Natural resources such as oil, gas, minerals and timber are expected to continue to play a significant role in resource abundant economies, as demand from rapidly growing economies increases, and as supplies of non-renewable resources decline and renewable resource harvests approach maximum sustained yield levels.
They are what keep the environment more safe. Without funding to these people crime rates would significantly increase and would cause more danger in the environments such as roads not being properly maintained.
Because divergent and transform zones are close to the surface where spreading is occurring, while subduction zones, where the subduction plates are plunging down below the surface.