Encyclopedia of Global Resources part 138 docx

nations. On May 9, 1992, the committee drafted the convention Framework on Climate Change, a comprehensive proposal for reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions. Specifically,the conventionset the goalof stabilizing greenhouse-gas emissions of industrialized countries at their 1990 levels. In June, 1992, at the United Nations Conference on En- vironment and Development (the Earth Sum- mit), 154 nations signed the convention. Over the following thirteen years, the number of signatory nations reached 191. The convention’s guidelines took effect on March 21, 1994. The signing parties meet at annual conferences to discuss implementation of the convention. As a result of these meetings, a comprehensive ex- tension of the convention, the Kyoto Protocol, was adopted on December 11, 1997, and took effect on February 16, 2005. The substance of the Kyoto Protocol was to make many of the guidelines ofthe convention legally binding on industrial nations. Provisions Two juridical facts about the convention must be noted. Theconvention was thefirst major article of international law to address the prob- lem of global warming. As such, it codifies a consensus among the nations that anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change represents a concrete and direct threat to humanity, and that humanity must take direct steps in response. The second fact is that adherence to the conventionisvoluntary; nosanctions are at- tached for noncompliance. In that sense, the convention is more of an aspirational framework than a legal mandate. The great signifi- cance of the Kyoto Protocol, which was ap- pended to the convention in 1997 to takeeffect in 2005, isthat it gives legal force to the convention’s aspirations. The convention consists of a preamble, twenty-six articles, and annexes for signatures. The preamble states why the signatory countries have agreed to the convention. The signing nations acknowledge the need to combat anthropogenic climate change. They also acknowledge the need to do so in a way that re - spects the sovereignty of nations over their own resources, the goal of international coopera - 1276 • U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Global Resources Principles of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Article 3 oftheUNFCCC sets out thefiveprinciples that should guide all parties to the convention in allactionsrelating to the convention. 1. The Partiesshould protect theclimate system fortheben- efit of present and future generations of humankind, on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabil- ities. Accordingly, the developed country Parties should take the lead in combating climate change and the adverse effects thereof. 2. The specific needs and special circumstances of developing country Parties, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, and of those Parties, especially developing country Parties, that would have to bear a disproportionate or abnormal burden under the Convention, should be given full con- sideration. 3. The Parties should take precautionary measures to antici- pate, prevent or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing such measures, taking intoaccountthat policies and measures to deal with climate change should be cost-effective so as to ensure global benefits at the lowest possible cost. To achieve this, such policies and measures should take into account different socio-economic contexts, be comprehensive, cover all relevant sources, sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases and adaptation, and comprise all economic sectors. Efforts to address climate change may be carried out cooperatively by interested Parties. 4. The Parties have a right to, and should, promote sustainable development. Policies and measures to protect the climate system against human-induced change should be appropriate for the specific conditions of each Party and should be integrated with national development pro- grammes, taking into account that economic development is essential for adopting measures to address climate change. 5. The Parties should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to sustainable economic growth and development in all Parties, particularly developing country Parties, thus en- abling them better to address the problems of climate change. Measures taken to combat climate change,includ - ing unilateral ones,should not constitutea means ofarbi - traryor unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restric - tion on international trade. tion, and the desire of developing countries for sus - tained economic growth and the elimination of pov- erty. The preamble finds support for the convention in previous acts of the United Nations and the world community, such as the Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environ- ment (also known as the Stockholm Conference), adopted on June 16, 1972; the 1985 Vienna and 1990 Montreal conventions on ozone depletion; and nu- merous United Nations General Assembly Resolu- tions. Article 1 lists nine definitions of major terms used in the convention. Importantly, “climate change” is definedwith the emphasisthat itcan result from human activity likelyto have anadverse effect on human health and welfare. Articles 2 and 3 state the objec- tives and principles of the convention, chiefly for the nations of the world to take shared responsibility for stabilizing the concentration of greenhouse gases at a safe level. The heart of the convention is Article 4. In this article, the signatory nations commit to a variety of measures to monitor, publicize, and limit anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions. The convention divides countries into three categories, listed under Annex I, Annex II, and non- Annex. AnnexI parties comprise forty-one developed countries, including the most industrialized nations in the world, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Russia,and the European Economic Community. Annex II parties are a subset of Annex I—the twenty-four wealthiest developed countries required to give financial support to developing countries to assist the latter’s reduction of greenhouse emissions. Non-Annex parties constitute the developing nations. The convention helped achieve international agreement by assigning common but differentiated responsibilities to the three categories of nations, thus providing incentives forboth developed and developing nations to participate. Annex I signatories commit to heightened measures to limit their anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to their 1990 levels. A chief mechanism for accomplishing this is a market-based system of carbon emission “cap and trade.” Annex I signatories also commit to extra responsibilities in reporting their progress in implementing the convention and arranging for information sharing and technological transfers. Articles 5 and 6 provide for global research and education as to climate change. Article 7 provides for an annual meeting of the signatories referred to as the Conference of the Parties (COP). The COP is the most important mechanism provided to assess the progress of the convention. At the annual COP, the convention representatives adopt amendments to the convention’s rules and agree to additional commit- ments. UnderArticle 8, the executive office of a secre- tariat is established, which arranges and carries out the COP and other administrative functions required to implement the convention. Articles 9 and 10 establish two subsidiary bodies to prepare reports and assessments for the COP. The first is the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Techno- logical Advice, which provides scientific expertise to the COP. The second is the Subsidiary Body for Im- plementation, which analyzes the national communi- cations submitted by the parties and handles financial and logistical issues. Article 12 requires Annex I countries to provide to the annual COP a detailed communication of their progress in implementing the convention. This communication includes an in- ventory of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and steps taken to reduce them. Articles 13 through 26 largely concern financial, procedural, and administrative details in carrying out the convention. Impact on Resource Use The convention wasthe first majorinternational agreement to address the threats to human welfare pre- sented by anthropogenic climate change. Although the convention was merely exhortatory, with the vast majority of the nations signing on, it provided a tre- mendous impetus toward achieving a consensus on climate change and launching national initiatives to combat it. Asa whole,theconvention’sgoal ofstabiliz- ing greenhouse-gas emissions for the industrialized nations at 1990 levels by the year 2000 was achieved, although many individual nations continued to show rapid increase of greenhouse-gas emissions. The convention required all signatory nations to collect and disseminate information on emissions. These annual national reports have become important sources of information about the state of the world’s climate. The convention has also spurred nations to exchange strategies and practices for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions to the levels stipulated in Article 4. Under the convention, the Annex II industrialized nations provide critical technological and financial support to developing nations as they address their industrial emissions practices. Various international agreements Global Resources U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change • 1277 for confronting the impact of climate change have emerged from the convention. The convention also created international scientific bodies to conduct research and disseminate education on climate change. These groups have pub- lished extensivelyonthe goalsand implementation of the convention and set research agendas. The most important implementation of the convention hasbeenthe annualCOPs, attended byrepre- sentatives of almost all nations. The 1995 COP was held in Berlin, Germany. In that COP, the parties adopted the Berlin Mandate, requiring the parties to negotiate reduction of emissions by certain amounts according to a fixed schedule. This mandate found fruition in the 1997 COP at Kyoto, Japan, which adopted the Kyoto Protocol, requiring developing countries to reduce their emissions to at least 5 percent below 1990 levels. The protocol went into effect in 2005. The fourth COP adopted the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, providing a two-year plan to finalize mechanisms for implementing the protocol. The sixth COP at The Hague, Netherlands, and Bonn, Ger- many, in 2000 and 2001, reached agreement on various political issuesof the KyotoProtocol. The seventh COP finalizedthe technicaldetails ofthe Protocol, referred to as the Marrakech Accords. The eleventh COP, held in Montreal in 2005, included ten thou- sand delegates and agreed to launch negotiations to extend the Protocol beyond its 2012 expiration date. The 2007 COP, held in Bali, Indonesia, began sus- tained negotiations for the post-2012 stage of the Pro- tocol. The purpose of the 2009 COP in Copenhagen, Denmark, was to adopt this second-stage. Probably the two most significant impacts of the convention are the following. First, the convention represented an international consensus of scientists and nationsas tothe impacton theenvironment ofhu- man greenhouse-gas emissions. Thus, it became diffi- cult for any group to deny credibly the phenomenon of globalwarming or for any nation toresist, atleast in theory, the need for national and international efforts to address theproblem. This intentionalconsensus was manifested andextended in theannual COPs.Second, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 as an amend- ment totheconvention. Theprotocol contains legally binding emission targets for industrialized countries that are partiesto the convention.It also containscon- crete rules for implementing the idealsof the conven - tion and the standards of the protocol. Howard Bromberg Further Reading Nordhaus, William. A Question of Balance: Weighing the Options on Global Warming Policies. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2008. Ridley, Michael A. Lowering the Cost of Emission Reduc- tion: Joint Implementation in the Framework Convention on Climate Change.Boston:Kluwer Academic, 1998. Stern, Nicholas. The Global Deal: Climate Change and the Creation of a New Era of Progress and Prosperity. New York: Public Affairs, 2009. Watson, R. T., et al., eds. Climate Change 2001: Synthesis Report. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Web Site United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change http://unfccc.int/2860.php See also: Agenda 21; Air pollution and air pollution control; Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act; Earth Summit; Greenhouse gases and global climate change; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Montreal Protocol; Ozone layer and ozone hole de- bate; Stockholm Conference; United Nations climate change conferences; United Nations Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. United States Categories: Countries; government and resources The United States plays an extremely important role in international trade. The country is a major importer of raw materials and is a leading exporter of agricultural products, finished products and financial services. The Country The United States of America is located on the North American continent. It is bordered on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean. The country shares its northern bor- der with Canada. The western part of the southern United States is bordered by Mexico, and the eastern part by the Gulf of Mexico. The United Statesis thethirdlargest country inthe world interms of population and has the largest econ - 1278 • United States Global Resources Global Resources United States • 1279 United States: Resources at a Glance Official name: United States of America Government: Constitution-based federal republic Capital city: Washington, D.C. Area: 3,794,100 mi 2 ; 9,826,675 km 2 Population (2009 est.): 307,212,123 Language: English Monetary unit: U.S. dollar Economic summary: GDP composition by sector (2008 est.): agriculture, 1.2%; industry, 19.2%; services, 79.6% Natural resources: coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber (largest coal reserves, accounting for 27% of the world’s total) Land use (2005): arable land, 18.01%; permanent crops, 0.21%; other, 81.78% Industries: petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining Agricultural products: wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton, beef, pork, poultry, dairy products, fish, forest products Exports (2008 est.): $1.291 trillion Commodities exported (2003): agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn), 9.2%; industrial supplies (organic chemicals), 26.8%; capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment), 49.0%; consumer goods (automobiles, medicines), 15.0% Imports (2008 est.): $2.112 trillion Commodities imported (2003): agricultural products, 4.9%; industrial supplies, 32.9% (crude oil 8.2%); capital goods, 30.4% (computers, telecommunications equipment, motor vehicle parts, office machines, electric power machinery); consumer goods, 31.8% (automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys) Labor force (2008 est.): 154.3 million (includes unemployed) Labor force by occupation (2007): farming, forestry, and fishing, 0.6%; manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts, 22.6%; managerial, professional, and technical, 35.5%; sales and office, 24.8%; other services, 16.5% (figures exclude the unemployed) Energy resources: Electricity production (2007 est.): 4.167 trillion kWh Electricity consumption (2007 est.): 3.892 trillion kWh Electricity exports (2007 est.): 20.14 billion kWh Electricity imports (2007 est.): 51.4 billion kWh Natural gas production (2007 est.): 545.9 billion m 3 Natural gas consumption (2007 est.): 652.9 billion m 3 Natural gas exports (2007 est.): 23.28 billion m 3 Natural gas imports (2007 est.): 130.3 billion m 3 Natural gas proved reserves ( Jan. 2008 est.): 5.977 trillion m 3 Oil production (2007 est.): 8.457 million bbl/day Oil imports (2008): 10.98 million bbl/day Oil proved reserves ( Jan. 2008 est.): 20.97 billion bbl Source: Data from The World Factbook 2009. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009. Notes: Data are the most recent tracked by the CIA. Values are given in U.S. dollars. Abbreviations: bbl/day = barrels per day; GDP = gross domestic product; km 2 = square kilometers; kWh = kilowatt-hours; m 3 = cubic meters; mi 2 = square miles. Washingto n United States Russia Mexico Canada Canada Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Mexico omy. The economy is based on a marketplace com - posed of privately owned corporations, partnerships, and single proprietor businesses. The country pos- sesses a wide variety of terrain with the Appalachian Mountains inthe east andthe RockyMountains inthe west, the Great Plains west of the Mississippi, and deserts farther west. Forests and both rolling and flat land suitablefor farming are foundin themidwestern and eastern states. The country has an abundance of lakes and rivers, including the Great Lakes and Great Salt Lake and the Mississippi, Ohio, Potomac, Hud- son, and Colorado rivers. The redwood forests are found on the Pacific coast. The United States has an abundance of resources. Some of the major resources are coal, oil, natural gas, potash, copper, andtimber. In2008, theUnited States ranked second in the world in purchasing power par- ity and tenth in gross domestic product per capita. In 2008, theUnited Statesranked first in the worldin imports and fourth in the world in exports. The major U.S. exports are finished goods, financial services, and agricultural products, especially soybeans, wheat, and corn. In 2008, the major U.S. export markets were Canada and Mexico, followed by China, Japan, Germany, andthe United Kingdom. The United States imports a wide variety of products, including agricultural products, crude oil, and industrial supplies. China, Canada, and Mexico were the country’s major import partners in 2008. Coal Coal is a sedimentary rock varying from brown to black that isprimarily composedofcarbon andhydro- carbons and is combustible. It is the most plentiful of the fossil fuels found in the United States. The country has 445 billion metric tons of coal reserves, the largest coal reserves in the world. This accounts for 27 percent of the total coal reserves in the world. All four types of coal, anthracite, bituminous, semibituminous, and lignite, are found in the United States. Bituminous and semibituminous coal compose in ex- cess of 90 percent of the coal mined in the United States. There are three coal-mining regions in the country: the Appalachian region, the interior region, and the western coal region. Coal mined in Appalachia accounts for more than one-third of the coal mined in the United States. Bituminous is the primary coal mined in the region, with major mines in West Vir - ginia, Pennsylvania,and Kentucky. Thelargest amount of this type of coal comes from mines in West Vir - ginia, which is also the second largest coal-mining state in the country. All of the anthracite mined in the United States comes from mines located in north- eastern Pennsylvania. The lignite mined in the United States is produced from mines in Texas (the interior region) and North Dakota (the western region). Wyoming is the major producer of subbitumi- nous coal and the largest producer of coal in the United States. Mining inthe United States is doneby bothsurface and underground mining. Surface mines produce approximately two-thirds of the country’s coal. Al- though there are environmental concerns about the damage done to land by strip mining and the pollution of water and air by-products of mining and by emissions from the burning of coal, coal continues to play an important role in power plants and in industry. The government andprivate industry haveim- plemented research and means of reducing these negative aspects of coal as an energy source. Both bituminous coal and lignite are used in the production ofelectricity;bituminous, referred toas metallur- gical or “met” coal, is also used in the making of iron and steel and in the concrete and paper industries. Anthracite, which burns without smoking, is used for domestic heatingin stoves and furnaces; it is also used to produce steam. In 2008, the United States produced 1.06 billion metric tons of coal, a 2.27 percent increase over the 2007 production. Because domestic coal consumption decreased and demand in Europe and Asia increased, coal exports increased significantly to 73.9 million metric tons, a 37.8 percent increase. Oil Oil or petroleum is composed of hydrogen and carbon compounds. It is a liquid form of fossilized bio- mass found in underground reservoirs in sedimentary basins and in the seabeds of the Earth. Gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and liquid propane gas are all derived from oil. Other products made from petroleum include ink, household products, tires, and DVDs. Oil is an important resource for the United States, which ranks first in the world in oil consumption and third in production. The country’s proven reserves of 21 billion barrels placed the United States twelfth in the world in oil reserves in 2008. In the United States, oil deposits are located in the Permian basin,the Mid- Continent Oil Producing Area, in the San Joaquin ba - 1280 • United States Global Resources sin, in Alaska, and offshore. One-fourth of the crude oil produced in the United States comes from offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas ranks first among the states in oil production. The other major oil producing states are Alaska, California, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The United States’ large consumption of oil cou- pled with a decreasing domestic production has ne- cessitated ever-increasing imports. The United States was able to meet its demand for oil by domestic production until 1970. Since then, the country has imported more and more oil and has become the world’s largest importer of oil. The United States imports oil from both Organization of Petroleum Ex- porting Countries (OPEC) nations and non-OPEC countries. Canada is the primary supplier of oil and petroleum products to the United States. In 2008, the United Statesimported 1.95million barrels perday of oil from Canadaand 1.50 millionbarrels perday from Saudi Arabia. Venezuela and Mexico were the other major countries from which the United States imported oil. The United States imported a total of 10.98 million barrels per day in 2008 and ranked first in the world in oil imports. The United States is also the leading country in the world in the capacity to re- fine oil. Natural Gas Natural gas, a fossil fuel, is composed of a mixture of methane and other combustible hydrocarbons. In comparison to either oil or coal, natural gas produces a much lower quantity of environmental pollutants when burned. In 2007, the United States ranked second in the world in the production of natural gas and first in consumption. In 2007, the U.S. imports of natural gas of 130.3 billioncubic meters placed the country firstin the world. As an exporter ofnatural gas, the United States ranked tenth in the world. As of 2008, the proven reserves of natural gas inthe UnitedStates were 5.977 trillion cubic meters, and the country ranked sixth in the world. Natural gas reserves are found throughout the United States, but the largest deposits are located in Louisiana, Texas, NewMexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, and Alaska. The Gulf of Mexicoalso has an abundant reserve ofnatural gas. Natural gasproduced inthe United States meets most of the country’s requirement for the resource; however, some natural gas is imported through pipelines from Canada. Natural gas is a major energy source for the United States. In 2008, natural gas was used to produce 24 percent of the energy used. Natural gas isused to heat approximately one-half of the homes in the United States. It alsoplays amajorrole as anenergy source for home appliances. Natural gas provides an important energy source for the generation of electric power and is vital in many U.S. industries, including the production of steel, glass, and paper. Natural gas is also used as a raw material in a variety of products such as paint, fertilizer, and explosives. Copper Copper is a metallic element that occurs either freely or with other ores. It is often found in combination with molybdenum, gold, and silver. Open-pit mining and below-ground mining are used for the extraction of copper. Copper is an important component in the production of a wide variety of products, such as copper wire and corrosion-resistant tubing. It is used in electronic equipment, cooking appliances, and various construction materials. It is also used in a pow- dered form in equipment for automobiles and in the aerospace sector. The first major commercial copper mining was done in the United States in the mid-nineteenth cen- tury. Throughout U.S. history, copper mines have op- erated inmany different states.By thetwenty-first cen- tury, mostof themines had ceasedoperation, withthe exception of mines in the West. Arizona and Utah both have long histories as major producers of copper. In 2006 and 2007, Arizona ranked first in the nation in the production of copper, and Utah ranked second. Other major copper mining states are Ne- vada, New Mexico, and Montana. In 2007, the United States produced 1.19 million metric tons of copper. It ranked third in the world in copper production. The copper produced in the United States represents approximately 63 percent of the copper used by U.S. manufacturers. The rest is imported; Chile, Canada, and Peru are the three major trade partners of the United States for the importation of copper. The United States is also a significant exporter of copper; its major export partners are China, Canada, Mexico, and South Korea. Potash Potash is produced from a potassium compound, such as potassium oxide or potassium carbonate. Pot - ash is produced either from underground mines, which are the most common, or from solution min - Global Resources United States • 1281 ing. It is sent to processing plants, where it is milled and refined, and the potassium chloride is processed into potash. The primary use of potash is in the making of fertilizer. In 2008, 93 percent of the potash produced worldwide was used by the fertilizer industry. Potash is also used in feed supplements for animals and in industrial manufacturing. Since the production ofbiofuelsand ethanolbecame an importantsec- tor of the economy, potash has been used to improve both the quality and the yield of thecrops from which these fuels are derived. In the United States, the majority of the potash is located in Montana and North Dakota; however, it is also mined in Michigan, New Mexico, and Utah, where it is produced from brine evaporation. Al- though the United States ranked fifth in the world in the production of potash in 2006 and seventh in 2008, the country has consistently imported potash. In 2008, 91 percent of the potash used in the United States was imported. Canada is the main source for the U.S. importation of potash. Phosphorus Phosphorus is a nonmetallic element that occurs in sedimentary deposits. The United States has 1.2 billion metric tons of reserves, with a reserve base of 3.4 billion metric tons. Phosphate rock ore is mined and processed to make phosphoric acid and various phosphorus compounds. Almost all of the phosphate rock mined inthe United Statesis processed intophospho- ric acid. The major use of the phosphoric acid produced is in agricultural fertilizers and animal feed supplements. With the need for greater agricultural production worldwide, the demand for phosphorus has increased significantly and created a strong international market. The United States is one of the main producers of phosphorus and is the leading exporter. The country is not asignificantimporter ofphosphorus butdidim- port some phosphorus from Morocco from 2004 to 2007. As of 2009, twelve phosphate rock mines were operating in the United States. The mines are located in Florida, North Carolina, Idaho, and Utah. In 2008, the mines in North Carolina and Florida accounted for 85 percent of the U.S. production, which totaled 30.9 million metric tons. In 2008, the United States ranked first in the world in exporting diammonium phosphate (DAP) and monoammonium phosphate (MAP) fertilizers. India was the major market for the fertilizers. Zinc Zinc is a base metal found in the Earth’s crust; it is often found in ore that also contains copper or lead. Zinc has awide variety ofuses in industry,manufacturing, and agriculture. A major use of zinc isin galvaniz- ing; it is also used to make alloys such as brass and bronze. As a compound or dust, it is employed in the making of paint, rubber, fertilizers, and animal feeds as well as in medicines. About 25 percent of the zinc produced in the United States is used in various zinc compounds. The United States, along with Australia and Canada, has large deposits of zinc. In 2008, the United States had zinc reserves of 14 million metric tons and a reserve base of 90 million metric tons. In 2006, the United States ranked fourth in the world in the production of zinc. The demand for zinc reached a peakin 2006 andproduction was increased. In 2008, there were sixteen zinc mines in operation in the United States. The mines produced 770,000 metric tons of zinc. In 2008, the worldwide supply of zinc steadily exceeded the demand because of the increased mining of the ore. As a result, there was a significant drop in the value of zinc. In view of the pre- dicted continuing surplus in 2009, mines throughout the United States began to cut back production, and mines in New York and Tennessee closed. Uranium Uranium is a metallic element occurring in rock. It is used toproduceenergy. Uranium isfound inthe western part of the United States, with the largest deposits in Wyoming and New Mexico. In 2003, the reserves of the metal were estimated at 451.6 million metric tons of uranium ore. The United States uses uranium as the source of almost 20 percent of its electricity. Al- though uranium is primarily mined in the western states, nuclear power plants are predominantly in the eastern half of the country. In 2008, the United States had sixty-six nuclear power plants, in which both boiling water and pressurized water reactors were used. The use ofnuclearpower in theUnitedStates remains a controversial issue with environmental concerns about radioactive waste. Although uranium is an important resource in the United States, the country actually produces only about 14 percent of theuranium it uses.Consequently, it is dependent on foreign imports for most of its uranium. The largest U.S. imports of uranium come from Australia, Canada, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. 1282 • United States Global Resources Other Resources The United States also has significant deposits of many other minerals, including iron ore. The United States ranks with Russia, Brazil, China, Australia, and India as one of the largest iron-ore-producing countries in the world. There are 99.77 billion metric tons of iron ore deposits in the United States; approximately 98 percent of the iron ore mined in the country is used in the production of steel. Other metals mined in the United States include molybdenum, gold, and silver. Fisheries play a significant role both in the U.S. domestic economy andinits international trade.Among the major fish and shellfish species caught and raised in aquaculture in the United States are pollack, flat- fish, salmon, crab, and shrimp. In 2007, the United States fishing industry contributed $34.9 billion in value added to the gross national product. In 2008, the UnitedStates exported 1.05million metric tonsof edible fish and 80,522 metric tons of fishmeal. The imports of edible fish were 2.34 million metric tons. Because ofglobal warming andits effect on fish popu- lations and migration, the quantity of both imports and exports decreased from 2007 to 2008. However, the fishing industry remains an important contribu- tor to the U.S. economy. Shawncey Webb Further Reading Deffeyes, Kenneth S. Beyond Oil: The View from Hub- bert’s Peak. New York: Hill and Wang, 2005. Garrett, D. E. Potash-Deposits, Processing, Properties and Uses. New York: Chapman & Hall, 1996. Hyne, Norman J. Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geol- ogy, Exploration, Drilling and Production. Tulsa, Okla.: PennWell Books, 2001. Kelley, Ingrid. Energy in America: A Tour of Our Fossil Fuel Culture. Lebanon, N.H.: University Press of New England, 2008. Martin, Raymond S., and William L. Leffler. Oil and Gas Production in Nontechnical Language. Tulsa, Okla.: PennWell Books, 2005. Slovich, Carrie D. American Natural Resources: New Is- sues and Developements. New York: Nova Science Books, 2006. Zoellner, Tom. Uranium: War, Energy and the Rock That Shaped the World. New York: Viking, 2009. See also: Coal; Copper; Fisheries; Oil and natural gas reservoirs; Phosphate; Potash; Uranium; Zinc. Uranium Categories: Energy resources; mineral and other nonliving resources Where Found Uranium is widely distributed in the Earth’s crust and oceans, although it is never found in a pure or ele- mental state. It combines with otherelements to form 150 known minerals. There are significant uranium deposits in Colorado, Utah, Bear Lake (Canada), Joachimsthal (nowJáchymov, in the Czech Republic), Cornwall (England), and theDemocratic Republic of the Congo. Primary Uses Uranium is used as part of federal nuclear programs, including defense programs. It is also used as nuclear fuel for civilian electrical power reactors. Technical Definition Uranium (abbreviated U), atomic number 92, be- longs to Group IIIB in the periodic table of the elements and resembles plutonium in its chemical and physical properties. It is naturally radioactive and has three isotopes (forms with the same atomic number but different atomic masses) with an average molecu- lar weight of 238.03. Uranium 238 and uranium 235 are the two major isotopes. Pure uranium is a silvery- white lustrous metal. Its density is 19.05 grams per cubic centimeter; it has amelting point of 1,132° Celsius and a boiling point of 3,818° Celsius. Description, Distribution, and Forms Uranium is widely distributed in the Earth’s crust and oceans. It is present in seawater at 0.002 part per million and in rocks of the Earth’s crust at up to 4 parts per million. Uranium occurs most commonly as the black oxide uraninite, or pitchblende, and the yellow mineral caronite. Processed uranium, a concentrate of uranium oxide, is called yellow cake. The radioactiveelementsreleased duringuranium milling are potentially detrimental to human health; they include radon, radium, other isotopes of uranium, andlead. Uranium and its salts are highly toxic, causing skin and eye irritation, acute necrotic arterial lesions, and death. Inhalation of even tiny radioactive particles causes an increased risk of lung cancer. Global Resources Uranium • 1283 History In 1789, analyticalchemist M. H. Klaproth discovered uranium in the pitchblende ore of Saxony. Klaproth treated pitchblende with nitric acid and obtained a yellow solution. When he added potash to the solution, a yellow precipitate formed. He thought the yellow metal was a new element, but it was in fact uranium oxide. In 1841, Eugène-Melchior Péligot purified chemi- cally the “semimetallic” material identified by Klap- roth. In 1896, Antoine-Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium undergoes radioactive decay: It breaks apart into smaller atoms, releasing light and energy. Prior to Becquerel’s discovery, uranium was usedonly on a small scale as a coloring agent in glass and ceramic glazes. It produces a yellow-green color in glass called Vaseline glass. In 1898, Marie Curie discovered radium inuranium ores, and the demand for uranium ores mined in Africa and Canada increased. Radium is a disintegration product of uranium that is used to radiograph metals because it produces gamma rays, which penetrate metal better than X rays do. The discovery of nuclear fission by Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann in 1939 vaulted uranium from ob - scurity to a key position innuclear weapons and,later, nuclear energy. Fission, the splitting of a heavy nu- cleus ofuraniumor plutoniuminto two roughlyequal parts, releases energy and produces neutrons and radiation. Until 1942 no mining operations were carried out primarily for uranium production (uranium was obtained as a by-product of mining for other materials). During World WarII, scientistsin theUnited States worked secretly to developed the first atomic bomb and gathered information on the chemistry of uranium (the operation was called the Manhattan Proj- ect). After the first “Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy,” held in Geneva in 1955, much of this knowledge became available to the public. Obtaining Uranium In the United States uranium oxide production from underground and open-pit mining has fluctuated on a yearly basis depending on demand. Underground miners tunnel into a vein, blast the rock loose, and bring the ore to the surface for processing. Open-pit 1284 • Uranium Global Resources 238 92 Key Total number of protons and neutrons Number of protons Electron emission (beta decay) Alpha emission Stable 238 92 Uranium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Thorium Radium Radon Polonium Lead Lead Lead Bismuth Bismuth Polonium Polonium 234 90 234 91 234 92 230 90 226 88 222 86 218 84 214 82 214 83 214 84 210 82 210 83 210 84 206 82 Radioactive Decay of Uranium 238 miners blast the rock from a pit on the surface. In bothmethods, metric tons of waste rock are piled on the Earth’s surface. After processing or milling, minetailingsare disposedof in a pond. Underground mines gen- erally produce less waste per metric ton of recovered uranium than open- pit mines. In an alternative mining method, solution mining uses water to leach or dissolve uranium from ore. Leach- ing can be done in place or in heap- leaching from ore piled at the surface. In the United States, about 90 percent of uranium oxide is obtained by leaching methods. Uranium waste contains a small percentage of uranium, which may leach and move into groundwater. Uses of Uranium In addition to federal nuclear programs, uranium is used as a nuclear fuel for reactors that produce electrical power. Uranium 245 is used in atom and hydrogen bombs. Uranium 234 and uranium 235 are used as nuclear fuel in power reactors. Spent uranium, which lacks uranium 235, is not suitable for nuclear use, but because of its high density it is used for X-ray and gamma-ray shielding. Gamma radiation is electromagnetic radiation of extremely short wavelength and high energy produced during atomic radioactive decay. Judith J. Bradshaw-Rouse Further Reading Ball, Howard.Cancer Factories: America’s Tragic Quest for Uranium Self-Sufficiency. Westport, Conn.: Green- wood Press, 1993. Brugge, Doug, Timothy Benally, and Esther Yazzie- Lewis, eds. The Navajo People and Uranium Mining. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2006. Burns, Peter C., and Robert Finch, eds. Uranium: Min- eralogy, Geochemistry, and the Environment. Washing- ton, D.C.: MineralogicalSocietyof America, 1999. Forty Years ofUranium Resources, Production, andDemand in Perspective: “The Red Book Retrospective.” Paris: Nu - clear Energy Agency, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2006. Greenwood, N. N., and A. Earnshaw. “The Actinide and Transactinide Elements.” In Chemistry ofthe Ele- ments. 2d ed. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1997. Gupta, Chiranjib, and Harvinderpal Singh. Uranium Resource Processing: Secondary Resources. New York: Springer, 2003. Lauf, Robert. Introduction to Radioactive Minerals. Atglen, Pa.: Schiffer, 2008. Rhodes, Richard. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986. Zoellner, Tom. Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World. New York: Viking, 2009. Web Sites Natural Resources Canada Canadian Minerals Yearbook, Mineral and Metal Commodity Reviews http://www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/mms-smm/busi- indu/cmy-amc/com-eng.htm U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration Nuclear: U.S. Data http://www.eia.doe.gov/fuelnuclear.html See also: Electrical power; Isotopes, radioactive; Lead; Manhattan Project; Nuclear energy; Nuclear waste and its disposal; Plutonium; Radium. Global Resources Uranium • 1285 Uranium ore mined in Africa. (USGS) . largest econ - 1278 • United States Global Resources Global Resources United States • 1279 United States: Resources at a Glance Official name: United States of America Government: Constitution-based. re - spects the sovereignty of nations over their own resources, the goal of international coopera - 1276 • U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change Global Resources Principles of the U.N. Framework Convention. ba - 1280 • United States Global Resources sin, in Alaska, and offshore. One-fourth of the crude oil produced in the United States comes from offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Texas ranks

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