Consuming energy resources Flashcards
Non renewable
Energy sources which are used up and cant be replaced like coal oil and gas
Renewable
Energy sources that are from a natural source which never run out (infinite)
Recyclable fuel
Energy sources that once used can be used again eg biofuels
Examples of renewable energy sources
- solar
- wind
- HEP (Hydroelectric power)
- geothermal
- tidal
Problems with renewable energy sources
- less reliable
- climate dependent
- we already have the infrastructure that distributes energy, if we wanted to switch to this, more power plants would need to be built
Good with non renewable
- abundant
- cheaper
- produces more energy
Prob with biofuels
- stink
- requires cows
4 types of energy production
- Opencast coal mining
- Drilling for oil
- HEP
- Wind turbines and solar panels
Environmental impact of opencast coal mining
state what term and scale its affected
- Deforestation - loss of habitats, loss in transpiration (rain)
- landscape scarring (hard for vegetation to grow, cant recover)
- soil and water pollution (death of fishing industry)
All local scale, long term consequences
Environmental impact of drilling for oil
state what term and scale its affected
- Deforestation - loss of habitats L-ST, loss in transpiration (rain) G-LT
- Oil spills = water and soil pollution N-ST and L-ST, death of fishing industry N-ST
Environmental impact of HEP (water enters through turbines from dams to generate electricity)
state what term and scale its affected
- Slows the flow of the river
- Flooding created N-LT upsteam before dam
- Water insecurity downstream after fam N-LT
- G - fish and bird to migrate (bird = not enough food)
Environmental impact of wind turbines and solar panels
state what term and scale its affected
- Threat to wildlife = blades can kill
- noisy so in rural areas
- Ugly wind turbines
- solar = takes up land, used for crops and grazing
- manufacturing panels is harmful because of silicon and lead
