Unit 2C The Challenge Of Resource Management Flashcards
explain the significance of food to economic and social well-being
- without access to enough safe, nutritious foods people can become malnourished
- malnourishment increases likelihood of getting diseases
- people not getting enough to eat may not perform well at school, so lack skills needed to help country’s economic development
- malnourishment can prevent people working, harming personal economic well-being and economy of country
explain the significance of water to economic and social well-being
- clean, safe water needed for drinking, cooking and washing
- without proper sanitation, water sources polluted by raw sewage
- water-borne diseases kill many people
- walk long distances to fresh clean water economic impact on people and country’s economy. people sped less time working + children not able to go school
- water needed produce food, clothes and other products
explain the significance of energy to economic and social well-being
- needed or industry, transport and households
- electricity can allow industries to develop, creating jobs making countries wealthier
- without electricity people may burn wood/kerosene which could lead to local deforestation and emission of harmful fumes
describe the distribution of resources globally
- uneven
- some countries don’t have own energy reserves, others have dry climates or unsuitable environments for food production
- to access more resources, countries import them or find technological solutions to produce more
describe the global inequalities in the consumption of resources
- consumption greater in developed HICs, can afford to buy resources they need + expect higher living standard
- lower in LICs, either can’t afford to exploit resources they have or import resources
- increasing rapidly in NEEs, industry developing v fast + pop + wealth increasing rapidly
describe the demand for food in the UK
growing demand for high-value food exports from low income countries and all-year demand for seasonal food and organic produce
describe the carbon footprint of or food
- growing, processing and packaging of food produces CO2 and other greenhouse gases
- transporting food produces CO2
- imported foods transported long way so high food miles and large carbon footprint
describe the trend towards agribusiness
- farm sizes increasing
- amount of chemicals used in food production increasing
- number of workers employed falling because greater use of machinery
define agribusiness
large-scale, industrial farming where processes from production of seeds and fertilisers, to processing and packaging of food are controlled by large firms
describe the changing demand for water in the UK
- since 1975, amount of water used by households in UK gone up by about 70%
- UK population predicted to increase by around 10 million people by 2040
- population densities changing
describe water quality and pollution management
- polluted/ low quality water reduces amount available for use
- river water quality in UK improving
- up to 80% water in some parts of southern England comes from groundwater, pollution affecting water quality of nearly 50% of groundwater used for public supply in UK
describe some of the problems with the quality of river water in the UK
- nitrates and phosphates from fertilisers used on crops washed into rivers and groundwater
- pollutants from vehicles being washed into water sources through surface run-off when rains
- accidental chemical and oil spills at factories polluting local water sources and groundwater supplies
what are strategies for managing water quality
improving drainage systems and imposing regulations on amount and types of fertilisers and pesticides used
describe the supply and demand for water in the UK
- north and west of UK, high rainfall means good supply of water
- north and west areas of water surplus
- south east and midlands have high population densities means there’s high water demand
- south east and midlands areas of water deficit
describe the need for transfer to maintain supplies
water transfers can help maintain supplies by transferring water from areas of surplus to areas of deficit.
describe some issues of water transfer
- dams and aqueducts that needed are expensive to build
- can affect wildlife that lives in rivers
- might be potential political issues (people might not want their water transferred to another area)
describe the UKs changing energy mix
- in 1970, 91% of energy came from coal and oil
- by 1980 22% of energy supplied by gas
- use of nuclear energy to produce electricity increased during 1990s
- all coal fired power station in UK due to close by 2025 and in 2014, 19% of all electricity generated from renewable resources
describe the reduced domestic supplies of coal, gas and oil
- North Sea oil + gas reserves being rapidly used up and production been declining since 2000.
- decline in demand of coal due to an effort to reduce CO2 emissions
- cost of mining remaining reserves increasing
explain the economic issues associated with exploitation of energy sources
- extracting fossil fuels expensive and cost increases as reserves used u
- cost of producing electricity from nuclear and renewable energy sources relatively high
- many renewable sources don’t provide reliable enough supply of energy, so UK still has to pay to import energy from other countries
explain the environmental issues associated with exploitation of energy sources
- burning fossil fuels releases CO2 and other greenhouse gases
- fracking may pollute groundwater and cause mini-earthquakes
- natural ecosystems damaged by renewable energy generators like large wind farms
describe the global distribution of energy consumption
uneven, strong relationship between wealth and energy consumption. wealthy developed countries tend to consume lots energy per person because can afford to . poorer, less developed countries consume less energy per person as less able to afford it
describe the global distribution of energy production
uneven, some countries produce lots energy because have large energy reserves and money to exploit them. some countries produce little energy because have few resources or unable to exploit their resources due to lack of money or political instability
describe economic development as a reason for increasing energy consumption
economic development has increased wealth of some poorer countries so people buy more things that use energy
describe rising population as a reason for increasing energy consumption
in 2011 world population just over 7 billion and projected to increase to over 9 billion in 2040- more people means more energy needed
describe technological advances as a reason for increasing energy consumption
created loads of new devices that all need energy,these becoming more popular so more energy needed
describe the physical factors affecting energy supply
- unequal distribution of fossil fuels
- fossil fuels non-renewable so supplies will run out
- variations in climate and geography affect potential for use of renewable energy sources
- likelihood of natural disaster that could damage energy infrastructure affects what energy sources can be developed and used
describe the economic actors affecting energy supply
- non-renewable resources left in world becoming difficult to reach, so more costly to extract
- prices of fossil fuels very volatile, can vary a great deal , countries relying on energy imports might not be able to afford them
- some LICs may have potential energy resources but can’t afford to exploit them
describe the technological factors affecting energy supply
-some countries not able to exploit their energy resources as tech required expensive or unavailable
describe the political factors affecting energy supply
- wars + political instability in countries with large energy reserves can affect their ability to export resources
- climate change linked to burning fossil fuels resulted in international agreements to reduce amount of CO2 emissions
describe exploration of difficult and environmentally sensitive areas as an impact of energy insecurity
-as fossil fuels get used up, reserves in more difficult and environmentally sensitive areas are exploited. this increases cost of producing energy and risks environmental damage
describe food production as an impact of energy insecurity
demand for cleaner and cheaper energy sources increases demand for biofuels. growing crops for biofuels has negative impacts on environment and takes up land that could be used for growing food
describe industrial output as an impact of energy insecurity
energy shortages and higher energy costs reduce industrial output, factories have to produce less or relocate to somewhere with better energy security
describe the potential for conflict where demand exceeds supply
potential for political instability or conflict between countries with an energy surplus and countries with an energy deficit
describe biomass as a renewable source of energy
wood, plants or animal waste burnt for power or used to produce biofuels. burning biomass doesn’t require much technology but only renewable if biomass used is managed sustainably
describe wind power as a renewable energy source
turbines use energy of wind to generate electricity, either on land or out at sea. no greenhouse gas emissions once built. wind variable so wind farms can’t generate electricity all time
describe solar power as a renewable energy source
energy from sun used to heat water and solar cookers or generate electricity using photovoltaic cells. water heaters and solar cookers can be cheap source of electricity but cells more expensive
describe hydro power as a renewable energy source
uses energy of falling water. water trapped by dam and allowed to fall through tunnels where pressure of falling water turns turbines to generate electricity. building dams destroy habitats an communities and may be too expensive for LIC
describe tidal power as a renewable energy source
currents or changes in water level caused by tides used to turn turbines and generate electricity. it can’t generate power all day, but can reliably predicted as tidal cycles regular
describe wave power as a renewable energy source
wind blowing across water makes waves, which drive turbines to generate electricity. turbine expensive and don’t produce much energy in calm conditions
describe geothermal power as a renewable energy source
water pumped into ground, where heat deep in Earth’s crust turns it into steam, which drives a turbine to generate electricity. cheap to set up, but works best in tectonically active areas, which not every country has
describe fossil fuels as a non-renewable energy source
supply of fossil fuels can be increased by searching for new reserves to exploit, or by exploiting reserves that have been discovered but not yet used. as tech develops become possible to extract resources that were previously too difficult or costly to use
describe nuclear power as a non-renewable energy source
nuclear power used to generate large amount of energy from a small amount of fuel. nuclear power plants very expensive to build and decommission, nuclear waste must be safely stored for 1000s of years and accidents can be catastrophic
describe advantages of extracting fossil fuels
- lots of shale gas available in UK. fracking increases energy security of UK as supplies of other fossil fuels start running out
- gas is less polluting than other fossil fuels
- fracked gas cheaper source than some renewables
describe disadvantages of extracting fossil fuels
- gas not sustainable, non-renewable and releases CO2 when burned
- risk of pollution of groundwater, drinking water and air
- uses lots of water
- known to cause small earthquakes
- investment in fracking may slow down investment in renewable energy
describe sustainable design as a method of conserving energy
- insulation, less energy required to heat homes + workplaces
- modern boilers, more efficient so use less energy
- switching to electric(vehicles), more efficient
- solar panels provide renewable, low-carbon energy
describe demand reduction as a method of conserving energy
demand reduction reduces amount of electricity that needs to be generated:
- demand reduced by encouraging people to turn off lights, boiling only water needed and using more efficient appliances
- improving public transport and encouraging walking or cycling reduces demand for energy used for transport
describe increasing efficiency as a method of conserving energy
- hybrid cars,and trains combine diesel and electric power to increase efficiency
- regeneration braking, road vehicles and trains can be fitted with devices to store energy lost under braking to be used later or return to national grid
- power stations switching to gas and using gas turbine combined cycle technology
briefly explain rice husks being used to generate sustainable power in Bihar
Bihar is rural state in north-east India (an NEE).around 85% people living there not connected to electricity grid. in 2007 scheme began to use local biomass to supply homes in rural parts of Bihar with electricity
describe the use of rice husks in Bihar
rice husks collected and used to generate electricity in small, local power plants. each power plant has simple design and contains a rice husk gasifier, filters to clean gas, gas turbine, generator and distribution system that can supply electricity to homes within 1.5km range
how is producing sustainable power with rice husks efficient
producing electricity locally very efficient, as energy sources don’t have to be transported long distances and electricity produced doesn’t need to be transferred over long distances to homes
what does energy from rice husks in Bihar provide
- providing electricity from biomass reduced demand for small diesel generators and kerosene lamps, so reduced use of fossil fuels
- power plants provide employment for local people, they’re trained in management, operation or maintenance, keeps scheme sustainable as reduces reliance on external organisations and expertise
