Mona and Raju were helping Amma to clean their house. “Look at all these things…. clothes, utensils, foodgrains, combs, this bottle of honey, books…..Each of these has a use,” said Mona. “That is why they are important,” said Amma. “These are resources…..”. “What is a resource?”
was Raju’s question to Amma. “Anything that can be used to satisfy a need is a resource”, replied amma. “Look around you and observe, you will be able to identify many types of resources. The water you drink when you are thirsty, the electricity you use in your house, the rickshaw you use to get home from school, the textbook you use to study are all resources. Your father has prepared a tasty snack for you.The fresh vegetables he has used are also a resource”.
Water, electricity, rickshaw, vegetable and textbook have something in common. They have all been used by you, so they have utility. Utility or usability is what makes an object or substance a resource.
“How does something become a resource?” Raju now wanted to know. Amma told the children that things become resources only when they have a value. “Its use or utility gives it a value. All resources have some value.” said Amma.
Value means worth. Some resources have economic value, some do not. For example, metals may have an economic value, a beautiful landscape may not. But both are important and satisfy human needs.
Some resources can become economically valuable with time. Your grandmother’s home remedies have no commercial value today. But if they are patented and sold by a medical firm tomorrow, they could become economically valuable.
Time and technology are two important factors that can change substances into resources. Both are related to the needs of the people. People themselves are the most important resource. It is their ideas, knowledge, inventions and discoveries that lead to the creation of more resources. Each discovery or invention leads to many others. The discovery of fire led to the practice of cooking and other processes while the invention of the wheel ultimately resulted in development of newer modes of transport. The technology to create hydroelectricity has turned energy in fast flowing water into an important resource.
Click on the below link to download NCERT Class 8 Geography Resource and Developmernt Resources
