Resource, Materials and Environment

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Resource, Materials and Environment

• Dr. Eric Tsang P.K.

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Course Content

• Resources
• Environmental resource
• Materials
• Natural material
• Materials in food
• Synthetic material
• Disposal and Recycle
• Toxic substances
• Environmental chemistry
• Environmental issues

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Course Assessments

• 1.5 hour written examination (50)
• 1500-2000 words individual report on one specific
  environmental topic (50)

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What is resource?

• (From Wikipedia)
• Resource may refer to
• Resource (economics), commodities and human
  resources used in the production of goods and
  services, including
• Natural resource, a commodity that is valuable in
  its relatively natural form.
• Human resources (HR) or human capital, valuable
  human work power.
• Resource (project management), economic resources
  used in planning of tasks. (not relevant to our
  discussion)

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www.geographic.org

• Resource is
• Anything that is both naturally occurring and of
  use to humans.
• Examples of resources include water, soil, air,
  oil, mineral, vegetation including wood, plants
  or animals as food.

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Competition for resources

• Like any resources, many environmental resources
  are limited in nature. (e.g. crude oil)
• Living organisms including humans usually compete
  for limited resources. (e.g. animals competing
  for food and water)
• Competition for resources is a known mechanism
  for evolution.

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Environmental Resources Management

• Environmental crisis may result if environmental
  resources are not managed sustainably. (i.e.
  sustainable resource management)
• E.g. Forestry, fresh water, fisheries

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Utilization of environmental resources

• Extraction, utilization and depletion of
  resources are often linked to environmental
  issues.
• Can you list some examples?

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A report on the state of world fisheries

• Click here to view the report

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What do we mean by Environment?
Society
Nature
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Human-Environment relationship
Man-made environment
production
transportation
community
cultural
atmosphere
biota
water
geology
soil
Natural environment
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Useful reference

• World Resource Institute
• http//www.wri.org
• Wikipedia
• http//www.wikipedia.org
• ESDWEB
• http//www.ied.edu.hk/esdweb
• EPD
• http//www.epd.gov.hk