2-C The Challenge of Resource Management

Question 1

Why is food, water and energy significant to economic and social well-being?

Answer 1

Food - ‘calories in’ must equal ‘calories out’ in order for our body to fuel itself. The number of calories required depends on the person.

Water - water is required to drink to survive, but it is also used to dispose of waste, to grow and process our food and in industrial manufacturing processes. Nearly 75% of the water used in the UK is used in industry

Energy - energy is required for almost every action today. The amount of energy required per person depends on their wealth. Originally, we used to use naturally burning fuels, but today we try to use renewable energy.

Question 2

Describe the global inequalities in the supply and consumption of food

Answer 2

Average calorie consumption in a country like the UK is 3,200 calories per person.
Average calorie consumption in a country like Somalia is 1,580 calories per person.

Question 3

Describe the global inequalities in the supply and consumption of water

Answer 3

Average global water footprint is 1,240 litres per person.
The water footprint of the USA is 2,483 litres per person.
The water footprint of Bangladesh is 896 litres per person

Economic water scarcity - when countries have water, but not enough money to access it, like Sudan.
Physical water scarcity - when countries have enough water to access water, but don’t have any, like Saudi Arabia

Question 4

Describe the global inequalities in the supply and consumption of energy?

Answer 4

Energy consumption varies considerably per country.
The richest one billion people consume 50% of the world’s energy
The poorest one billion people consume 4% of the world’s energy

Question 5

Why is demand for such resources growing?

Answer 5

The demand has increased as we develop new processes, new products and change our way of life. As LICs and NEEs develop too, their demand increases. China increased their energy consumption by 53% between 2003 and 2011

Question 6

How has the UK’s demand for food changed?

Answer 6

Before, people ate what was seasonal and sourced in the UK. For example, people would only eat fruit and vegetables in the season that they were grown in.

However, now people eat fruit and vegetables all year round and enjoy exotic fruits. Instead of these fruit and vegetables being grown in the UK, they are often imported cheaply from elsewhere. In 2013, 47% of the UK’s food was imported.

Also, there has been an increase in demand for organic produce since the 1990s. Organic produce is produced by a type of farming which does not use chemicals

Question 7

What are the impacts of the UK’s demand for imported food?

Answer 7

Impact on UK Population

• The population get to eat whatever fruit or vegetable they want throughout the year
• They tend to be expensive as they are either high value or because they are out of season

Impact on the LICs
Costs
- Less land for locals to grow food to eat
- They often require lots of water in places that don’t have much water
Benefits
- Jobs are created which supply wages for local people
- The governments can tax their population to fund facilities

Question 8

Why does the UK population prefer to eat organic produce and what impacts does it have?

Answer 8

Many believe that organic products were better as they:

• contain less chemicals and pesticides
• it is natural and unprocessed
• it is healthier for them

Organic produce tends to be more expensive as yields are lower, but they consumers are willing to pay more as they apparently taste better. Today, 75% of organic produce is sold in supermarkets and the others are sold in local farmers’ markets and in vegetable box schemes.

Question 9

Why is there a large carbon footprint from exporting food and what are its impacts?

Answer 9

Every year, the UK adds over 19 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to transport the food. However, transport only makes up 65% of this. The others are from growing the food. For example, growing tomatoes in Spain creates a smaller carbon footprint than growing tomatoes in the UK due to the greenhouses used.

Also, different transport methods release different amounts of carbon dioxide. For example, planes release 100 times more carbon dioxide than boats do.

Question 10

How can we reduce the carbon footprint of food?

Answer 10

We have to reduce the amount of imported food:

• Eating seasonal produce grown in the UK
• Only importing food that can’t be grown in the UK and only importing it by plane if we have to. Many supermarkets (e.g. Co-operative) only sell British meat
• Growing food locally in your home or in your town will reduce the distance travelled

Question 11

What is agribusiness and what are its impacts?

Answer 11

Agribusiness refers to treating food production from farms like a large industrial business.

Benefits:
- Increased production of food means that they are cheaper to the consumer, which allows low-market consumers to eat them too

Cons:

• They have significant impacts on the environment. They require lots of space, so they clear many habitats
• They impact local food production. e.g. there has been a decline in agricultural employment in isolated areas due to the increase of farm land in East Anglia over the last 40 years

Question 12

How has the demand for water changed in the UK?

Answer 12

England does not get as much water as some other European countries. e.g. London gets less rainfall than Rome. Also, the amount of water used by each household has increased by 70% since 1985.

This increase is due to:

• increased use of domestic appliances (e.g. dishwashers)
• increased industrial production
• increased use of greenhouses

Question 13

Where are the areas of water deficit and surplus in the UK?

Answer 13

1/3 of the population lives in the SE of England, which is where it is the driest. This is the major area of water deficit as it undergoes serious water stress.

Wales is an area of water surplus as they have a low population density, but high rainfall.

Question 14

What are water transfer schemes and why are they needed?

Answer 14

The government has considered creating a national water grid which would supply water from Wales to London.

There are some concerns of it:

• It would have an enormous cost
• the environment of the river basin in the source area would be impacted
• carbon emissions would increase due to energy require to pump water over long distances

Smaller water transfers within the UK

• The reservoirs in North wales and the Lake District provide water for urban areas in the NW of England (Liverpool and Manchester)
• Water from the Kielder Dam in Northumberland is pumped into the 3 major rivers which supply water to Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough

Question 15

How does water pollution affect the UK?

Answer 15

• Toxic waste can poison wildlife, which can be transferred to humans
• Increased fertilisers in the water may cause eutrophication
• Microbacteria in sewage can cause the spread of infectious diseases in aquatic life, animals and humans

Question 16

How is the water quality managed in the UK?

Answer 16

Legislation - UK and EU have laws which ensure that factories and farms limit the amount of water put into rivers

Education Campaigns - they inform the public the damage caused by putting inappropriate items into sewage systems and what they should do with them instead

Waste Water Treatments - local water treatment plants remove suspended solids, bacteria, algae, chemicals and minerals to produce clean water.

Pollution Traps - they are used to catch and filter out the pollution e.g. reed beds

Question 17

How has the energy mix within the UK changed?

Answer 17

Previously, the UK produced enough energy to power homes and industry. They had large reserves of oil and gas, but the reduction of these reserves and slower rates of coal production has caused the UK to import these. The production of coal, gas and oil has reduced and due to policies, the use of them has also been reduced. Due to EU regulations, many coal-powered stations were shut down.

The government have encouraged investment in renewable energy sources. However, the UK still uses fossil fuels primarily due to the cheap costs of them and the unreliable nature of renewable energy sources.

Question 18

How has the use of coal, gas and oil changed within domestic supplies?

Answer 18

They have reduced. The average household uses 12% less energy than we did in 1970 and the industry sector uses 60% less. However, there has been an increase in the transport sector as the number of cars on the road has increased - there are 27 million today.

This reduction in domestic energy consumption can be explained by:

• energy-efficient devices (e.g. light bulbs and washing machines)
• increasing awareness of the public to save energy
• increasing cost of energy

Question 19

What are the economic and environmental opportunities and challenges of the use of fossil fuels?

Answer 19

Economic Challenges

• lots of the remaining coal are in hard-to-access areas
• the last coal mine was shut in 2015, so it must be imported

Economic Opportunities
- creation of jobs directly in support industries and in the manufacture of equipment - multiplier effect

Environmental Challenges

• burning fossil fuels create greenhouse gases
• waste heaps from coal mining can cause environmental problems
• Opencast coal mines create dust and noise, which can disturb local people and wildlife

Environmental Opportunities
- carbon captive storage is more efficient but expensive

Question 20

What are the economic and environmental opportunities and challenges of the use of nuclear power?

Answer 20

Economic Challenges

• cost of building nuclear power stations are huge
• there are enormous costs to store and transport waste

Economic Opportunities

• create jobs in the research and development
• once the initial investment has been made, it is cheaper to use nuclear power

Environmental Challenges

• waste must be stored safely to avoid contamination
• environment is considerably more dangerous if an accident occurs as they radiation would be released

Environmental Opportunities
- it is cleaner and less polluting than fossil fuel use

Question 21

What are the economic and environmental opportunities and challenges of the use of renewable sources?

Answer 21

Economic Challenges

• high-set up costs of sources in remote areas
• they often create low profits

Economic Opportunities
- many jobs are created in the manufacture and research of these sources

Environmental Challenges

• wind turbine can impact bird migration
• wind turbine and associated roads can impact remote areas
• turbine are noisy and can disturb people and wildlife

Environmental Opportunities

• They produce much lower carbon emissions
• Offshore wind turbines can act as an artificial reef, which can create habitats for marine wildlife

Question 22

What are the economic and environmental opportunities and challenges of the use of fracking?

Answer 22

Economic Challenges
- it requires high quantities of water, which can impact water supplies in some areas

Economic Opportunities
- increase in government revenues and more jobs are created

Environmental Challenges

• it can lead to pollution of ground water and contaminate drinking water
• it has been linked to low-level earthquakes

Environmental Opportunities
- reduction in levels of air pollution, which has both social benefits and environmental benefits

Question 23

How is global energy production distributed?

Answer 23

It is uneven

Some countries produce lots of energy as they have large energy reserves and money to exploit them:

• Iran, Saudi Arabia - large oil reserves
• China, Australia - large coal reserves

Some countries produce little energy as they have few resources or are unable to exploit their resources

• Sudan - politically unstable and little money
• Ireland - few resources that can be exploited

Question 24

How is global energy consumption distributed?

Answer 24

It is uneven

Wealthy countries tend to consume lots of energy as each person can afford it. Most people in wealthy countries have access to electricity and heating, and use energy-intensive devices

Poorer countries consume less energy per person as they are less able to afford it. Less energy is available and lifestyles are less dependent on energy consumption

Question 25

What are the reasons for increasing energy consumption?

Answer 25

1. Economic Development - increased wealth of poorer countries so people are able to buy more
2. Rising Population - in 2011, the world was just over 7 billion and by 2040, it is predicted that the population will be over 9 billion. More people means more energy needed
3. Technological Advances - there are new devices that all need energy. They are becoming more popular so more energy is needed

Question 26

What factors impact energy supply?

Answer 26

Physical Factors

• some countries have more resources than others (e.g. Antarctic oil reserves)
• variation in geology will impact fossil fuels and variation in climate and landscape will impact renewable energy sources

Economic Factors

• non-renewable energy sources are becoming expensive
• prices of fossil fuels are volatile
• some developing countries may have potential energy sources, but are not able to exploit them

Technological Factors
- some countries are unable to exploit reserves as they don’t have the technology required (e.g. Niger has large uranium reserves but don’t have nuclear power plants)

Political Factors

• wars and political instability may not allow a country to export their resources (e.g. Middle East during the Gulf War)
• climate change agreements may reduce the amount of energy supplied to a country due to reduced use of fossil fuels

Question 27

What are the impacts of energy insecurity?

Answer 27

1. Exploration of difficult and environmentally sensitive areas may increase cost and risk environmental damage
2. There is an increase in demand for the cleaner biofuels. Growing crops for biofuels has negative impacts on the environment and takes up land that could be used for growing food
3. Energy shortages and higher costs reduce industrial output as factories have to produce less or relocate somewhere with better energy security
4. Potential for political instability or conflict between countries with energy surplus and deficit (e.g. between Russia and Ukraine over gas supplies)

Question 28

What are the seven renewable sources of energy?

Answer 28

biomass, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal, wave and solar

Question 29

What is biomass?

Answer 29

wood, pants or animal waste burnt for power or used to produce biofuel.

it doesn’t require much technology and can be renewable if managed sustainably. However, it requires lots of water and reduces the amount of food crop

Question 30

What is wind?

Answer 30

turbines use the energy of the wind to generate electricity.

no greenhouses emissions once they have been built, but wind is variable so it can’t generate electricity all the time

Question 31

What is solar?

Answer 31

energy from the sun is used to heat water and solar cooker or generate electricity using photovoltaic cells

solar cookers and water heaters can be cheap but the cells are much more expensive

Question 32

What is hydroelectric power (HEP)?

Answer 32

use energy of falling water. Water is trapped by a dam and allowed to fall where the pressure of falling water turns turbines

flow of water through turbines can be controlled and is reliable. However, building HEP dams is expensive and can destroy environments

Question 33

What is tidal?

Answer 33

currents or changes in water level caused by tides are used to turn turbines and generate electricity

it can’t generate power all day, but it can be predicted

Question 34

What is wave?

Answer 34

wind blowing across water makes waves, which drives turbines

turbines are quite expensive and don’t produce much energy in calm conditions

Question 35

What is geothermal?

Answer 35

water is pumped into the ground, where heat deep in the Earth’s crust turns it into steam, which drives a turbine

it is cheap to set up, but works best in tectonically active areas, which not every country is

Question 36

What are the two non-renewable sources of energy?

Answer 36

fossil fuels and nuclear

Question 37

What are fossil fuels?

Answer 37

the burning of coal, oil and gas to create energy

the supply of fossil fuels can be increased by searching new reserves or by exploiting reserves that have been discovered but not yet used

Question 38

What is nuclear power?

Answer 38

nuclear power is used to generate large amounts of energy from a small source of uranium fuel. New technology can make this process more efficient and new breeder reactors can generate more fuel, so it is almost more like a renewable energy source

it is very expensive to build and decommission, nuclear waste is dangerous and accidents are catastrophic

Question 39

What are the advantages and disadvantages of extraction of conventional oil and gas reserves in sensitive areas?

Answer 39

Advantages

• It brings economic benefits to the country
• These countries can export energy and make money
• Companies bring investment and jobs to an area

Disadvantages

• Land may be cleared to make way for pipelines and roads, which can destroy fragile ecosystems and cause loss of biodiversity
• Exploring offshore oil and gas reserves can impact marine life. e.g. noise and vibrations from drills can confuse whales and other marine mammals that rely on sound to communicate
• Opening up isolated areas with roads and industry can increase air, soil and water pollution

Question 40

How can individuals reduce their carbon footprint?

Answer 40

Sustainable Design - designing homes, workplaces and transport

• Insulation: less energy escape through walls, roofs and floors
• Modern boilers: more efficient and use less energy
• Switching to electric: electric vehicles are more efficient
• Solar panels: provide renewable, low-carbon energy

Increasing Efficiency - same job but with less fuel

• Hybrid vehicles: combine diesel and electric power (e.g. hybrid trains in Ldn use diesel when there are no electric cables above)
• Regenerative braking: road vehicles and trains store energy lost under braking for later use or return to national grid
• Engine manufactures: making more efficient engines in response to laws and rising costs

Demand Reduction - reduce electricity required

• Demand can be reduced e.g. encouraging people to turn off lights
• Improving public transport and encouraging walking or cycling reduces energy demand used for transport

Question 41

Describe how rice husks are used to generate sustainable power in Bihar?

Answer 41

Bihar, India has lots of people without electricity
2007, started scheme to use rice husks (waste product from production of rice) to generate electricity

Built 84 local rice husk power plants by 2015, which supplied 200,000 people with electricity.

Producing electricity locally is good as it reduces transport distance. Using biomass has reduced needs for small diesel generators and kerosene lamps, which reduced fossil fuel use. Plants provide jobs to locals.