what about metals and minerals that come from the earth such as gold silver and iron these may be nonrenewable or renewable resources depending on who you ask they can fall into the former category because they are extracted from the earth but some people consider them renewable and sustainable because they are abundant and can be used and recycled 
fossil fuels and nonrenewable resourcesfossil fuels are all nonrenewable but not all nonrenewables are fossil fuels crude oil natural gas and coal are all considered fossil fuels but uranium is not rather it is a heavy metal that is extracted as a solid and then converted by nuclear power plants into a fuel source all of these nonrenewable resources have proved historically to be valuable energy sources that are inexpensive to extract storage conversion and shipping are easy and cheap fuels created from nonrenewable resources are still the primary source of all the power generated in the world due to their affordability and high energy content renewable growthfollowing the basic rule of supply and demand the cost to obtain nonrenewable resources will continue to rise as they become scarcer supply for many of these fuels is in danger of running out completely eventually their prices will hit a point that end users cannot afford forcing a move toward alternative energy sources concern over the impact of fossil fuel use on the environment and its contribution to climate change continues to grow the first international agreement on fighting climate change was the kyoto protocol adopted in 1997 2 in 2015 196 different parties adopted the paris agreement an international treaty on climate change by signing the parties agreed to take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 3the alternatives to fossil fuels require ample lead time to be put into place that process has begun slowly wind power generated about 6 3 of american electrical power in 2017 and was the source of about 8 4 in 2020 45 in 2023 wind energy provided 10 of total electricity nationwide including more than 60 of the power in iowa and 40 in south dakota kansas and oklahoma 6advantages of investing in nonrenewable resourcesthere are a few specific unique benefits of investing in nonrenewable resources these benefits are not meant to be an exhaustive list but investing in nonrenewable resources may result in the limitations of investing in nonrenewable energythere are also some downsides to keep in mind when considering investing in nonrenewable energy examples of nonrenewable resource etfsthere are plenty of etfs that invest in nonrenewable resources in addition many etfs invest in companies associated with the extraction and deployment of those resources some examples of these etfs include 