Resource Management Flashcards
All 20 cards in this deck
How is the proportion of income a person spends on food linked to their well-being?
The more of their income they spend on food, the lower their well-being — less money is left for housing and healthcare.
Give two ways a poor water supply reduces social well-being.
Illness from dirty water (e.g. cholera/typhoid), and time spent walking to collect water, which often stops girls going to school.
Which continent has the most countries with low food, water and energy security?
Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa.
What is organic farming?
Growing food or producing meat and dairy without artificial fertilisers or pesticides — only natural techniques are used.
What are food miles, and why do they matter?
The distance food travels from producer to consumer; more food miles means more CO2 from transport and a larger carbon footprint.
What is agribusiness?
Farming run as a large-scale commercial business — big farms, heavy use of machinery and chemicals, and fewer workers.
What is a water transfer scheme, and why does the UK need them?
Moving water from an area of surplus to an area of deficit — UK rainfall is highest in the north and west, but demand is highest in the drier south east.
Give one reason why demand for water in the UK is increasing.
More water-using appliances and bathrooms per household (also a growing population and more, smaller households).
Give two ways water quality is managed in the UK.
Treating waste water at sewage treatment works before it returns to rivers, and regulating pollution from farms and industry with legal limits and fines.
What is meant by a country's energy mix?
The combination of different energy sources used to meet its energy demand.
Give one reason for reduced domestic supplies of gas in the UK.
The gas is running out — it is a finite fossil fuel and UK supplies have mostly been used.
Give one environmental issue associated with exploiting wind power in the UK.
Wind turbines have a negative impact on landscape quality.
True or false? As fossil fuel supplies dwindle, coal and gas are expected to become cheaper.
False. Fossil fuels have a finite lifespan and will probably only get more expensive as supplies dwindle.
How does resource consumption differ between HICs, NEEs and LICs?
HICs use the most per person, as they can pay for high living standards; NEEs' use is rising fastest as they industrialise and grow richer; LICs use the least, as people and governments cannot afford to develop or buy resources.
Give one way a lack of electricity reduces people's well-being.
Any one: burning wood or kerosene indoors instead causes smoky air and lung disease; no power for water pumps or clinics; businesses and industry cannot grow, so there are fewer jobs.
Why is UK demand for high-value foods from lower income countries growing?
Wealthier shoppers with wider tastes buy more foods the UK's climate cannot produce, e.g. avocados, cocoa and tropical fruit, much of which is grown for export in lower income countries.
Give one way people in the UK are moving towards local sourcing of food, and why.
Any one: buying direct from nearby farms or markets; local veg box deliveries; growing their own on allotments; choosing British-grown produce. Shorter journeys mean fewer food miles, so less CO2 from transport.
How has the UK's energy mix changed since the 1970s?
From mainly coal and oil, to more gas after North Sea finds (plus nuclear), and now a fast-growing share of renewables, mostly wind; coal power ended in 2024. Fossil fuels (gas, oil) still supply most of the UK's total energy.
Give two reasons why UK coal production has fallen.
Demand collapsed as the UK stopped burning coal to cut CO2 emissions (its last coal power station closed in 2024), and the remaining coal is deep and costly to mine, so imports were cheaper.
Give two causes of water pollution in the UK.
Any two: sewage released from overflows or treatment works; fertiliser (nitrates and phosphates) running off farmland; oil and metals washed off roads by rain; leaks or spills from industry.