Energy Flashcards
All 38 cards in this deck
What is energy insecurity?
Not being able to access affordable and reliable energy supplies / a lack of energy.
What is an energy surplus?
When a country's energy supply is greater than its demand, giving energy security.
Give three reasons for rising global energy consumption.
Economic development, rising population and technology.
True or false? Energy consumption per person is generally higher in HICs than in LICs.
True. HICs have more industry, transport and energy-consuming devices in homes.
Give one way economic development leads to increased energy consumption.
Countries use more energy as they industrialise, because manufacturing industry uses a lot of energy.
Name four factors that affect a country's energy supply.
Physical factors, cost of exploitation and production, technology and political factors.
Give one way political factors can affect energy supply.
War can prevent exports of oil, limiting supply and pushing prices up.
How can physical factors explain differences in energy use between countries?
Countries with large reserves of a fuel use more of it; e.g. China has large coal supplies so coal is cheaper to use than oil.
How does technology affect energy supply?
New technology allows resources to be exploited that were previously too difficult or costly to reach, e.g. deep-sea oil.
True or false? Local objections can stop new energy schemes being built.
True. Local politics, e.g. objections to wind turbines, can prevent schemes so supply must come from elsewhere.
Give two impacts of energy insecurity.
Any two of: exploration of difficult and environmentally sensitive areas, increasing costs, loss of industrial output, potential for conflict.
Give one economic impact of energy insecurity.
Energy prices rise, and countries that rely on imported fuel become vulnerable to price increases.
Give one environmental impact of energy insecurity.
Fragile environments such as the Arctic or the Amazon rainforest are explored and damaged in the search for energy.
How can energy insecurity reduce food production?
Land is used to grow biofuels instead of food crops, and fuel shortages raise the cost of machinery, irrigation and fertiliser.
True or false? Energy insecurity can cause unemployment.
True. Energy shortages lower industrial output, and companies may move to countries with cheaper, more reliable energy.
What is a renewable energy source?
An energy source that will not run out because it is naturally replenished, e.g. wind or solar.
What is a non-renewable energy source? Give the two types.
A finite source that will run out: fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) and nuclear power.
Name four renewable energy sources other than wind and solar.
Any four of: biomass, hydro, tidal, wave, geothermal.
Give one reason offshore wind turbines may be better than onshore ones.
Winds are stronger and more reliable offshore, so they generate more power (also less visual pollution and less conflict with people).
True or false? A disadvantage of wind and tidal power is that supply is not constant.
True. Wind can be too strong or too weak, tidal power falls at slack water between tides, and storage technology is still limited.
Give two advantages of extracting a fossil fuel.
Any two of: employment opportunities, increased energy security, development of local infrastructure, export opportunities.
Give two disadvantages of extracting a fossil fuel.
Any two of: disruption of local communities, damage to other industries such as tourism or farming, water or land contamination, habitat destruction.
What is fracking?
Pumping water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into shale rock to release natural gas.
True or false? Extracting a fossil fuel gives a country permanent energy security.
False. Fossil fuels are finite, so the increase in energy security is only short term.
What is a carbon footprint?
The total amount of greenhouse gases produced by the actions of a person, organisation or product.
What is energy conservation?
Reducing energy consumption by using less energy or using it more efficiently.
Give one way homes can be designed to reduce energy demand.
Insulation, so less energy is needed for heating (also efficient boilers, heat pumps, low-energy appliances).
Give one way transport can be made more sustainable in its energy use.
Switching to electric or biofuel vehicles, or replacing diesel trains with electric ones.
True or false? Building more wind farms is an example of energy conservation.
False. Energy conservation means reducing demand and using energy efficiently, not generating more energy.
Why are local renewable energy schemes in LICs and NEEs often small scale?
Small-scale, appropriate technology is low cost and easy to maintain, and promotes local involvement.
Give two benefits of a local renewable energy scheme in an LIC or NEE.
Any two of: improved energy security, low running costs, less burning of fuelwood and diesel (so less deforestation and air pollution), reduced rural depopulation.
What is a micro-hydro scheme?
A small hydroelectric plant on a local stream or river supplying electricity to a village or small community.
Why is energy production unevenly spread around the world?
Energy resources such as fossil fuels are unevenly distributed, and not every country has the money or technology to exploit the resources it does have.
How does the cost of exploitation and production affect a country's energy supply?
Much of the remaining oil and gas lies deep, offshore or in remote areas, so it costs more to extract, and new power stations are expensive to build. Poorer countries may be unable to afford to develop their own resources.
How do climate and geography affect which renewable energy sources a country can use?
Solar needs plenty of sunshine, wind needs exposed windy sites, hydro needs high rainfall and steep valleys, and tidal power needs a coast with a large tidal range.
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of nuclear power.
Advantage: a small amount of uranium produces a huge amount of electricity with very low carbon emissions. Disadvantage (any one): radioactive waste must be stored safely for thousands of years; power stations cost a great deal to build and later dismantle; a serious accident can spread radiation over a wide area.
Give two environmental concerns about fracking for shale gas.
Any two: chemicals may pollute groundwater; it uses very large amounts of water; it can trigger small earthquakes; methane can leak from wells; the gas is still a fossil fuel that releases carbon dioxide when burnt.
Give one way technology can make the use of fossil fuels more efficient.
Any one: hybrid vehicles that combine a petrol or diesel engine with an electric motor; car engines designed to burn less fuel per kilometre; combined-cycle gas power stations that use hot exhaust gas to drive a second turbine; combined heat and power plants that use waste heat to warm buildings.