Fishing
Forestry
The U.S. is covered 23% by forests. These trees have 7.1 billion cu
m of wood that is reasonable for making into lumber. In the 1090s
new environmental requirements were put in place to protect
wildlife habitat. The amount of wood being cut on federal land
dropped by 50% between 1983-1993. 73% of the forests are
owned privately by people. The other 27% is owned by the varies
levels of government. The wood is mainly used for making
lumber, hardwoods, pulpwood and plywood. The pulpwood is
used to make paper. Douglas fir is the main softwood and oak is
the main hardwood in the U.S. Half the lumber comes from the
Pacific states Southern forests make up one third of the nations
lumber. Forests in mountain states make up 10% of the nation
lumber.
Fishing
The U.S. usually ranks fifth in the world for most weight caught.
Overall fishing is popular in most states. The three main types of
fish are freshwater fish, shellfish and Finnish. Some important
spices are lobster, flounders, salmon, shrimp, cod, oysters, and
crabs. The leading state for the yearly catch is Alaska. Some other
big fishing states are Louisiana, Massachusetts, Texas, California,
and Florida. The best port in the U.S. is Dutch Harbor Alaska. The
second best port is in Massachusetts. Raising fish on farms is also
popular. Some types of fish raised on farms are crawfish, Salmon
and catfish. Catfish is one of the most popular fish raised on
farms.
Mining
Mining employs 0.5 of workers in the U.S. Mining is very
important to industrial plants, Example coal and iron is needed to
make steel. The U.S. main minerals are natural gas, petroleum and
coal. In 1990 the U.S. supplied 25% of the worlds natural gas,
19% of coal and 11% of oil. Three fifths of the nations natural gas
is produced in Texas and Louisiana. Petroleum makes up 25% of
all minerals produced in a year. Coal is the third important
mineral. It makes up one sixth of production. It is found in mines
in Appalachians. Some major metals mined in the U.S. are copper,
zinc, lead, and silver
Energy
Petroleum is 39% of the total energy in the U.S. It mainly is used
to heat buildings. Natural gas makes up about 24% of the energy.
It is mainly used in industrial plants, for heat. Also people use it
for cooking in homes. Coal is 22% of the energy. It is used to
generate electricity. Nuclear power makes 7% and water power
makes 4% of the energy. Both are used in houses and plants. Some
people try to not live near nuclear power plants in fear of a
radiation accident. Coal is the most used fuel in electric plants.
Some of the states that use coals the most are Indiana, West
Virginia, Georgia and Kentucky. Oregon, New York and
California mainly produce hydroelectricity.
Resources
In addition to the resources that were mentioned in mining the
U.S. also has other resources. The nation doses not export 80% of
its bauxite, platinum, tin, and magnesium. One third of the nation
topsoil’s has been worn away because of erosion, if erosion keeps
wearing away farmland and soil they could loose minerals. Some
other resources are sand, gravel, diatomite, tungsten, asletos,
sodium, sulfate, gold, lime, clay, gypsum, talc, silver, salt, copper,
peat, iron and stone. They are all from the U.S.
Education
In the U.S. there are both public and private schools. Students
must complete 12 years of school to receive a high school
diploma. Each state has different curriculums. In 1996 82% of
people over 25 had finished school. Still in 1996 24% of people
had completed four or more years of college. 2.4 of people over the
age of 25 are illiterate or cant read or write. American education is
similar to Canadian education.