Energy resources

Agriculture - “How increased mechanisation has increased productivity.” Fishing - “How energy has increased catches and made processing easier.” • fuel for machinery, for example, tractors, and combine harvesters, water pumping, fish farm aeration • manufacture of chemicals, for example, fertilisers • food processing, for example, sugar refining, grain drying and milling • transport of materials and harvested food • storage, especially for refrigerated foods • fuel for fishing boats, water pumping, and aeration in aquaculture

Use- Fuel for machinery manufacture, fertiliser, transport harvest / crop food, food processing e.g. sugar refining. Importance- Increased mechanisation has increased food productivity to meet demands of large human population.

Use- Fuel for boats, storage e.g. refrigeration. Importance- Increased catches and processing easier.

Use- Machinery operation, heat to melt materials, energy for chemical reactions. Importance- Enables the extraction and processing of materials, enables production of new materials e.g. plastic.

Use- Water treatment, sewage treatment Importance- Provides clean water for domestic use. Means less disease, healthier population, larger work force.

Use- Space heating, appliances e.g. refrigerators. Importance- Improved living standards, less time spent on domestic chores.

Use- Transport goods, transport people. Importance- Workers can travel longer distances; goods can be transported faster.

The energy mix of a country is the proportion of each energy resource it uses in a year

Resources that are capable of natural regeneration into useful products within a timescale relevant to the people using them.

fossil fuels, which are formed from the decaying remains of plants or animals, including coal, oil and natural gas. They can be combusted only once and are therefore finite. (resources that are not naturally regenerated/ reformed in a time scale relevant to the people using them.)

before or after a material has been converted to a useful product. E.g. primary = coal, secondary = electricity.

The amount of energy in a particular mass of fuel or that can be harnessed by a particular mass of equipment.

The process of storing surplus energy to satisfy later peaks in demand.

The amount of energy used to make and install an item.

• physical availability, • cost, • standard of living, • environmental priorities, • climate, (is their wind etc.) • public perception, • economic development, • technology,

As the population has grown, the world’s consumption of energy has increased in total as has the per-capita consumption. Direct uses include the energy used by people individually, for example, heating and lighting their homes, cooking, personal transport, use of electrical appliances etc. Indirect uses include the energy used by commercial organisations, schools, government and industry to provide goods and services and support economic activity, for example, transport of goods, manufacturing processes, water treatment, and energy used in agriculture. A range of factors create differences in per capita consumption in different countries.

Higher income enables people to buy more, consume more and use more energy in activities such as travelling more, using less efficient vehicles, heating a larger home and having more energy-using appliances. More energy is used during the manufacture of the additional products bought. Affluent countries use significantly more energy to construct housing in the production of bricks, glass, tiles and fittings such as carpets, furnishings and appliances. Not all countries have access to readily available sources of energy. Energy shortages limit transportation, the ability to access water, power equipment and preserve foods. Supply and demand for energy resources set prices on the world market. Global market prices are usually low enough for more affluent communities to afford to purchase energy for essential uses such as purifying water, running hospitals and transporting food. They may also be able to afford energy for non-essential uses that make life more enjoyable. Poorer communities may be unable to pay for the energy needed for essential uses. This can slow the development of these societies and reduce the quality of life.

• In countries where there are large, easily accessible local sources of energy, it is cheap. For example, petrol is much cheaper in the US than in the UK which means that more petrol can be used for the same cost. This has encouraged the use of larger, less fuel-efficient cars. [Fuel efficiency is likely to be a lower priority if energy is relatively cheap.] • Some developed countries have a low per capita energy use within their own country. However, they import goods that use a lot of energy in their manufacture in other countries, for example, steel, copper, aluminium. • The per capita energy consumption in countries like the UK has gone down in recent years. This is partly due to the decline of industries such as steel and aluminium smelting. These are now produced for us in other countries such as China.

• primary industry - agriculture, mining, raw material extraction → high (general level of energy use per unit of economic output) • secondary industry - heavy manufacturing industry, for example, metal smelting, chemical industry → high [light manufacturing industry, for example, car assembly → medium] • tertiary industry - services, for example, transport, finance, retail, recreation, education → low • quaternary industry - information and IT → very low

Regions and locations which historically have difficulty satisfying demand for energy often have a tradition of managing their energy use carefully. For example, Scandinavia had energy shortages in the past, especially in remote communities and this has driven a strong energy conservation culture. In the UK, access to large deposits of coal drove the industrial revolution and society’s development, but it also meant that energy was used wastefully. As coal mining declined, access to natural gas and oil from the North Sea, extended the extravagant use of energy.

Climatic conditions affect energy usage as buildings in locations with cold winters require heating and those in very hot areas require air conditioning. High winds increase heat losses while sunny weather increases passive solar heat grains

“How energy allows the extraction and processing of materials. The role of energy in service industries.” • machinery operation: excavators, rock crushing, pumps, presses, conveyor belts, mixers, cutters, lathes • heat to melt materials for moulding and casting of metals and plastics • energy for chemical reactions: smelting of metals, thermal decomposition of limestone in cement manufacture • heat for baking, for example, pottery, bricks • heat for distillation, for example, fractional distillation of crude oil • water treatment for public supply • sewage treatment

“How energy is used to treat water for use and clean waste water from industrial or domestic use.”

“The use of energy in transport systems.” • transport of goods - ships/ trains/ trucks/ conveyor belts/ pipelines • transport of people - cars, buses, trains, planes