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Paper 2 section C: The Challenge of Resource Management

Over 2 billion people globally suffer from malnutrition (a poor diet lacking in vitamins)

Social impacts of malnutrition = Disease
Economic impacts = people are not productive at work

A resource is an item of value e.g. food, water, energy

Resources are unevenly distributed. Most High Income Countries (HICs) have reliable supplies of resources, leading to a high standard of living. Whereas, Low Income Countries (LICs) especially in Sub-Saharan Africa lack resources leading to a poor quality of life for people.

Figure 1 World Hunger

Figure 2 Global Water Scarcity

Over 50 countries (many LICs in Africa and Southern Asia) face water scarcity - a shortage of water.

Many LICs will not have access to a clean water supply which can lead to diseases such as typhoid or cholera, harming the workforce..

Figure 3 Global Energy Consumption

Energy consumption (use) is increasing as the world becomes more developed. As Newly Emerging Economies (e.g. BRIC nations) industrialise demand for energy is rapidly increasing.

Food in the UK

Is it better to buy local food or buy food imported from other countries?

Local	Global
Reduces food miles therefore reducing carbon emissions. Local farmers benefit, boosting local economies and increasing people’s quality of life. Saves on fossil fuels meaning more energy security during times of conflict (e.g. Russia/Ukraine) Consumers know the source of their food to check it is good quality Our climate is unsuitable for some foods e.g. bananas, so reduced choice UK food can be expensive due to high animal feed prices	Greater choice of exotic foods We can have summer fruits all year round e.g. Strawberries Imported food can be cheaper as large scale farms reduce costs Will add to the energy crisis - reduced supply of fossil fuels due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Food travels long distances from where grown to eaten (high food miles) so creates a large carbon footprint from transport in ships/planes/lorries Large farms can lead to deforestation e.g. ranching in the Amazon

Agribusiness = The application of business skills to agriculture

Agribusiness:

Large farms reduce costs by using machinery across a wide area, increasing profits.

Reduced production costs mean prices can be kept lower so the shopper benefits

However:

Not very sustainable as they create a monoculture on fields, reducing biodiversity

Intense farming also has a negative impact on soil quality over time.

Challenges of meeting food demand in the UK:

Industrialisation of the food business has meant more chemicals and pollution of water.

Farm unemployment has increased due to mechanisation meaning people’s jobs are now carried out by machine

Organic farming: is a method of farming that requires farmers to operate in an environmentally friendly way to cause little impact on wildlife and their habitats.

Organic:

No pesticides or chemical fertilisers are used, meaning that biodiversity is preserved

A range of crops are often grown in one space

However:

As yields are lower due to loss from pests, they can become expensive so that farmers still make money.

Less “uniform” shapes of veg – some people do not like the idea of “wonky veg”

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Water in the UK

Water stress is not having enough to meet demand

The southeast has high water stress because the population is denser and there is less precipitation.

As well as this, it is flatter down south making it harder to store water in reservoirs.

The demand for water in the UK is increasing

Water we use in the home is domestic

As much as 73% of water in the UK is polluted or poor quality and is affected by a number of factors.

To reduce water stress, we try to reduce water usage by

Using water meters
Using eco settings on appliances
Grey water schemes.

To support areas facing water stress:

Water transfer schemes have been developed to move water from areas of surplus water to areas of water stress.

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Energy in the UK

The UK’s energy mix is changing as fossil fuels become less abundant and more expensive as supply decreases and demand goes up.

As technology improves, nuclear power has become safer and more desirable

New technology and being a windy island has encouraged the growth of on and off shore wind farms.

Due to Russian aggression, we are also moving quicker to be self sufficient with energy to reduce dependency on oil and gas from here.

Fracking [shale gas] has been explored as another source of energy in the UK, but this has been controversial.

Shale gas would:

Create jobs [74,000]
Increase energy security
Reduce energy bills
Encourage tourism to energy centres.
Cause earthquakes
Potentially damage water pipes [flammable water]
Pollute water ways
Still burn fossil fuels

	Economic	Environmental
Nuclear �	Nuclear power plants are very expensive to build and to decommission (close down) Electricity is cheap to produce Construction of new plants provides job opportunities and boosts the local economy.	The safe processing and storage of the highly toxic and radioactive waste is a big problem. Warm waste water can harm local ecosystems. The risk of harmful radioactive leaks.
Wind farms �	High construction costs. May have negative impacts on local economy by reducing visitor numbers. At Delabole wind farm in Cornwall, the UK’s first commercial wind farm, local homeowners benefit from lower energy bills. Many jobs created in the renewables sector in the UK e.g. research – will expand in the future as increased government investment	Visual impact on the landscape. Potential impact on wildlife – birds and fish Wind farms avoid harmful gas emissions and help reduce the carbon footprint. Noise from wind turbines. Construction of a wind farm and access roads can impact on the environment.

Fossil fuels

�Burning of these creates greenhouse gases which add to enhanced global warming

�Large areas of land need to be dug up to put pipes in to take this energy to the power stations

Challenges created by exploiting energy:

Domestic energy use is decreasing as our appliances become more energy efficient

However industry is using more energy .

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Global Factors affecting energy supply

Harsh climate

Many northern hemisphere countries have remote supplies so accessing them is expensive

Political conflict

(e.g. EU/Russia 2022+) reduces supplies as energy becomes a political tool to damage opponents e.g. Germany and Poland

Expensive technology - NEE/LICs often can’t afford the technology/ infrastructure to develop their own supplies

Availability:

Some countries do not have many stores of fossil fuels or renewable energy e.g. hydroelectric to exploit e.g Yemen

Global Energy insecurity

Energy security = A reliable and affordable energy supply is important because..

Energy is needed to power farm machinery and manufacture fertilisers

Land might be converted away from crops to biofuels for energy, reducing food supply and raising food costs

Energy is essential for powering factories
In Pakistan, regular power cuts can last 20 hours a day costs the country 4% of its GNI, leads to closure of factories

Russia controls 25% of the world’s natural gas, so can raise prices to energy insecure countries or else cut off their supply e.g. 2015 conflict over Ukraine

Economic costs	Environmental costs
Exploring for new oil in the Arctic costs millions, people demand high wages to work there and long distances increase transport costs Remote location makes drilling difficult so expensive technology is required. The economic cost of cleaning up an oil spill.	Threat to marine ecosystems and biodiversity from drilling or an oil spill. Drilling equipment may sink during the summer thaw. Indigenous people could see fishing water polluted.
Benefits
The Arctic has large new reserves of oil, so increased supply will reduce costs and improve energy security. Oil TNCs and shareholders will profit and their growing business will create a positive multiplier effect, increasing employment opportunities and income.

Benefits and costs of developing Arctic Oil

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Strategies to increase energy supply - renewable energy v fossil fuels

Advantages:

Job opportunities leading to the positive multiplier effect due to more tax paid and money spent in shops
Will mean lower gas prices due to increased supply
Opportunity of access to new energy as traditional fossil fuel reserves run out, thus making the UK more energy secure for the future
Development of local infrastructure for the site that all locals benefit from
Export opportunities leading to economic development for the UK
Cleaner fossil fuel than coal and oil so helps reduce the UK’s carbon footprint

Disadvantages:

Increased traffic / congestion in local villages
Destruction of habitats and forests
Pollution / contamination of local water supplies with carcinogenic chemicals
Local small earthquakes may damage property
Uses huge amounts of water that must be transported to the fracking site, at significant environmental cost
Environmental campaigners say that fracking is simply distracting energy firms and governments from investing in renewable sources of energy, and encouraging continued reliance on fossil fuels (more CO₂ emissions and global warming)

Burning plants/crops as biofuel, which never run out if replanted
Deforesting land to grow biofuels rather than food is controversial

The UK’s main renewable energy source with turbines on hills and offshore.
Can cause conflict (N.I.M.B.Y.) due to noise and aesthetics when on hills inland

River water spins a turbine inside a dam to create electricity
The reservoir floods land and habitats

Water heated underground creates steam which drives turbines to create electricity
Limited to countries with tectonic activity

Produced when photovoltaic cells turn the sun’s energy into electricity
Effective at sunnier latitudes, however energy is only seasonal in the UK

Our example for a 6 marker on fossil fuels:

Fracking is a technique designed to extract trapped gas and oil from shale rock underground

UK Sustainable energy futures

Look back at Little Kelham and the sustainable Houses/ Sustainable City – Sheffield.

Energy conservation, insulation, renewable energy, triple glazed windows, green roof, mechanical ventilation heat recovery, recycled timber

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