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
What does the Brandt line show?
Countries above are more developed than countries below the line
Factors that affect the distribution of energy resources
- Geology
- Relief and climate
- Accessibility and development
How does geology affect the distribution of energy resources
- FF found in sedimentary rocks
- Middle East = 48% of worlds oil and gas reserves
- Countries on plate boundaries like Iceland have access to geothermal energy
- Volcanic activity creates heat stored in the magma beneath the earths surface creating a natural geothermal system = used to heat water and generate electricity
How does relief and climate affect the distribution of energy resources
- High rainfall and suitable relief = good for HEP
- Large vol of water + steep sided valleys chosen for dam construction
- exposed areas mean high winds = wind turbines
- sunlight for long hours + intense = solar parks
How does accessibility and development affect the distribution of energy resources
- Economic development affects investment in tech
*
Why does global energy consumption continue to grow?
Fast-growing global economy - wealthier key factor = industrialiastion
Where are new oil resources found?
- hostile areas or far away from world markets eg TR
- Artic
- unpredictable seas
What happened to oil prices per barrel in 1991
1991 - gulf war conflict - price increased to 40 dollars per barrel
What happened to oil prices per barrel in 2003
Iraq war conflict - price increased to 25 dollars
What happened to oil prices per barrel in 2008
Global economic crisis - bulk buying took place - banks in America collapsed and lost lots of money - prices decreased the most to 140 dollars
What happened to oil prices per barrel in 2013
BP oil spill decreased the price to 45 dollars
What happened to oil prices per barrel in 2020?
Covid - decreased
What happened to oil prices per barrel during Brexit and Russia and Ukrain conflict?
Increased for both
Why is there a decline in biofuels?
People use their crops as cash crops to earn money facter instead of burning them to provide energy
Why is oil production increasing?
Countries (developing) going through industrialisation and growing demand
Economic benefits of oil and gas extration in the Arctic
- less reliance on foreign oil
- bring jobs = money
- 160 bn barrels beneath
- meets energy demand
Cons of xtracting oil and gas from Arctic
- Disruption to animals
- Arsenic and mercury in water = toxic
- Risk of spills = death of fish, affecting the food web and our food
What is conventional oil production?
- Refers to pipe and pump prodction
- Hole drilled striaght down into a deposit and a pump jack is put to help pull the deposit
What is unconventional oil production?
- Oil reserves that cant be feasibly accessed using conventional drilling technique
- must be extracted using novel methods
Name unconventional sources of oil
- Tar sands
- Fracking
Tar sands - How is oil taken out from them? Impacts?
- Dig surfaces of polluted materials, then chemical process to separate oil and sediment
- Toxic waste water, co2, boreal forest destruction, water usage/over abstraction + diseases risk
- PPL = high risk of cancer, less space for homes, jobs, continued energy supply
Fracking
- Dill down metres and then a horizontal drill drills across a bedding plane + chemical liquid pumped through holes to expose natural gas
Cons of fracking
- water pollution - cant be cleaned
- Unknown future probs = sinkholes?
Sustainability
Development which means meeting the needs of present w/o compromising the ability of future gens to meet their own needs
Replacement rate
Time taken to replace a resource
Equilibrium
At balance
Energy efficiency
Goal is to reduce amount of energy required to provide products + services
Energy conservation
Reducing or going w/o a service to save energy
3 solutions to reduce reliance on fossil fuels
- Woking council
- London congestion charge
- Bicyle hire scheme
Woking council
- Reduce energy consumption
- Sustainable energy from utility company “Thameswey” to provide it to council
- By 2008, coucil reduced energy consumption by 52% and CO2 by 82%
- Expensive + hard to follow instructions
- Designed a house using strategies to show ppl how to conserve
London Congestion charge
- Cut traffic + congestion
- Charge £10 in zone - discourage driving + pollution
- Fine of 180 + encourage electric cars
- Affects businesses in city centre - leads to decline
- Expensive - higher than petrol tax + needs sophisticated tech to monitor
- Evasion = fake number plates
- Increased survival rates from Ambulance
Bicycle hire scheme
- London
- Safe cycling + less injury
- Using this, 3 less likely to injury
- 6000 bikes for higher + download or pay
- £140m for planning and implemenation _ each bicycle is £28000
- Docking stations = £200,000 to install
- 12 new superhighways been build by 2015 - blue + 1.5m wide - visible to drivers
Ways of reducing fossil fuel use at home
- Double glazing windows - heat doesnt escape so less heating on
- Energy efficient bulbs - less electricity
- Insulation in walls
- carpooling
How is hydrogen a recyclable energy resource?
- When its burned, it only releases water in the form of water vapour - no GHG
- Green hydrogen is the most beneficial future option
Name 5 alternatives to fossil fuels
- HEP
- Hydrogen
- Solar
- Wind
- Biofuels
Costs and benefits of wind energy
Costs
* spoils view + kill virds
* Offshore wind farms require expensive transmission lines to connect towns
Bene
* No pollution/GHG
* Cheap for consumers
Costs and benefits of solar energy
Costs
* Large solar farms take space used for crops
* Manufacturing photovoltaic panels is harmful - panels have silicon and mercury which are toxic
Bene
* Jobs
* Little maintenance
* No noise
Costs and benefits of hydrogen energy
Costs
* Difficult to store under pressure safely
* Energy needed to release hydrogen from water - if FF used, energy security + carbon footprints are impacted
Bene
* Clean, no GHG
* Makes water
* No reliance on fuel reserves
* Very efficient - can be a part of a country’s energy mix
Costs and benefits of HEP energy
Costs
* Power plants are expensive and spoil the view
* Dispplacement of farmland + villages for dams + reservoirs
* Cause changes in river flows - impacts fish + other wildlife that rely on water
Bene
* Reliable + consistent
* Few flunctuations
* Building of dams + reservoirs - helps conserving water supplies
Costs and benefits of biofuel energy
Costs
* Fewer carbon emissions + toxins than FF
* Made from crop waste + manure
Bene
* High demand higher competition for land
* Large water amount needed to grow biofuel crops = competition for water
* High demand = shortage of land + deforestation
Example of recyclable energy
Plant remains used to grow more biofuels as waste can be used again
carbon footprint
a calc of the total GHG emission caused by a person,country, organisation, event or product
ecological footprint
shows impact people have on the planet in order to provide all the resources we use and dispose of our waste
energy security
having accesss to reliable and affordable sources of energy. countries with access to enough energy are energy secure whilst countries without enough are energy insecure
diversifying energy mix
to change/balance different energy resources
replacement rate
rate at which resources are being replaced
reasons for changes in attitude
rising affluence - rising incomes increase energy demand
education - increases awareness of need for sustanable energy
Why does palm oil prices increase when fossil fuel prices increase and vice versa?
high oil price means consumer switch to pail oil so palm oil prices likely to rise
One economic cause of falling oil prices and one political cause of rising oil prices
falling = global financial crisis Political - iraq war
