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Global resource consumption and security (KWH 2001) (Global trends in…
Global resource consumption and security
(KWH 2001)
Global trends in consumption
Big question: How does
global development processes
affect
resource availability and
consumption?
Progress towards
poverty reduction
International poverty line:
$1.90 per day
36% decrease
in the number of people
in extreme poverty from
1990 to 2015
The people in middle class has
almost tripled from 1990 to 2015
Growth of the "
new
global middle class
"
New global middle class -->
Between
$10 and $100 per day
Helps to increase demand for
goods and services,
potentially
developing the county's economy
.
Changing dietary habits
, preferring
proteins over cereal due to higher
disposable income.
Global ecological
footprint
Measured in Gha (global hectares)
Defined as a
hypothetical area of
land
require by a society, a group or
an individual to
fulfill all their resource
needs and assimilate all their wastes
World overshoot day
The day in the year when humanity
has used up all the resources
it
takes the planet to regenerate
Global patterns of
resource consumption
Water
Availability
Water is
unevenly distributed
around the world
780 million people
do not have access to clean water
Water availability is expected to decrease
due to climate change
(increased severity
and frequency of droughts) -->
300 million
people in Africa are suffering water scarcity
Consumption
Due to a the growth of
the "new global
middle class"
, the demand for water
(especially in the need for virtual water
in manufacturing goods)
Population growth will also increase
the need for water (projected peak of
population growth is 11 billion)
Land
Availability
The amount of land that can
be used for agriculture has
been on a
decreasing trend
due to
droughts and desertification
Consumption
Between 1964 to 1999, meat
consumption per capita in the LICs
rose by 150% and dairy products
rose by 60%
due to the rising
middle class in these countries
Energy
Availability
Increasing demand of energy due
to newly industrialising countries (NICs)
Decreasing oil reserves
Global warming and natural disasters
Consumption
Renewable
Solar power
Example: Second largest solar energy user Germany
Capacity:
41.3 GW
in 2016
Advantages:
1) Don't need much space,
3 square meters for 1kW
of
energy
2) Can be installed on
existing buildings
(don't need
extra infrastructure
Disadvantages:
1)
Low efficiency
, ranging from
15-17%
, resulting in a
high cost of 3.12 per watt
2) May vary in effectiveness due to a
change of season
(e.g. temperate countries can experience winter, with
less sunlight
-Wave power
-Geothermal energy
Wind power
Example: Wind turbines in Denmark
Capacity:
43.4%
of Denmark's total
consumption in 2017
Advantages:
1)
Half the price
needed compared to
coal especially in the long term
2) Can be built on
existing farmland
Disadvantages:
1) Wind speed has to be moderately
high,
(4.6m/s to 9.0m/s
) in Denmark
(close to the sea)
2) Noise/ visual pollution
Hydroelectric power
Example: Three Gorges Dam
Capacity: 22,500 MW
Advantages:
1) Flood control capacity : 22.15 Billion ml
2) Tourism: 1.45 million tourists every year
Disadvantages:
1) Displaced 1.3 million people
2) High cost of 31 billion usd
Biofuel
Example: Biofuel in the US
Capacity:
42 million cubic meters
produced in 2008
Advantage:
1)
Carbon neutral
: Amount of carbon given out is
equal to carbon taken in during growth
Disadvantages:
1) Reduces the amount of food available:
40% of
corn crop
is used in US for biofuel
2) Rising cost of food:
Tripled cost of maize and rice
from 2007 to 2008
3)
Deforestation
to farm more corn (more profit)
Non-renewable
Hydrocarbons
Accounts for 80% of global energy consumption
Decreasing:
Due to
environmental concerns
(climate change)
and the
finite amount of hydrocarbons
left in the
world, hydrocarbons can only last for another
150
years
at most
Advantages:
1) Provides a
cheap energy source
2) Due to
more developing countries
,
more energy is used and hydrocarbon
demand increases
3) Due to
increasing population
, energy
demand increases and so does demand
of hydrocarbons
Fracking
Modern energy source that involves
extraction of natural gases
by pumping
chemicals into the ground.
Advantage:
Burning natural gases release
less greenhouse
gases
.
Disadvantages:
1) Large amount of water used:
8 million liters
of water
used in one extraction
2)
200,000 tonnes of chemicals
used in fracking fluid
is not only costly, but may also harm the environment
Nuclear energy
Production of uranium from nuclear fission
Advantages:
1)
Considered "clean"
as it
releases much less greenhouse gases
than hydrocarbons
2)
Much less resources
is used: 1kg of
uranium vs 1 tonne of coal
Disadvantages:
1) Considered
nonrenewable
as uranium
is finite
2) Releases radiation that can
harm
human health for a long time
after a
nuclear meltdown
Impacts of changing trends
in resource consumption
Big question: How does
pressure
on resources
affect
future security of
places?
Water-Food-Energy
nexus
How the nexus affects
Energy, food and water interaction
(from geog textbook pg 490)
Geopolitical issues
Case studies of countries with
contrasting levels of resource
security
Venezula
Advantages
1)
Physical resource abundance
Second largest oil producer
Large amount of other resources
such as diamonds, gold, natural
gas, gold, bauxite, iron ore
2)
Highly suitable for crops
due to
appropriate climate, including
coffee, oranges, corn and mango
Disadvantages
1)
Lack of diversification of economy
Decrease in the production of oil
due to the damaged oil giant
corporation caused economy to decline
2)
Unstable government
Policies implemented included price
controls and expropriation of industries.
This caused hyperinflation (
80,000% per yr
in 2018
Singapore
Advantages
1)
Diversification of water sources
4 taps of Singapore (water catchment,
Newater, import of water, desalination)
2)
Diversification of food imports
Singapore imports almost 90% of
its food, with major trading partners
being China, USA, Malaysia
Disadvantages
1)
Very little physical resources
6% of Singapore was arable land
No other natural resources
including water
International flows of waste
Types of waste
1) Solid domestic waste: solid waste
comprising of garbage and rubbish
that
originates from private
homes or apartments
.
2) Solid municipal waste
All solid domestic waste +
Construction debris, chemicals
Ways to treat waste
Recycling
Open loop
Breaking down of objects to
individual components to make
into new objects
Closed loop
Refurbishment of product
so that it can go back into
the market
Landfills
Involves the burying of waste
to facilitate decomposition
Advantage:
Cheap and fast
Disadvantages:
1)
Finite amount of land
2) Decomposition releases
toxic chemicals and gases
3)
Contamination of groundwater
Incineration
Involves the incineration of waste
to dispose as ash
Advantages:
1) Can be used to
produce energy
2) Ash takes up
less space
and
decomposes more easily
Disadvantages:
1) Releases large amounts of
greenhouse gases
during incineration
2) Only a
small percentage
of waste
is incinerated
Waste disposal methods ranked from
most desirable to lest desirable
1)Remove
2) Reuse
3) Re-source
4) Reduce
5) Recycle
6) Recover
7) Return
Resource stewardship
Big question: What are the
possibilities
for
managing resources sustainably
and
the differences in
power
over decision
making processes
Divergent thinking
about
population and resource
consumption trends
neo-Malthusian views
Boserup view
Resource stewardship
Refers to
responsible
use
and protection of the natural
environment through conservation
and
sustainable practices
while
ensuring
fairness and equity
for all
Resource stewardship
strategies
Value of the circular economy
Circular economy
is the adoption of
a system that
preserves natural
capacity
and
optimises resource use
through the
restoration and regeneration
of resources
Tragedy of the commons:
The situation in which a shared resource
system is depleted due to individual users
behaving in their self interests
Examples include: High seas, atmosphere,
space
Role of UN sustainable goals
What are they?
It is a blueprint to achieve a better and
more sustainable future for all.
Can be categorised into the following categories:
1) Personal growth and human rights (1 to 7)
2) Socio-economic (8 to 11)
3) Environmental (physical and human (12 to 17)
UN sustainable goals
Progress made towards meeting UN
sustainable goals
(full report 2019)
1) Decline of extreme poverty continues
(
10% in 2015, from 16% in 2010 and
36% in 1990
) but growth is slowed due
to climate change and violent
conflicts (e.g. Syria)
2) Number of people going hungry
has
increased since 2014
(
821 million
people
are going hungry in 2017,
same as in 2010) Prevalence of
undernourishment has remained
unchanged for 3 years at 11%
11) Proportion of urban population
living in slums has decreased from
28% in 2000 to 23.5% in 2019
. Increased
urbanisation is a positive trend
13) Increased urbanisation (goal 11)
means that there is a greater amount
of emissions (cities
contribute 70% of
global emissions
and
60% of resource use
Increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere, from
400.1 ppm in 2015
to 405.5 ppm in 2017
, which is
146% of
pre-industrial levels
