Using the Earth's resources
Humans rely on Earth for food, building materials, fuels and clothing. Some come straight from natural systems; others are produced or improved by chemistry.
Natural vs synthetic
- Natural products: cotton, wool, silk, rubber, wood — directly from organisms.
- Synthetic alternatives: nylon, polyester (clothing); plastics (instead of wood/metal); synthetic rubber.
Synthetic products often have improved properties (e.g. nylon is stronger and cheaper to make at scale than silk) but use non-renewable crude oil as feedstock.
Finite vs renewable resources
- Finite (non-renewable): extracted faster than they form. Examples: fossil fuels, metal ores, limestone, sand.
- Renewable: replenished naturally on human timescales. Examples: wood (if replanted), wind/solar/hydro energy, biofuels.
Sustainable development
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
Strategies:
- Use renewable resources wherever possible.
- Recycle materials (less raw extraction).
- Use less per person (efficiency, reduce consumption).
- Find alternatives (e.g. bioplastics from corn instead of crude oil).
The role of chemistry
Chemistry contributes to sustainability by:
- Improving extraction methods (e.g. phytomining, bioleaching — C10.4).
- Designing better catalysts (less energy use — C6.3).
- Recycling (treating waste as a resource — C10.6).
- Developing new materials (composites, bioplastics).
Limitations
- Some metals are very rare (e.g. tantalum, lithium) — recycling and replacement matter.
- Some plastics don't biodegrade — accumulate in oceans.
- Costs of "green" alternatives can be higher than business as usual.
✦Worked example
Suggest one finite and one renewable resource used in chemistry, and explain.
- Finite: crude oil — limited reserves, formed over millions of years.
- Renewable: wind energy — replenished naturally, doesn't run out.
⚠Common mistakes
- Saying renewable means free — wind/solar still need infrastructure.
- Saying finite means small — there are large reserves but they don't replenish.
- Calling natural products "good" and synthetic "bad" — both have impacts; synthetic can sometimes be better (e.g. less land use).
- Confusing renewable with sustainable — using renewable resources unsustainably (e.g. cutting forests faster than they regrow) is still unsustainable.
Links
Sets up C10.2 (potable water), C10.4 (alternative metal extraction), C10.5–6 (LCA, recycling).
AI-generated · claude-opus-4-7 · v3-deep-chemistry