Over the many millennia that the human race has inhabited the planet, a practical use has been found for almost every natural resource that is here. However, since the Industrial Revolution, many of the resources that we have come to rely on are being depleted, some at an alarming rate. The misuse of others, such as fossil fuels, is causing such damage to the environment that measures are being taken at an international level to restrict their use. This book explains how the natural resources of the Earth originated, by outlining the astronomical and geological evolution of the planet in the early period of its existence --