Energy Flashcards
1
Q
Why are some areas increasing in energy consumption?
A
- Economic development
- Rising population
- Technology
2
Q
What factors affect energy supply?
A
Physical factors
- Location of fossil fuels
- Geology
- Tectonic activity for geothermal energy
Costs of Exploitation and production
- Some countries may be too poor to exploit energy sources
- Oil rigs, nuclear power stations and pipelines are expensive to build
- Conflict between environmentalist conservation groups
Political Factors
- Political instability
- Treaties preventing exploitation (eg. Germany 2020 banning nuclear power)
- Middle East had political instability causing deaths due to exploitation of oil
Technology
- Allows extraction of Shale Gas by Fracking
- Reduces costs
- Can be extracted in remote of difficult environments (eg. Svalbard)
Climate
- Sunshine and wind determine availability of renewable energy through solar panels or wind energy
3
Q
How can we resolve energy insecurity?
A
- Try to further exploit its own energy resources
- Reach agreements with other countries to import energy
- Reduce its energy consumption
4
Q
Impacts of energy insecurity
A
Food production
- Reduces food production
- Causes hard labour for farmers
Industry
- Economies cannot develop without energy to provide an income through manufacturing, exporting or work etc
Potential for Conflict
- Russia owns 25% of the world’s natural gas supplies
- It could put pressure on its customers and abuse its power for economic gain
- This can cause energy insecurity in countries which rely on Russia’s imports
5
Q
Advantages of Natural Gas
A
- Reliable resource
- Less risk of disaster like in an oil rig or a nuclear power plant
- produces 40% less CO2 than coal
- Transportation is versatile, through a pipeline or a tanker
IN THE AMAZON
- 1.2 million job opportunities provided
- Abundant, a good economic activity
6
Q
Disadvantages of Natural Gas
A
- non renewable
- Emits CO2, contributing to climate change
- Fracking is controversial, can cause earthquakes and pollution of groundwater
- Pipelines are expensive
- Environmentally damaging to extract and burn
7
Q
Chambamontera micro-hydro Credit Scheme
A
- Hydroelectric scheme
- High rainfall and steep slopes with rivers so it is suitable for hydroelectric energy production
- Families are poor
8
Q
Benefits of Chambamontera Micro-Credit scheme
A
- Provides renewable energy
- Better environmentally (less demand for wood)
- Will last at least 25 years
- $51,000 in costs
- Low maintenance and running cost
- Allows for development
- Improved healthcare because medicines can be refrigerated
9
Q
Disadvantages of Chambamontera Micro-Credit scheme
A
- 50% of families earn $2 a day, so £750 per family is a lot
- Temporarily environmentally damaging
