resource reliance (info only) Flashcards
what is a resource
a stock or supply of something which has value
what are factors affecting global supplies
- wars
- growing population
- pests/pathogens
- climate change
- cost of agriculture
- demand for a better lifestyle
what is a carrying capacity
the limit to which something can hold
what is the demographic transition model
the graph which sows which stage a city is in based on the death and birth rates
what does non - renewable mean
it means something which will eventually run out
what does renewable mean
something which will never run out as it can be replenished as fast as it is used
what does sustainable mean
when something is maintained or has more benefits
list renewable energy resources
- geothermal
- wind
- solar
- tidal
- wave
- hydroelectric
- biofuel
list non-renewable sources of energy
- coal
- natural gas
- oil
- nuclear
what are the advantages and disadvantages of wind energy
advantages: renewable, can work day and night, cheap to install
disadvantages: visual pollution, can kill birds, unreliable source of energy as it depends on the winds,
what are the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy
advantages: sustainable, produces a lot of energy
disadvantages: waste needs to be stored for thousands of years expensive, dangerous
what are population pyramids
pyramids which show age and gender groups of a population
how many stages are there in the demographic transition model
5
what happens in stage 1 of the demographic transition model
- lack of education and healthcare
- high birth and death rates
- no overall population growth
- large families and children work rather than go to school
what happens in stage 2 of the demographic transition model
- improved education
- helathcare improves due to more medical care
- improved sanitation
- high birth rates with lower death rates
what happens at stage 3 of the demographic transition model
- better education
- better infastructure
- better healthcare
- lower infant mortality rates + use of birth control
- birth rates and death rates fall
what happens at stage 4 of the demographic transition model
- stable population
- birth control more widely used
- good education + hygiene
- desire for smaller families
- more deaths + less births start
what happens at stage 5 of the demographic transition model
- total population is high
- ageing population
- less births + more deaths
- overall population decreases
what are some reasons why there is a food shortage in some parts of the world
- not enough food can be grown
- food can rot so cant be eaten
- food demand increases as population increases
- climate change - natural diseases
- lack of rainfall
- land and water degradation
- diseases
- cost of agriculture
what is blue water
water from rivers, lakes, seas and groundwater
what is grey water
polluted or recycled water
what is green water
water from percipitation
what is saline water
water which has salt in it
what is fresh water
water which does not have salt in it
what are glaciers
large slow moving bodies of ice
what are ground water stores of water
water stored in undergorund in rocks
what is permafrost
ground which is permanently frozen
what are marshlands
land which is full of water
what is soil moisture
water stored in soil
what percentage of the worlds water is edible
round 2.5%
what percentage is surface fresh water and other sources
1.2% percent is surface fresh water
30% ground water stores
68.7% glaciers and ice caps
what percentage is surface fresh water accesible
- ice 69%
- lakes and river 21%
what are the reasons for the world running our of energy
- people are wealthier so use more energy
- more people on earth
- world uses more technology
what are the mechanisms of modern day farming
- increased demand for food
- increased need of chemicals and irrigation
- soil exhaustion
- need for land; prompting deforestation
what are some potential solutions for farming in the future
- improving crop yield
- using GMs
- changing diets
what are the impacts of deforestation for agriculture
local:
- loss of habitats
- more jobs
- overcultivation leads to use of fertilisers as soil becomes desertified and so more land is needed
regional:
same as local but bigger
global:
more CO2 but less O2
- nitogen oxide released from fertilisers and methan from rice
what is eutrophication
overexcessive growth of algea caused by fertilisers
evaluate mining for coal for energy
cons - land and vegetation need to be cleared
- habitat loss
- lowered CO2 intake + less O2 released by destraoyed vegetation
- washing coal can lead to contamination leading to acid rain by sulphur
- fresh water sources like rivers can be contaminated with lead and mercury
evaluate off shore wind energy
pros:
- renewable
cons:
- CO2 released during construction
- construction was under budget
- unreliable as it relies on wind
- can be said it is ugly but this is based on opinions
evaluate canadas tar sands
pros:
- sand can be used for petrol, oil and diesel
- increase in jobs
- can lead to resource trades
- enough oil is collected to power 3 mil canadian houses everyday
cons:
- large amount of land needs to be cleared
- produces 3 times the greenhouse gases than the normal conventional way
- water is contaminated
- 2 mil barrels of oil are collected
how does fracking work
- a drill is mined down and then turns horizontally
- slick water is pumped down at high pressures
- the water carries propants which opens up fissures in rocks to allow gas to escape up the water
what are the advantages of fracking
- causes countryside to be industrialised
- may decrease energy bills
- produces less CO2 than coal
what are the disadvantages of fracking
- small earthquakes can be caused
- uses millions of litres of water
- may contaminate water supplies
- noise and light pollution + more traffic
what is food security
when all people have access to safe and nutritious and sufficient food according to thier food preferances needed for a healthy life
what are factors affecting food security
- war
- urbanisation
- cost of agriculture
- climate change
- diseases/pests
- population growth
what is malthus’ theory on changing food resources
1798 - food production will fal behing population growth which will cause famine and people will die due to famine which causes the population to drop till it is just below food production rate
what is bosurps theory of changing food resources
1960 - food production will fall behind population growth which causes famine and wat killing people but humans will invent solutuions to this famine causing increased food production which matches population gorwth
what is ethical consumerism
when people consume which has been ethically made/grown
what are the factors of sustainability
- economical
- social
- environmental
what are ways to increase food security sustainably
- organic farming
- intnsive farming
- Gm crops
- Hydroponics
how is organic farming sustainable
- uses natural processes to return nutrients back to the soil
- uses natural fertiliser like horse faeces
- dont use chemical fertilisers
- preserves biodiversity
- protects the ecosystem
- can cost more money to buy horse faeces
- food can cost more from this which limits social sustainability as not all can buy
how is intensive farming sustainable
- produces a lot of food using miminal space
- large quanitites of fertilisers are used
- antibiotics are given to animals to reduce disease - diseases can become resistant
- artifical chems are used which can get into natural ecosystm aka eutrophication - reduces environmental sustainability
- chemicals are expensive as they have to be applied year after year and if they dont the farm gets desertified
how are GM crops sustainable
- more crops in smaller areas - higher yield
- Gm crops can be designed to be disease resistant
- decreased use of chemical fertilisers - environmental sustainability is increased
- Gm crops may reduce biodiversity
- can breed with surroundings
- GM crops dont normally produce seeds naturally so farmers would have to buy them
how are hydroponics sustainable
- plants dont require soil
- grown in water where nutrients can be monitered for high yield
- less water is used by this method and less chance of diseaseses so less pesticde is used - more environmentally sustainable
- very expensive as they are high value crops
what are ways to make food consumption ethical
- Buy fair trade products
- reduce food waste
- buy local and seasonal food
how does fairtrade make food consumption ethical
- pay farmers a fair price
- gives farmers quality of life
- ethically sustainable as buyers pay extra to help farmers
- fair trade helps farmers who grow crops envrionmentally friendly
how is reducing food waste more ethical
- 1/3 food which is grown gets wasted every year and by reducing this more food is available
- encourages people to compst food waste rather than it getting thrown into land fills and getting turned into methane
- customers choose food with less packaging which means less plastic pollution
how can buying local and seasonal foods become ethical
- wealthy countries import food all year round which can become expensive
- seasonal food means that they are made in the country soo it costs less as less is imported
- less import means less greenhouse gases emissioned
what are some small scale approaches to making food production sustainable
- permaculture
- urban gardens
- allotments
how are allotments sustainable at food production
- areas rented to people to grow food
- many people in cities have no gardens
- are socially and environmentally sustainable
how are permacultures sustainable
- people are encouraged to grow their own food and consume ethically like buying food trade or eating less meat and more veg
- food is grown so that natural ecosystems are recreated which requires less maintance - social and environmentally sustainble
- soil is kept healthy so crops continue to grow. as different plants are used which require different needs this means that space and light are used better
how are urban gardens sustainable
- empty land like rooftops or balonies are turned into gardens by the community
- makes food locally available which reduces need for transport and costs cheaper
- add greenery to cities which can create ecosystems and help the environment. attracts tourists which means economically sustaible too
