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Geography - The carbon cycle and energy security > EQ2: What are the consequences for people and the environment of our increasing demand for energy? > Flashcards

EQ2: What are the consequences for people and the environment of our increasing demand for energy? Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the four key aspects of energy security?

A
  • Availability
  • Accessibility
  • Affordability
  • Reliability
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2
Q

Why is the importance of energy security vital to the functioning of a country?

A

It:

  • Powers most forms of transport
  • Lights settlements
  • Is used by some types of commercial agriculture
  • Warms or cools homes and powers domestic appliances
  • Is vital to modern communications
  • Drives most forms of manufacturing
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3
Q

What are the main primary energy sources used to generate electricity?

A
  • Non-renewable fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas
  • Recyclable fuels, such as nuclear energy, general waste and biomass
  • Renewable energies, such as water, wind, solar, geothermal and tidal
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4
Q

How is the consumption of energy measured?

A
  1. In per capita terms

2. Energy intensity

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5
Q

What are the eight factors affecting per capita energy consumption?

A
  • Physical availability
  • Cost
  • Standard of living
  • Environmental priorities
  • Climate
  • Public perceptions
  • Economic development
  • Technology
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6
Q

Why is the USA less dependent on nuclear energy than France?

A

The USA is much more self-sufficient.

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7
Q

Why is OPEC such a powerful player in the global energy business?

A

OPEC has twelve member countries which between them own around two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves. Because of this, it is in a position to control the amount of oil and gas entering the global market, as well as the prices of both commodities.

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8
Q

What has OPEC been accused of?

A

Holding back production in order to drive up oil and gas prices

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9
Q

How can mismatches between the distributions of production and consumption of fossil fuel supply be resolved?

A

Energy pathways

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10
Q

Why can energy pathways be prone to disruption?

A

Conventional fossil fuels have to be moved over long distances from sources to markets. For example, Russian gas to Europe, illustrates the risks of transboundary energy pathways.

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11
Q

Why might the Ukraine be in a position of strength?

A

It could increase its charges for allowing Russian gas to pass through it. It could even stop the gas flows altogether.

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12
Q

Why is the output from the UK’s gas fields in the North Sea declining?

A

Strained political relations between Russia and Western Europe

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13
Q

Where does the UK obtain most of its gas from?

A

Qatar

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14
Q

What are the four types of unconventional fuels?

A

Tar sands, oil shale, shale gas and deepwater oil

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15
Q

Describe the nature of tar sands.

A

A mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen (a heavy, viscous oil)

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16
Q

How can tar sands be extracted?

A

Tar sands have to be mined and then injected with steam to make the tar less viscous so that it can be pumped out

17
Q

Describe the nature of oil shale.

A

Oil-bearing rocks that are permeable enough to allow the oil to be pumped out directly

18
Q

How is oil shale extracted?

A

Either mined, or shale is ignited so that the light oil fractions can be pumped out

19
Q

Describe the nature of shale gas.

A

Natural gas that is trapped in fine-grained sedimentary rocks

20
Q

How is shale gas extracted?

A

Fracking: pumping in water and chemicals forces out the gas

21
Q

Describe the nature of deepwater oil.

A

Oil and gas is found well offshore at considerable oceanic depths

22
Q

How is deepwater oil extracted?

A

Drilling takes place from ocean rigs (Gulf of Mexico and off Brazil)

23
Q

Why does the exploitation of these unconventional sources have a downside?

A
  • They are all fossil fuels
  • Extraction is costly
  • They all threaten environmental damage
24
Q

What will some governments see domestic sources of these fuels as offering?

A

A higher level of energy security

25
Q

What must the global drive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions involve?

A

Decoupling economic growth from dependence on fossil fuels - widening the energy mix

26
Q

What are the main sources of renewable energy today?

A

Hydro, wind, solar (mainly via photovoltaic cells) geothermal and tidal

27
Q

Why does the contribution made by sources of renewable energy to national energy budgets vary from country to country?

A

Not all countries have coasts, strongly flowing rivers or climates with either long sunshine hours or persistently strong winds. Others factors reinforcing this include:

  • The relative costs of using non-renewable and renewable energy sources.
  • The harnessing of renewables is not without environmental costs.
  • NIBMYISM
28
Q

What are the downsides of using nuclear energy?

A
  • Risks to do with safety (accidents) and security (terrorism)
  • The disposal of radio-active waste with an incredibly long decay life
  • The technology involved is complex and therefore its use is only an option for developed countries
  • Although the operational costs are low, the costs of constructing and decommissioning power statins are high
29
Q

In the UK, what has the gap in the energy mix been largely filled by?

A

An increased use of gas

30
Q

What are the names of the biofuel crops that are most widely grown?

A

Wheat, corn, grasses, soybeans and sugar cane

31
Q

In the UK, what are the names of the two main biofuel crops?

A

Oilseed rape and sugar beet

32
Q

What are biofuel crops converted into?

A

Ethanol or biodiesel

33
Q

What are the downsides of using biofuels?

A

Each hectare of farmland used to grow energy crops means a hectare less for growing much-needed food in an increasingly hungry world. Added to this, there is still some uncertainty over how carbon-neutral biofuel crops really are.

34
Q

Since the 1970s, what steps has Brazil taken?

A

Since the 1970s, Brazil has taken steps to diversify its energy mix and improve its energy security.

35
Q

What percentage of Brazil’s energy comes from renewable energy sources?

A

Less than 5%

36
Q

What are large areas of central southern Brazil now set aside for?

A

The cultivation of sugarcane and the subsequent production of ethanol

Geography - The carbon cycle and energy security (2 decks)

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