A resource is any physical or virtual entity of limited availability, or anything to help someone earn a living. Resources help to produce goods so they have some economic value. Resources have an ethical value because it is up to us to protect them, so they are there for future generations.

Human needs are not the same all over the world. In very developed societies, people use a variety of products that are highly processed. In developing countries the consumption of processed items is much less. The level of technology is also a factor in how we use our resources. In primitive times the American Indians used the Prairies as hunting grounds. When European settlers arrived later on they used the Prairies for agriculture. Today the prairies are famous for the cultivation of wheat and rearing of animals for commercial use.

The value of the resource changes with time also. Early man used water for personal use; as time went on water was used by humans for agricultural purposes like irrigation. Later water was used for transportation of those resources. In present time water is used to generate electricity.

There are 6 types of resources found today. Biotic resources are found in the biosphere such as forests and their products, animals, birds and their products, fish and other organisms. Minerals such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category because they were formed from decayed organic matter.

Abiotic resources are non-living things such as land, water, air and minerals such as gold, iron, copper and silver.

A potential resource is something that exists in the region we live in and may be used in the future such as mineral oil. It exists in sedimentary rocks and can be drilled out so therefore could become a potential resource.

Actual Resources are things that are surveyed such as petroleum and natural gas. The development of an actual resource such as wood processing depends on the technology and cost involved.

A Renewable Resource is ones which can be replenished or reproduced easily. Sunlight, air, wind etc are continuously available to us and their quality and quantity are not affected by human consumption. Many renewable resources can be depleted by human consumption but can also be replenished. Some like agricultural crops take a short time for renewal while water and forests take a longer time to renew.

A Non-Renewable Resource is formed over a long period of time. Minerals and fossils are some of these non-renewable resources. Their rate of formation is considered extremely slow and cannot be replenished once depleted. Coal and petroleum cannot be recycled.

Human beings are resources because we have the ability to change raw materials into valuable resources. Human resources are the skills, energies, talents, abilities and knowledge needed for the production of goods. We have to take into account he size of the population and the capabilities of the individuals if we can view human beings as resources.