L1 - Intro to food, water and energy

• one of the major problems facing us today when it comes to essential resources is the growing population. the supply of resources struggles to keep up with demand
• food, water and energy are intrinsically linked to each other and also influence all elements of human wellbeing across the world
• food, energy and water are the basic needs for a good life, health, social relations, security and freedom of choice
• people are dependent on the earths ecosystems and what they provide, and when the supply of these resources is greater than the demand for them, humans benefit either socially, economically or both
• when the demand of resources outstrips the supply, quality of life diminishes
• people need food, as calories are needed for our bodies to work and for us to be able to work and live
• the energy we expend equals the calories out, or used
• the minimum amount of calories needed per day depends on your age and gender, the type of job you have and the amount of exercise you do
• average calorie intake per country:

  • women - 2000
  • men - 2500
  • child age 5-10 - 1800
  • girl aged 11-14 - 1850
  • boy aged 11-14 - 2200
• water has many uses as we need it to drink to survive, but also to wash, dispose of water, to grow and process food and in industry
• the average person in the UK uses 150 litres of water per day at home, only 4% is used for drinking
• domestic use of water accounts for 21.7% of water use in the UK, with 2.9% for agriculture, by far the biggest use in the UK is for industry at almost 75%
• energy is used for heating, transportation, processing food and powering machinery
• the amount and type of energy used differs according to where people live and how wealthy they are.
• traditionally, energy has been produced by burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas
• nowadays, more energy is being produced via renewable methods such as wind, solar power, geothermal, waves and hydro-electric