Stock
Also called: Stock resource · Topic: Natural Resources: Classification, Planning and Sustainable Use · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 1 "Resources and Development"
Meaning
Stock is material in the environment that could meet human needs, but we cannot use it because we lack the right technology. The resource exists, but it is locked away from us. New technology can move part of the stock into use. That is why the stock shrinks as science advances.
Example
Water is made of hydrogen and oxygen, and hydrogen can be a rich source of energy. For a long time this was stock, because we could not extract the hydrogen cheaply. India's National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023) is now moving hydrogen out of the stock.
Don't confuse with
- Reserves: the part of the stock that can already be used with today's technology but is kept for the future, such as water in dams.
Related concepts
- Community-owned resource
- International resource
- Potential resource
- Developed resource
- Reserves
- Tragedy of the commons