Resource security

Question 1

Concept of a resource

Answer 1

A resource can be defined as any aspect of the natural enviroment that can be used to meet human needs.
- They are a material source of wealth and they can be useful or neccesary.
- They carry economic value and can be used to improve wealth and economic development.

Question 2

Resource security

Answer 2

This is usually determined at the national level although can also be applied to global scales.

It refers to the ability of a country to safeguard a reliable and sustainable flow of resources to maintain the living standards of the population.

A country should develop the necessary reources from ite own enviroment or be able to secure it from a trading partner.

Question 3

Stock resources

Answer 3

• These are compound depositis of materials which have taken millions of years to form, usually on or in the earths crust.
• From a economic persepctive stock resources have a ‘fixed’ or finite supply as once they are used they cannot be replenished.

Question 4

Flow resources

Answer 4

• This are those which can be naturally renewed within a sufficiently short time spand to be relevant to decision makers.
• There are flows that are not dependant on human activity and flows which are renweable if human use remains at or below their capacity to reporduce or regenerate. These are CRITICAL flow resources.

Question 5

Non-renweable energy resources

Answer 5

These are those that have been built up or have evolved over time. They cannot be used without depleting the stock because their rate of formation is so slow that it is irrelavent in terms of a human life span.

E.G
Fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal, but also include uranium used for nuclear energy.

Question 6

Renewable energy resources

Answer 6

These yield a continuous flow that can be consumer in any given period of time without endagering future consumption.

E.G Solar, HEP, geothermal energy, wave and tidal power.

Question 7

Renewable energy resources can be divided into two…

Answer 7

Critical, sustainable energy resources from forests, plants and other biomass, if they are exploited at a faster rate than they are replaced they can be depleted and therfore require manegement WATER

Non-critical, ‘everlasting’ resources such as tides, waves, and solar power.

Question 8

Resource manegement and sustainable development

Answer 8

Resource manegement involves controlling the exploitation and use of resources in relation to the associated economic and enviromental costs. A key element of this is sutainable development, which requires a contolled system of manegement to ensure that the current level of exploitation does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs

Question 9

Stock resources evaluation

Answer 9

• Stock resources are mainly mineral depositis found in or on the earths crust. Mineral resources are a concentration of naturally occuring solid, liquid or gaseous, inroganic or fossilised material.
• These depositis are very valuable, particulary when discovered in sufficient quantity and sucg grade of quality that the reasonable prospects of economc extraction exist.

Question 10

Distinction between resources and reserves

Answer 10

The term resourcses includes all depositis of mineral resources whether undiscovered, discovered or discovered but not econmically viable.

Alternatley reservers are the parts of the resource that are economically and legaly viable.

Question 11

Measured reserves

Answer 11

This is the part of the resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities and physical characterisits are so well establsihed they can be estimated with confidence.

Enough information and confidence of establsihed grade and quality can even be ‘proven reservers’

Question 12

Indicated reservers

Answer 12

This is the part of a resource where the quantity, grade or quality, densities and physical charactertisics can be estimated with a level of confidence sufficient enough to allow further evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit.

This the allows for a preliminary study which can serve as the basis for development and allow for conversion to probable reserve.

Question 13

Inffered resources

Answer 13

This is the part of the resource where the quantity, grade or quality, densities and physical characterstics can only be estimated on the basis of limited geological sampling.

• Uncertainty
• It cannot be assumed that they will upgrade to indicated or measured resources after further exploration.
• Insuficient information for now and remain ‘possible reserves’

Question 14

Possible resources

Answer 14

Different to possible reservers

• Based on broad geological knowledge of the existence of other, mostly undiscovererd, depositis and a expectation that they will become more economically viable in the long term.

Question 15

Resource development over time

Answer 15

Exploration
Exploitation
Development

Question 16

Risks of exploitation of resources

Answer 16

Physical risks include accesibility of the resources available in an area or country.

Geopoltical risks include the concentration of production in a relatively small number of countries and the confdience of the the country to trade with otheres

Question 17

What do physical things of exploitation depend on

Answer 17

• The quantity of the resource that has been found, the quality of resources in the reserve, accessibilty and physical location and the technology available to extract.

Question 18

Exploration

Answer 18

Price or value of the resource may increase, prompting the exploration of reserves in more remote locations, as they become mre viable for production.

Question 19

Cycle of natural resource development

Answer 19

• Available land or sea
• Exploration rights and licences
• Evaluation and enviromental assesment
• Construction on the site
• Operation (extraction)
• Closure of site

Question 20

Resource frontier

Answer 20

This refers to an area where resources are brought into production for the first time.

Question 21

Resource peak

Answer 21

This refers to the tme of maximum rate of production of a resource, either from a given reserve or the resource as a whole.

Concept of ‘peak oil’ is the idea that production of oil would peak and then enter a decline.

Question 22

Issues with our current resource use

Answer 22

• The chance of future generations, aprticulary in low income and developing countries to have access to their fair share of resources is endangered.
• The consequences of our resource use in terms of enviromental impacts will cause damage that goes beyond the carrying capacity of the planet.
• When the developing world attains the level of growth and resohrce use as industrialised countries this issue will grow.

Question 23

Methods of sustaiablity

Answer 23

Demand sided
Supply sided

Question 24

Reducing depletion

Answer 24

This is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished and is mostly applied to our use of non-renewable fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gas and WATER.

Question 25

Supply sided manegement

Answer 25

• Increase exploration efforts for existing non-renewables.
• Increasing reaserch efforts to develop more sustainable alterantive or susitute resources to replace unsustainable ones.
• New technologies that are more sustainable and cause less enviromental impacts.

Question 26

Demand sided manangement

Answer 26

• Changing individual beahaviour and lifestyle to discoruage wasetful use fo resources
• Develop tech to enable more efficient use of resources.
• Recycling after use
• Reducing population growht with popoulation control methods.
• Regulatory controls and frameworks as part as part of global governance. Agenda 21 and Kyoto Protocol

Question 27

EIA

Answer 27

Enviromental impact assessment

• This is a process of evaluating the likely enviromental consequences of a proposed project, such as resource development.
• The assesment also considers health and socio-economic imapcts.
• Asses impact of changing land use on the enviroment
• Enviromental factors placed on a equal footing to economic factors
• Enables decision making with full infomation of enviromental consequences.

Question 28

Examples of EIA

Answer 28

• Aesthetic problems such as degregation of the lanscape
• Air pollution
• Noise pollution and water pollution
• Dereliction, abandonment of site when mine is closed and exhausted

Question 29

Characteristics of areas with water surplus

Answer 29

• Climates giving regular, plentiful rainfall, resulting in good runoff and stores such as aquifiers large vodies of freshwater sources and low evaporation rates.
• Effective water treatment and manegement protects against water pollution and esnures a good water quality and supply.
• Low water usuage characterisitcs, for example low population or efficient usuage of available water

LOCATED in temperate or tropical locations such as south america, europe, north america and asia.

Question 30

Characterisitcs of areas with water scarcity

Answer 30

Both natural and physical made, effects every continent, 1.2 billion people suffer from physical water scarcity.

Arid regions with physical water scarcity, resoruces cannot reach demand of the population.

LOCATION, North africa and middle east

Question 31

Primary energy

Answer 31

These are energy resources obtained in their raw material or natural form, such as oil, natural gas, wind or water. They are not usuable until they are converted into heat or mechanical action to produce secondary energy.

Question 32

Secondary energy

Answer 32

This is energy that is transformed or convereted from primary energy sources into manafactured sources of power which are usuasable. For examle, heat and electricity.

Question 33

Energy mix

Answer 33

This is the compostion of different sources of energy used in a country or globally.

Question 34

Fossil fuels and energy supply

Answer 34

Oil, largest share of the primary energy mix, 31% in 2013.

Natural gas, accounts for 21% of the energy budget 2013 and is growing in order to reduce oil dependany

Coal, accounts for 29% of the worlds energy supply.

Question 35

Nuclear energy and energy mix

Answer 35

Nuclear energy generates just over 6% of the worlds energy.
Mostly found in developed countries due to hge invesment and advanced technology required.

Question 36

Advantages of nuclear energy

Answer 36

• Very efficient
• Relatively large reserves of uraniam
• The cost of electirciry over the life of a power station is predictable and moderate.
• Atmospheric pollution is much less than in fossil fuels.

Question 37

Disadvantages of nuclear energy

Answer 37

• High investment and complaince costs in constructing nuclear power stations.
• Public concerns about operation and radioactive waste disposal.
• Difficulty to find suitable sites
• Dangers and accidents, Fukushima 2011 Japan
• Geo political tension, plutonium is used in nuclear weapons.

Question 38

Renewables energy mix

Answer 38

• Last 40 years the contribution of renewables to the energy mix has been around 12-15%
• 100% of icelands enery is produced from geothermal sources and HEP sources

Question 39

Energy mix and consumption in Mali

Answer 39

ENERGY MIX
-78% of the primary energy supply is made up of biomass, mainly in the form of wood and charcoal.
- 18% is fossil fuels that are largely imported oil.
- The remaining 4% is HEP and renewable sources.

CONSUMPTION
- Households consumer 86% of malis energy

WHY?
The main energy is needed for cooking and heating and not electricity, no coal or oil reveres in the country. Mali is very poor.

Question 40

Energy mix and consumption in Iceland

Answer 40

• Very high energy consumption per capita
• Very low carbon emitter as fossil fuels are only used for transport.
• Abundance of geothermal energy, 66%.
• Advanced country with small poppulation, they can afford to construct dams for 15% HEP.

Question 41

Energy mix and consumption in France

Answer 41

• 38% nuclear, supplies 80% of its elecriticty.
• Shoratge of fossil fuel reserves, partuclary oil and gas.
• Many large rivers and coastlines and therfore conditions suitable for nuclear and cooling.

Question 42

Factors affects in a countries energy mix

Answer 42

• Availability of energy sources within a country
• Intertia, it already exitis and they cannot change due to techniculty and economical issues
• Goverment energy policy, striving for energy security?
• Geopolitics
• Lack of development
• Physical conditions

Question 43

Coal and geology

Answer 43

• Coal is sedimnetary rock which formed millions of years ago.
• Increased heat will result in a higher carbon content and a greater quality of coal.
  Anthracite is the highest grade coal and found in areas that are rich in carbon.

Question 44

Oil/natural gas and geology

Answer 44

They are hyrdocrabons of organic matter that fell to the bottom of the sea and were fossilised as sedimentary rocks. Resevoirs are sedimentary rock formations that hold oil and gas within their pores.

Question 45

Climate and solar energy

Answer 45

Solar energy can be harnessed anywhere that recievs sunlight and therfore different weather conditons will determine how much sunlight there is.
- Solar powers cannot generate electricity at night .
- Tropical areas receiev the most sunlight, days are usually longer.
- Frequent fog, somg or air pollution.
- Snowfall will mean that they will not operate as well when high volumes of snow are on top.
- Rainfall, electrical and mechanical components are susceptible from corrosion.
- Wind, frequent strong winds can damage solar installations.

Question 46

Climate and wind energy

Answer 46

• The minium speed at which wind turbines creater usable power is around 10mph.
• 35mph winds is neede to generate rated power.
• Turbines will shutdown at very high wind speeds.
• Air density, lower elevations means higher denstiy air and more energy is recieved by turbines, warm air is less dense.

Question 47

Drainage systems and energy supply

Answer 47

• Size and shape of drainage basins as well as the volume of water in channels.
• Important for development of HEP.
• The flow is the volume of water that can be captured and redirect to turn turbines.
• The higher the flow the greater the energy.
• Narrow exit, steep valley will produce alot of power

Question 48

Competeing national interests

Answer 48

• European dependence on middle east oil will remain signficant.
• Asian dependance on Gulf oil will increase.
• China will start to develop oil reserves in Africa.
• USA will develop more reserves but heavily rely on imports.
• Natural gas will continue to grow.
• The use of renewables will increase.

Question 49

Role of TNCs in energy production

Answer 49

• Powerful and wealthy TNCs dominate the oil trade, oil companies have considerable power in todays globalised world as they help fund development projects.
• They can influence governments and can be granted exploration rights in a area.
• TNCs are involved in all stages of exploration, production and distribution

Question 50

Strategies in order to increase the energy supply

Answer 50

Oil and gas exploration
Nuclear power
Development of renewables

Question 51

Oil and gas exploration

Answer 51

• In 2014, 81% of energy used world wide came from fossil fuels, as fossil fuels resevres are depleted prices rise.
• As the price of fossil fuels increase, extra ecploration efforst is invested in new reserves or reassesing speculative reserves.
• Countries are more willing to grant exploration rights to TNCs.
• North sea oil and gas are past their peak.
• TNCs develop new technology to access previously unviable reserves.

FRACKING in the US began in 1949 by 2013 at least 2 million oil and gas well in the US have been used for fracking, it makes up 43% of the US oil production. HOWEVER it is controversial as it causes enviromental issues such as groundwater contamination and air pollution.

TAR SANDS, mining sediment that contains bitumen, takes around two tonnes of tar sands to mine 1 barrel of oil.

Question 52

Nuclear power

Answer 52

• This provides a long term, more efficient and viable energy security alternative for many countries which have become over reliant on fossil fuels.
• Low CO2 emissions, however disposal of waste is difficult and can cause accidents.
• In 2014 nuclear power provided 5% of the worlds enerfy, this has declined since 1990 and countries such as germany and Japan are phasing it out. Following Fukushima disaster in japan in 2011, Germany has permanently shut down eight of its 17 reactors and pledged to close the rest by the end of 2022

HOWEVER research is being conducted to improve nuclear production, China and Russia are planning new nuclear power plants and the international energy agaency suggests that doubling global nuclear energy production by 2050 would help limit climate change.

Question 53

Development of renewable resources

Answer 53

• Uk energy policy since 2008 energy act has been build around reducing CO2 emissions, so there has been much support for renewables.
• Government subsides have been fofered to encourage generation of renewable electivity.
• Incentives have seen a rapid growth in renewable energy in the Uk.
• The Uk is now the world leader in offshore wind farms.
• Three Gorges Dam in china has a generation capacity of 20,000 megawatts of hydro elecriticty.
• Global reliance on renewable energy increased from 12% to 14% in 2014.

Question 54

Managing energy consumption

Answer 54

Household energy saving
industrial and commercial energy saving
Sustainable transport strategies

Question 55

Household energy saving

Answer 55

• The EU directive on the energy performace of buildings is an important government strategy in making sure new properties are enery sufficient.
• Improving thermal efficieny of walls, Double galzing and insulation.
• Using new building materials to reduce heat loss.
• Using enviromentally frienly building materials.
• installing energy efficent appliances

Question 56

Industrial and commercial energy saving

Answer 56

• Carbon trust non-profit organistion
• Helps larger comapnies creat climate change strategies and gives smaller comapnies no-interest loans and energy efficeint equipment.
• Encourages people to install heat recovery systems which collects and re uses heat.

Question 57

Energy sustainability issues

Answer 57

• Acid rain
• Enhanced greenhouse effect
• Nuclear waste

Question 58

Acid rain

Answer 58

Burning fossil fuels releases various gases, some of these dissolve in water vapour in the atmosphere which then falls as acid rain.

• Killing fish and other aquatic life, which can lead to reduced biodiversity.

Question 59

Reducing impacts of acid rain

Answer 59

• Burning fossil fuels with lower sulphur content
• Energy conservation
• Replacing coal fired power stations with nuclear

Question 60

Strategies in order to manage energy consumption - Transport

Answer 60

• Changes to transport can also reduce fuel usage, for example governments can reduce car use by investment into improved public transport links.
• They can increase bus services or build new park and ride schemes.
• Building more cycle lanes and introducing schemes to make buying a bike cheaper.
• Penalise drivers with a tax or charge, for example the congestion charge in central london in the UK.

Question 61

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

Answer 61

• The greenhouse effect is where the greenhouse gases such as CO2 and methane in the earths atmosphere absorb outgoing solar radiation, so less is lost to space.
• Burning fossil fuels releases more greenhouse gases into the air, this is unsustainable as it enhances earths natural greenhouse effect, increasing global temperatures and causing other changes to the climate.

This could lead to
- Rising sea levels and increased flooding
- More frequent and severe extreme weather events
- Habitat loss
- Changing patterns of sgirculture, recued rainfall in Africa and Australia could decrease agricultural productivity.
- Decreases in water avaialbility.

Question 62

Nuclear waste

Answer 62

• Producing nuclear energy generates waster, including used fuel, which is highly radioactive. This can be processed to recover uranium and plutonium that can be used again, however most waster is not currently treated in this way.
• High level nuclear waste has to be stored carefully for thousands of years, if it leaks into the enviroment it can devestating long lasting consequences. Contamination of areas of land and human, animal, plants death.
• Many people beleive that the best way to dispose nuclear waste is to bury it deep in the ground, HOWEVER this is very expensive and some countries it is not economicaly viable.

Question 63

Geopolitics of energy production, trade and use

Answer 63

• Countries that produce lots of a particular type of energy form alliances, for example OPEC, they work together to influence the global supply and therefore price of oil.
• Resources are unevenly disributed across the world, conflicts can arise between countries trying to obtain resources they need.
• As energy consumption increases so does the impact of energy use on the enviroment, political conflict if enviromental clashes.