- Non-renewable: These are being used up and cannot be replaced (finite resources), e.g., coal, oil, and natural gas.
- Renewable: Resource can be used repeatedly and doesn’t run out as it’s naturally replaced—has an endless supply. Examples of renewable resources include solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric power, and geothermal energy.
- Recyclable: Provides energy from sources that can be reused, e.g., biofuels and nuclear power.
Energy Uses
- Since the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels, in particular, have fuelled economic development but also caused huge environmental damage.
- The majority of the world's energy comes from non-renewable sources, which will eventually run out.
- As countries become more developed, they use more energy during the take-off stage in Rostow's model.
- Access to cheap, reliable energy is important for a country's economy as well as the well-being of its people.
Energy Mix: A specific combination of different energy sources a country uses.
- It's crucial for countries to maintain a diverse range of energy sources, as this ensures greater energy security. If something fails/runs out due to political issues (war) or becomes too expensive, e.g., then you still have another option of energy to rely on (Some renewables aren't reliable as well).
- In the next 50 years, fossil fuel levels will decrease as they are running out and becoming more expensive, and society wants cleaner energy, leading to a rise in renewables and recyclables.
- Energy extraction and use can have both local and regional effects, such as the visual impact of wind turbines and water pollution. The greatest impact is the release of GHGs into the atmosphere, which causes climate change.
- Mining and drilling can cause extensive, often permanent, and widespread environmental damage, such as landscape scarring, oil spills, and deforestation.
Controversy of Renewables
Why farmers may dislike wind turbines?
- It occupies space that could be used for growing crops.
- Causes disruption in plowing crops.
- It could frighten away birds or animals or disturb their habitat, potentially lowering crop yields.
- Drives birds away; less seed dispersal
- However, because they receive compensation for maintaining them, some farmers and residents may prefer wind turbines.
Why may rural residents be unhappy with wind turbines?
- Drives house prices down.
- Because they’re noisy and visually intrusive.
- Global energy consumption has nearly tripled in the last 50 years because of changing levels of development, population growth, and modern technology.
- The access to energy resources depends on physical factors, including geology, climate, and environmental conditions.
Geology:
- Sedimentary rock (low-lying areas) contains fossil fuels. Saudi Arabia and Iran have the world's major energy resources.
- The geology of NE England meant we had lots of coal seams and large coal deposits, which allowed Britain to industrialise first due to an abundant supply of coal for running steam trains and coal-fired power stations.
Accessibility:
- The economic development of a region can influence its ability to develop and use new technologies, explore, and invest in energy resources.
- For instance, Sub-Saharan Africa holds immense potential, yet it predominantly relies on exports, despite possessing substantial oil and gas reserves for future growth.
There is a lack of funds to invest in renewables like solar and HEP.
- Some resources are in remote areas which are expensive to exploit and difficult to reach consumers, so most of the population don't have access to the electricity grid, and many rely on biomass as a source of energy.
Climate:
- Climate is important to assess the potential of wind and solar power.
- Exposed areas provide high winds and places that receive longer, more intense sunlight (e.g., deserts are ideal locations for solar panels).
Technology:
- Renewable and recyclable resources require technology to generate electricity; without this technology, they are useless for energy generation, particularly in developing countries where resources are scarce.
-For instance, the extraction of uranium necessitates the use of nuclear reactors and poses significant safety challenges. The entire country is not connected to the national grid, making it inaccessible.
- The USA is very energy secure because they produce their own electricity and don’t rely on any other nations. They also have a good energy mix of non-renewables and renewables, which means if one fails, they have lots of options to fall back on.
- This means that energy is cheaper for US residents as they have the monopoly over energy. The USA can also produce more energy, which they can then export for profit.
- Good energy security means peace of mind.
- However, it also implies that the USA isn't as careful with its energy consumption, which could lead to worse environmental impacts.
World Oil Production
- Countries with sparse and developed populations, such as Russia and Canada, may not produce as much oil.
This is because a smaller population requires less energy and a smaller workforce to extract oil.
It may be possible to produce a significant amount of oil without the need to relocate people for mining and extraction purposes.
- In colder climates, there are fewer energy resources available, which leads to a general decrease in energy production.
- Economies such as China and India, which are industrialising and emerging, need to import more oil.
- Large developed countries, such as the USA and Russia, have abundant oil and gas reserves, enabling them to achieve energy independence and increased energy security.
- Countries with higher GDPs are also able to invest in tech to mine and utilise resources.
Wind Power:
- Africa has limited wind power due to its unwinding climate and insufficient funds to invest in the necessary technology.
- Europe is known for its windy climate.
- China and India have large populations and economies, which means they have enough funds and workers to build and maintain the tech to provide for their large populations.
- Emerging economies are getting more money so they can invest in renewable resources.
Scientists try to predict how much oil we have underground.
The more we use, the less we have, and prices rise.
- Energy demand has increased recently due to population growth and income rising. As countries develop more in the future, they'll need more energy.
- In rural sub-Saharan Africa, where energy is scarce, women, on average, carry 20 kg of fuel wood daily. They are not only energy poor, but also lack access to electricity and the necessary income to afford it. In developing countries, the use of biofuels is both convenient and affordable.
- Energy poverty keeps people from going to school and earning a living.
Energy poverty—(most LICs suffer from this) 1/5 of the world’s population has no access to electricity, especially in rural areas. 2 billion people rely on biomass for heating and cooking. This implies that approximately 2.5 million women and children suffer from lung conditions each year due to smoke from fuelwood.
- Developed countries exhibit higher energy consumption levels due to their status as high-mass consumers. Rostow's
Personal transport
Containerisation
Increase in leisure.
Relevance of Traditional Fuel Sources
- In rural areas, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, biomass is more prevalent due to its availability, affordability, ease of use, renewable nature, lack of need for a national grid, and lack of maintenance requirements.
- In developed countries, there are more renewable resources, while in developing countries, they rely more on non-renewable resources and have less technological development.
- In emerging countries, the secondary sector uses the most energy → Manufacturing and industry.
- However, as a country develops, industry declines and more energy will be used in the tertiary sector.
- Oil use continues to rise because:
It burns cleaner than coal → Lower carbon emissions.
Fairly transportable - Pipeline, road, rail, and ship.
Has several uses → transport, domestic, industrial and generation of electricity.
- Oil is used for vehicles and transportation, fuel (petrol and power stations), roads and roofing, and making plastics.
- Oil production is higher in the USA even though its resources are less significant than in the Middle East.
- The Middle East saves its resources for the future → When supplies run out in other places, it will have a monopoly over oil and be able to charge more.
- The USA isn't sustainable → They are a prominent developed country that can extract easily. (5 on Rostow's)
- Scientists want oil to remain in its reserves because new tech is not ready to replace oil. Developed/Emerging countries will struggle when all reserves diminish as oil becomes more expensive.
- It is difficult to tell how much oil exists underground or how much is yet to be found.
- The more it's used, the more expensive it becomes to extract.
- Oil pessimists believe that the world has already reached peak oil or is close to reaching it. Others believe it's decades away, as ore oil has yet to be discovered.
- It's important for countries to reduce their reliance on oil because of:
1) Air pollution, 2) Climate change, 3) Peak oil, 4) Increasing political and environmental accidents such as oil spills.
Peak oil is the theoretical point at which half of the known oil resources in the world have been used.
- Oil reserves are the amount of recoverable oil that can be extracted using today's technology.
- Oil production is the process of extracting and refining crude oil.
- Oil supply and oil prices are closely linked.
Periods of oversupply → Oil prices fall.
Periods of undersupply → Oil prices increase.
Conflicts, diplomacy relations and economic factors can all affect the supply and cost of oil.
Conflict Affecting Oil Prices:
- The conflict in Iraq led to oil shortages and an increase in prices. Other allies, e.g., Saudi Arabia, increased production to stabilise prices.
- OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) was established to regulate the global oil market, stabilise prices, and ensure a fair price for its 12 member states, which supply 40% of the world's oil. In the past, OPEC countries have deliberately reduced oil production to keep prices high.
Geopolitics
- Countries without their own oil supplies (e.g., China) are doing all they can to reduce their vulnerability to price shocks.
- This implies they might construct new pipelines, establish new oil delivery routes to prevent piracy, and explore new oil sources in nearby SEZs or oceans.
- Finding new oil can be difficult due to conflicts with neighbouring countries, e.g., Russia and China.
Economic Factors
Lockdowns due to COVID-19 forced factories to close and people to stop travelling, reducing global oil demand significantly. This means oil prices drop, and major oil producers (Russia and Saudi Arabia) lose money.
Over and Undersupply
- The discovery of new oil increases supply, reduces oil and gas imports for that country, and lowers (local and global) prices.
- Large oil spills increase prices.
- Long-term rising demands for energy will likely put pressure on oil supply and prices in the future.
- Despite growing concern about the use of fossil fuels, energy companies are still looking for new reserves of conventional oil and gas and new unconventional sources.
New conventional sources of oil and gas:
The Earth has a limited supply of oil. If we continue to consume at today's rate, it won't be long before we have to exploit new resources.
-Pressure and meeting growing energy demands mean ecologically sensitive areas are being explored for conventional energy resources, e.g., the Arctic, Antarctica, and the Amazon.
Benefits of exploiting ecologically sensitive areas:
- 10,000 barrels/day can be exported to foreign countries, earning foreign currency and boosting the US economy.
- Exploration provides employment opportunities.
- Countries with oil and gas reserves save money by reducing energy imports.
Costs of exploiting ecologically sensitive areas:
- Opening up isolated areas with roads and industry increases air pollution and can pollute water and soils beyond repair.
- A remote location makes it more expensive to build and operate. Opening isolated areas to access new reserves necessitates clearing land for pipelines and roads, disrupting fragile ecosystems and leading to a loss of biodiversity.
- The oil industry has had lots of spills and leaks, and any damage to this ecologically sensitive environment can be long-lasting.
- Acoustic disturbance to marine mammals from offshore oil drilling is damaging → Noise can affect communication, migration, feeding, and mating.
- Drilling for oil in some areas of the Arctic could cause toxins such as arsenic, mercury, and lead to be released into ocean waters.
- The development of unconventional sources has grown massively in recent years as the cost of energy rises and the potential for disputes over foreign supplies arises.
- Unconventionals consist of several types of energy, including oil shale/tar sands and shale gas.
- Certain countries find it more economically viable to use unconventional methods.
Tar Sands:
- A mixture of sands, clay, water, and bitumen that occur naturally. Bitumen is extracted from tar sands by injecting hot steam underground. This heats the sand and makes the bitumen less sticky so it can be pumped out.
It requires enormous amounts of energy and water.
- Ecologically sensitive areas contain vast reserves of tar sands.
- Processing tar sands creates liquid waste full of harmful chemicals.
- Large volumes of water are needed for extraction and come from water bodies, threatening local wildlife and wider ecosystems that rely on a clean water supply.
- Runoff from surface mining creates water pollution when it reaches the river.
- Extraction is by surface mining → Vegetation is cleared over a large area → Destroys habitats, causes loss of ecosystems, and causes loss of carbon storage.
Shale Gas:
- A form of natural gas that's trapped in shale rock underground. It's extracted by fracking, where liquid is pumped into the shale rock at high pressure → Rock fractures, releasing the gas, which is collected.
- Land has been cleared to build drilling pads → For fracking → Destroying habitats and disrupting ecosystems.
- Extraction involved pumping chemicals underground. This can reach the groundwater supply and cause higher methane concentrations in drinking water.
- As the rocks are disturbed underground, there have been reports of gas entering people's homes via taps. Evidence of subsidence occurring, affecting the land above, leading to loss/damage of habitats and industrialisation of rural and wilderness areas.
- Huge increase in local traffic (trucks bring water and take gas away from sites) → Leads to road building and polluting, damaging ecologically sensitive species.
- By conserving energy and improving energy efficiency, we can reduce demand for energy and make supplies last longer, thereby reducing carbon emissions.
- Energy conservation: Changing behaviour energy demand as consumers.
- Energy efficiency: Achieving the same task while using less energy.
- Two areas where we can effectively reduce the energy demand are transport and homes.
Home Energy Reduction:
- We can reduce heat loss by insulating floors, walls, and roofs and installing double glazing.
The house requires less energy to heat up because the heater is on for shorter periods of time, trapping more heat.
- Modern boilers are much more efficient (unlike gas boilers). Low-carbon systems mean lower carbon emissions—the boilers use less gas.
- Installing solar panels in homes can reduce carbon emissions through renewable technologies.
- Installing LED bulbs and purchasing energy-efficient appliances lowers carbon emissions.
- The UK government often offers 'green deal' loans to homeowners to help improve their energy consumption.
Transport Energy Reduction:
- Improvements to public transport, encouraging walking and cycling, reduce the demand for energy used for transport.
Less carbon emissions by discouraging driving.
- In response to laws such as ULEZ and rising fuel costs, engine manufacturers are making more efficient engines.
Each car emits less carbon emissions and uses less fuel thanks to automatic stop-start technology.
- Hybrid cars and buses combine petrol with electricity to increase efficiency—using electricity where possible.
Less air pollution on roads
Cars powered by renewable technology are good because they use less fossil fuels.
Electric cars charged by electricity aren't the best; the electricity comes from fossil fuels.
- In the UK, road tax depends on the level of vehicle pollution.
Biofuels:
- Crops require significant water to thrive, competing with other users such as fuel farmers and homes.
- Demand for fuel combined with land scarcity leads to deforestation in certain countries.
- Competition for land, sometimes at the expense of growing food groups, has increased demand.
It can be manufactured from crop waste, manure, and other by-products, reusing materials that would otherwise be wasted.
Growing demand for fuel means biofuel could become cheaper than fossil fuels.
Burning of the fuels produces fewer carbon emissions and toxins vs. fossil fuels.
Hydrogen:
- Energy is needed to release the gas from water; if done using fossil fuels, then energy security and mix are impacted.
- It is challenging to securely store hydrogen under pressure.
- Technology, while expensive and not widely available, does not necessarily increase energy security.
Water-based energy eliminates the need to exploit fuel resources.
Clean energy produces no air pollution or greenhouse gases.
Very efficient energy sources could make up a significant portion of an energy mix.
Solar:
- Large farms can take up land that would be used for growing crops (but land can still be used for grazing).
- Manufacturing panels can harm the environment, as they are made from silicone, lead, and mercury, all of which are toxic.
- Construction can easily damage fragile desert habitats.
This expanding sector generates thousands of jobs annually worldwide.
Requires little maintenance once the panels are installed and working at maximum efficiency.
No noise was created from solar panels.
HEP:
- Power plants are expensive to build and can be viewed as spoiling the landscape.
- Power plants have the potential to alter the flow of a river, which can have an impact on fish and other wildlife that depend on it.
- Power plants can result in the displacement of farmland and villages to make room for dams and reservoirs.
Wind:
- Locals may find that it spoils the view.
- Offshore ones, built further from where they are needed, require expensive transmission lines.
- Each turbine results in an average of 4 bird deaths per year.
Clean energy doesn't produce NOx gases.
Energy created is often 100 mW of electricity.
Changes with reducing use of fossil fuels
Reducing carbon footprints:
- GHG emissions = One's carbon footprint.
Direct emissions—Things that use energy.
The items we purchase, like food, produce indirect emissions. For example, fridge.
- Direct emissions will be reduced with renewables.
Improving Energy Security:
If we remove fossil fuels, we are less energy secure because we're removing energy sources. This also means we rely on less diversity, and increasing a country's energy mix is an/few energy source(s).
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) is an international group of scientists who produce yearly reports on 'the state of the planet' and create a range of climate change scenarios in a graph.
- Business as usual: We continue to get most of our energy sources from fossil fuels and don’t increase the use of renewables much, which means we run out of fossil fuels faster and increase the rates of climate change, global warming, and deforestation but it is a reliable energy source (aware of global warming) and cheap (consumers agree with this because they want most consumables).
Most consumers agree with this because they want cheap and reliable energy sources that lower carbon emissions, but individual changes won't impact the global scale. However, some TNCs will move to sustainability (large ones), as they don't want to ruin their reputation.
TNCs would agree with this because they want to be profitable (main aim).
- Move to sustainability: We reduce the amount of fossil fuels we use and increase renewable energy sources, protecting the environment. However, this also means we're less energy secure and have a worse energy mix.
Climate scientists believe in a sustainable future as they believe that if nothing changes, there'll be a considerable impact on the ability of our planet to support humanity.
Environmental groups would support a sustainable future and would want world leaders to invest time and money into the use of renewables.
The government would sit between a sustainable future and business as usual (Boserupian) because while they see the importance of investing in renewables, they need to maintain energy security as cheaply as possible, as it's vital for improving living standards and economic growth governments may be reluctant to accept carbon taxes due to the short-term nature of renewables.
- Why agreements about a sustainable future are likely to be difficult:
Renewables are expensive, making it more difficult to raise living standards in developing countries.
High installation costs and not accessible everywhere.
Energy security is needed.
* Rising affluence increases energy demand but can also encourage alternative sources as more people support the investment needed for clean energy.
* ↳ More exposure may also raise the environmental concerns of burning fossil fuels, leading to worldwide demand for a rapid shift to more sustainable energy use and production.
* Educating and improving people's awareness of the need for more sustainable energy is an important goal for international organisations such as the UN, governments, and energy suppliers.
* Rising affluence means we can afford to make environmentally focused decisions that may be more expensive.
Carbon Footprint Calculations:
- Main components that make up the carbon footprint calculation are:
Aeroplane travel (jet fuel)
Heating homes
Transportation (good and general)
Buying appliances
- To reduce our carbon footprints, we can take public transport more often and buy local produce.