Resource Management
Global distribution
Energy
NEE energy consumption increasing
HICs use far more than LICs
Middle East supplies most yet comsumes little
Water
Quantity & quality important
Imbalance in supply due to climate & rainfall
Expensive to make reservoirs or mine aquifers
Food
Problem is no quantity, but distribution
undernutrition - poorly balanced diet
malnourishment - not enough food to stay alive
High pop. to land ratio causes problems
Unrest high where food prices are high
Food (UK)
Why?
UK food expensive, poor harvests & high feed prices
Foreign food cheaper due to competition
UK climate unsuitable for some foods e.g. cocoa
Demand for seasonal produce all year round
Demand for variety & exotic foods
food security - physical & economic access to enough safe, sufficient and nutritious food to meet the dietary needs for an active/healthy lifestyle
Kenya (exports)
TNCs pay low wages
Farms too small to produce enough
salinisation - irrigation water evaportes to leave toxic salt
Farmers go into debt to meet demands
Not guaranteed reliable income
Lynford House Farm
agribusiness - intensive farming as a commercial business
570 hectares
Flat, fertile land
Wheat, sugar beet & potatoes
54 million litre reservoir
Pesticides & fertilisers commonly used
Machinery costs high but few workers
Riverford Organic Farms
organic - grown without chemicals
Food & dairy farm in Devon
Supplies local people with fresh boxes of food
Reduces food miles
Local employment, supports local farmers
Strong link between grower & consumer
Solutions
High-tech
High-yield varieties e.g. IR8 rice
GM crops
Fertilisers/pesticides/herbicides
Low-tech
Zai farming - holes in ground to collect water
Bunds - rocks slow down surface run-off
Mulch - retains plant moisture
Drip irrigation
Water (UK)
Supply & demand
North & west have water surplus, high rainfall low pop.
South & east have water defecit, low rain, high pop.
Kielder Water reservoir
Cost £185 million
300,000 visitors per year
HEP supplies 10,000 people
✅
Recreational
Sustainably managed forest
Tourism income
❌
Interrupts fish migration
Lose fertile land
1.5 million trees cut down
Managing supply
Quantity
Water meters, charge per unit
Hose-pipe ban
Energy-efficient appliances
Using rainwater & grey water
Quality
Chlorine to purify water
Water filters to remove sediment
Use natural fertilisers (e.g. manure) instead of nitrates & phosphates
Energy (UK)
energy mix - range of energy sources used by country or region
energy conservation - reducing energy consumption by using less energy/ using existing resources more efficiently
energy security - availibility of energy sources at an affordable price
Energy mix
Coal
Significant decrease
Gas is cheaper alternative
Thatcher stopped production
UK target - no coal by 2025
Oil
Decrease to zero
Development of carbon capture for coal
Worries about oil spills
Gas
Rapid increase to 25%
Borrowed tech from America
Discovery of reserves in the North Sea
Safer/easier to transport
Nuclear
Remains roughly constant
Carbon-free (but nuclear waste)
New plant at Hinkley Point C