Another Weekly Photo Challenge – Natural Resources – suggests an obvious answer: water.

A less obvious take on water as a natural resource is this crustacean’s-eye-view of Great South Bay from Fire Island, NY. Our shores and the water that defines them – sometimes gently and sometimes ferociously – are natural resources people around the world depend on. Paying closer attention to shoreline ecosystems saves lives – human, crustacean and otherwise!

Another basic a natural resource is air – the air we breathe, the air that buoys us up:

Trees are fundamental natural resources too – as shade and shelter, as slope stabilizers and air purifiers. Here in the pacific northwest, trees seem so eager to grow that when big cedars and firs topple, new trees will take root on the stumps, their roots steadily groping their way towards the soil.

From plant giant to animal dwarf – bees are a natural resource, providing for themselves, for flowers, for us –

And…chickens! An important natural resource for us – sometimes for entertainment as well as food.

About as unprocessed a natural resource as you can ask for, these freshly dug razor clams were for sale at Pikes Place Market in Seattle a few days ago. But for me, they have the “eww” factor, big time.

And what about humans as a natural resource?

Human creativity is a natural resource that expresses itself in an incomprehensible variety of ways –  from graffiti as art,

to protest as the creation of new forms of discourse, (above, Occupy Wall Street, fall, 2011).

Or, meditation as protest (nearby in lower Manhattan, 2011).

Dance as celebration – a worldwide natural human resource (here, at a Turkish Festival in Manhattan).

“Abundant natural resources” – that’s such a cliche. But it’s never unintelligent to ask how we are impacting our natural resources.  Are we wasting water? Dirtying the air? Breaking the food chain? Squandering our energy? Shutting down our creativity? Forgetting to celebrate? Our goal needn’t be perfection – just a little more attention.

More responses to this week’s photo challenge are at:  http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/sunday-post-natural-resources/