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7.1. ENERGY CHOICES AND SECURITY (Knowledge and Understanding (fossil…
7.1. ENERGY CHOICES AND SECURITY
Knowledge and Understanding
fossil fuels contribute to the majority of human energy supply and these vary widely in the impacts of their production and their emissions and their use is expected to increase to meet global energy demand
energy security depends on adequate, reliable and affordable supply of energy that provides a degree of independence
energy choices adopted by a society may be influenced by availability, sustainability, scientific and technological developments, cultural attitudes and political, economic and environmental factors - these affect energy security and independence
Energy security
the ability to secure affordable, reliable and sufficient energy supplies for the needs of a particular country
energy choices of a society depend on
availability of supply - within national borders or imported
technological developments - finding new sources of energy e.g. wave power
politics - can lead to conflict over energy supplies or choices to use more expensive domestic supplies for increased security - may also impact decision to go nuclear or not
economics - globalisation of economies can mean it is uneconomic for a country to produce its own power as it is cheaper to import it
cultural attitudes - e.g. people love motor cars powered my fossil fuels - unlikely to give them up or change to electric
If a country imports a lot they have low energy security e.g. if conflict happens between the two or if the price goes up then it is less secure
Renewable energy and resources
14% of energy world wide from renewable sources
Why we are not transferring to renewables?
TNCs and heavy industries are committed to the carbon economy - all machines currently run on fossil fuels and the scale of change would be huge
at the moment it is cheaper to produce electricity from fossil fuels
countries already have trade agreements keeping them committed to the energy source they currently use
renewable sources are location dependent
Carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning
co2 responsible for 2/3 of anthropogenic greenhouse effect