unit 3 LO1 global trends in consumption Flashcards
what is a resource
something that has utility and value within the context of politicas, culture and economics
why incr middle class
- incr avg incomes
- decr ppl living in absolute poverty
2009 1.8 bil middle classers
how is the incr middle class important economically
incr sales of goods
- electrical goods
- mobile phones
- cars
middle class min. and why some may still be vulnerable
$4/day
- vulnerable to underemployment and unemployment
- informal activity workers – no social or economic security
what is ecological footprint
peoples impact on the environment
how is ecological footprint calculated
total area of productive land and sea req per person
tp meet their food, energy, raw mat, water and waste disposal needs
unit for ecological footprint
gha (global hectares)
country depth of ecological footprint is measured by 3
- rate of pop growht
- levels of dev and consumption
- nature of avail. tech
purpose of EF
model for monitoring environmental impact
- allows direct comparisons betw grps and indivs, hics and lics
factors used in a full ecological footprint calc
- bioproductive land (currently used)
- bioproductive sea
- energy land
- built land
-biodiversity land - non prod land
how countries incr EF
- reliance on FFs
- high lvls of imported resources (Transport)
- large per capita food consumption
- large per capita prod of carbon waste
how does country decr EF
- improving efficiency of resource use
- reducing mat of pollution prod
- reducing population – decr resource use
EF of LICs vs HICs
LIC
SMALLER EF – less resource consumption
HIC
consumption and demand for energy resources are high (meat eating diet!!!)
how does meat eating diet in HIC incr EF
- grain prod higher
- GH gas emmisions from agri (betw 5.1-6.1 billion tonnes of GH gases, 10-12% annually)
4 ways to follow a sustainable dev pathway
- improve efficiency (Resource use)
- reduing consumption levels (HICs)
- maintain/enhance biodiversity and productivity – prot natural ecosystems
- control pop growth – edu, hc
differences in how HICs NICs and LICs use water
- industrial – food, drink, textiles
- domestic use
- agri use
factors that lead to incr water consumption
- growing middle class (incr afflucence)
- growth of tourism and recreation (eg golf courses)
- urbanisation
- climate change (fresh water supply affected)
what is virtual/embedded water
- the way water is transferred from one country to another thru exports
- hidden flow of water when commodities are traded from one place to another
INDIRECT USE
product with greatest virtual water consumption
meat
- hamburger – 2400 litres
change in diet leading to higher consumption (LIC –> MIC)
away from cereals
towards more varied: meat, veg, dairy
methods to incr crop production
- expanding farming area
- multicropping – irrigation
- high-yielding varieties / GMO
reasons for energy insecurtiy
- over reliance on oil/fossil fuels
- incr demand esp from NICs
- decreased supply reserves
- global warming, natural disasters
non renewable energy sources: coal and its impacts
biggest reserves in USA russia aus china india indonesia germany ukraine
strip mining
- destroys habitats, displaces wildlife, causes soil erosion
- direct extraction= land subsidence when mines collapse
- acid drainage (oxidation of sulfur in coal –> sulfuric acid) –> polluting, hazardous for water sources
non renewable: crude oil
2016 prod 96mil barrels/day, demand 98
- future demand by china and india – pop growth, econ dev
what is OPEC
intergovt org
– of 14 oil exporting nations
- coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its member countries
non renewable: natural gas
naturally occuring hydrocarbon gas mixture
- formed when decomp plant and animal matter + high heat and pressuse for mils years
- consumption of is relatively constant (not incr like coal and oil)
- lowest neg impact on enviro
advantages of fossil fuels
- relatively cheap and plentiful
- advanced tech = safe extraction
- no other energy source produces this MUCH energy gromit
- oil can be delivered over long dist – pipeline
disadvantages of fossil fuels
- global warming, GH gases
- unsustainable: non renewable
- will become harder to extract
- air pollution (smoke, co2, particles)
- acid rain (so2 and nitrogen oxides)
alternative energy sources: hydroelectricity
production of elec by generators that are pushed by movement of water
- dams block water flow = large artificial lakes
- turbine converts KE of falling water –> mechanical energy
- generator: mechanical e –> electrical e
benefits of hydroelec
- renewable
- no gh gases released = non polluting
- low operation and maintenece cost
- reliable
- flexible: incr/decr acc to needs
- safer
- multi-purpose (can also be for irrigation, recreation eg boating)
- aids downstream flood control
limitations of hydroelec
- high cost of building
- loss of fish habitat downstream, flooding of wildlife habitat
- changes in water quality (sedimentation)
- relocation of ppl upstream (flooding) –> displacement
- incr erosion downstream
- water lost – incr evaporation
renewable e: solar e
- tech used to harness suns e
- solar panels – indiv solar cells on panels
- larger scale: solar-thermal power plants
heat used to boil water = drives steam turbine
benefits of solar e
- no operating costs
- inexhaustible supply
- much cheaper for heating homes
- pollution free
- works well in remote areas – plenty of sunlight
limitations of solar e
- high initial installation cost
- requires professional installation for large scale panels
- substantial sapce required (unsuitable for dense reisdential)
- sunglight availiablity fluctuates thru the day, limited effectivenss during winter
renewable energy: wind energy
- air flow thru wind turbines - mechanical power to turn electric generators
- energy generated thru electromagneticism –> supplied to electrical grid
benefits of wind energy
- little maintainence required
- no co2 emissons, non pollutive
- sustainable resource
- prices of turbine equipment and installation decr over recent years
limitations of wind energy
- unpredictability of wind e
- cost of initial deployment
- low energy output
- large unobstructed area required
tidal energy renewble energy source
form of hydropower
- coverts e from tides into useful forms of power – electricity
- not widely used, has potential
benefits of tidal energy
- renewable
- efficient energy source (Efficiency 80%)
- predictability : tides cyclic rise and fall
- does not prod emissions
limitations of tidal energy
- expensive initial cost
- construction my damage enviro: turbine frames may disrupt marine ecosystems
- places prod e far from places needing it – less cost effective
- salt water = corrosion of metal parts
- mechanical fluids could leak out - damage marine life
geothermal energy renewable source
thermal e generated and stored in the earth
- water pumped into underground pipes
- geothermal heat heats it
- heated water heats buildings
benefits of geothermal energy
- environmentally friendly – not significant amt of pollution
- geothermal resevoirs naturally replenished
- does not involve fuels –> less cost fluctuation
- plants built partially underground –> saves space
- new tech adv –> geothermal resources exploitable, decr cost
limitations geothermal energy
- earthquakes – damage to plants
- heavy upfront costs
- only sustainable if resevoirs are properly managed
biomass energy
biomass: waste material from plants, animals not used for food or feed
- org waste decomposes – gives off methane gas, which can be burned
benefits of biomass energy
- no harmful co2 emissions
- products ar eabundant and renewable
- reduces landfill use
limitations of biomass energy
- inefficient compared to fossil fuels
- detrimental to enviro (incr methane gas)
- requires large area of land
- rate of harvest lower than rate of replacement
nuclear power
use of nuclear reactions – release nuclear e to generate heat –> steam turbines to gen electricity
- 6% world energy, 14% worlds electricity
- over 400 reactors in operation worldwide
benefits of nuclear power
- does not emit co2
- readily availiable tech
- large amt of electrical e
- very efficient compared to FF
- inexpensive
- minimal waste produced
limitations of nuclear power
- waste is extremely dangerous (chernobyl 1986)
- uranium (energy source) is scarce and non-renewable
- time needed to plan and construct a plant is 20-30y
