non-renewable resources
Depletable natural materials
Non-renewable resources are natural materials that exist in finite quantities and cannot be replenished on a human timescale—fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, along with minerals and metals.
Once extracted and consumed, they're essentially gone.
The term appears frequently in environmental and energy policy discussions: The country remains dependent on non-renewable resources for electricity generation.
Contrast with renewable resources like solar energy or timber.
- coalCombustible sedimentary rock
- goldElement seventy-nine
- petroleumNatural underground hydrocarbon liquid
- black goldSlang for petroleum
- fossil fuelEnergy from decomposed organisms
dirty energy · bauxite · natural gas · silver · zinc · rare earth elements · nickel · oil shale · tar sands · lead · copper · iron ore · helium · mining industry · strip mining · phosphorus · confined aquifer · uranium
non-renewable resourcesrenewable resources
Supplies that naturally replenish
renewable energy · sustainable resources · solar energy · wind power · hydropower
non-renewable resourcesclean energy
Power from sustainable sources
green energy · sustainable energy · renewables · alternative energy · sustainable materials
renewable, resources, renewal, renewability, resource, resourceful, resourcefully, resourcefulness, resourced