Earth Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Natural resources and land use === {{Main|Natural resource|Land use}} [[File:Global-land-use-graphic.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Earth's land use for human agriculture]] Earth has resources that have been exploited by humans.<ref>{{cite news|title=What are the consequences of the overexploitation of natural resources?|work=[[Iberdrola]] |url=https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/overexploitation-of-natural-resources|access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref> Those termed [[non-renewable resource]]s, such as [[fossil fuel]]s, are only replenished over geological timescales.<ref>{{cite journal|date=20 April 2016|title=13. Exploitation of Natural Resources|url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/92-826-5409-5/page013new.html|journal=[[European Environment Agency]]|publisher=[[European Union]]|access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref> Large deposits of fossil fuels are obtained from Earth's crust, consisting of coal, petroleum, and natural gas.<ref>{{cite news|last=Huebsch|first=Russell|date=29 September 2017|title=How Are Fossil Fuels Extracted From the Ground?|work=Sciencing|publisher=[[Leaf Group]] Media|url=https://sciencing.com/how-are-fossil-fuels-extracted-from-the-ground-12227026.html |access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref> These deposits are used by humans both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production.<ref>{{cite web |title=Electricity generation β what are the options?|url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/nuclear-basics/electricity-generation-what-are-the-options.aspx|access-date=28 June 2019 |work=[[World Nuclear Association]]}}</ref> Mineral [[ore]] bodies have also been formed within the crust through a process of [[ore genesis]], resulting from actions of [[magmatism]], erosion, and plate tectonics.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brimhall|first1=George|date=May 1991|title=The Genesis of Ores|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24936905 |journal=Scientific American |publisher=Nature America|volume=264|pages=84β91|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0591-84|jstor=24936905|access-date=13 October 2020 |number=5 |bibcode=1991SciAm.264e..84B}}</ref> These metals and other elements are extracted by mining, a process which often brings environmental and health damage.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lunine|first=Jonathan I. |author-link=Jonathan Lunine|title=Earth: Evolution of a Habitable World|publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-521-61519-8 |edition=second|pages=292β294}}</ref> Earth's biosphere produces many useful biological products for humans, including food, wood, [[pharmaceutical]]s, oxygen, and the recycling of organic waste. The land-based ecosystem depends upon [[topsoil]] and fresh water, and the oceanic ecosystem depends on dissolved nutrients washed down from the land.<ref name="science299_5607_673" /> In 2019, {{convert|39|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} of Earth's land surface consisted of forest and woodlands, {{convert|12|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} was shrub and grassland, {{convert|40|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} were used for animal feed production and grazing, and {{convert|11|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} were cultivated as croplands.<ref name="OWID_2019" /> Of the 12{{En dash}}14% of ice-free land that is used for croplands, 2 [[percentage point]]s were irrigated in 2015.<ref>{{Cite book |author=IPCC |title=IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land |year=2019 |page=8 |chapter=Summary for Policymakers |author-link=IPCC <!-- |display-authors= 4 --> |chapter-url=https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2019/12/02_Summary-for-Policymakers_SPM.pdf}}</ref> Humans use [[building material]]s to construct shelters.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tate|first1=Nikki|author-link=Nikki Tate|title=Take Shelter: At Home Around the World|last2=Tate-Stratton|first2=Dani|year=2014|publisher=Orca Book Publishers|isbn=978-1-4598-0742-6|page=6}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page