Resource security Flashcards
Resource
Any aspect of the natural environment that can be used to meet human needs.
Resource security:
The ability of a country to safeguard a reliable and sustainable flow of resources to maintain living standards of its population while ensuring ongoing economic and social development.
Reserve
The part of the resource that is available/viable to extract under existing economic, political and technological conditions.
Primary energy
Resources used in their natural form to produce power - e.g. crude oil, HEP, wood
Secondary energy
Resources from converting a primary energy source into a new form - e.g. petrol, electricity, charcoal
Possible resources
Thought to exist but not sampled
Inferred resources
Identified (e.g. from limited samples of local geology) but not measured
Measured resources
Size measured and known accurately, grade, quality known to allow to determine as proven reserves
Indicated resources
Size of the reserve partly measured and the extent estimated
What three factors does resource security involve
Physical; economic and geopolitical
Stock resources
Non-renewable; finite supply can be permanently expendings; quantity in absolute amounts; compound deposits e.g. fossil fuels
Flow resources
Renewable; can be replaced in a sufficiently short time to be relevant to decision makers; annual rates e.g. freshwater; solar
Critical flow resources
Flows that are only renewable if human use remains at or below their capacity to reproduce/regenerate e.g. timber
Recoverable reserve
Amount of resources likely to be extracted for commercial use within a certain time period and at a certain level of extraction.
Possible reserve
Deposits thought to exist because geological terrain is similar to other areas that have yielded deposits but no exploration yet
What are the five stages when developing a resource?
1) Exploration
2) Exploitation
3) Depletion
4) Development
5) Exhaustion
resource frontier
A place with abundant natural resources exploited for the first time.
Often previously unexplored as geographically remote (Artic) or difficult to access (deep sea mining)
How does resource frontiers link to the core-periphery model?
Often in the periphery areas as largely undeveloped/unexplored; discovery of resource prompts a rush of investment to the area/job creation etc. as resource extracted for use in the core (wealthier area/advantages investment)
resource peak
Point of maximum production rate of a resource before production declines.
Dynamic - changes with economic and technological developments and exploration discovering new reserves.
Why might a second resource peak occur?
Developments in technology can result in the creation of a second peak or the slowing of depletion as hard to reach reserves can now be exploited e.g. hydraulic fracturing has allowed exploitation of unconventional oil reserves in shale.
peak oil
1950s- referred to the US Oil forecast that production would peak in the late 1960s and then decline as despite increasing value of oil/tech advances resources would be unavailable.
Give an argument is support of and against peak oil.
Discover of new oil resources peaked in 1962, has since declined
Devastating impact of small drops in production
Dependence on oil for industrial and agricultural processes
Rising demand is not met by rising supply.
Discovery of unconventional resources may make up for shortfall e.g. shale (Permian Basin of West Texas & New Mexico) and Tar sands (Athabasca, Canada); Kerogen (Colorado).
Environmental/political concerns may have a greater impact on depletion than supply side necessity. (Russia/Ukraine; PEP Antarctica; OPEC)
Not all resources are economically viable to recover but exist.
Why has ANWR not been exploited?
Hard to access/expensive as offshore Arctic circle/permafrost; little existing infrastructure; legally protected through a drilling ban since 1980.
Why is ANWR now under threat?
In 2017 the Republican Senate included a provision to allow 1002 area within ANWR to be drilled (within tax legislation).
Construction of Trans-Alaskan pipeline improves economic/technological viability.
