Consuming Energy Resources

• Define renewable energy

  An energy source is renewable if it can be replenished on a very short time scale

  It is an energy source that will never run out and can be used over and over again
• Define non-renewable energy

  Energy that can never be replaced once it is completely used up eg fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas. Sometimes called finite resources
• Define recyclable energy

  Energy sources are those made from waste products or whose waste products can be used to generate more energy
• Give examples of non-renewable resources

  Fossil fuels which include coal, oil and natural gas.
• Give examples of renewable resources

  solar power, wind energy, hydroelectricpower
• Give examples of recyclable resources

  Nuclear energy and biomas {biofuels}
• Describe a recyclable energy resource

  This uses uranium atom. When they split lots of heat is produced which is used to boil up water. The steams turns a turbine generating electricity. Radioactive waste can also be processed so it can be used to generate more energy
• Give two ways mining can affect ecosystems

  Can destroy habitats to make way for mines

  eg. by clearing forests loss of biodiversity

  Surface mining strips away large areas of soil, rock and vegetation so that miners can reach the materials they want. This can permanently scar the land.
• What impact does on shore drilling have on the environment

  On shore drilling requires land to be stripped of vegetation to make space for the drills and roads to access the site.

  Extracting natural gas from underground reserves can cause methane to leak into the atmosphere making the greenhouse affect stronger and leading to global warming.
• Describe the environmental impacts of using solar energy

  The heat reflected from mirrors in solar farms can kill wildlife eg. birds

  Solar panels can damage habitats

  Some solar panels use ground and surface water to clean their solar panels this can lead to water shortages which disrupt ecosystems.
• Describe the environmental impacts of using wind energy

  The spinning blades on the turbines can kill or injure birds and bats.

  Wind farms produce a constant humming noise which can lead to noise pollution.

  Large number of wind turbines are needed a huge amount of electricity and they need to be spread far apart. This means they take up lots of space.
• Describes 3 factors that affect access to energy

  Climate - Solar power needs large amounts of sunlight to generate energy countries with sunny climates such as Spain can use solar power more effectively than countries with duller climate such as England
• Describes 3 factors that affect access to energy

  Geology - Fossil Fuels are found in sedimentary rocks where impermeable rocks have trapped the oil and gas in the permeable rocks below, countries located on plate boundaries can access these through geo-thermal energy.
• Describes 3 factors that affect access to energy

  Landscape - Wind Turbines are most efficient in areas with a steady and reliable source of wind eg. on high ground or along the coast. HEP needs lots of water to generate energy and steep sided valleys to use as reservoirs.
• Give 2 ways that development affects energy consumption.

  Developed countries use lots of energy per person because they can afford it. These countries have access to electricity and heating. People buy more things that use energy like cars, fridges and tv's.

  Developing Countries use less energy per person as they are less able to afford it. Less energy is available and lifestyles are less dependent on high energy consumption.
• What is an oil reserve

  Oils reserves are the amount of recoverable oil that can be extracted using todays technology. Most oil reserves are found in the middle-east.
• Describe 3 factors that affect oil production

  Infrastructure - A country needs the right equipment and technology to produce oil eg. usa and saudi arabia

  Domestic Demand - Saudi Arabia relies on oil to meets it's own energy needs.

  Shrinking Reserves - Oil production from north sea reserves has been going down are reserves are used up
• Give 2 reason why oil consumption is increasing


  People in wealthier countries have more energy intensive goods eg. cars

  65% of all oil is used to fuel vehicles

  Rapid Industrialisation - In emerging countries eg. China and India
• How might diplomatic relations affect the supply of oil

  Conflict - This will cause shortages in the production of oil which can lead to higher prices. For example Saudi Arabia and Iran.
• What affect do recessions have on oil prices

  Lower the demand for oil because industrial activities and economic growth slow down. This results in the prices reducing.
• What is a conventional energy reserve

  Conventional energy reserves are easily exploited eg. through drilling, extracting oil and gas from them is quick and cheap.
• Give two economics benefits of exploiting conventional energy reserves in isolated areas.

  Countries with oil and gas reserves can save money by reducing energy imports e.g. Peru is exploiting natural gas reserves in the Amazon Rain forest that could save the country billions of dollars.

  There are large areas of gas and oil that haven't yet been used, all of which can be used to help meet the rising demand.

  These countries can also make money from exploiting energy which can boost their economy

  Oil and gas companies can also bring investments and jobs to an area.
• Give two environmental costs of exploiting conventional energy reserves in isolated areas.

  In order to reach new reserves e.g. in the Amazon land may have to be cleared to make way for pipes and roads.

  This can disrupt ecosystems and cause a loss of biodiversity,

  Opening up isolated areas with roads and industry increases air pollution and can pollute soils and water.

  Any damage from an accident or leak can be long lasting and difficult to clean up.

  The costs of constructing new facilities are high and the remote locations make it more expensive to build and operate
• What are unconventional energy reserves

  Unconventional energy reserves are exploited using expensive methods e.g. hydraulic fracking that needs specialist technology. Extraction takes a lot longer than from conventional reserves
• How does fracking effect the environment

  Fracking negatively impacts the environment.

  The chemicals used in fracking liquid as well as its shale gas as well can pollute ground and drinking water.

  This has become a big problem in some fracking areas in the USA where people have been able to set fire to their tap water.

  Land has to be cleared to build drilling pads for fracking, this destroys animal habitats and disrupts ecosystems.
• Describe the environmental impacts of extracting energy from tar sands in ecologically sensitive areas.


  Surface mining negatively impacts the environment.

  Large amounts of space are needed which devastates habitats causing a reduction in the biodiversity of the area as organisms have less space to live and find food.

  Processing tar sands creates large amounts of liquid wastes full of harmful chemicals which can pollute water supplies.
• What is the difference between energy conservation and energy efficiency


  Conserving energy is about changing are behaviour as consumers e.g. driving less and drying clothes outside instead of in a dryer.

  If something is energy efficient it does the same job but uses less energy e.g. LED light bulbs

  Both of these things make energy supplies last longer.
• Explain how homes can be made more energy efficient.

  Biomass boilers and heaters

  Ground source heat pumps

  Microwind generation

  Solar water heating

  Solar Panels on the roof providing renewable low carbon energy

  
  

  Hot water cyclinder jacket

  Modern Boilers - new boilers are more efficient so will use less energy

  
  

  Double Glazed Windows

  Replacement glazing and secondary glazing

  High performance external doors

  
  

  Insulation - insulate wall, roofs and floors

  Less energy is required to heat homes

  Cavity Wall Insulation

  Draught proofing

  Loft Insulation

  Under Floor Insulation

  
  

  Energy Efficient lights

  
  

  Heating

  Condensing boiler

  Heating controls
• Describe two ways that transport can be designed to better conserve energy

  Hybrid cars - combine deisel and electric cars to increase efficiency, they use electricity when possible and recharge there batteries using deisel power.

  Engine Manufactures are making more efficient engines in response to laws and rising petrol costs.
• How does reducing fossil fuel reduce carbon footprints

  By reducing the use of energy generated by using fossil fuels people can shrink their carbon footprints.
• Give two benefits of using bio fuels instead of fossil fuels

  Bio fuels cause less pollution than fossil fuels when they are burnt

  Some bio fuels are made from waste products so they reduce the total amount of waste produced.
• Give two disadvantages of wind energy

  Wind turbines can cause environmental issues

  Wind is unpredictable so the amount of electricity produced varies.
• Give one disadvantage of replacing fossil fuels with hydroelectric power

  Hydroelectric power plants are expensive to build require lots of water and land and can cause other environmental issues.
• Describe the advantage of hydrogen fuel

  Burning hydrogen doesn't release any harmful emissions the only by product is water.

  Hydrogen is usually extracted from water so is not limited to particular areas.
• Why do Oil prices change?

  Oil supply and prices are linked and can fluctuate for a number of reasons.

  Generally periods of oversupply can cause prices to fall and periods of under supply can cause prices to increase.

  There are two main reasons why oil prices change -

  Changing international relations - conflicts, diplomatic relations

  Economic factors - periods of recession versus boom, over or under supply
• Examples of oil prices changing

  Short term spikes can be caused by disruptions to supply eg the 2010 oil spill caused by an explosion on a BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico

  During periods of recession eg after 2008, economies slowed down and people bought fewer goods. There was less demand for oil and prices fell
• What is the "business as usual" scenario for future energy use

  Everything carries on like normal, we go on getting most of our energy from fossil fuels with oil production and natural gas increasing to meet extra demand. We don't increase the use of renewable energy sources
• What is the move to sustainability scenario for future energy use

  We reduce the amount of fossil fuels we use and increase our use of renewable energy sources

  
  

  More countries would adopt renewables and rely on mixed energy supplies in order to reduce CO2 emissions as a way of combating impacts of climate change.
• Why might TNC's favour "the business as usual" scenario

  Sustainable energy needs more investment than fossil fuels so TNC's will have higher costs and potentially lower gains

  TNC's not involved in the fossil fuel industry may also favour business as usual as sustainable energy is more expensive and would increase their energy costs
• Give reasons why environmental groups support the move to sustainability

  Environmental groups e.g. Green Peace want to stop people relying on fossil fuels for energy because there extraction and use damages the environment

  They want people to reduce the use of fossil fuels and switch to renewable energy resources to support the move to sustainability