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The term "renewable" comes from the prefix "re," meaning "again," and "newen," the Middle English word for "revive." The word "resource" originally comes from the Latin word "resurgere," to rise again.
World Book Online notes that of the two types of renewable resources--renewable energies and material goods--some are inexhaustible, like solar energy and wind power. Others must be carefully managed, as they replenish more slowly--things like food/product animals and plants, topsoil, forests and fresh water.
Whether renewable or not, careful management of every resource is essential to meet ever-increasing demands and to maintain a decent quality of life for all. Creation is slow; destruction is fast.
The National Resource Defense Council warns that if drastic measures aren't taken in the next 10 years to preserve our natural resources and reduce consumption, the damage to the Earth will be irreparable.
Many scientists consider water an inexhaustible renewable resource, because the Earth has always retained precisely the same amount of water as it began with.
World Book Encyclopedia Online
The National Resources Defense Council
U.S. Department of Energy
The We Campaign
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