Resource Security Flashcards
What is a reserve?
The part of the resource that is available/viable to extract under existing economic, political and technological conditions.
What is Primary Energy (with an example)?
Resources used in their natural form to produce power. e.g. crude oil, wood
What is Secondary Energy (with an example)?
Resources from converting a primary energy source into a new form e.g petrol, electricity, charcoal
Definition of Possible Resources
Thought to exist but not sampled
Definition of Inferred Resources
Identified but not measured
Definition of Measured Resources
Size measured and known accurately, grade, quality known to allow to determine as proven reserves
Definition of Indicated Resources
Size of the reserve partly measured and the extent estimated
What is a Resource?
Any aspect of the natural environment that can be used to meet human needs
What is Resource Security?
Ability to safeguard reliable and sustainable flow of resources to maintain a suitable standard of living and allow for ongoing social and economic development
What three factors does resource security involve?
Physical; economic and geopolitical
What are Stock Resources with an example?
Non-renewable; finite supply can be permanently expendings; quantity in absolute amounts; compound deposits e.g. fossil fuels
What are Flow Resources with an example?
Renewable; can be replaced in a sufficiently short time to be relevant to decision makers; annual rates e.f. freshwater, solar
What are is a Critical Flow Resource with an example?
Flows that are only renewable if human use remains at or or below their capacity to reproduce/regenerate e.g timber
What are renewable resources?
Continuous flow/ replaces itself
What are examples of critical renewable resources?
TImber (for charcoal/biomass)
What are the examples of non-critical renewable resources?
Solar/ wind/ tidal
What are non-renewable resources?
finite stock/supply
What is a recoverable reserve?
Amount of resources likely to be extracted for commercial use within a certain time period and at a certain level of extraction
What is a possible reserve?
Deposits thought to exist because geological terrain is similar to other areas that have yielded deposits but no exploration yet
What is the difference between a resource and reserve?
A resource is the entirety of a substance that can be used to meet human needs and a reserve is part of the resource that is economically, politically and technologically viable to extract.
What are the five stages of developing a resource?
- Exploration: locate a new resource and evaluate its extraction viability
- Exploitation: extract resource, prepare it for use and transport it
- Depletion: reserve begins to run out
- Development: new methods of extraction
- Exhaustion: reserve becomes so limited that it is not physically possible or economically viable to extract more.
What are the physical risks to resource supply security?
- avoiding interruptions to supply
- Quality and quantity
- physical location and accessibility
- technology available to access the resource economically
What are the geopolitical risks to resource supply security?
- ensure not dependent on a small number of countries for production
- physical supply disruption due to political interference on transit routes
- market dominance by cartels (OPEC manipulates price/quantity)
What two parameters is resource classification based on?
Geological certainty and profitability
What is a Resource Frontier?
A place with abundant natural resources exploited for the first time. Often previously unexplored as geographically remote or difficult to access. Often natural environments with little human development and are a source of conflict. Increasing demand is increasing the economic viability of many resource frontiers.
What is a national example of a resource frontier?
Scotland, North Sea Oil 1980s in periphery of UK; North Alaskan Oil for the USA
What is a global example of a resource frontier?
Core = HICs, Periphery = LICs
What is a resource peak?
Point of maximum production rate of a resource before production declines. Often point when resource is cheaper > as supplies decline sellers can increase prices/ extraction become more expensive as most accessible parts of the resource exhausted.
Why might a second resource peak occur?
Developments in technology can result in the creation of a second peak or the slowing of depletion as hard to reach reserves can now be exploited
What is Peak Oil?
1950s - the US oil forecast that production would peak in the late 1960s and then decline as despite increasing value of oil/ tech advances, resources would be unavailable
Arguments for Peak Oil?
- Discovery of new oil resources peaked in 1962, has since declined
- Devastating impact of small drops in production
- Dependence on oil for industrial and agricultural processes
- Rising demand is not met by rising supply
What is conventional oil and gas production?
Petroleum or crude oil and raw natural gas extracted from the ground by conventional means - primary drilling.
What is Unconventional Production?
Hydrocarbon resevoirs that have low permeability and porosity, and are difficult to produce. They require enhanced recovery techniques, such as fracture simulation.
What is Unconventional Production?
Hydrocarbon reservoirs that have low permeability and porosity, and are difficult to produce. They require enhanced recovery techniques, such as fracture simulation.
What is our case study of a Resource Frontier?
ANWR
What does ANWR stand for?
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Why has ANWR not been exploited?
- Hard to access/ expensive as offshore Arctic circle/ permafrost
- Little existing infrastructure
- Legally protected through a drilling ban since 1980
Why is ANWR now under threat?
In 2017, the republican senate included a provision to allow 1002 area within ANWR to be drilled. Construction of Trans-Alaskan pipeline improves economic/technological viability
What area near ANWR has been exploited?
Prudhoe Bay
Reducing Depletion as a sustainable resource development method
- Use less of each resource
- Increase rates of reuse and recycling
- Increase exploration of new reserves/technological developments to improve extraction
Minimising Environmental Impacts as a sustainable resource development method
- Technological advances e.g. catalytic converters; flue-gas desulphurisation plant and carbon capture storage
Seeking Alternative as a sustainable resource development method
- Renewable energy resources
What are two supply side management strategies for Sustainable Resource Development?
- Increasing exploitation of existing on-renewable resources
- More sustainable alternative or substitute resources to replace unsustainable ones
What are three demand side management strategies for Sustainable Resource Development?
- Changing individual behaviour and lifestyle to discourage wasteful and/or extravagant use of resources
- Reducing population growth with population control methods to ensure less pressure on resources
What is an Environmental Impact Assessment?
It anticipates the likely impacts of a resource extraction on the environment and humans and then modify the the project to minimise the negative impacts.
What is the aim of an Environmental Impact Assessment?
Assess impacts of/quantifies changing land use on environment
Environmental/economic factors equally important
Enables decision makers with full knowledge of environmental consequences
Suggest modifications/alternatives
What are the Six main stages of EIA?
- Outline development
- Describing existing environment
- Assess likely impacts
- Propose modifications to reduce impacts
- Publish environmental statement
- Decision made
What is recharge?
A hydrological process involving the downward movement of water by infiltration and percolation causing the replenishment of natural groundwater
What is abstraction?
Removal of water available in the environment - either permanently or temporarily
What is Virtual Water?
Hidden flow of water if food or other commodities are traded from one place to another
What are five examples of the types of issues identified by the EIA?
- Disturbance of land
- Contamination of surface water from spillage
- Seepage into groundwater supplies from tailings and waste rock dumps
- Road traffic > greenhouse gases > control idling of engines
- Radiation levels from heavy metals
