Dwindling resources main content.

Dwindling resources

Part of Hall of Planet Earth.

Dwindling Resources AMNH/R.Mickens

Exhibition Text

Many natural resources renew themselves, but often do so much more slowly than they are extracted and used. This is true for oil, whose depletion may make the largely untapped oil shales a reasonable and economical source of energy in the future. Some resources can only be extracted at great cost or difficulty. For example, the mining of aluminum from its ore, bauxite, requires a great deal of energy, making the practice of recycling worth the effort.

For Educators

Topic: Earth Science

Subtopic: Minerals and Resources

Keywords: Conservation of natural resources, Geology, Nature conservation, Mines and mineral resources

Audience: General

In This Section

Exhibit Bauxite Bauxite forms in tropical environments where warm groundwater leaches and dissolves nearly everything out of the rocks except for...