Sign up to access the complete lesson and track your progress!
Unlock This CourseNo energy source is perfect. Every one gives us something useful, and every one has a cost. Geographers look at both sides, and they sort the points into three groups: social (effects on people, their health and their lives), economic (effects on money, jobs and cost) and environmental (effects on land, water, air and wildlife).
This lesson looks at the non-renewable sources. You met what each one is in the lesson Types of Energy. Renewable sources come in the next lesson.
Key terms:
Coal, oil and gas are the fossil fuels. They are burned to make electricity, to run vehicles and to heat homes and factories.
Economic: they are reliable, because they work day and night in any weather. They give a high output, so one power station can supply a whole city. Power stations, pipelines and ports already exist (existing infrastructure), so more energy can be supplied cheaply.
Social: mining, drilling and power stations give people jobs, often in places with few other employers.
Economic: they are finite, so supplies will run out and prices can rise as they get scarce.
Environmental: burning them gives off carbon dioxide, which adds to the enhanced greenhouse effect and climate change, and it also causes air pollution. Mining can scar the land, and oil spills at sea or on land damage wildlife and coasts.
Social: air pollution harms people's health, and mining can be dangerous work.
Fracking is a special case for gas and oil. It opens up new supplies, but it raises worries: small earthquakes (tremors) near the wells, large amounts of water used, and fears that chemicals could reach underground water. Local people often protest against it.
Nuclear power stations use heat from splitting atoms of uranium to make steam, which turns turbines to make electricity.
Environmental: low carbon. Running a nuclear station gives off almost no carbon dioxide, so it does not add much to the enhanced greenhouse effect.
Economic: reliable and high output. A small amount of uranium gives a lot of energy, and a station can run day and night.
Environmental: radioactive waste must be stored safely for thousands of years.
Economic: very expensive to build, and decommissioning an old station takes many years and costs a lot.
Social: accidents are rare but could be very serious, harming the health of many people and making a large area unsafe to live in. This makes some local people fear living near a nuclear station.
Remember, fuelwood is wood burned for cooking and heating. It is the main energy source for many people in LICs.
Economic: it is cheap, and often free to collect.
Social: it is available almost everywhere, even in villages with no electricity, and it needs no special equipment.
Environmental: if too many trees are cut, the result is deforestation, which can lead to soil erosion and lost habitats.
Social: smoke indoors causes breathing problems, and women and children can spend hours each day collecting wood instead of studying or working.
Use a table like this to revise. In the exam, + means an advantage and - means a disadvantage. Always say which one a point is and give a reason.
| Source | Social | Economic | Environmental |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coal, oil, gas | + jobs - air pollution harms health; mining is dangerous; fracking worries | + reliable; high output; existing infrastructure - finite | - carbon dioxide and air pollution; mining and spill damage |
| Nuclear | - accident risk and fear of living nearby | + reliable; high output - costly to build; decommissioning | + low carbon - radioactive waste |
| Fuelwood | + available in LICs - indoor smoke; time spent collecting | + cheap | - deforestation |
Fig. 1.1 shows made-up data about the energy used in a country.
| Energy source | Share of country's energy (%) |
|---|---|
| Coal | 40 |
| Gas | 30 |
| Nuclear | 20 |
| Other | 10 |
(a) Calculate the share of energy that comes from coal and gas together. [1 mark]
(b) State two advantages of using nuclear power. [2 marks]
(c) Describe one environmental problem caused by burning coal. [2 marks]
(d) To what extent is fuelwood a good energy source for people in LICs? [6 marks]
(a) 40 + 30 = 70% (1).
(b) Low carbon (1). Reliable, or a high output from a small amount of fuel (1).
(c) Burning coal gives off carbon dioxide (1), which adds to the enhanced greenhouse effect and climate change (1). [Air pollution and its effects also score.]
(d) Level 3 (5-6 marks): Balanced answer with clear points on both sides and a supported judgement. Level 2 (3-4 marks): Some points on both sides, or detailed points on one side. Level 1 (1-2 marks): Simple statements only.
Example full-mark answer: Fuelwood has some benefits. It is cheap or free, and it is available in villages that are not on the grid, so poor families can cook and keep warm. However, there are serious problems. Cutting too many trees causes deforestation and soil erosion. Smoke from cooking indoors causes breathing problems, and women and children can spend hours collecting wood instead of going to school. So it is useful because it is cheap and nearby, but it is only a good source if it is used in small amounts and the smoke is kept out of the home. In the long term, cleaner sources would be better for people's health and for the environment.
For "To what extent" questions, give points for and against, then finish with a judgement that uses the word "because".