Consuming Resources Flashcards

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0
Q

What is a Non- renewable resource?

A

There is a limited amount of the stock and once it is used up there will be none left

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1
Q

What is a renewable resource?

A

There is an infinite supply of the stock and it will never run out

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2
Q

What is a sustainable resource?

A

These resources can be used and replaced if managed carefully

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3
Q

How has oil production changed from 1970 to 2030

A

Has increased greatly, Middle East continues produce most oil South America produces least oil but increased slightly?

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4
Q

Why do some regions produce more oil than others?

A

It depends on how much oil reserves a country has.

How much money and technology the country not all countries can afford to develop oil wells

Political decisions to protect areas from oil drilling

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5
Q

How has oil consumption changed between 1970-2030?

A

Africa will have the largest increase in oil consumption but will still consume the least amount of oil. Europe will have a small decrease in oil consumption but will still consume 2 bs most oil

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6
Q

What was Malthus’ theory?

A

As population would grow we would not have enough resources and end up in crisis and famine

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7
Q

What was Boserups theory?

A

That as our population increases we will invent other methods to avoid crisis and he was right

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8
Q

How can we reduce resource demand?

A

Government provide information on recycling on recyclenow.com
Government include sustainability recycling and environmental issues as part of the syllabus
Introduced variable car tax encourage people to buy smaller more efficient cars
Set targets for recycling

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9
Q

What is sustainable development?

A

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

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10
Q

Explain an alternative to using fossil fuels to power motor vehicles

A

Hydrogen could be used as a fuel to replace petrol and diesel

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11
Q

What is an advantage of using hydrogen to replace petrol.

A

It won’t release any green house gases only water vapour

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12
Q

What are disadvantages of using hydrogen to replace petrol and diesel.

A

Hydrogen is very explosive so it’s dangerous to store and is expensive

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13
Q

What are other methods of food production that don’t use fossil fuels

A

Biofuels are renewable alternatives to petrol and diesel?

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14
Q

What is bad about using a biofuel for food resources?

A

Biofuel crops use land that once grew food.

So increasing biofuels use could reduce food supply and food prices may increase

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15
Q

What can be done about resource wast?

A

Bottle water could be banned

People could be encouraged to compost food waste

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16
Q

What can we do about food supply that is under pressure?

A

GM crops could be developed that are flood tolerant and resistant to disease

17
Q

What are disadvantages of GM crops?

A

The public in uk are uncomfortable as it’s seen as meddling with nature

18
Q

Name the types of resources eg Physical

A

Biological
Energy
Mineral
Physical

19
Q

Give 3 examples of a Mineral resource

A

Iron ore
Bauxite
Uranium

20
Q

Give 3 examples of a Biological resource

A

Timber
Maize
Soya bean

21
Q

Give 3 examples of an Energy resource

A

Coal
Oil
Gas

22
Q

Give 3 examples of a Physical resource

A

Wind
Water
Sunlight

23
Q

What are the benefits of the usage of Tar-Sand oil (non-renewable)

A

Makes profit for the major oil companies
tax benefits for countries with Tar sands
dependence on the dangerous middle eastern regions would be reduced

continued production of oil would avoid the cost of switching to other fuels

24
Q

What are the costs of the usage of Tar-Sand oil (non-renewable)

A

Since it is a heavy oh it’s produces up to 3 times more Carbon dioxide then light oils

The extraction of tar oil uses a lot of water up to 6 barrels for one barrel of oil

Forests will need to be removed to scrape away the oil rich sands and groundwater and rivers will be polluted

300 billion barrels is about five years supply it just delays the need to look for alternative methods

25
Q

What are the benefits of the usage of Solar energy (renewable)

A

Solar energy is unlimited
it is environmentally friendly with minimal carbon emissions after the production of panels
new thin panels are being divided that will be a lot more efficient than current technology

26
Q

What are the costs of the usage of Solar energy (renewable)

A

It isn’t a steady (intermittent) resource so backup systems and new ways of storing electricity are needed

current production is tiny

it is relatively expensive

present panels last about 20 years

huge areas of panels are needed to produce significant amounts of energy

27
Q

Why are there global inequalities in the amount of resources consumed

A

Size of population and economic development determine the amount of resources being consumed

28
Q

Why can’t non renewable resources be produced in all countries

A

Not all countries have oil reserves as they don’t have oil bearing countries

Not all countries have the money and technology to develop wells it can cost 200 dollars to drill a well

Political decision to protect areas from oil drilling eg USA’s Artic National Wildlife Refuge

29
Q

Why is oil consumption likely to increase in the future

A

Growing population means a need for more resources and higher demand

30
Q

What is the evidence for Malthus being right? (Population would exceed resources so there’d be crisis)

A

There have been famines such as in Ethiopia 1984-85 and North Korea 1994-1998, however these only affected small areas

Nevertheless, there are 850 million malnourished people on the planet

There may not be enough resources for the expected 9.3 billion in 2050

Problems like soil erosion and desertification can reduce food production

31
Q

What is the evidence for Malthus being wrong

A

when Malthus developed his theory in 1800 the global population has grown from 1 billion to 7 billion

32
Q

What is the evidence for Boserup’s theory being right? (That as population grows we will use technology and other ways to produce resources )

A

The population has risen from 1 billion to 7 billion since 1800 proving we can find enough resources to provide for these people

Farm machinery was introduced in the late 19th century along with artificial fertilisers
After WW2 pesticides and herbicides were developed to increase cropsby killing pests and weeds

Since the 1900s the ‘gene revolution’ has developed new genetically modified (GM) crops to resist disease and drought

33
Q

State ways in which local governments attempt to manage resource consumption (in terms of conservation and recycling)

A

Conservation- The local government provide and manage green spaces including: parks ,green belts, local nature reserves.

Recycling- The local government manage household waste by providing home recycling

34
Q

State ways in which national governments attempt to manage resource consumption (in terms of conservation, education and recycling)

A

Education-The UK national curriculum includes sustainablity and environmental issues as part of geography and science

Recycle Now is the uk’s national campaign to educate people about the need to recycle and advises them

Conservation-Introduced variable car tax to encourage people to buy smaller more efficient cars

Phasing out incandescent light bulbs to encourage people to buy energy efficient bulbs

Set a target that 15% of electricity generation should be renewable by 2020

Recycling- Sets targets for recycling. Recycling of household waste has increased from 11% in 2001 to 40% in 2012

35
Q

Define sustainable development

A

Development that meets needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to make their own needs.

36
Q

What fuels can be used to replace finite fossil fuels

A

Hydrogen could replace diesel and oil

Maize and other crops can be made into biodiesel as a renewable alternative to petrol and diesel

37
Q

What are the benefits of using hydrogen as a fuel?

A

When it’s burnt it releases water vapour and not carbon dioxide, so it doesn’t cause pollution. There are no dangers of oil spills

There would no longer be dependence on the oil state

38
Q

What are the costs of using hydrogen as a fuel?

A

Very expensive to make

It needs a lot of electricity to obtain hydrogen and this electricity may have to be gained from burning fossil fuels

Hydrogen is a very explosive gas so it is hard to store

39
Q

How can modern ideas be used to compact food shortages?

A

GM Crops could be developed that are drought or flood tolerant so we have higher yields
Unfortunately, the public are uncomfortable with GM crops as it is seen as ‘meddling with nature’

Drip irrigation is a method used by farmers that use less water
Farmers would need to invest in expensive new equipment
Would have to change how they run the farm which takes time