Consuming Resources
Outline of the Topic
What are the World’s Resources?
What are the patterns of resource supply and consumption?
Case study of One Type of Resource-Oil.
What are the different theories about resource consumption?
How can Sustainability be achieved?
What are the world’s resources?
Resources can be classified as renewable, non-renewable and sustainable.
Sustainable
resources meet the
needs of people
Taking a Closer Looknow without
preventing future
generations from
meeting their
needs e.g. bio-gas
and hydrogen
powered vehicles.
Non-renewable
resources are being
used up and cannot be
replaced such as oil
and coal. These are
also known as finite
resources.
What is happening to World Energy Use?
Renewable
resources will
never run out and
can be used over
and over again e.g.
wind and solar
power.
Resource Use around the World
Worldwide Metal Consumption. What does this graph tell you about where most resources
are consumed?
Case study of One Type of Resource-Oil.
Oil is a finite resource which is used in many ways e.g. for fuel, electricity, heating and
making many plastics. Oil consumption has risen (see above graph). As countries develop,
demand for oil will increase. There is a large difference between resource consumption in
MEDCs (Developed) and LEDCS (Developing countries). In the future resource consumption
will increase due to population growth and increasing levels of development. Once we reach a
peak of production, oil shortages may lead to recessions and even wars.
Challenges of future population growth and increased resource use may include:
More expensive food
More Migration as people in
poorer countries will want a
better standard of living.
Climate change- a growing
population will lead to
more CO2 emissions.
Political Instability and war as
individuals and governments
become desperate for resources.
Water shortages- many people in
the world already lack access to
safe water.
What are the different theories about resource consumption?
Thomas Malthus
Malthus’s theory is that population
grew exponentially (doubling at each
stage 1,2,4,8) but food production
grew arithmetically(adding one at
each stage 1,2,3,4). If this were to
occur, population growth would
outstrip food supply and the
population would collapse through
starvation or wars. This was called
‘natural checks’. The solution as
suggested by Malthus was to reduce
population growth by restraining from
marriage and sexual relations.
Ester Boserup
Boserup’s theory opposed Malthus’
ideas. She argued that population
growth would encourage the
growth of food production. She
used the term ‘agricultural
intensification’ to describe how
new ways of producing more food
would be invented and therefore
allowing population growth to
continue without ‘natural checks’.
Evidence Supporting Malthus- Food insecurity
The map shows many food riots. This could be seen as evidence that Malthus’s theory is
becoming reality. Famine such as in Ethiopia in 1984 may also be used as evidence to show
that the theory is correct.
Evidence supporting Boserup- The Green
Revolution
In the 1960s starvation was common in
India. By providing farmers with HYV (High
Yielding Variety) seeds and using chemicals
such as fertilisers food production was
increased.
What are the challenges for future resource consumption?
How can Sustainability be Achieved?
In this section you need to:
Identify ways that resource demand
may be reduced e.g. in oil and
sustainability may be achieved.
Evaluate the potential for the
change to alternative and renewable
resources might achieve sustainable
solutions.
Most plastic bottles are made from
PET which comes from crude oil. By
reusing or recycling plastic bottles,
our reliance on oil would be reduced
and the demand for oil would
decrease.
Hydrogen fuel cells are sustainable uses
hydrogen to power cars and provide an
alternative to oil based products such as
petrol. It is sustainable as hydrogen is
abundant and fuel cells produce no harmful
emissions. The technology will have to be
improved to make it more affordable and
hydrogen filling stations need to be
introduced as it has been in California.
Feed the World – Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is a desert country with very little rainfall or land that is suitable for farming. It
is however rich from oil supplies. Rises in food prices and food shortages in 2008 led to the
Abu Dhabi government develop 30 000 hectares of farmland in the country of Sudan. The
Sudanese government lease the land for free in exchange for technological help to improve
farming techniques.
It seems that our food supply has kept pace with population growth. In less than 30 years
the world’s population had doubled from 3 billion to 6 billion. During the same time:
World cereal production has doubled
Meat production has tripled and
We are consuming more calories in developed and developing countries.
More evidence Boserup was right?
Achieving Sustainability
The Ecological Footprint of the World. In 2008 we needed about 1.25 planets to support us.
If everyone in the world lived the same way we do in the U.K. we would need 3 planets to
support us. Developed countries tend to have higher ecological footprints per person.
One Planet Future
To achieve sustainability the WWF have called for radical changes. These would include:
Reducing CO2 emissions and fish catches by 50%.
Saving energy and travelling less
Support sustainable energy solutions
Use local produce to reduce distances that food travels.
Key terms in Consuming Resources
Resource – A naturally occurring substance e.g. water and minerals which can be used in its
own right or made into something else.
Finite Resource – A resource that is limited in supply and will eventually run out.
Sustainable resources meet the needs of people now without preventing future generations
from meeting their needs e.g. bio-gas and hydrogen powered vehicles.
Non-renewable resources are being used up and cannot be replaced such as oil and coal.
These are also known as finite resources.
Renewable resources will never run out and can be used over and over again e.g. wind and
solar power.
Peak oil production- the point at which production reaches a maximum level then declines.
Food Insecurity is when it is difficult to obtain sufficient food. This can range from hunger
to full blown starvation.
Food Security is the ability to obtain sufficient food supply.
Eco-footprint is the area of land and sea that is needed to support you. The average is
around 6 football pitches which mean we need over 2 planet Earths to support us sustainably!
Sustainable Development- meeting the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Ecological Footprint- a term to estimate the area of the Earth’s land air and water that was
needed to supply resources to an individual or a group of people.
Practice Exam Questions
1a
Look at the graph above. Which region used the fewest barrels of oil per day in 1965?
1 mark
1b
Which region used the most barrels of oil per day in 2006?
2
Describe the patterns shown in the graph above.
3
Outline what might happen to the world’s population if these patterns continue.
4
Using examples, explain how renewable energies could replace the world’s dependency
on fossil fuels.
1 mark
2 marks
4 marks
4 marks
5
Explain why some people believe that the world’s resources will run out soon, while
others think that will not happen.
6 marks