Natural materials that are considered finite, or exhaustible because of their scarcity, the great length of time for their formation or their rapid depletion.
resources available in fixed supply, such as metal ores and oil.
Natural resources that are limited in supply and may eventually be depleted; petroleum, coal, copper, zinc, gold, uranium, etc.
naturally occurring raw materials that are exhaustible and become depleted more quickly than they naturally regenerate. Some nonrenewable resources, such as peat, petroleum, and metals, are only available in limited quantities, take a long time to form, and are used up rapidly.
Resources available in a fixed amount in the earth's crust, such as oil, coal and copper. They can be exhausted either because they are not replaced by natural processes, or because they are used up faster than nature replaces them.
Materials or services from the environment that are not replaced or replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable to our use of the resource; a resource depleted or exhausted by use.
nonliving resources such as rocks and minerals; resources which do not regenerate themselves; substances such as petroleum, coal, copper, and gold which, once used, cannot be replaced.
Nonrenewable resources, in contrast to renewable resources, do not naturally replenish themselves within time limits that permit sustained yield (i.e., minerals and hydrocarbons, such as phosphate rock, limestone, petroleum). Nonrenewable resources may be called stock resources because of their fixed supply. Some resources, such as soil and water, can be termed either nonrenewable or renewable depending on circumstances. For example, some underground reservoirs replenish so slowly they are effectively nonrenewable, such as the Ogalala Aquifer. Soil that is eroding faster than its T value faces eventual depletion.
A resource with economic value that exists in finite amounts or that cannot readily be regenerated.
Resources that will not "grow back" once they are used, or take such a long time to be replaced (such as petroleum) that they are virtually nonrenewable.
resources that cannot be replaced once they have been used. Aluminum and natural gas are nonrenewable.
Resources that cannot be replaced once they are used.