NON RENEWABLE RESOURCES

Natural resource, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, that takes millions of years to form naturally and therefore cannot be replaced once it is consumed; it will eventually be used up. The main energy sources used by humans are non-renewable; renewable resources generate a considerable amount of energy when they are burnt (the process of combustion). Non-renewable resources have a high carbon content because their origin lies in the photosynthetic activity of plants millions of years ago. The fuels release this carbon back into the atmosphere as carbon, such as solar, tidal, wind, and geothermal power, have so far been less exploited. Fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas dioxide. The rate at which such fuels are being burnt is thus resulting in a rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a cause of the greenhouse effect.

In short, these are the things that can run out or can be used up. They usually come from the ground. There are fixed amounts of these resources. They are not living things and they are hard to find. They don't regrow and they are not replaced quickly.

Today, scientists find ways to limit the use of these resources of energy to make them more or less sustainable, lasting not just in the current generation, but also to the next.

What are the non-renewable resources?

a. Wood (Trees) -
Once served as the world's chief fuel. In many developing countries where there are lots of forested area, wood is still the main source of energy. It is also a source of livelihood like furniture making and sculpting (wood carvings). Also, the forests areas needed for farming are being indiscrimately burned using the kainging or slash and burn method.
Although easier said than done, the trend must be towards the creation of sustainable forest:
1. Proper education on the value of forest to discourage slash and burns.
2. Harvesting only what is needed.
3. Planting to replace those harvested.
4. Zero-waste management on wood being harvested. Wood chips and grains can be harnessed as biomass energy.

Kaingin or slash and burn method

b. Coal

This is a result of a half a million to even several million years of compression and heat applied to decaying plants growing in bogs or swampy areas. Because of this length of time for nature to form coal, it is considered a non renewable source of energy.

Coal

About 26% of the world's energy still uses coal as their fuel source, whether for producing heat or electrical.
The Philippines has an abundance of coal, especially in Regions II (Cagayan Valley), VI (Panay, Negros Oriental), and XIII or CARAGA (Agusan and Surigao provinces).

The most notable coald-based power plants are Pagbilao 1 and 2 in Quezon province and ACMDC Coal Plant in Cebu.

Problems using Coal
a) accidents in coal mines
b) diseases that result from breathing coal dust
c) strip mining causes erosion of mining sites
d) when burned, coal releases nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide and other impurities that pollute the air, leading to the formation of acid rain.

The main pollutant that cause acid rain, industries eject sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere which becomes part of the clouds and form acid rainSee how the trees become leafless and dead because of their being exposed to acid rain

c. Petroleum
One of the world's most important resources. Its by products are essential in cooking and heating, powering vehicles and airplanes, and even electricity generation.
Most petroleum is removed from deep within the earth as a liquid called crude oil. Workers pump crude oil out of the earth through wells drilled into oil-bearing formation called reservoirs. Because it is liquid, crude oil can be economically transported long distances by pipelines to refineries. Refineries process it into gasoline and other petroleum products.

Greatest Oil Reserves by Country, 2006

Country	Proved reserves (billion barrels)
1.	Saudi Arabia	264.3
2.	Canada	178.8
3.	Iran	132.5
4.	Iraq	115.0
5.	Kuwait	101.5
6.	United Arab Emirates	97.8
7.	Venezuela	79.7
8.	Russia	60.0
9.	Libya	39.1
10.	Nigeria	35.9
11.	United States	21.4
12.	China	18.3
13.	Qatar	15.2
14.	Mexico	12.9
15.	Algeria	11.4
16.	Brazil	11.2
17.	Kazakhstan	9.0
18.	Norway	7.7
19.	Azerbaijan	7.0
20.	India	5.8
Top 20 countries		1224.5 (95%)
Rest of world		68.1 (5%)
World total		1,292.6

NOTES: Proved reserves are estimated with reasonable certainty to be recoverable with present technology and prices.

Source: Oil & Gas Journal, Vol. 103, No. 47 (Dec. 19, 2005). From: U.S. Energy Information Administration.

• Many parts of the country have shown good indications of the presence of petroleum. The Cagayan Valley, Central Plain of Luzon, Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon, Cebu, Leyte, Cotabato, Palawan, and Sulu Sea, are promising petroleum-bearing areas now. Commercial petroleum deposits have been discovered in the western coast of Palawan.
• Top Philippine sites with oil potential includes West Linapacan A/B in Palawan, Carnag-Malampaya in Palawan, Galoc also in Palawan, Maniguin in Mindoro-Cuyo and Matinloc in Palawan.
• Problems using petroleum

a. it takes a lot to form.
b. effective environmental management
i. forest ecosystem must be preserved when creating oil pipes.
ii. leak detectors must be present on oil and pipelines to
detect even a minute spill, thus avoiding a bigger one.
c. burning fuels and power plants contribute to the "greenhouse effect"
d. proper maintenance of vehicles and power plants would ensure
proper burning of these fossil fuels.

D. Natural Gas

• natural gas comes from deposits in the earth
• it is a clean source of energy because it is refined naturally during its formation within the earth and does not require further refining.
• natural gas can be compressed into liquid and transported long distances through pipes.
• September 27, 2001 marked the entry of the Philippines as a producer of commercial grade natural gas with its discovery at the Malampaya well, off the wester coast of Palawan. It was inaugurated last October 16, 2001 at Malampaya - on shore gas plant in Tabangao, Batangas.
• It is a 4.5 billion-dollar project of Shell Philippines Exploration, BV Texaco Philippines, and the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC-EC)
• Potential supply of 8,000 barrels per day and expected income from 8-10 billion dollar.
• Top sites with natural gas potential includes Carnaga-Malampaya, San Martin in Palawan, San Antonio in Cagayan and Octon in Palawan.