Energy Resources Flashcards
How were energy supplies important in the development of society?
- animals, water or wind power
- smelting of metals, using wood and charcoal = tools and useful items
- Industrial Revolution from the 1700s used coal and coke to produce steel = steam engines, pump water out of mines, transport goods, to plough, to drive timber saws, and grain threshing machines and in textile mills
- late 1800s = crude oil, natural gas and other fossil fuels increased amount of energy that can be used
- access to large amounts of fossil fuel energy has also enabled the production of a wide range of things including unnecessary produced and non-essential travel = waste of energy
- secondary fuels now important
- renewable energy
What is per capita energy consumption and how has it changed?
As the population has grown, the worlds consumption of energy has increased in total as has the per-captia consumption
Direct uses include energy used by people individually e.g. heating, lighting, cooking, personal transport, use of electrical appliances
Indirect used include energy used for commercial organisations, schools, government and industry to provide goods and services
How does affluence affect per capita energy consumption?
Higher incomes mean people can buy more, consume more and use more energy in activities such as travelling more, using less efficient vehicles, heating a large home and having more energy-using appliances
Affluent countries use significantly more energy to construct housing in the production of bricks, glass, tiles and fittings such as carpets, furnishings and appliances
Supply and demand for energy resources set process on the world market
Poorer countries may be unable to pay for the energy needed for essential uses, this can slow the development of these societies and reduce the quality of life
How does relative cost of energy affect per capita energy consumption?
In countries where there are large, accessible, local sources, energy is cheap
E.g. petroleum is much cheaper in the uSA than in UIK which means more petroleum can be used for the same cost, which encourages the use of larger, less fuel-efficient cars
How does the type of industry affect per capita energy consumption?
Primary industry = agriculture, mining, raw mineral extraction = high level of energy use per unit of economic output
Secondary industry = heavy manufacturing industry e.g. metal smelting, chemical industry = high “
= light manufacturing e.g. car assembly = medium “
Tertiary industry = services e.g. transport, finance, retail, recreation, education = low “
Quaternary industry = information and IT = very low “
How does social and environmental awareness affect per capita energy consumption?
Regions and location which historically had difficulty satisfying demand for energy often have tradition of managing their energy use carefully e.g. Scandinavia has energy shortages in the past, especially in remote communities and this has driven a strong energy conservation culture
HICs will a higher education and more money means they can adopt more environmentally friendly ways of life reducing their per capita energy consumption
How can the climate affect per capita energy consumption?
Climatic conditions affect energy usage as buildings in location with cold winters require heating and those in very hot areas require air constipating, high winds increase heat losses while sunny weather increases passive solar heat gains
How will per capita and total energy use in a country change over time due to industry?
As countries such as Brazil, China and India have industrialised, their use of energy has increased rapidly, especially in mining and manufacturing industries
As heavy industry and manufacturing activity have declined in the UK industrial energy use has reduced
How will per capita and total energy use in a country change due to income levels?
Increasing income means that consumers can afforded to pay more for energy e.g. heating, lighting and transport
And increases in household appliances such as washing machines, TVs, and refrigerators
How will per capita and total energy use in a country change due to population growth?
With population growth even if the per capita use remains the same, the population increase will increase the total energy use, or may struggle to meet the new demands
How will per capita and total energy use in a country change due to changes in environmental awareness?
An increase in environmental awareness may lead to choices that lead to lower energy consumption such as:
- better building energy conservation
- choices of vehicle type and usage
- choice of consumer goods
- food choices
- level of recycling
How can energy resources be renewable or non-renewable?
Renewable energy resource naturally re-form relatively quickly so using them does not necessarily reduce future availability e.g. solar, wind, wave, tidal, geothermal and biofuel energy
Non-renewable energy resources are either not being formed, or re-form so slowly that current use reduces the amount available for future use e.g. all fossil fuels, uranium
How can energy resources be depletable of non-depletable?
Those resources where use can reduce future availability
These include all non-renewable resources but also those renewable resources where i=unsustainable exploitation may reduce availability e.g. wood, where forests are felled faster then they re-grow
How can abundance affect an energy resource?
Abundance measure the amount of the resources that exists, no the same as the amount available for use as there may be other factors restricting the availability e.g:
- fossil fuels that are deep underground and cannot be located
- winds high above ground where aero generators cannot be located
How can location constraints affect energy resources?
Energy resources are not evenly distributed, each has its own locational factors
Energy sources that can only be accessed via extraction, like fossil fuels and uranium ore, must be located in favourable deposits
Energy sources that harness natural processes may depend on regional or locational reassures including climate and topography
How can intermittency affect energy resources?
If an energy resources is not available at times when it is needed then it is difficult to rely on it e.g. wind, solar, tidal
How can predictability affect energy resources?
It is important to know how much energy will be available and whether it will meet demand for energy
Some resources are intermittent but the time they will be available can be predicted accurately e.g. tidal
Meaning plans can be made to use alternative resources when they are unavailable, some resources are intermittent and unpredictable like solar and wind
How can energy density affect energy resources?
Energy density is a measure of the amount of energy in a given mass of energy resource e.g. oil, coal, uranium or wood, for some resources like renewable ones, it is the amount of energy harnessed by a given mass of equipment e.g. the energy harnessed per kg of solar panel
High energy doesn’t resources are most useful:
- smaller quantities are needed so storage and transport are easier
- it is easier to reach high temperatures
How can resource availability affect energy resources?
The potential contribution of a resource to energy supplies is clear affected by the amount of energy that is available, it cam be difficult to estimate how much of the resources can actually be harnessed, there may be abundant resources which cannot be exploited with any technology that exists, or is likely to be developed e.g. wind at high altitude, very deep coal or oil under very deep areas of the sea
Why is there a need for energy conversions to increase the usefulness of energy resources?
The form in which energy is harnessed is not necessarily the form in which it will be delivered to the end-user
E.g. chemical energy of fossil fuels is converted to heat, potential, kinetic then electrical energy before it can be used to power electrical appliances
Spoke resources that seem to be little use may be important if new technologies are made to make them more exploitable
How can applicability to specific uses affect energy resources?
The available resources have shaped the way that societies have developed and therefore it can be difficult for society to change to using energy resources with different characteristics
Renewable energy resources are making a more significant contribution to our energy supplies, they have different characteristics from fossil fuels and nuclear power, but non of which can get to the temperatures that fossil fuels can or produce liquid fuels in sufficient quantise to power all vehicles
How can ease if storage affect energy resources?
Energy demand and supply levels vary and rarely balance, being able to store energy is importantly so that it is avalible when it is required
Some energy resources such as the chemical energy in fossil fuels, can be stored easily especially since they have high energy density where a small mass or volume stores a large amount of energy
Renewables sources may have to be converted into electrical energy to be stored, they can be converted to thermal energy, chemically energy or gravitational potential energy which can be stored easily especially
How does ease of transportation affect energy resources?
Energy resources are rarely found in the areas where the demand it highest, so it must be transported
The ease of transport is affected by properties such as the form of energy and energy density
How can environmental impacts affect energy resources?
All energy resources cause damage through the manufacture of the equipment required to exploit them, some through pollution and others linked to with impacts such as global warming
Some impacts are over-emphasised e.g. people can be upset by the visual impact of constructing solar or wind farms even though they do not have any significant impact if the planet
