Consuming Energy Resources Flashcards
Resources
> Things found in the natural world that we need to survive or use to make a living.
Energy Resources
> Something that can produce heat, power life, move objects or produce electricity.
Resources can be:
- Non-renewable
- Recyclable
- Renewable
- Cannot be remade once used.
- Can be deliberately renewed by managing them e.g. planting trees, biofuels.
- These renew themselves without being managed.
Non-renewable energy - Natural Gas supplies in Europe.
> In UK, most gas comes from underneath the North Sea.
Now, 60% of the UKs gas still comes from the North Sea, but it comes by pipeline from Norway who didn’t use up its share of North Sea gas as quickly.
Much of the EU depends on Russia and Ukraine for gas - large pipelines carry the gas across the continent.
2004, UK Government produced report identifying global gas use will peak in 2030 after which supplies are likely to diminish.
Renewable Energy - Wind Power in the USA
> Wind turbines convert wind power into electricity.
Now, there’s more than 16,000 large wind turbines in California and hundreds of homes across the state use smaller ones.
In 2015, wind energy provided 6.9% of California’s total energy requirements - more than enough to power San Fransisco.
However, on still days, other renewables would have to meet demand.
Recyclable Energy: Biogas in India
> Organic matter is fed into a pit which forms part of a biogas plant and is left to ferment.
The methane that’s released is collected in a tank and can be used to power electricity generators or used as gas for cooking.
The Indian Government has encourages communities to install biogas plants to provide energy for rural villages.
There are now over 2.5 million biogas plants across India.
Local environmental impacts of energy use and extraction
> Landscape scarred by mining and drilling.
Oil leaks from drilling rigs, pipelines and tankers.
Flooding of land from HEP.
Deforestation and damage to habitats.
Health impacts and subsidence from mines.
Regional environmental impacts of energy use and extraction
> Acid rain from emissions from power stations and vehicles.
Air pollution in cities causing health problems.
Potential for nuclear leaks and accidents.
Global environmental impacts of energy use and extraction
> CO2, nitrogen and methane emissions causing climate change.
Landscape Scarring
> Xilinhot, China.
China’s industrialization has caused a rapid increase in energy demand.
Coal is its’ biggest energy resource, providing 70% of its’ energy.
New policy from the Chinese Government encourages the development of surface open cast coal quarries instead of drilling underground mines.
Quarries like Shengli coalfield in inner Mongolia will become more common.
Environmental pressure group, Greenpeace, are concerned that such large mines create scars on the landscape and use billions of tonnes of water to extract coal.
Oil Spill - Drilling in the Gulf Coast, USA
> April 2010, BPs Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people.
For 87 days, oil leaked from the sea floor before it could be stopped.
It was the world’s largest accidental marine oil spill with 3.2 million barrels of oil lost.
Killed marine and birdfish as oil coated the ocean’s surface.
By July 2010, the spill had had devastating effects on marine life, threatening the endangered Louisiana Pancake Batfish and Gulf Corals.
Dead baby dolphins were washed up on Mississippi and Alabama shorelines too.
BP were fined US$13 billion under USA’s clean water law.
Deforestation - HEP Development in Para, Brazil
> Belo Monte Dam is the largest hydroelectric power complex being built in Para, Brazil.
It will be one of the world’s largest and provides electricity to support Brazil’s rapidly growing economy.
Now, 46% of energy consumed in Brazil is renewable and HEP produces over 85% of all electricity used.
There’s opposition as the dam will impact the region’s people and environment.
It will flood 400km^2 of Amazon Rainforest leading to a loss of vegetation, harm animals and change fish migration routes.
Global Energy Use
> The world’s population has increased, which has significantly increased our reliance on technology resulting in a very high demand for energy resources.
US consumes 23% of total world electricity consumption.
China consumes 39% of total world coal consumption - powers factories.
Access to energy resources
> Access is effected by accessibility and technology.
>Not all countries have access to all types of energy and some just can’t afford to access what’s there.
Distribution of energy resources
> Coal is more widely spread across the world e.g. Russia, US, China.
Places that recieve longer hours of sunlight and more intense sunlight - solar parks e.g. China’s Gobi Desert.
Countries on plate boundaries have access to geothermal energy e.g. New Zealand and Iceland.
Fossil fuels are found in sedimentary rocks e.g. oil. The Middle East has 48% of the world’s oil reserves and 42% of gas reserves.
Areas with high rainfall and suitable relief can be used for HEP e.g. 3 Gorges Dam.
Areas that are exposed provide high winds - Offshore wind farm e.g. London Array in the North Sea.
Energy Access for Developing Countries
> Developing countries lack funds for investment or they are remote making them expensive to exploit and bring to customers.
Access to Energy: The UK Coal Industry
> Most of UKs coal formed in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago.
In 1910s, coal was the UKs biggest industry with a million jobs.
It was the UKs main energy resource for industry, transport and heating.
There’s still coal now but it’s deeper and broken up by geological faults.
Why UKs Coal Industry Declined
> High cost - coal mining requires expensive drilling and plumbing technology.
Cheaper to import import coal from Russia, USA and Colombia.
Declining demand -trains switched from steam to diesel.
Other energy resources replaced coal e.g. oil, gas, nuclear.
Greenhouse gas emissions - coal produces more greenhouse gases than anything else and there’s pressure from political parties.
Coal
> Remains of giant tropical plants in swamp forests.
>When they died, they formed layers which geological pressures changed to coal.
How the UK gets its’ energy - non-renewable
> Fossil fuels.
1960s, natural gas and oil were discovered beneath the North Sea.
New drilling technology and deep sea oil rigs were developed to access these.
Most accessible reserves have been extracted and production is declining.
How the UK gets its’ energy - renewable
> Depends on landscape, climate and developments in technology.
Renewables provide 10% of UK energy from wind, solar, biomass and HEP.
Most wind energy potential is out at sea but the cost of building turbines there is much higher.
How the UK gets its’ energy - recyclable
> e.g. nuclear energy which provides 16% of UK energy.
Nuclear technology, using uranium and plutonium was developed in the 1950s and the UK developed several power stations.
These may now be replaced by a new generation of reactions like the one at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
Global Resource Case Study - Oil Consumption
> Oil is a finite resource so non-renewable.
Daily oil consumption soared from under a million barrels in 1990 to 93 million barrels in 2015.
The International Energy Agency predicts demand will rise to 116 million barrels by 2030.
Black Gold
> Term used for oil, as it’s regarded as such a valuable commodity.
Peak Oil
> Theoretical point at which half of the known reserves of oil in the world have been used.
World Oil Reserves
> Oil production is unevenly distributed.
2012, 63% of world’s oil came from just 10 countries.
Russia produced the most (10.9 million barrels a day).
New reserves of shale oil in North Dakota allowed the USA to increased oil production by 2014, while Canada and Brazil also produced record levels.
Estimated in 2010 that 1700 billion barrels of oil were still to be extracted - at the current consumption rate that would only last 52.5 years.
Estimates in 2014 show that the world has an extra 350 billion barrels.
World Oil Consumption
> USA has less than 5% of the world’s population but consumes 25% of oil.
Due to high standard of living as well as wealth.
China has undergone rapid industrialisation with huge numbers of factories producing goods for exports.
China’s oil consumption doubled between 2004 and 2014 to 12.4% of global consumption.
It’s second to the USA but with a population 4 times larger than the USA.
Why are the USA very dependent on oil?
- Poorly developed public transport systems.
- Pattern of low density urban settlements.
- Long history of very low petrol prices.
OPEC
> Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Established to regulate the global oil market, stabilise prices and ensure a fair return for its 12 member states who supply 45% of the world’s oil.
Economic and Poilitical FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE COST OF OIL
> Oil producing countries.
Oil Organisations
Oil and gas producing countries
Conflicts
The Cost of Oil. Oil Producing Countires
> Nigeria’s security problems had shut down 20% of its production.
Mexico oil companies cut production as a protest against political interference.
The Cost of Oil. Organistations
> OPEC member countries restricted oil supplies to the work market to keep prices high.
Saudi Arabia is its’ founder member.
