aquifers we use for agriculture, industry and drinking water. If we use this freshwater at the same rate as the rain recharging it, then we won’t run out. If we use the freshwater faster than it recharges, then we will. Intermediate renewable resources must be carefully managed to ensure they are not depleted.


Non-renewable Resources
The last category of natural resources are the non-renewables. These are resources that will not regenerate on human time-scales. Once they have been depleted they will no longer be available and no more will be made. The most common examples of non-renewable resources are fossil fuels, so-called because most were created by processes that take millions of years. Fossil fuels include crude oil, natural gas, coal and uranium. Other non-renewable resources include metals, lithium and rare-Earth elements (REE’s), but it’s important to remember that while we may eventually run out of mineable metals and REE’s, with careful waste management, these can be recovered through recycling. However, it is not the same for fossil fuels as using them for energy alters their chemistry so they are no longer useful.

Natural resources are the raw materials and sources of energy that we use. Petrol, metals, soil, sand, wind, water, and everything in between are natural resources. Manufactured items such as plastic, sheet metal, fabrics, microchips, electricity and concrete are not natural resources, but are most definitely derived from natural resources.

Natural resources are the raw materials and sources of energy that we use.

Petrol, metals, soil, sand, wind, water and everything in between are natural resources. Manufactured items such as plastic, sheet metal, fabrics, microchips, electricity and concrete are not natural resources, but are most definitely derived from natural resources.

Think about the relationship between natural resources and manufactured products. In essence, we call them “natural” resources because they are things human society uses that are created (or were created in the case of fossil fuels) without human intervention.


Perpetually Renewable Resources
Perpetually renewable resources are the easiest resources to understand; these are natural resources that are constantly replenished by the Sun’s and Earth’s natural processes. For example, every day the sun delivers an average of 198 Watts of energy to every square meter (m

) of the Earth’s surface. For comparison a standard incandescent light bulb in a bedside lamp uses 40 Watts, or a 100kg person climbing a step in 2 seconds uses roughly 200 Watts. Every day without fail for the last 5 billion years (plus or minus a few hundred million years) the Sun has delivered this solar energy.


Together with geothermal energy (heat from the Earth’s interior), the Sun’s perpetual energy powers the winds, ocean currents, precipitation and most of the Earth’s plant life. Solar and geothermal natural resources currently energise a significant and growing percentage of many nations’ electrical grids. It is perpetually renewable in the sense that no matter how much we use in terms of human time-scales (e.g decades to millennia), the Sun and the Earth will always make more.


Intermediate Renewable Resources
Intermediate renewable resources are only renewable resources if we don’t use them too quickly. They are resources such as freshwater, soil, crops and trees for timber. If we didn’t use them, they would be perpetually renewable, but because they require time (on human time-scales) to regenerate or grow, we can overuse them until they are no longer available.


Freshwater is a great example of an intermediate renewable resource. Through the water cycle, the sun evaporates water from the surface of saltwater oceans that travels over land and falls back to earth as freshwater rain. This rain fills the lakes, rivers and aquifers we use for agriculture, industry and drinking water. If we use this freshwater at the same rate as the rain recharging it, then we won’t run out. If we use the freshwater faster than it recharges, then we will. Intermediate renewable resources must be carefully managed to ensure they are not depleted.


Non-renewable Resources
The last category of natural resources are the non-renewables. These are resources that will not regenerate on human time-scales. Once they have been depleted they will no longer be available and no more will be made. The most common examples of non-renewable resources are fossil fuels, so-called because most were created by processes that take millions of years. Fossil fuels include crude oil, natural gas, coal and uranium. Other non-renewable resources include metals, lithium and rare-Earth elements (REE’s), but it’s important to remember that while we may eventually run out of mineable metals and REE’s, with careful waste management, these can be recovered through recycling. However, it is not the same for fossil fuels as using them for energy alters their chemistry so they are no longer useful.

Introduce Books, Storytelling And Narration
Books play a vital role in both brain development and language skills. They’re also the first step towards gross motor skill development (holding books, turning pages). I had introduced cloth books & soft sponge books to her when she was two months old, board books from five months, and paper books after she turned a year old. She liked colourful objects, animals, birds & shapes till around nine months and then loved listening to simple short stories from illustrated books (no fairy tales). And activity books (match the shadows, pairing similar objects) after she turned 2.

3. Ask Questions To Stimulate The Thinking Process
As I introduced the books, I named the objects she was seeing in all the languages I knew. Then I gradually started describing them (shape, colour, use). I explained the environment in which they are found and constantly asked her questions. For example, pointing at a rabbit, instead of asking “what is this?” I asked her, “it has long ears, a short fluffy tail, is soft & white like cotton. What is it?”. I continued with the exercise even when we went out to some shop or mall. We played the “I spy” game in the house & outdoors. I would describe objects and ask her to identify them. It was fun.
4. Let Your Kids Explore - Touch, Feel, Smell, Taste
I encouraged the natural tendency that kids have to explore the world around them. (But of course, with discretion). I never stopped her from playing with stones or mud in the garden, things like tasting sour lime or bitter gourd, smell a flower on the plant, etc. She learned by herself that stones were hard, mud was soft, ice was cold, the paper could be torn with hands and rubber bands were elastic & so on. Things that were not safe for her we explained to her & kept out of reach- like touching a hot cup of tea could burn her skin, pressing against a glass door could break the glass, playing with a sharp object could hurt, etc.