Chapter 1 Lesson 2

      The environment influences how people live. For example, living by a river or a lake is helpful to farmers who need water for their crops. Ohio’s environment includes natural resources, such as good soil, trees, animals, and water.  Most of the water in Ohio comes from rivers. The Ohio River and Lake Erie are important sources of water.

     Some natural resources can be replaced for later use. These are renewable resources. A forest is an example of a renewable resource. New trees can grow in place of those that are cut down.

     Other natural resources, such as oil, cannot be replaced. These are nonrenewable resources. Once a nonrenewable resource is used up, it can never be used again.

      Fresh water is a renewable resource that is replaced naturally. Water falls to Earth as rain or snow. It drains into rivers and lakes. People can also renew resources. Where trees have been cut down, people can plant new trees.

     Minerals are nonrenewable resources that are found in the ground. Salt, the first mineral ever mined in Ohio, is still mined today. Other mineral resources found in Ohio are gravel, clay, and iron.Coal, oil, and natural gas are other nonrenewable resources found in Ohio. They are burned as a source of heat and power. There were once large amounts of coal in eastern Ohio, but about 30 percent of the coal has been removed.

        Coal mining in Ohio began around 1800, with reported production amounting to 100 tons of coal mined from Jefferson County. Since 1800, over 3 billion tons of coal has been mined in Ohio. Ohio’s coal production has experienced a history of great fluctuation. During the first half of the 19th century, coal production never exceeded one million tons annually. Coal was cut and loaded entirely by hand and transported to local markets by means of wagons, carts, and flatboats. As Ohio transformed into an industrial state in the late 1800s, it became one of the largest coal-producing and coal-consuming states in the nation. During World War I, Ohio’s coal industry realized production levels that would not be seen again until the 1960s.