6-The challenge of resource management

Question 1

What are the three main resources that we require?

Answer 1

• Water
• Food
• Energy

Question 2

What is the main problem with the earth’s resources?

Answer 2

The distribution of these supplies

Question 3

What is energy security?

Answer 3

The ability of a country to ensure sufficient and consistent energy supplies to meet the demands of their population.

Question 4

• How much has consumption of water increased since 1940?
• How much water is used in agriculture?
• How much of the world’s population lives in an area of water insecurity?
• What fraction of the world’s population doesn’t have clean water?

Answer 4

• It’s doubled
• 70%
• 20%
• 1/3

Question 5

What is water security?

Answer 5

The ability of a country or population to have access to a sufficient quantity of clean water

Question 6

What is physical water scarcity?

Answer 6

Where water demand exceeds the available water supply

Question 7

What is economic water scarcity?

Answer 7

Where there is not enough water to meet population demands because of financial reasons

Question 8

What are factors that impact water scarcity?

Answer 8

• Climate
• Climate change
• Demand e.g. over-extraction
• Inadequate infrastructure (development)
• Cost of water (development)

Question 9

What are some of the global trends for food consumption?

Answer 9

• Increase in meat consumption due to growth and increased incomes-nutrition transition
• Decrease in meat consumption in HICs-growing trends e.g veganism
• Technological changes-hydroponics, aeroponics, vertical farming, gm crops

Question 10

How much of UK food is imported?

Answer 10

46%

Question 11

Why does the UK import food?

Answer 11

• Cheaper to import some foods-labour, better harvests, animal feed
• Demand for seasonal produce all year round
• Demand for greater choice and more exotic food
• Different climates elsewhere

Question 12

What are the 4 types of sustainable farming methods?

Answer 12

• Agribusiness
• Organic farming
• Local food
• Reducing food waste

Question 13

What is agribusiness and what are the benefits?

Answer 13

• Operating large scale intensive farming with a high input of chemicals, machinery and other investments such as irrigation
• High amounts of yields are produced-greater numbers and ranges of products able to be grown in the UK extending the growing season, Increased food security

Question 14

What is organic farming and what are the benefits?

Answer 14

• Organic farmers consider the effects of their farming practices on the soil, crops and livestock on the farm, the quality of food they produce, the local community and the wider environment
• Food is produced without chemicals
• The use of food miles is reduced
• Use of fossil fuels is kept to a minimum

Question 15

What is local foods and what are the benefits?

Answer 15

• Aims for local businesses to flouris and provide readily available produce at an affordable price-such as farmer’s markets
• Encourages a varied seasonal diet of fresh food, reduces food miles, reconnects communities with farmers, creates jobs and supports local rural economies

Question 16

What does reducing food waste involve and what are the benefits?

Answer 16

• The UK throws away 9.5 million tonnes of food waste each year-1/3rd of food-most of which at farms
• Wonky veg farms can reduce food waste
• Awareness of food waste is increasing

Question 17

How much as the average amount of water per British household increased since 1985?

Answer 17

70%

Question 18

What is a water deficit?

Answer 18

Areas which do not have enough water for the needs of the population

Question 19

What is a water surplus?

Answer 19

Areas that have more water than they need for the population

Question 20

Where is the Kielder water transfer scheme located?

Answer 20

An area of high land in north-east England called the Pennines

Question 21

What is some background information on the Kielder dam?

Answer 21

• The North-East is the most water secure region of the UK
• It started construction in 1982

Question 22

What are the pros of the Kielder dam?

Answer 22

• HEP
• Reservoir has reduced water insecurity in the North-East
• Tourism has helped create new jobs and generated incomes
• 200 billion litres of water stored

Question 23

What are the cons of the Kielder dam?

Answer 23

• The breeding patterns of fish have been disrupted through the dam blocking the river
• Many families were moved from their homes
• Farmland and many habitats were lost

Question 24

What are the causes of pollution?

Answer 24

• Runoff from roads and motorways (oil, heavy metals from vehicle exhausts and salt from road gritting)
• Chemicals such as pesticides and fertilisers run off from farming land
• Rubbish such as supermarket trolleys and bikes may be dumped
• People putting inappropriate items into the water disposal system
• Hot water used for cooling processes in industry may be pumped into rivers
• Untreated waste from industries
• Sewage containing bacteria may be pumped into rivers and the sea
• Pollution from boats and ships

Question 25

What are the different types of water quality management strategies?

Answer 25

• Legislation-laws limiting the amount of waste put in rivers
• Education campains-informing the public
• Waste water treatments
• Better treatment plants and new infrastructure
• Pollution traps-placed to catch any pollution
• Green roods and walls-filter out pollutants naturally

Question 26

What is happening to the UK’s energy consumption and why is this?

Answer 26

• The UK’s population has grown by 14 million, yet the average household uses 12% less energy
• Deindustrialisation has led to more than a 60% fall in industrial energy consumption
• There has been a rise in emission from transport
• There has been an increase in air travel

Question 27

What is the most commonly used energy source in the UK?

Answer 27

Natural gas

Question 28

What is fracking?

Answer 28

The process of drilling down into the earth before a high pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the has inside.

Question 29

What are the pros and cons of fracking?

Answer 29

Pros:
* Gives us energy security
* Not weather reliant
* Creates employment for the local area
Cons:
* Seismic activity
* Pollutes groundwater

Question 30

What is food insecurity?

Answer 30

When a person is without reliable access to enough affordable nutrition (healthy food)

Question 31

What are the causes of food insecurity?

Answer 31

• Economic development
• Technology (lack of)
• Climate and weather
• Pests and disease
• Water supply
• Conflict
• Poverty

Question 32

What are the impacts of food insecurity?

Answer 32

• Famine and undernutrition
• Conflict and social unrest
• Rising prices
• Desertification
• Water pollution

Question 33

What are the strategies to increase food supply and security?

Answer 33

• Irrigation
• Aeroponics
• Hydroponics
• The new green revolution
• Biotechnology (GM) crops
• Intermediate technology

Question 34

What is Thanet earth?

Answer 34

• A large scale agricultural development in Kent with 6 greenhouses, hydroponics and its own power system to provide heating, lighting, CO2 etc to grow salad crops

Question 35

What are the advantages of Thanet earth?

Answer 35

• Creeated more than 5000 jobs
• Vegetables grown all year round-food security
• Bees and other insects used for pollination and to reduce pests-permaculture
• Hydroponics system is fully automated
• The greenhouse uses harvested rainwater to improve sustainability
• Biomass generator powering 55,000 homes
• Everything on site-agribusiness

Question 36

What are the disadvantages of Thanet earth?

Answer 36

• Large amounts of farm land has been built on
• Natural habitats have been lost and ecosystems have been disrupted
• The money generated goes to large companies rather than the local community
• The greenhouses produces light pollution-on high land
• A large amount of energy is required to power the greenhouses