Energy Consumption and Pollution

Why has energy consumption gone up?

Why has energy consumption gone up?

Task

• Why has energy consumption substantially risen over the last 20 years?

• Why do some countries need more resources than others?

Factors affecting rates of Resource Use

•The Level of a Country’s Development: - The level of development that a country has reached can directly affect which natural resources they use, and how. - Less developed countries, where primary industries still dominate, don’t consume a great deal of energy resources compared to more developed countries. However they do exploit other natural resources in order to try to gain more money and begin on the path to economic development. - Examples of this are the exploitation and cutting down of the tropical rainforests in Brazil. The people have seen the value of selling the trees to countries such as Japan. They are also exploiting their natural mineral reserves, and exporting those abroad also.- Some of the poorest nations do not have access to many natural resources but often will rely on one for the livelihood of the country. - Countries that are more developed, and can be described as industrialised, are the primary consumers of most of the fossil fuel resources of the world. Their industries require huge amounts of natural resources, which are often imported from the less developed countries

• What are the problems caused by use of resources

What types of pollution are there?

What types of pollution are there?

• Landfill waste• Acid rain• Greenhouse gasses• Water pollution• Ozone layer depletion

What are the solutions?

What are the solutions?

• Recycling• Energy efficiency• Resource substitution• Reduce energy consumption• Improved technology for emissions• Reduce pollution

Task

• Explain how each of the solutions can improve the environment

• What are the potential problems of using any of these solutions

What are the solutions?• Recycling- some recycling uses more energy than

it saves• Energy efficiency- improved building standards,

more efficient electrical goods• Resource substitution- using aluminium instead of

other metals which are easier to recycle• Reduce energy consumption- Government targets

to make people more aware• Improved technology for emissions- catalytic

converters, more efficient engines, use of bio fuels

• Reduce pollution- reduction of CFCs and Halons to control Ozone depletion, sulphur dioxide causes acid rain mostly from power stations these are now fitted with giant scrubbers

Questions

• Explain how sustainable development can be achieved other than by using renewable sources of energy.

• (6 marks) H• Using renewable energy is one way of

saving resources. There are other ways of making the earth’s resources last longer. Explain these.

• (6 marks) F