Conservation and Management of Energy Resources Environmental Management , Geography GCSE IGCSE 0680

 Conservation and Management of Energy Resources

 

Strategies for Effective Energy Use:

·        Reduce consumption:

 

·        Reducing the amount of energy used to heat a building.

·        Using more equipment and less energy if the equipment uses energy efficiently. e.g., reducing the amount of energy used to heat buildings in colder climates.

·        Standard house loses heat through a variety of routes (30-35% through the roof, 18-25% through walls, 21-31% through windows, and 6-9% through air leakage).

 

Different technologies can be used to reduce this heat loss. One of them is insulation

 

 

Insulation is constructed using a material with good insulation properties that prevent loss of heat.

·        Loft insulation: adding an insulation layer into the roof space.

·        Underfloor insulation: Adding an insulation layer on the floor e.g. carpet.

 

·        Cavity Wall Insulation: A gap between inside and outside walls is filled with an insulating material, causing the heat to pass through more slowly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                         

 

 

 

·        Double Glazing: Two panes of glass with a gap in the middle to act as an insulator. This sealed gap is usually filled with air or an inert gas e.g. argon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·        Triple glazing can also be used, but it is too expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·        Electrical devices must be turned off when not in use.

·        Devices can be left in ‘standby’ mode and can be accessed rapidly.

·        More energy-efficient devices must be bought.

·        Developing alternative fuels for vehicles and further development in engine technology.

·        ‘Scrappage’ schemes: remove inefficient machines from use (electrical appliances or vehicles).

 

Energy From Waste:

 

· Reusing existing materials to extract energy from them before they are disposed of.

Anaerobic Digestion: breaking down of organic matter (waste food and vegetation) using bacteria.

This process takes place in a sealed container and releases methane (a flammable gas) that can be used for heating purposes.

· The composted waste can be used as organic matter to improve soil structure.

·Household rubbish can be incinerated (burnt) to produce heat that can be used to generate electricity.

 

 

 

 

ADVANTAGES: Waste from burning (ash) is small in volume. Thus, it doesn’t take up much space.

 

DISADVANTAGES: Produces poisonous gases during combustion.

•    The food processing industries use large quantities of cooking oil, these vegetable oils, once used, need to be disposed of.
•      These oils can be collected and recycled into biofuels suitable for running vehicles;
•    It can be used exclusively or as an additive

Education:

 

·        Benefits of the technology must be communicated to others.

·        Promote new ways of thinking;

·        The message must be that significant savings in energy bills can be made over the longer term, reducing energy use.

·        Energy-efficiency ratings must be provided for new products to compare with the old ones.

·        Laws passed by the government to make changes rapidly:

·        Stricter building regulations: new constructions must be more energy efficient.

·        Preventing the sales of inefficient types of electrical devices.

 

Some Governments Incentive to Encourage the Purchase of more efficient Technologies:

 

a.     Insulating older houses that are energy efficient;

b.    Replacing older, inefficient electrical devices;

c.  Scrapping older, inefficient cars that emit more pollutants.

 

·        Exploiting Existing Energy Resources:

 

·        The type of energy source used depends on social, environmental, and economic factors.

·         The current solution is to use a renewable resource as a primary energy source when possible and have a fossil-fuel (or biofuel) powered station available as a backup when weather conditions are not suitable.

·        This is a reliable source for industry and households and reduces the number of fossil fuels used.

 

 

·       Transport Policies:

Government initiatives include:

 

•   Regulations regarding the quality of exhaust gases from vehicles.
• Check on the fuel efficiency.
• Restrictions on where vehicles may go.
• Taxation on fuels.
•  Surcharges for traveling to certain places at peak times.
•   Improving public transport so it is easier and cheaper than using cars.
• Improving routes for cyclists and pedestrians.
• Encouraging car-sharing;
• Restricting when cars can be used e.g. odd-even rule in Delhi and Paris
• Providing grants to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles and for vehicles using cleaner technology such as electric-powered vehicles.

 

·        Development of New Resources:

 

Fracking:

 

-         Obtaining oil or gas from shale rock by splitting them open using water, sand, and chemicals.

 

 

 

 

 

-                                         A vertical hole (2-3 km deep) is drilled to reach the fuel-rich rocks (shale rocks).

-                                         Water, sand, and chemicals are pumped down into the shale rock layer.

-         This causes the rock to fracture, releasing oil and natural gas, which are forced back to the surface and collected.

 

Purpose of the three components:

▪                              Water: easy to handle (in high pressure).

▪  Chemicals: stop the blockage of pipes.

▪  Sand: keeps the cracks in the rock open (proppant).

 

 

ADVANTAGES

·        Allow access to more oil and gas.

·        Less pollution than burning coal.

·        Provide many jobs locally.

·        Reduce the need to import oil or gas.

·        The need to import reduced;

 

DISADVANTAGES

 

·        Risk of toxins entering the water table.

·        Chemicals are toxic and may affect local residents.

·        Uses a lot of water; may cause water scarcity;

·        Noise pollution.

·        Natural areas damaged.

·        May cause additional Earth tremors by lowering the level of rock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impact of Oil Pollution:

 

Despite of the research into other forms of energy, the world is still very reliant on oil because:

 

-                                      It is relatively easy to store and transport.

-         It is easier to extract from the ground than solid materials such as coal.

-                                      It can be made into a number of different products.

-         It produces less pollution when burnt compared with coal.

 

Oil is not present in every location, so the supplies have to be transported to the customers. Oil is toxic and spillage can cause great damage.

 

 

 

The Main Causes of Marine Oil Spills:

 

-                            
Offshore oil extraction: leakage from the rigs.

Oil pipelines: leaks in the oil pipework.

 

 

Shipping: risk of collision or damage to oil tankers.

 

 

                                                                                                                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·      Effects of an Oil Spill:

 

Organism or Habitat	IMPACT OF OIL
PHYTOPLANKTON	· Oil floats on the surface of the water and blocks the sunlight from entering. The phytoplankton can’t photosynthesis, so they die.
What is phytoplankton and why is it important?  Phytoplankton are microscopic marine organisms that sit at the bottom of the food chain. Phytoplankton get their energy from carbon dioxide through photosynthesis (like plants) and so are very important in carbon cycling. Each year, they transfer around 10 billion tons of carbon from the atmosphere to the ocean.
FISH	· Shortage of food; reduction in phytoplankton. · Oil floating on the surface prevents gas exchange. · Fish become short of oxygen and die. · Direct contact of the fish with oil affects their gills.
BIRDS	·        Shortage of food as fish and other creatures die. ·        May consume oil when eating fish (toxic). ·        When hunting for food, feathers get covered with oil, affecting their ability to fly.
MAMMALS	·        Food sources are depleted. ·        Mammals may also swallow oil while feeding (toxic). ·        Coating of oil will affect their skin.
REEFS	·        Complete devastation of the reef due to lack of oxygen (Species die).
What exactly is reef? A reef is a ridge of material at or near the surface of the ocean. Reefs can occur naturally. Natural reefs are made of rocks or the skeletons of small animals called corals
BEACHES	·        Areas may be covered in oil. ·        Oil (washed by tides) coats rocks; ·        Organisms in shallow water and rock pools may die due to the toxic effects of the oil. ·        Animal food sources and tourism is affected.

 

 

 

Management of oil pollution

 

·        Reducing oil spills in marine environments:

 

-         MARPOL (Marine Pollution): International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.

 

 

·        Regulations of the MARPOL:

 

ü    Supervise the transport of oil at sea.

ü    All tankers must be certificated to show they have appropriate systems in use.

ü Else, it can result in a heavy fine or the ship may not be permitted to leave port.

Tanker Design:

 

ü    Oil spill can be caused by damage to the hull (a hole in the hull of the boat causes its contents to leak).

ü    Increase in the number of compartments within the hull of the ship: if one of the compartments’s damaged, the contents of the whole ship aren’t lost.

ü     double-hulled tankers: if the outer layer’s damaged, the contents are still secure by the inner plate.

ü      Though double-hulled tankers cost more than single-hulled, the risks of oil spill are far less.

 

 

 

 

Minimising The Impact of Oil Spills:

 

üFloating booms: a floating barrier is used to surround the oil slick, preventing it from spreading.

 

ü      This process works well when the spill covers a relatively small area and the sea is calm.

 

 

ü      Detergent Sprays: detergents help break down the oil slick into smaller droplets that eventually degrade, and disperse it.

 

ü They are effective on smaller spills but cause damage to the coral reefs themselves as they’re not tolerant to detergents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ü Skimmers: clean the water using a material that oil easily attaches to.

 

üThe skimmer drags oil off the seawater surface, which is then scrapped off into a container.

 

 

 

 

 

▪  This system is used when oil slick is contained within a boom and the sea is calm.

 

▪  When the oil reaches beaches, it can only be removed by hand (difficult and time-consuming).

 

 

                     

                     

 

 

Key Terms

 

 

 

Fracking: the common term for hydraulic fracking, the process of obtaining oil or gas from shale rock by the breaking open to rocks using water, sand and chemicals.

 

Proppants: a material, such as sand, used to keep cracks in the shale rocks open to allow gas or oil extraction.

 

Double hulled: a ship design that uses a second layer, allowing the cargo to remain safe if the external layer is damaged.