8) Consuming Energy Resources Flashcards by William Odgers

What are the 3 main categories of energy resources?

Renewable
Non-renewable
Recyclable

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What are non-renewable energy sources?

Sources which are not sustainable and cannot be used at the current rate forever

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What are examples of non-renewable energy sources?

Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)

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What are renewable energy sources?

Sources that are sustainable and can be reused forever

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What are examples of renewable energy sources?

Solar
Wind
HEP

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What are recyclable energy sources?

Sources created by recycling waste produced by humans to create more energy

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What are examples of recyclable energy sources?

Nuclear fuel

Biofuels

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What are environmental impacts of mining and drilling for energy sources?

Deforestation
Oil spills
Greenhouse gas emissions
Landscape scarring

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What is landscape scarring?

Removing everything on top of a coalfield to then dig the coal

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What type of mining is landscape scarring?

Surface mining

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What were effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010?

4.9 million barrels leaked into Gulf of Mexico

82,000 birds and 26,000 marine mammals injured or killed

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What are impacts of renewable energy on the landscape?

HEP flooding

Land clearing for turbines or solar panels

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What are negatives of solar panels?

Habitats destroyed to make space

Reflected heat can disturb animals

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What are factors that affect access to energy resources?

Economic factors
Technological factors
Geological factors
Political factors
Geographic factors

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What economic factors affect access to energy resources?

Some locations are more expensive to extract
More expensive to dig under oceans
Lots of countries have to import oil and prices often change

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What technological factors affect access to energy resources?

Fracking is difficult
Some countries lack the educated population
Some countries lack the infrastructure to mine

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What geological factors affect access to energy resources?

Fossil fuels are in limited supply
Some countries have lots of oil and some have none
Solar and wind power are impractical if there is a lack of wind or sunlight

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What political factors affect access to energy resources?

Lack of institutions and war can stop development

International agreemenets limit the burning of fossil fuels

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What geographic factors affect access to energy resources?

Wind energy is only viable for countries with lots of wind
HEP isn’t feasible for flat countries
Harder to dig under impermeable rocks

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What is electricity produced in?

Gigawatt hours (GWh)

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Which country produces the most electricty in the world?

China (7.1 million GWh)

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Why does energy have to be generated locally in LICs?

Lack of national grids of energy infrastructures

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Which country consumes the most energy?

China (24%)

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What do LICs often use to generate energy?

Biomass

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Where are most of the world's oil reserves found?

The Middle East

What do oil reserves focus on?

Which oil is physically located in a country

What does oil production focus on?

Whether oil is extracted or not

What are opil reserves also known as?

Recoverable oil

What factors affect oil supplies and prices?

Economic | International relations

How do economic factors affect oil supplies and prices?

Booms in economy cause prices to rise Oil prices fall in recessions Organisation OPEC works together to determine oil prices

What is OPEC?

A group of oil-producing countries who work together to determine the oil price

How do international relations affect oil supplies and prices?

Lots of oil is located in the Middle East Historically these countries are involved in conflicts which damages oil production infrastructure Bad relations with oil-producing countries increases oil prices

What are countries and companies trying to do as the demand for energy rises?

Extract oil and gas from harder to access locations

What are difficult to access locations known as?

'Isolated' or 'Ecologically-sensitive'

What are benefits of extracting more resources?

Improves people's standard of living 'Energy miles' could be reduced Can create jobs in the Amazon/ Arctic

What are costs of exploiting isolated locations for energy?

Wildlife will be disturbed Marine life and corals can be destroyed Ice cores can be destroyed Pollultion from extracting raw materials

What are unconventional ways of extracting oil and gas?

Fracking for shale ags | Extracting oil from tar sands

What do tar sands contain that can be turned into oil?

Bitumen

How is shale gas extracted?

Fracking shale rocks

What is the process of fracking?

Compressed water is forced into rocks, releasing gas

What are disadvantages of fracking?

Can cause mini earthquakes Can pollute water supplies Land needs to be cleared

How are tar sands mined?

Landscape scarring (surface mining)

Which country has the largest shale gas reserves?

China

What are 2 key methods of conserving energy?

Energy efficiency | Energy conservation

How is technology increasing fossil fuel use efficiency?

Hybrid and electric vehicles UK has banned petrol cars from 2035 Autonomous vehicles prevent constant braking and accelerating

How does demand reduction increase energy efficiency?

Public transport and walking | Encouraging buying local goods reduces food miles

How does designing homes and offices increase energy efficiency?

Proper insulation reduces heat lost | Solar panels or mini wind turbines provide renewable energy

How does sustainable transport increase energy efficiency?

Public transport lowers individuals' carbon footprints | Electric cars emit less greenhouse gas

How much lower are emissions from electric vehicles than petrol vehicles?

17% - 30%

What are 3 advantages of reducing fossil fuel use?

Better energy security Lower carbon footprints More resilient energy supplies

How does reducing fossil fuel use mean better energy security?

Renewable energy sources are located in the country consuming the energy Improves countries' control over thie rown destiny

What is a peron's carbo footprint?

An indicator of how many greenhouse gases their activities produce

What is a benefit of using more resilient energy supplies?

A diaster harming one source of energy will not destroy a nation's ability to produce energy

What are advantages of solar energy?

Renewable

What are disadvantages of solar energy?

Requires sunlight

What are advantages of biofuels?

Renewable and sustainable More reliable than wind and solar Can be amde from waste products

What are disadvantages of biofuels?

Deforestation | Growing biomass needs lots of water

What are advantages of HEP?

Renewable | More relaible than wind and solar

What are disadvantages of HEP?

Dams often change the paths of river | Flooding harms biodiversity

What are advantages of wind power?

Renewable

What are disadvantages of wind power?

Unreliable (needs wind) | Deforestation for wind farms

What are advantages of hydrogen fuel?

Only waste product is water

What are disadvantages of hydrogen fuel cells?

Not as popular as scientists had hoped | Hydrogen is flammable and very dangerous

What do TNCs think about the future of energy?

Focus on maximising profits Will only change behaviour if forced too Using fossil fuels is cheapest

What do TNCs favour for the future of energy?

Business as usual

What do environmental groups think about the future of energy?

Their only focus is to preserve wildlife and the environment

What do environmental groups favour for the future of energy?

A move to sustainability

What do climate scientists think about the future of energy?

Would encourage a move to sustainability | Research is not changing consumers' behaviour

What does Malthus think about the future of energy?

The Earth's population will get too big that the Earth cannot produce enough food

What does Boserup think about the future of energy?

Humans will always find a way to generate enough resources

What do governments favour for the future of energy?

Business as usual

What are the 2 main views for the future of energy?

Business as usual | Become more sustainable

How can consumers effect the future of energy?

Options to buy sustainable clothing

How can education lead people to reduce their carbon footprint?

GCSE Bio and GEO teach about climate change

How does rising wealth and affluence affect people's attitudes to energy?

Richer people can afford sustainable products | Richer countries can invest in public transport and infrastructure

How do environmental concerns affect people's attitudes to energy?

More extreme weather events may cause people to change their behaviour