consuming energy resources Flashcards
Non-renewable
Cannot be remade, being used up, once gone they are gone such as coal, oil and gas. These together are known as fossil fuels. 
Renewable
These will never run out and can be used over and over again e.g. wind
power, solar power, HEP. They are infinite resources
Recyclable
Can be reused, so will last into the future.
Open cast coal mining
Open-pit mining, also known as opencast mining, is a surface mining
technique that extracts minerals from an open pit in the ground. Open-
pit mining is the most common method used throughout the world for
mineral mining and does not require extractive methods or tunnels.
HYDRO ELECTRIC POWER
All streams and rivers flow downhill. Before the water flows down the
hill, it has potential energy because of its height. Hydropower systems
convert this potential energy into kinetic energy in a turbine, which
drives a generator to produce electricity.
Oil drilling
The process by which tubing is bored through the Earth’s surface and a
well is established.
Accessibility
The ease in which you can get into a place
Energy poor
People who lack electricity of the money to pay for it.
Fracking
Water is blasted into rock fractures under pressure.
Black gold
A term used for oil, as it is regarded as such a valuable commodity.
Peak oil
The theoretical point at which half of the known reserves of oil in the
world have been used
Tar sands
These occur naturally and are a mixture of sand, clay and water, and a
very dense sticky form of petroleum called bitumen.
Shale gas
This is a natural gas that is trapped underground in shale rock. It can only
be extracted using fracking.
Carbon footprint
Is a calculation of the toral greenhouse gas emissions caused by
person, a country, an organisation, event or product. These emissions
can be:-
direct - created by burning fossil fuels for energy use at home or on
transport. They could also be
indirect- which are those that come from owning a product, from its
manufacture to it’s final disposal.
Energy efficiency
is providing the same service but using less energy
Energy conservation
Energy conservation is about not using as much energy/changing our
behaviours
The Green deal
The Green Deal helps you make energy-saving improvements to your
home and to find the best way to pay for them
Business as usual
Everything carries on normal. We are getting most of our energy from
fossil fuels and do not increase the use of renewable energy sources
Move to sustainability
We reduce the amount of fossil fuels we use and increase our use of
renewable energy sources.
Affluence
Wealth
Food miles
How far food has to travel to where it is consumed
Kuznets curve
This is a concept which states that people now realise that greater care
is needed to stop polluting and damaging the Earth.
Ecological footprints
This is measured in global hectares and shows the amount of land and
water required to produce resources for each country. If people live
within the Earth’s ability to supply resources, their ecological footprint
is 1. The higher the figure, the more space is needed and the greater the
inability of the Earth to supply their wants. The global trend in ecological
footprint is rising.
Sustainable development
This meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
