Newfoundland and Labrador's physical environment greatly influenced the ways settlers made a living during the 19th century. The richness of marine resources encouraged a pattern of coastal settlement and made the cod and seal fisheries central to local economies. In contrast, the relative scarcity of good soils and other terrestrial resources made large-scale farming operations impractical and discouraged year-round habitation of interior spaces.

Decades of overfishing in Newfoundland and Labrador caused the northern cod stocks to collapse during the 1990s and resulted in a moratorium.

Newfoundland and Labrador's forests are a renewable resource, so long as they are harvested in a sustainable way.

The gradual mechanization of Newfoundland and Labrador's logging industry changed the way loggers interacted with forest ecosystems.

A major concern surrounding Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore oil industry is that it may do serious damage to the ocean environment.

The Voisey's Bay project has the potential to do considerable damage to the environment if not properly managed by industry and by the government.