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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpg A '''resource''' is any physical, intellectual, or spiritual substance utilized to create greater life and living. As resources are very us...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]]

A '''resource''' is any [[physical]], [[intellectual]], or [[spiritual]] substance utilized to create greater life and living. As resources are very useful, we attach value to them. Resources help to produce goods so they have [[economic]] [[value]]. Natural resources like forests, mountains etc. are considered [[beautiful]] so they have [[aesthetic]] [[value]]. Gifts of [[nature]] such as water also have a [[legal]] value because it is our right to consume them. On the other hand, resources have an [[ethical]] value as well because it is our [[moral]] [[duty]] to protect and conserve them for the future [[generations]].
==Characteristics of resources==
Resources have three main characteristics: utility, [[quantity]] (often in terms of availability), and use in producing other resources. However, this definition is not accepted by some, for example [[Deep Ecology|deep ecologists]] who believe that non-human elements are independent of human [[values]].

The [[quantity]] of a resource refers to the total amount of a given raw material, rather than reserve, which is an [[economic]] term. Bottlenecks may form, making some resources unavailable, producing supply shocks. Resource prices are prone to increases as speculators add commodity [[value]] to a resource or when [[risk]], such as from geopolitical issues, are seen as an [[influencing]] factor in [[relation]] to the [[security]] of resource supply.
==Resource use and sustainable development==
Many resources cannot be consumed in their [[original]] form. They have to be processed in order to [[change]] them into more usable commodities. This is known as resource [[development]]. With the rise in human [[numbers]] all over the world, the demand for resources has also increased. However, there is a [[difference]] in distribution of resources to different regions or countries. Developed countries use more resources than developing countries.

[[Category: Ecology]]
[[Category: General Reference]]

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