10.

1 Different types of resources

A resource is anything that is of use to people. Geographers often
use the term to refer to the natural resources found on earth,
however, there are also human and material resources:

Natural resource - those materials found in the natural

world that are useful to humans, and that we have the
technology and willingness to use

Human resource - the skills and abilities of the population

Material resource - a natural substance that humans choose

to use

Renewable resource - a resource that will never run out and

can be used over and over again - e.g. wind and solar power

Non-renewable resource - a resource that is being used up

and cannot be replaced once it has run out, such as coal and
oil

Sustainable resource - a resource that can be renewed if we

act to replace them as we use them - e.g. wood

What are the benefits and costs of different resources?

Advantages of using wind (renewable resource):
- Free
- Unlimited (renewable)
- Environmentally friendly because it does not emit greenhouse
gases (once it has been built)
- Takes up a very small plot of land that can still be farmed around
- Low maintenance, few moving parts, easy to repair
- More dependent than oil from another country, an oil supply
could be cut off for many different reasons including war
Disadvantages of using wind (renewable resource):
- Inconsistent
- Wind turbines are an eye sore (This is a matter of opinion)
- Do not produce huge amounts of electricity/energy unless it is
very windy
- Takes many years to offset the cost of its purchase and installation
- Less efficient compared to non-renewable resources such as oil
- It is noisy
- It does produce some pollution through the manufacturing stage

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of the wind turbine

Advantages of using coal (non-renewable resource):
- Produces a lot of electricity/energy
- There is good availability of coal around the world at this time
- Relatively inexpensive
- Much more efficient than renewable resources. (For example, a
little amount of fuel can product a large amount of energy
- High calorific value, it can burn for a long time
- Large wind farms are needed to provide entire communities with
enough electricity.
Disadvantages of using coal (non-renewable resource):
- It is non-renewable and fast depleting
- Burning coal produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas
- This air pollution can be harmful to the respiratory health
Advantages of using bio-fuels (sustainable resource):
- Carbon dioxide is absorbed when they are grown
- Car engines need little change to cope with, and run on bio fuels
Disadvantages of using bio fuels (sustainable resource):
- Need a huge area of land to grow the crop, often resulting in
deforestation of existing land
- Not completely carbon-neutral because the land has to be cleared
first, then it has to be transported for use elsewhere

10.2 Population and resources

As the population increases in a country, then there will be more mouths
to feed. Many people believe the population is going to outstrip the food
resources/supply. More people = More demands
the population of the world will continue to grow. The United Nations
predicts that it will peak at around 10 billion by 2183. That is another 3.5
billion people in the world compared to now.
They are likely to face challenges of:

More expensive food

More expensive fuel - more people will mean greater demand

for oil etc.

Climate change - more people will mean a greater release of C02

in the atmosphere

-Water shortages - already many people in the world lack access to safe
water
-More migration - many people will be born in some of the world's
poorest countries, and they will want to move to where they can achieve

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a better quality of life

There are two possible outcomes:

A future when there are not enough resources for the global
population. This will lead to starvation and fall in population.
This was Malthus' view

A future in which people successfully use technology in order to

provide resources for the growing population.

10.3 Are there enough resources?

How does the demand for resources vary between countries?

Most of our oil can be found in the developing world,

predominantly in the Middle East.

In some countries in the Middle East countries have reached

'peak oil' (production of oil has reached its maximum so there
will be a fall in production).

Most oil is used in MEDCs because oil is used heavily for

transport (cars, ships, planes etc.). Transport is used more widely
in MEDCs, thus meaning countries like USA and the UK
consume a lot of oil. For example, USA only has 5% of the
world's population but uses 25% of the oil.

Currently most of the world's population live in LEDCs, with a

third living in China and India alone.

As these countries become more developed they will rely on

using more oil for their improved transport needs.

The increased numbers of cars, televisions and other electrical

appliances will mean oil will be used at a quicker rate.

Two Different theories:

Thomas Malthus believed that He based his theory on the population
explosion that was already becoming evident in the 18th century, and
argued that the number of people would increase faster than the food
supply. Population would eventually reach a resource limit, and any

further increase would result in a population crash, caused by famine,

disease, or war.
Whereas, Ester Boserup believed that food supply was reaching
exhaustion. Malthus says the extra people have to die. Boserup says that
you just have to upgrade the productivity of the food supply. Under
pressure of numbers, with more mouths to feed, people put more labour
and more intense effort into feeding themselves, and find ways to get
more food production out of the land. They cultivate the land more
intensively; they add extra manure, extra fertilisers and extra water and
improve their crops.

10.4 Patterns of resource supply and

consumption
Thomas Malthus
1. Exponential (1:2:4:8:16...) population growth
2. Increased food demand
3. Food supply grows at an arithmetic rate (1:2:3:4:5:6...)
4. Increase in death rate due to famine
5. Population checks leads to population declining until it reaches a
more manageable level again. Then it would continue again until the
next 'natural check'
Esther Boserup
1. Exponential (1:2:4:8:16...) population growth
2. Increased food demand
3. Improved agricultural productivity (e.g. machinary) meaning more
food can be produced
4. Population growth continues
How can we become more sustainable in our resource consumption?
Individual action
- Changing habits - e.g. using public transport / lift sharing instead of
driving on your own
- Recyling of plastic (as oil is used in the production of plastic)
- Buying food produced locally to reduce 'food miles'
Corporate action
- Using energy-saving lightbulbs in your house
- Increase amount of recycling in a company and reduce the amount of
waste
- Encouraging staff to lift share
- Google HQ's use hydrogen cars and provide a bus shuttle to pick up
their employers to reduce their car usage

10.5 How much oil is there?

As oil is a non-renewable resource, it will eventually run out.

Peak oil is the point at which production reaches its maximum

level and then declines.

The aim is to achieve sustainable development, where the needs

of the present are met without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.

One way in which we can reduce our use of oil in cars in by

using more electric or hydrogen cars, which emit very little or no
greenhouse gases. At the moment however, they are very
expensive and are not as efficient as petrol vehicles.

10.6 Energy under pressure

There is so much pressure being put on energy. Everyone wants it,
everyone needs it. This means everyone needs the energy and we need to
dig out/find/get/make more energy. There are just too many people in the
world wanting energy at the same time!the need to find more renewable,
sustainable ways of generating energy. Renewable or infinite energy
resources are sources of power that quickly replenish themselves and
can be used again and again.
Some resources can be thought of as both renewable and non-renewable.

Wood can be used for fuel and is renewable if trees are

replanted.

Biomass, which is material from living things, can be renewable

if plants are replanted.

10.7 Renewable Energy

Renewable energy is a socially and politically defined category
of energy sources. Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that
comes from resources which are continually replenished on a human
timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat.
About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewable
resources, with 10% of all energy from traditional biomass, mainly used

for heating, and 3.4% from hydroelectricity.

10.8 Is there enough food?

The world's population reached 6 billion in 1999, doubling from 3
billion in less than 40 years. However, our food supply has kept pace,
but more people are consuming more calories than 40 years ago.
-World cereal production has doubled since 1970
-Meat production has tripled since 1961
-The number of fish caught grew more than six times between 1950 and
1997
In order to feed a world of 9.6 billion people (the projected population)
37 years down the line, farmers today would have to make significant
changes, devoting less land to biofuels and dramatically boosting crop
yields. In fact, crop yields are rising (at a rate of 1.6% and 1.3% per year
for maize and soybean in an optimistic scenario), but its not enough.

10.9 & 10.10 What does the future look

like?

Technology can play a very significant role in ensuring we use

resources more sustainably in the future.

A 'technological fix' is the idea that we can resolve problems we

might have by inventing solutions to them.

This could include more widespread use of non-renewable

resources (e.g. wind turbines or solar panels) and the
development of inventions such as the hydrogen car, electric car
and GM crops.

The problem of finding alternative fuels to replace the cheaper

and, currently more accessible, fossil fuels such as coal and oil,
is that it would require huge amounts of effort from
governments, corporations and individuals.

Key words:

Human resource - the skills and abilities of the population

Material resource - a natural substance that humans choose to use

Natural resource - those materials found in the natural world that are useful to
man, and that we have the technology and willingness to use

Renewable resource - a resource that will never run out and can be used over
and over again - e.g. wind and solar power

Non-renewable resource - a resource that is being used up and cannot be

replaced, such as coal and oil

Sustainable resource - a resource that can be renewed if we act to replace them

as we use them - e.g. wood

Alternative energy - energy sources that provide an alternative to fossil fuels

Carbon footprint - a measurement of all the greenhouse gases we individually

produce, through burning fossil fuels for electricity, transport etc.

Ecological footprint - a measurement of the total amount of land and resources

used

Boserup's theory - the view that when population increases it stimulates

technological changes that produce increases in output, ensuring that living
standards can be maintained for the growing population

Malthus' theory - the view that population growth will eventually exceed resource
supply and therefore there will be 'natural checks' to population growth

Sustainable development - development that meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs