p1 - energy resources

• pg 173 - renewable energy resources

• renewable energy resources will never run out, unlike fossils fuels which are finite resources

• renewable energy still does damage to the environment, but not like fossil fuels e.g wind turbines can kill birds if they get trapped in it/ nuclear energy is stored underground

• the renewable energy resources are: solar, tidal/wave, wind, geothermal, hydro-electricity, bio-fuel

• they are less reliable then fossil fuels, as some of them depend on specific environmental conditions e.g high winds/ sun - this means they may not be able to meet demands - they can also be expensive to install

• energy is used mostly in transport and heating

• non renewables for transport - petrol and diesel cars, coal burnt for stream trains

• renewables for transport - viehicles that run on bio-fuels

• non renewables for heating - coal burnt in fireplaces, electric heaters sourced by heating fossil fuels, natural gas used to heat water which is pumped into radiators

• renewables for heating - geothermal heat pump, burning bio-fuels, solar water heaters

• pg 174 - wind, solar and geothermal

• wind turbines are used to generate wind energy, they are places in open spaces such a moors where the wind isn’t blocked by buildings

• they don’t give off any greenhouse gases, only when they’re being manufactured

• each one contains a generator, which turns on when the turbines spin due to high wind

• they’re unreliable, as energy demands cannot be met on days where there is little wind - they produce energy around 70-85% of the time

• they spoil the view and can kill birds, they also cause lots of noise, making people want to move away

• however, they can just be removed, and no damage to the landscape is done

• the initial costs are quite high, but there no fuel costs and minimal maintenence costs

• solar cells are used to generate solar energy, they can be turned into solar panels which people place on top of their rooves

• they can also be used to charge batteries in things such as calculators

• they are also unreliable, as they won’t generate energy during the night or when it’s cloudy - so it’s hard for them to meet demands

• they produce no pollution, are cheap and cost almost nothing to run

• geothermal energy comes from the decay of earth’s radioactive materials e.g uranium

• expensive to build and hard to find an open area large enough to build one

• possible in volcanic environments where hot rock lays close to the surface

• can be used to generate electricity or heat buildings directly

• ph 175 - hydroelectric, waves and tidal

• hydroelectricity depends on the flooding of a valley by building a dam

• the dam has many turbines that allow water to pass through it, which generates electricity

• it doesn’t give off pollution, is reliable unless in times of drought, no fuel costs and maintenence costs are minimum - they can also provide an immediate response to an increased demand for electricity

• initial costs are high - can damage the environment, as the flooding causes decay of plants and algae, which then release CO2 and methane - there is possible habitat loss and they’re moved away from villages and towns to minimise effects on humans

• they also look unsightly when dried up

• wave power is produced by lots of tiny wave turbines, which are placed around the coast connected to a generator

• wave power is unlikely to provide energy on a large scale, as waves die out with wind - they also damage the sea bed and sea life and pose a threat to boats

• however, inital costs are high, but no fuel and little maintenence costs

• tidal energy is provided most commonly by tidal barrages, which are built in river estuaries, with turbines that allow water through at a controlled speed

• they can provide lots of energy, don’t produce pollutant gases, have low running costs and no fuel costs

• however, they can be unreliable, tides happen twice a day, but 4 times a day the water level on both sides of the barrage will be at the same height, meaning energy cannot be produced, high tides will also produce more energy than low tides - barrages also stop boats passing freely, look unsightly and stop normal migration of species and damages habitats

176 - bio fuels and non renewables

• bio fuel requires burning plants or animal dung (like fossill fuels)

• they are carbon neutral, so long as the plants are being grown at the same rate as they’re being burned (plants take in CO2 but they give it back out when burnt - carbon neutral)

• they’re reliable as the plants can be grown relitavly quickly, and can be stored to meet demand

• some people believe that there won’t be enough space of water left to grow crops for food

• they cannot respond immediatley to increase in energy demand

• some areas of forest have been cleared to grow bio-fuel, releasing Co2 and destroying habitats

• the cost to refine biofuels is also very high

• non renewables are reliable

• they can respond to an increase in energy demand, we can just burn/use more of them

• however, they will eventually run out, so we will have to rely on renewable energy sources completely in the future

• fossil fuels are easy and cheap to source, the initial cost of building the plants is high but running costs are cheap

• non renewables produce pollutant gases when burnt : CO2 and methane which contribute to global warming, sulfur dioxide which can cause acid rain, carbon particulates which can cause global dimming

• coal mining can ruin the view

• oil spillages affect birds and mammals living around the sea

• nuclear power is clean, but nuclear waste (which is stored underground in barrels) is very dangerous

• it’s expensive to set up, but the fuel is cheap to fuel

• nuclear power carries the risk of major catastrophe, like fukishinma

• 177 - trends in energy resources use

• at the start of the 20th century, the demand of energy was high as the population increased and more goods began to depend on electricity

• it has began to decrease as we make our appliances more efficient

• more people have begun to use renewable energy, we now understand the effect that fossil fuels have on the environment, many companies have been pressured into using renewables and car companies have began to produce electric and hybrid cars as an alternative

• however, there are many reasons why we don’t all use renewables : some countries and governments profit off of the sale fossil fuels, some countries don’t have the money or the development to be able to install renewable resources, conflict may be caused over deciding which to build and where to build it, some are not reliable, so some governments may think that renewables won’t be able to meet demand