Correct Response: C. Freshwater aquifers are potentially renewable resources if they are protected and well managed. Groundwater pollution, overuse, and certain farming practices can reduce or destroy an aquifer's usefulness, however, making it nonrenewable. Many industrialized and urbanized areas of the world have contaminated groundwater aquifers so seriously that the aquifers no longer provide potable water. Severe depletion of aquifers where recharge is not adequate to keep up with water withdrawals is also common. In this way freshwater aquifers can be seen as a renewable resource that may become nonrenewable depending on how it is managed. Metallic ores (A) are seen as exclusively nonrenewable because the supply of metallic ores is finite. Solar energy (B) and wind power (D) are both considered entirely renewable because their use does not diminish their availability.
