Resource management

• Food:

  • When people can't access enough safe, nutritious food, they don't get the right balance of nutrients. This can cause malnourishment.
  • Malnourishment can limit children's development. It also increases the likelihood of getting ill
• Water:

  • People need clean, safe water for drinking, cooking and washing
  • Without proper sanitation, water sources get polluted by raw sewage
  • Water borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid kill many people each year
  • Water is needed to produce food, clothes and many other products, so it is has a big impact on people's lifestyles
• Energy:

  • Countries need energy for industry, transport and use in homes
  • Electricity can allow countries to develop industry, creating jobs and wealth
  • Lifestyles in HICs depend on a large, stable supply of energy
  • Without electricity, people in LICs and NEEs ay use other resources. Burning wood can lead to deforestation, so people have to walk further to find fuel.
  • Electricity can also power pumps for wells and provide more safe water for communities
• A lack of resources can affect a person's ability to attend school or work. This can prevent people from learning and using skills needed to help their country's development
• Water, food and energy are significant to economic and social well-being
• The global supply and consumption of resources is unequal- some countries don't have their own energy reserves, some have dry climates or environments that are not suitable for food production. To access more resources, these countries have to import them or find technological solutions to produce more. This is expensive
• Consumption of resources depends on a country's wealth, as well as resource availability:

  • HICs- Consumption of resources is greater because they can afford to buy resources and expect a higher standard of living
  • NEEs- Consumption is rapidly increasing. Industry is developing quickly and population and wealth are also increasing rapidly
  • LICs- Consumption is lower because they cant afford to either exploit available resources or import lacking resources
• Food in the UK:

  • There is a growing demand for high-value food exports from LICs such as exotic fruits and coffee
  • There is all year demand for seasonal products which have to be imported, and organic produce
• Food in the UK- carbon footprints:

  • Growing, processing and packaging food produces CO2
  • Transporting food also produces CO2. The distance food is transported to the marked is called its food miles
  • The amount of greenhouse gas produced making food is called its carbon footprint. A larger carbon footprint means more greenhouse gases and more global warming
  • Imported foods have to be transported a long way, so have many food miles and a large carbon footprint
  • People are becoming aware of environmental issues caused by transporting food, this leads to an increase in locally sourced food
• Food in the UK- Agribusiness:

  • Large scale, industrial farming where all processes are controlled by large firms- increased since 1960s
  • Farm sizes have increased, many small farms have been taken over and field sizes increased so that food can be produced cheaper
  • The amount of chemicals used in food production has been increasing- large qualities of artificial fertilisers and pesticides are applied to crops, and animals are given special feed to encourage growth
  • The number of workers employed in agriculture has fell due to greater use of machinery
• Water:

  • Amount of water used by UK households has gone up by about 70%. This is partly because people have more appliances that use lots of water
  • The North and West have high rainfall. These are areas of water surplus
  • The South-East and Midlands have high population densities so there's a high demand for water. They are areas of water deficit
  • The UK population is expected to increase by over 6 million people to nearly 73 million by 2040
  • Population densities are changing- there are plans to build homes in the South-East where there is already water deficit
• Water:

  • Polluted or low quality water reduces the amount available for use, putting pressure on water resources
  • Overall the quality of river water in the UK has been improving, however, crop fertilisers are washed into rivers and groundwater, pollutants from vehicles are washed into water sources when it rains and chemical and oil spills from factories can pollute water sources and groundwater
• Water:

  • Up to 80% of water in parts of Southern England comes from groundwater, but pollution is affecting the water quality of nearly 50% of groundwater used for public supply. Many groundwater sources have closed or need expensive treatment to make them safe
  • Strategies to manage water quality include improving drainage systems and imposing regulations on the amount and types of fertilisers and pesticides used
• Water:

  • One solution to the supply and demand problem is to transfer water from areas of surplus to areas of deficit. For example Birmingham is supplied with water from parts of Wales
  • Water transfer can cause issues
  • The dams and aqueducts that are needed are expensive to build
  • It can affect wildlife that lives in rivers, e.g. fish migration can be disrupted by dams
  • There might be political issues, e.g. people may not want their water transferred to another area
• Energy:

  • The UKs energy mix has changed
  • Traditionally the UK relied of fossil fuels. In 1970, 91% of energy came from coal and oil
  • The discovery of large gas reserves meant that in 1980, 22% of energy was supplied by gas
  • Recently there has been a shift away from burning fossil fuels, and towards renewable energy sources. All coal fired power stations are due to close by 2025, and in 2014, 19% of all electricity in the UK was supplied by renewable sources
• Energy:

  • Oil and gas reserves are swiftly being used up and production has been declining since 2000
  • The UK still has coal reserves but production has significantly decreased sing the mid 20th century. There has been less demand due to an effort to reduce CO2 emission, and the cost of mining the remaining reserves is increasing. The last deep coal mine in the UK closed in 2015
  • Use of shale gas from underground is being considered as a way of adding to resources
• Energy- economic issues:

  • Extracting fossil fuels can be expensive and the cost of extraction increases as reserves are used up
  • North sea oil is especially expensive to produce. If the price of oil on the world market drops, it may cost more to produce than it can be sold for
  • The cost to the consumer of electricity from nuclear and renewable energy sources is relatively high
  • Money is needed for research into alternative energy sources and for initial investment
  • The UK has to pay to import energy
• Energy- environmental issues:

  • The burning of fossil fuels releases CO2 and other greenhouse gases
  • Fracking may pollute groundwater and cause mini-earthquakes- some people in the UK are campaigning to ban it
  • Accidents, such as oil spills or nuclear disasters, can leak toxic chemicals into water sources, soils and the atmosphere
  • Natural ecosystems can be damaged by renewable energy generators like large wind farms or tidal power
  • Power stations and wind farms are often considered to be eyesores