GLOSSARY OF TERMS
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Renewable Resource
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A natural resource qualifies as a renewable resource if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable to its rate of consumption by humans or other users. Resources such as solar radiation, tides, and winds are perpetual resources that are in no danger of being used in excess of their long-term availability. Natural resources that qualify as renewable resources include oxygen, fresh water, timber (when sustainably managed), and biomass.
However these resources can become non-renewable resources if used at a rate greater than the environment's capacity to replenish them. For example, groundwater may be removed from an aquifer at a rate greater than the sustainable recharge. Removal of water from the pore spaces may cause permanent compaction (subsidence) that cannot be reversed.
(Adapted from Wikipedia).
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