Unit 8 Mini Case Studies

Question 1

Countries dependent on energy imports

Answer 1

Venezuela and Nigeria

Question 2

Europe and Russia energy

Answer 2

Europe’s dependence on Russia’s natural gas causes geopolitical tension. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to energy supply disruptions, price spikes and shortage fears

Question 3

Energy consumption example

Answer 3

USA and China have large populations so consume more

Question 4

Middle east oil

Answer 4

Dominates oil production with countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE being major exporters. Domestic consumption in these countries is also high due to heavy reliance on oil for transport and electricity generation

Question 5

North america oil

Answer 5

The US is one of the largest oil consumers driven by transportation. US is also a significant producer due to shale oil

Question 6

Asia pacific oil

Answer 6

China and India are among the largest consumers of oil with growing demand from industrial sectors and transportation. Asia in general is a significant importer due to its limited domestic oil production

Question 7

Europe oil

Answer 7

Oil consumption is relatively lower but still important especially in transportation. European countries are trying to reduce oil dependency through policies encouraging electric vehicles and renewables

Question 8

Asia pacific coal

Answer 8

Dominates global coal consumption with China being the largest consumer and producer accounting for over half the worlds coal use. India also relies heavily on coal especially for electricity generation

Question 9

North america coal

Answer 9

The US has reduced its coal consumption due to the shift to natural gas and renewables but still consumes significant amounts for power generation

Question 10

Europe coal

Answer 10

Coal consumption is in decline especially in western europe due to strong environmental regulations and a transition towards renewable energy. Countries like Poland and Germany still have considerable coal use

Question 11

Africa coal

Answer 11

South Africa is the largest consumer on the continent using it primarily for electricity generation

Question 12

North america natural gas

Answer 12

The US and Canada are major consumer and producers of natural gas with the US being the largest globally due to the shale gas revolution. It is primarily used for electricity generation and heating

Question 13

Europe natural gas

Answer 13

Natural gas plays a central role in the energy mix particularly for electricity generation and heating. Countries like Germany and Italy depend on imports with Russia historically being a key supplier

Question 14

Asia pacific natural gas

Answer 14

Demand for natural gas is growing rapidly in countries like China and Japan driven by efforts to reduce coal consumption and lower emissions

Question 15

Middle east natural gas

Answer 15

Major producers like Qatar are also significant consumers with natural gas being used for both domestic power generation and as a major export

Question 16

Africa natural gas

Answer 16

Nigeria and Algeria are major producers but much of the continent still lacks access to modern energy infrastructure so domestic consumption is lower than potential

Question 17

South america hydroelectricity

Answer 17

Brazil leads the region in hydroelectric generation with nearly 2/3 of its electricity coming from hydro. Countries like Colombia and Venezuela also rely heavily on this resource

Question 18

North america hydroelectricity

Answer 18

Canada is a major player in hydroelectric power with vast natural resources contributing to both domestic energy supply and exports to the US

Question 19

Asia natural gas

Answer 19

China is the worlds largest producer of hydroelectricity benefitting from large scale projects like the Three Gorges Dam. Countries like India and Nepal also have significant hydro potential

Question 20

Europe natural gas

Answer 20

Norway and Sweden are major hydroelectricity producer while other parts of Europe use it as a small but reliable part of their renewable energy mix

Question 21

Africa natural gas

Answer 21

While the continent has vast potential for hydroelectricity the underdeveloped energy infrastructure limits its exploitation. Ethiopia is an emerging player with projects like the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Question 22

Europe nuclear

Answer 22

France is the leader in nuclear energy with about 70% of its electricity coming from nuclear power plants. Other countries like the UK and Finland also rely on nuclear though Germany has begun phasing it out as part of its energy transition

Question 23

North america nuclear

Answer 23

The US remains the worlds largest producer of nuclear power contributing about 20% of its electricity. Canada also has a significant nuclear sector

Question 24

Asia nuclear

Answer 24

China is expanding its nuclear capacity rapidly with ambitious plans for growth. Japan after the Fukushima disaster scaled down its nuclear reliance but is gradually restarting plants. South Korea is another important player

Question 25

Russia nuclear

Answer 25

It remains a major producer and exporter of nuclear technology maintaining a significant nuclear energy share domestically

Question 26

Europe renewables

Answer 26

Europe is a global leader adoption with countries like Germany, Spain and Denmark making a significant investments in wind and solar energy. EU policies target carbon neutrality by 2050 accelerating the growth of renewables

Question 27

North america renewables

Answer 27

The US is increasing its share of renewable energy with significant investments in wind and solar. Texas and California lead in wind and solar power generation

Question 28

Asia renewables

Answer 28

China is the worlds largest producer and installer of solar panels and wind turbines driven by aggressive government policies to reduce reliance on coal. India is also scaling up its renewable energy capacity especially solar

Question 29

Africa renewables

Answer 29

Sub Saharan Africa has massive potential for solar energy and countries like South Africa, Kenya and Morocco are making strides in wind and solar energy projects

Question 30

Middle east renewables

Answer 30

While historically dependent on fossil field countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia are increasingly investing in solar energy as part of long term diversification strategies

Question 31

World shale oil examples

Answer 31

Scotland potentially has 6m barrels
Mexico planned to invest $242m in 2012 to access oil potential
Chevron oil as rights as of 2012 to drill in Colombia
An Australian energy company has discovered 233bn barrels
Japan started extraction in 2012

Question 32

Middle East reserves to production ratio

Answer 32

Has some of the highest due to vast reserves and stable production

Question 33

Russia reserves to production ratio

Answer 33

High about 20-30 years as it has large reserves

Question 34

USA reserves to production ratio

Answer 34

Lower of about 10-15 years due to high production rates. Has discovered new reserves recently but consumes a lot domestically

Question 35

Canada reserves to production ratio

Answer 35

Over 80 years but extracting reserves is more challenging

Question 36

Europe reserves to production ratio

Answer 36

Very low because of limited reserves so rely heavily on imports

Question 37

Africa reserves to production ratio

Answer 37

High but face challenges like political instability and underinvestment

Question 38

Causes of trends in energy consumption examples

Answer 38

The decrease in the USA is marginal but more significant in Japan, Germany and the UK. HICs such as Canada and Spain have increased energy consumption but only slightly. In 2002 energy consumption in China was less than half the USA. By 2012 it was 24% higher. India consumed less than Japan and Germany in 2002 but now consumes more than both. South Korea overtook the UK in consumption also. Bangladesh has a higher population than South Korea and Malaysia but consumed less than both in 2012 even though consumption rose then

Question 39

Haiti fuel consumption (LIC)

Answer 39

Fossil fuel consumption has increased by 3 MTOE. Nuclear power has remained negligible while HEP has increased by 2 MTOE. Wind and biofuels have both remained very small

Question 40

Brazil energy consumption (MIC)

Answer 40

Fossil fuel consumption has increased by 80 MTOE while nuclear power has again remained negligible. HEP has increased to the same level as fossil fuels and wind and biofuels have increased by a relatively small amount

Question 41

Australia’s energy consumption (HIC)

Answer 41

Fossil fuel consumption has increased overall but decreased from 2010-2023. Nuclear power has again remained negligible but HEP has steadily increased across the period. Wind and biofuels increased significantly more from 2010-2023 than from 2000-2010

Question 42

Oil sands in Canada and Venezuela overview

Answer 42

They are a mixture of bitumen and sand. The bitumen doesn’t flow unless heated or dilated by lighter hydrocarbons to transport by pipelines and use by refiners. Synthetic oil is a new technology. Alberta government estimated recoverable oil reserves t be 2 bn barrels. In 2012 the sands employed 22000 directly. Current production is 1.3 m barrels per day which will be 3 m by 2020. In 2012 56% of Canadas oil production came from oil sands. Albertas are the 3rd largest globally

Question 43

Environmental concerns about oil sands in Canada and Venezuela

Answer 43

Takes 2 tonnes of mined sand for 1 barrel or synthetic crude leaving waste
Takes 3x as much energy to produce a barrel of Alberta sands crude as it does conventionally so emit a lot of greenhouse gases
Oil sands need 2-4.5 barrels of water for 1 barrel of oil
Development of sands has impacted landscapes, removing some boreal forest

Question 44

Pushback against oil sands in Canada and Venezuela

Answer 44

Greenspace has asked the Canadian government and oil companies to stop developing sands on environmental, health and social grounds. In 2013 in Venezuela over 1.25 m barrels were produced per day

Question 45

Niger Delta oil overview

Answer 45

Covers 70000 km^2 and 7.5% of Nigerias land. Contains 75a5 of Africas mangroves. In 2006, 1.5 m tonnes of oil had been split in the delta in the last 50 years. The deltas is one of the 5 most polluted areas on earth. Pollution destroys the livelihoods of the 20 m people living in the delta. Damages crops and fishing grounds and causes regional violence. People are unhappy with bearing these costs and seeing no benefit. The oil companies do not use available technology to combat pollution. Shell claims 95% of oil discharges in the last 5 years were due to sabotage

Question 46

Niger Delta flaring impacts

Answer 46

The flaring of unwanted natural gas is an environmental problem. The gas is not useful because there is no pipeline infrastructure to consumer markets. 70 m m^3 are flared per day. This is 40% of Africas natural gas consumption. Flaring in the delta is the worlds largest source of greenhouse gases

Question 47

Environmental impacts on Africa’s remaining mangrove forest of oil

Answer 47

Oil spills, acid rain from flares and stripping mangroves for pipeline routes have killed fish
From 1986-2003 over 20000 ha of mangroves removed from the coast due to land clearing and canal dredging for exploration
Oilfields contain lots of natural gas which is burnt as flares rather than being stored or re-injected. Hundreds of flares cause acid rain and releases greenhouse gases
6817 oil spills since the beginning of regional oil production or higher
Construction and shipping have changed wave patterns causing shore erosion and fish migration
Different construction types have occurred without environmental impact studies

Question 48

Recent developments in the Niger Delta oil

Answer 48

Protection agency only existed since 1988 and impact assessments were not mandatory until 1992. In 2015 Royal Dutch Shell agreed to an $84 m settlement with Bodo community for 2 spills affecting many mangroves. The money will go to 15000 fishermen who were affected and the general community. They have admitted along with other companies to over 550 spills in 2014. There were only 10 across all Europe from 1971-2011

Question 49

Energy pathway example

Answer 49

Trans Alaskan Pipelines crosses 3 mountain ranges and many large rivers. Most is above ground to avoid permafrost. The ground is permanently frozen to 300 m deep other than the top 1 m which melts in summer. Building foundations and the uprights that hold the pipeline above ground have to extend below the melting zone. Oil takes 6 days to travel 1270 km. Engineers fly over by helicopter daily to check for leaks

Question 50

Significance of air pollution

Answer 50

In New Delhi and Beijing, particulate matter concentrations are 10 times the recommended level

Question 51

Seveso, Italy pollution

Answer 51

In July 1976 a reactor at a chemical factory near Seveso in Northern Italy exploded sending a toxic cloud into the atmosphere
18 km^2 of land was contaminated with the dioxin TCDD
The immediate impact was seen in a few people with skin inflammation but this was mild
The long term impact is the population suffering from more premature deaths from cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Question 52

Bhopal, India pollution

Answer 52

A chemical factory owned by Union Carbide leaking methyl isocyanate gas on December 3rd 1984
The plant was operated by an Indian subsidiary with lower safety standards than required in the USA
8000 people died in 2 weeks and 8000 have since died from gas related diseases
Greenpeace puts the total deaths at over 20000 making it the world’s worst industrial disaster

Question 53

Chernobyl, Ukraine pollution

Answer 53

Was the world’s worst nuclear power plant accident in April 1986
A reactor exploded sending highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere which drifted over parts of Europe and Eastern North America
2 died in the initial explosion and 336,000 were evacuated and resettled
56 direct deaths and 4000 cancer deaths were caused
The cost of $200 billion makes it one of the most expensive modern disasters

Question 54

Harbin, China pollution

Answer 54

Explosion at a petrochemical plant in North East China released toxic pollutants into a river
Benzene levels were 108 times national safety levels
It is a highly poisonous toxin that is carcinogenic
Water supplied were suspended
5 died, over 60 were injured and 10000 were evacuated

Question 55

China cancer villages background

Answer 55

Rapid economic growth in China has led to widespread environmental problems
Pollution is so severe in some areas that they are described as cancer villages
In Xiditou, southeast of Beijing, the cancer rate is 30x the national average
This is blamed on water and air contaminated by chemical factories
Tests on tap water have found traces of higher carcinogenic benzene that were 50% above national safe limits

Question 56

China cancer villages environmental controls

Answer 56

Local governments built factories for economic growth but had limited environmental controls
The Chinese government admits that 300 million drink polluted water
This water comes from polluted rivers and groundwater
30000 children die of diarrhea or other water-borne illnesses each year
The River Liao is the most polluted followed by waterways in Tianjin and the River Haui

Question 57

The future of Chinas cancer villages

Answer 57

In 2013 the government promised to tackle cancer villages after social media backlash from Chinese people and global campaigners
This related to Huangijawa in Shandong province after it was shown that this area has one of the highest rates of stomaged cancer in the world
The wells in the village have been contaminated with toxins from nearby aluminum smelting which pumps pollution into the sky
Greenpeace East Asia estimate that 320 million are without access to clean drinking water and 190 million are drinking water severely contaminated with hazardous chemicals

Question 58

BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico overview

Answer 58

On April 20th 2010 an explosion occurred on the BP icenced drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico
11 oil workers died and a blowout preventer to prevent the release of crude oil failed to activate
The rig sank in 1500 meters of water with reports of an oil slick 8 km long on the surface
Oil leaked from the well at sea floor level for 87 days until July 15th when BP sealed it with a capping stack
The amount of oil leaking out of the well was estimated at 40000 barrels a day
The US government estimated 4.9 million barrels were spilled in total making it the largest in history
It was surpassed only by the 1991 Persian Gulf spill where Iraq intentionally spilled double this

Question 59

BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico impacts

Answer 59

The environmental impacts occurred in:
Offshore waters
Inshore coastal waters
Seabed wetlands and beaches
Shoreline wetlands and coaches
The spill also influenced economic and psychological damage on communities along the Gulf Coast that depend on tourism, fishing and drilling
Most of the oil has now evaporated or dissolved but 10 million gallons remain on the seafloor and gobs of oil can be found in marshes along the coast
BP claimed where was no evidence of significant long term population level impact to any species
Scientist said that the full scope of the impact is currently unknown
Bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico have been dying at over double the normal rate for the last 5 years