File:Coal_mine_Wyoming.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
non-renewable resource
Sign in to saveAlso known as finite resource, non-renewables, nonrenewable resource
class of economic resources that natural processes do not readily replenish at practical rates
~14 min read
Encyclopedic overview
A coal mine in Wyoming, United States. Coal, produced over millions of years, is a finite and non-renewable resource on a human time scale.
A non-renewable resource (also called a finite resource) is a natural resource that cannot be readily replaced by natural means at a pace quick enough to keep up with consumption. An example is carbon-based fossil fuels. The original organic matter, with the aid of heat and pressure, becomes a fuel such as oil or gas. Earth minerals and metal ores, fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas) and groundwater in certain aquifers are all considered non-renewable resources, though individual elements are always conserved (except in nuclear reactions, nuclear decay or atmospheric escape).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “non-renewable resource” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.