Editing Renewable resource (section)

{{Short description|Natural resource that is replenished relatively quickly}}
[[File:Chilean purse seine.jpg|thumb|Oceans often act as renewable resources.]]
[[File:Komplementärkontrast (Sägewerk bei Fügen, Zillertal) - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Sawmill near Fügen, Zillertal, Austria]]
[[File:Global Vegetation.jpg|thumb|Global vegetation]]

A '''renewable resource''' (also known as a '''flow resource'''{{NoteTag|especially when emphasizing perpetual resources as well.}}<ref name="ParkAllaby2017">{{Cite book|last1=Park|first1=Chris|title=A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation|last2=Allaby|first2=Michael|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2017|isbn=978-0-19-182632-0|doi=10.1093/acref/9780191826320.001.0001}}</ref>) is a [[natural resource]] which will replenish to replace the portion [[resource depletion|depleted]] by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of time in a human time scale. It is also known as non conventional energy resources. When the recovery rate of resources is unlikely to ever exceed a human time scale, these are called '''perpetual resources'''.<ref name="ParkAllaby2017" /> Renewable resources are a part of Earth's natural environment and the largest components of its [[Ecosphere (ecology)|ecosphere]]. A positive [[life-cycle assessment]] is a key indicator of a resource's [[sustainability]].

Definitions of renewable resources may also include agricultural production, as in [[sustainable agriculture|agricultural products]] and to an extent [[water resources]].<ref name="What are Renewable Resources">[http://www.oas.org/dsd/publications/Unit/oea79e/ch05.htm What are "Renewable Resources"?], by A. John Armstrong, Esq. & Dr. Jan Hamrin, Chapter 1, The Renewable Energy Policy Manual, Organization of American States, undated. Retrieved 2013-01-05.</ref> In 1962, [[Paul Alfred Weiss]] defined renewable resources as: "''The total range of living organisms providing man with life, fibres, etc...''".<ref>{{cite book |title=Renewable Resources, a report to the committee on natural resources |author=Paul Weiss |year=1962 |publisher=National Academy of Science |location=Washington D.C. |url=http://www.general-books.net/book.cfm?id=379739 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105231533/http://www.general-books.net/book.cfm?id=379739 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |access-date=2013-01-04}}</ref> Another type of renewable resources is [[renewable energy]] resources. Common sources of renewable energy include solar, geothermal and wind power, which are all categorized as renewable resources. Fresh water is an example of a renewable resource.