Energy

• Why has the energy useage of the Uk changed since 1970?

  • household energy has decreased 12% since 1970
  • industry energy has decreased 60% since 1970 due to a decline of heavy industry and more things being imported
  • transport energy has increased due to more cars on the road - 17million more than in 1970
• why has domestic energy consumption decreased?

  • more energy efficient devises ie LED lightbulbs and more efficient boilers and better insulating
  • low consumtion due to increased costs
  • greater awareness of the impact of energy consumption on the environment
• what is energy mix?

  • different sources of energy used across households and industry
  • the most used energy domestically is electricity
• what are fossil fuels?

  • coal, oil and gas
  • non renewables
  • when burned they realease co2 and other greenhouse hases into the air which pollute the environment
  • they can be burned to generate electricity and power machinery
• what is renewable energy?

  • sources which will never run out and use natural processes to generate electricity
  • they are expensive to run and less energy is produced
• how much energy came from fossil fuels in 1970?

  • 91%
  • the uk was reliant on fossil fuel energy
• how has the uk's fossil fuel supply changed?

  • there has been a decline in oil and gas reserves in the UK so we now have to import fossil fuels
  • the last coal mine closed in the uk in 2015
  • oil and gas production in uk has been declining since 2000
• how is the UK's energy mix changing?

  • Gov is encouraging less burning of fossil fuels and investing more in renewable energy sources such as wind and solar
  • however, we are still very reliant on fossil fuels
• why does renewable energy have a growing significance in the UK?

  • we must use more renewable energy in order to meet carbon emmission targets
  • important for uk to be less reliant on fossil fuels
• what are the economic issues of fossil fuels?

  OPPORTUNITIES

  • jobs are created as supporting industries provide equipment
  • this can lead to the positive multiplier effect as it brings jobs and money into the area

  CHALLENGES

  • expensive to mine as the remaining reserves are very far down
  • expensive to clean the environmental impact
  • Burning fossil fuels and coal miners face respiratory probelms which impacts the NHS due to the money required to support
  • rising sea levels due to enhanced greenhouse effect is expensive to protect coastal areas from flooding
• what are environental issues of fossil fuels?

  OPPORTUNITIES

  • no risk to the environment when storing them as fossil fuels are stable

  CHALLENGES

  • Leads to enhanced greenhouse effect
  • Climate change
  • acid rain
  • mines cause visual and noise pollution
  • mining fossil fuels destroys aquatic and land habitats
• Environmental issues of nuclear

  • OPPORTUNITIES - more clean than fossil fuels as less emmissions are produced
  • CHALLENGES - nuclear waste must be stored underground to avoid contamination which pollutes the environment. Nuclear accidents have a devistating impact on the surrounding area
• Economic issues of nuclear

  • OPPORTUNITIES - industry creates a lot of jobs especially in research and development
  • CHALLENGES - costly to construct a nuclear power station. Transporting waste is very expensive
• Economic issues with renewable energy

  • OPPORTUNITIES - many jobs created for research and development and in manufactruign and designing stuff
  • CHALLENGES - very expensive to set up and run. May have a detrimental impact on toursim due to the visual and noise pollution. Profit may be reduced on days where the conditions arent good ie cloudy
• Environmental impacts of Renewable energy

  • OPPORTUNITIES - low carbon emmissions and much less harmful to the environment
  • wind turbines effect bird migration and destroy aquatic habitat