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Geography Unit 4 - Energy > Energy > Flashcards

Energy Flashcards

(79 cards)

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1
Q

What are the two classifications of energy sources?

A
  • Renewable
  • Non Renewable
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2
Q

What does over exploitation of non renewable sources lead to?

A

Exhaustion , depletion of source as the rate of formation is very slow.

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3
Q

Examples of non renewable energy sources

A
  • Hydrocrabons ( Fossil fuels)
  • Uranium ore
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4
Q

What is Uranium ore used to generate?

A

Nuclear power

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5
Q

What is renewable energy?

A

Energy that can be consumed at any period, provided its current uses does not exceed the renewal rates during the same period.

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6
Q

Examples of renewable energy

A
  • Wind
  • Solar power
  • Geothermal energy
  • Tidal power
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7
Q

What are the two types of renewable energy sources?

A
  • Critical/ Recyclable
  • Non critical
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8
Q

What is meant by recyclable renewable energy?

A

Sources such as biomass that require management to ensure sustainable use.

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9
Q

What is meant by non critical sources of renewable energy?

A

Ever lasting sources such as tides, wind etc.

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10
Q

What is meant by a reserve?

A

The proportion of a resource that can be exploited under current economic and technological availability.

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11
Q

What is meant by a recoverable reserve?

A

The amount of the energy resource that is likely to be extracted for use that is economically and technologically viable for extraction.

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12
Q

What is meant by a speculative reserve?

A

A source that is not economically or financially viable for extraction or has not been discovered.

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13
Q

What is a primary source of energy?

A

Raw materials that are use in their natural form to produce power e.g Coal and sunlight.

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14
Q

What is a secondary source of energy?

A

Turning a primary source of energy like coal into a new form like electricity.

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15
Q

What has led to the recent increase in US oil and gas production?

A

New drilling techniques such as horizontal drilling and fracking, unlocking large quantities of oil and gas from shale rock.

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16
Q

What are conventional fossil fuel sources?

A

Natural deposits of oil and gas that can be extracted using traditional methods such as standard drilling or mining. They tend to be cheaper but have limited supply.

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17
Q

What is Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)?

A

Extracts oil and gas from up to 4000m below ground surface, involves drilling a borehole into the Earth and then injecting a high pressure mixture of water and chemicals to fracture the rock releasing the gas and allowing it to flow into the borehole.

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18
Q

What are tar/ oil sands?

A

A combination of clay, sand, water a bitumen. Tar sands can be mined and processed to extract the oil rich bitumen which is refined into oil.

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19
Q

What is deepwater oil?

A

Oil sources that are found offshore at large oceanic depths, they are classed as unconventional due to the comped technology required to access them.

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20
Q

What are some physical factors that determine the supply of energy?

A
  • Geological factors
  • Climatic factors
  • Relief factors
  • Locations for favourable conditions
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21
Q

How do geological factors affect the supply of energy?

A

Fossil fuels form only in specific places with the right geological conditions (e.g., swamps for coal, rock traps for oil and gas).
Geothermal energy works best in areas with underground heat (e.g., Iceland).
Nuclear power stations must be built on geologically stable land to avoid earthquake risks.

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22
Q

How do climatic factors affect the supply of energy?

A

Certain forms of renewable energy are constrained by climatic factors e..g, solar power relies on high insolation rates, wind power relies on constant wind speeds and hydropower is linked to high amount of precipitation.

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23
Q

How do relief factors determine the supply of energy?

A

Deep narrow sided valleys are required for sites such as dams and reservoirs. Relief is also important for providing a ‘head’ of water which is stored then rereleased to drive turbines and generate hydropower.

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24
Q

How would locations with favourable conditions affect the supply of energy?

A

Locations with favourable conditions are important to drive particular renewable energy sources such as areas with high tidal range for tidal power and areas with strong waves for hydropower.

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25
What is a NIC?
Newly industrialised country
26
What is BRICS
The 5 major emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
27
What is MINT
Emerging economies of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.
28
Has demand for energy increased or decreased in the last years?
Increased, levels have doubled.
29
What factors drive demand?
- Population growth - Economic development - Increased living standards
30
How does population growth drive demand?
As the population increases more people will need homes, schools etc so the demand for electricity will increase.
31
How does economic development drive demand?
As countries become more developed they start to build new industries, factories etc and the demand for energy will increase.
32
How do increased living standards drive demand?
As people become more wealthy they use more technology etc which increases demand.
33
How do economic factors influence the demand for energy?
There is strong positive correlation for GNI and energy usage. In particular for emerging economies like BRICS, NIC and MINT as they use high amounts of energy for manufacturing. Growing international trade has also increased the demand through air sea and land.
34
How do demographic and social factors influence the demand for energy?
- As individuals income increase the demand for appliances such as cooking, air conditioning increases which all use electricity. - Car ownership is becoming more desirable in emerging countries. - Urban living is increasing where cities use more energy
35
How do technological factors influence the demand for energy?
Technology has produced equipment that require energy e..,g electricity required to support servers like Microsoft. The number of technological devices owned in the UK increases daily.
36
Why do we need to use non conventional methods in modern day?
As the easy to produce (conventional) stores are running out.
37
Why do we need to transfer energy from its source?
As typically the areas that source the energy are not the areas that consume it therefore we must transfer it.
38
What are the two main ways of transferring energy?
- Pipelines - LNG (Liquified natural gas)
39
What are pipelines? What could be the potential issues with them?
Pipelines are direct transfers of gas between countries, they can be an area of conflict e..g, passing through areas of risk. Pakistan is a risk of terrorism and instability which may result in damage of this transfer.
40
What is LNG transfer and what could be the potential issues with them?
When natural gas is liquefied and moved by tankers. However this is at high cost, using high amounts of energy and has the potential to release harmful greenhouse gas is leaked, LNG is flammable and could cause serious damage in an accident.
41
How do oil prices influence the storage of oil?
When oil prices are low oil is more likely to be stored so it can be sold at a later date when the prices increase again (due to increase in demand and little supply)
42
Examples of some global oil storage hubs
- Singapore - New York
43
What are the 3 parts of the oil industry?
1. Upstream 2. Mid stream 3. Downstream
44
What is the upstream part of the oil industry?
The actual exploration and extraction of oil and gas.
45
What is the mid stream part of the oil and gas industry?
The transportation and marketing of it.
46
What is the downstream part of the oil and gas industry?
Turning oil into products, distributing them and selling them.
47
How do MNCs manage oil and gas?
They operate in all 3 areas as they have abilities to find and extract oils, have global networks for transport and storage and have the ability to influence markets. However, they must follow the laws of the country they work within and therefore must work with the national governments.
48
How do national governments manage oil and gas?
Many governments own their oil companies, they often carry out the upstream work. Some are very strict about what foreign communes e.g, MNCs can carry out. Some state owned companies can be corrupt.
49
What is meant by an OPEC country?
The organisation of the petroleum exporting countries, any countries that are apart of this work together to control the price and production of their oil to ensure fair trade.
50
What has the discovery of Non OPEC countries led to?
The increase in governmental influence rather than MNCs or OPEC.
51
How are oil supplies managed by OPEC and national governments?
- OPEC is a large range of countries that produce and transfer a large amount of the earths oil and gas. They all work together to ensure prices are stable, fair trade is reached and consumers get sufficient oil. - National governments may be efficient at managing their oil supply as they save and invest but some may be corrupt which may lead to wastage and poor planning
52
How does fossil fuel extraction affect the environment?
- Underground oil mining can make the ground above sink and releases toxic waste and dirty water. - Open pit mining can lead to large holes in the earth where full quality restoration cant be reached. - Oil drilling visually dis appeals an area and can create oil spills. - Natural gas is burnt which releases gas that damages the environment - Biofuel extraction can result in deforestation.
53
How could the transport of energy damaged the environment?
Moving oil through pipelines or tankers can cause oil spills. Case study - Alaska 1989. 11 Million gallons of crude oil leaked into the sea killing hundreds of wildlife, coated beaches in oil. Fishing and tourism industry collapsed and clean up cost millions.
54
How could renewable energy resources damage the environment?
- Visually unappealing - Kill birds that fly into wind turbines - Hydropower may flood lands - Nuclear power can be risky e.g, Chernobyl
55
How could unstable supplier countries propose political problems?
Som places that supply oil and gas face political conflict e.g., Iran. This makes it risky and unreliable to rely on them for energy
56
How could unstable transport routes propose political problems?
A lot of gas is sent through pipelines through countries like Ukraine these routes may be disrupted due to conflicts like Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
57
How could public protesting affect oil and gas supply?
Protests against methods like fracking are becoming more popular which has interfered with supply and extraction.
58
How do technological problems affect energy supply?
- Som methods are unstable, wind and solar don't work all the time making the supply unstable. - Our technology is not advanced enough to yield enough power from tides. - Advanced technology is only available to wealthier countries. Low tech methods are still used in poorer countries, these propose hazards.
59
Economic problems associated with transport, extraction and use of energy.
- Finite sources are still heavily relied on, renewable energy still needs large financial investment such as money for research and infrastructure. - The Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station is estimated to cost £20 billion which is not do able in poorer countries. - Renewable sources such as Hydropower and Tidal Power is expensive to build.
60
What is meant by micro generation?
When small scale systems that generate electricity and heat for domestic dwellings and small businesses.
61
What is meant by the energy mix?
The different combinations of energy sources used to meet a countries demand. Varies from country to country.
62
How do local scale areas use micro generation for sustainable energy?
Developing countries do not have access to national grids due to lack of economic and infrastructural resources. Therefore they use micro generation such as solar panels to sustainably produce energy.
63
Energy mix - On a national scale
- In LICs energy consumption is low and based on conventional methods such as burning of wood. - As economies develop manufacturing increases, urbanisation and living standards grow increase energy demand and therefore energy mix is broadened. - Advanced economies depend on secondary energy supplies such as electricity generated from fuel.
64
Why are oil prices so volatile?
They are susceptible to political events, e..g, following the Arab-Israeli war OPEC cut oil supplies which saw a sudden increase in oil price. This has led to a shift in non OPEC countries producing more oil.
65
How can the use of policies reduce demand and increase efficiency?
- HICs could demand the installation of smart meters to encourage people to consider the amount of energy they're using. - Providing high quality but affordable public transport to discourage the use of car. - Policies like congestion charging in London - Development of telecommunication to avoid transport
66
How could we reduce carbon emissions in our homes?
- Light coloured roofs reduce the need for air conditioning as they don't absorb as much insolation.
67
What other measures can be done to reduce carbon emissions?
- Face buildings towards the wind and away from the sun - Cars are likely to be developed to reduce emissions.
68
What are some clean technologies for fossil fuels and technologies?
- Carbon sequestration - Carbon capture and storage - Gasification - Hydrogen fuel cells
69
What is carbon capture?
A method where carbon released from burning fossil fuels is captured and stored. It helps reduce carbon emission however, its expensive and successions proven.
70
What is carbon sequestration?
Natural capture and storage of carbon by physical or biological processes such as photosynthesis.
71
What is gasification?
Removing the C02 from the natural gas at the point of production.
72
What are hydrogen fuel cells and how could they be used?
They are a promising technology for a power source, hydrogen is high in energy and produces no pollution when burnt. However, they hydrogen isn't formed as a pure gas and energy must be used to extract it.
73
What are the strengths and weaknesses of using wind energy?
- Wind energy is high during winter season when demand is high. - It can be unpredictable, location specific and often opposed in scenic areas.
74
What are the strengths and weaknesses of using hydropower energy?
- Its established and produces cheap energy after the intial cost of installation - High initial cost, ecosystem damage, vulnerable to drought.
75
What are the strengths and weaknesses of using solar energy?
- Pollution free, low maintenance and inexpensive ` - Output varies from location
76
What are the strengths and weaknesses of using geothermal energy?
- It provides a constant supply of energy, ideal for tectonically active areas. - Locationally limited
77
What are the strengths and weaknesses of using biomass energy?
- Easy to source and avoids dependence on fossil fuels - Lead to rainforest destruction and compromise food production. Production of biofuel increases carbon footprint.
78
What are the strengths and weaknesses of using wave, tidal and ocean energy?
- This is yet to be fully developed but has great potential e..g, Swanseas tidal bay lagoon has the potential to supply energy equivalent to 90% of the areas annual energy use. However it's costly and has concern over environmental effects.
79
What are the strengths and weaknesses of using nuclear energy?
- Produces long lasting dangerous waste it could fall in the wrong hands and be used inappropriately. Otherwise clean and plentiful.

Geography Unit 4 - Energy (1 decks)

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