According to sustainable environment online Minerals are a vital resource on which construction, manufacturing and energy industries depend. Aggregates dominate in tonnage and value but other minerals are also important, for instance: silica sand, fluorspar, potash, salt, and special clays in the glass, ceramics, electronics, chemical and fertiliser industries; cement raw materials, brick clay and ...
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Nuclear power has a significant part to play in maintaining a balanced energy policy. It currently contributes to 29% of the UKs electricity generation and a great deal more in countries like France and Germany. Nuclear power generation does not contribute to air pollution and can therefore help to reduce acid rain and global warming. ...
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Renewables

Renewable energy refers to power generated by a renewable source. When the energy is generated, the resource is not depleted or used up. They are naturally replenished, and can either be managed so that they last forever, or their supply is so enormous humans can never meaningfully deplete them. Unlike fossil fuels, most renewable energy ...
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Agriculture

Agriculture has a vital role to play in protecting and enhancing our countryside, and contributing to the rural economy and rural communities. In the UK agricultural policy is largely shaped by the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). While this has been very successful in securing reliable food supplies, public expectations from a common agricultural policy ...
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Forestry

Forests are an important resource, both as a source of wood for fuel, building and paper and as habitats for a variety of wildlife. Forestry practices in much of the developed world are almost sustainable – felled trees are replanted and the wildlife found in most commercial forests has been improved by the addition of ...
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Sustainable development requires suitable supplies of clean water for drinking and cleaning. The main world-wide use of water (70-80%) is for irrigation schemes which provide water to allow crops to be grown in dry areas. A great deal of water is lost in these schemes through evaporation, and so countries which are downstream often have ...
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Livestock production usually forms an integrated part of complex farming systems. Therefore, sustainable development should take account of the role of livestock in the farming and household systems. In the Netherlands livestock is only kept for the production of meat, milk or eggs. In the tropics it is usually much more diverse and other roles ...
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Fish are the main source of animal protein for about a quarter of the worlds population. The farming of the sea (sometimes known as ‘aquaculture’) provides a large number of jobs. However, the fishing industry can have negative impacts on the environment. Some fish stocks are being over-exploited at unsustainable levels, and other species (e.g. ...
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Natural resources are derived either from the air, soil, water, and organisms of the biosphere, or from the subterranean areas of the Earth. Resources of the first type come from more usual parts of ecosystems, and are labelled ‘renewable’, and include things like wind power and trees. Resources of the second type are labelled ‘non-renewable’, ...
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Conventional power stations burn coal, oil or gas to produce electricity. Coal, oil and gas are called fossil fuels because they form over millions of years through the decay, burial and compaction of rotting vegetation on land (coal), and marine organisms on the sea floor (oil and gas). Burning fossil fuels in this way releases ...
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