consuming energy resources

what are the types of energy sources?

• non-renewable

• renewable

• recyclable

what are non-renewable energy sources?

finite or stock resources - no more are being made & will eventually run out. they create GHGs like CO2 → climate change

e.g. gas, coal, oil

what are renewable energy sources?

flow resources (naturally replenished) that can be reused & so will not run out

e.g. wind & solar power

what are recyclable energy sources?

sources that can be reused, so will also last into the future

e.g. biofuels, nuclear power

what are the environmental impacts of wind turbines and solar panels?

• large areas of rural landscape will be used (clearing of land)

• wind turbines may harm birds

• they are large, so will look out of place in rural landscapes & cause visual pollution

what are the environmental impacts of opencast mining?

• large mines creates scars on the landscape

• loss of water (billions of tonnes) to extract coal

• habitat loss after clearing land & removing vegetation on the surface

what are the environmental impacts of drilling oil at sea?

• may result in an oil leak in the sea → will rise & coat the ocean surface, so it can kill marine & bird life

  → pollutes the sea

what are the environmental impacts of HEP development?

• involves clearing forests for space to build dams - habitat loss

• land will be flooded → loss of vegetation, harms animals, changes fish migration routes

what are the factors that cause an uneven distribution of energy resources?

1. geology

2. relief & climate

3. accessibility & development

how does geology affect energy resource distribution?

• fossil fuels are found in sedimentary rocks, which is the world’s major source of energy

• countries located on plate boundaries can have geothermal energy

how does relief and climate affect energy resource distribution?

• regions with high rainfall & suitable relief are often good locations for HEP

• exposed areas generate huge amounts of wind e.g. N Scotland → wind turbines

• places that receive long hours & more intense sunlight are good locations for solar parks

how does accessibility and development affect energy resource distribution?

the economic development of a region can influence its ability to invest in & use new technologies, & explore for & develop energy resources

• some resources are in remote areas, making them expensive to exploit & bring to consumers

what is an oil reserve?

the amount of oil that is already discovered, recoverable & commercial (we can get it out)

• most of the world’s oil reserves are in the Middle East e.g. Saudi Arabia

• Europe’s oil reserve is declining

what determines the costs of oil?

rise & falls in the price of coil are influenced by changes in supply & demand, as well as global events (e.g. war)

• wars will result in prices going down, as more people want it

what is OPEC and what is their role?

Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries:

• meet monthly

• decides on how much oil will cost that month - regulates prices

• regulates extractions

why is global consumption of oil increasing?

• population growth → more oil required to meet the needs of people

• rapid industrialisation → more oil needed to fuel industries

• higher standards of living as population gets richer → own more cars & electronics that require energy provided by oil

what are the advantages of solar energy sources?

• growing industry - creates jobs

• requires little maintenance once panels are installed

• no noise created when converting sunlight into energy

what are the disadvantages of solar energy sources?

• large solar farms take up land that could be used for growing crops

• manufacturing photovoltaic panels can be harmful to environment - made of silicon & toxic metals

• desert habitats are fragile & easily damaged during construction

what are the advantages of wind energy sources?

• clean fuel source - does not emit GHGs or pollute

• large offshore wind farms can create a generating capacity of hundreds of MW of electricity

• onshore wind is one of the cheapest renewable energy sources for the consumer

what are the disadvantages of wind energy sources?

• expensive

• kills birds - birds fly into them

• noisy

• spoils view of landscape

• offshore wind farms are built far from where it’s needed, requiring expensive transmission lines to use power produced

what are the advantages of hydroelectric energy sources?

• reliable & consistent source, with few fluctuations in amount produced

• power plant construction can mean building dams & reservoirs - can help with conserving water supplies

what are the disadvantages of hydroelectric energy sources?

• expensive

• large areas need to be cleared - spoils natural landscape

• power plants result in displacement of farmland & villages to make room for dams & reservoirs

• power plants changes river flow - impacts fish & wildlife that rely on sources of water

what are the advantages of biofuels?

• burning of biofuels produce fewer carbon emissions & toxins than fossil fuels

• can be manufactured from reusing materials like crop waste & manure that would otherwise be wasted

what are the disadvantages of biofuels?

• large quantities of water required to grow biofuel crops

• increasing demand increases competition for land

• demand & shortage for land causes an increase in deforestation

what are the advantages of hydrogen energy sources?

• energy is clean, producing no GHGs or air pollution

• energy made from water - doesn’t rely on fuel reserves located in few countries or ecologically sensitive areas

what are the disadvantages of hydrogen energy sources?

• energy is needed to release hydrogen gas from water → if done using fossil fuels, then carbon footprints, energy security & mix are impacted

• difficult to store hydrogen safely under pressure

what fossil fuels are being exploited?

• tar sands

• shale gas

what are tar sands?

a mixture of sand, clay & water, & a very dense, sticky form of petroleum (oil) called bitumen

how are tar sands extracted?

hot steam is injected underground

• expensive to extract as it requires enormous amounts of energy & water

what is shale gas?

a natural gas that is trapped underground in shale rock

how is shale gas extracted?

• shale is impermeable - any gas trapped inside can’t be reached or pumped out using conventional vertical drilling

  → fracking is used (blasting the rock apart)

what are the advantages of exploiting shale gas?

• creates jobs

• provides an energy source → energy to sell to other countries

what are the concerns about exploiting shale gas?

• complicated & expensive

• contamination of water sources - toxic

• chemicals used are harmful

• release of GHG - methane

• requires large amounts of energy

• some gas escapes into the atmosphere while being extracted

how can we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels?

• we should used alternative energy sources e.g. solar, wind

• we can try to reduce our energy consumption

define energy efficiency

the goal is to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products & services

define energy conservation

reducing or going without a service to save energy

give examples of methods that produce an energy efficient household

• solar panels

• double glazing windows

• energy efficient appliances installed

• underfloor insulation

• turning appliances off when they are not being used

how does London promote sustainable transport?

• ULEZ

• green hybrid bikes

• lime bikes

• cycle lanes

• congestion charge

how can hydrogen be used as fuel for cars?

• hydrogen is a combination of other elements e.g. carbon & oxygen

• once separated, it is powerful as oil, but with no harmful emissions - only water comes out of the exhaust

• it emits not carbon dioxide

what is a carbon footprint?

a calculation of the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by a person, a country, an organisation, event, or product

describe the attitude ‘business as usual’

the world will continue as they are behaving now using fossil fuels as major energy sources

describe the attitude ‘a sustainable future’

more countries will adopt renewables & rely on mixed energy supplies in order to reduce CO2 emissions