Study guide
Environmental Management
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- CIE
In-depth overview of A-level CIE Geography Environmental Management content including case studies.
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Geography A2 Revision: Environmental ManagementKeywords
Non-Renewable Energy Resource: finite/limited in supply/unsustainable, a resource that cannot be replenished in human time frame, continued use will eventually lead to
exhaustion eg: fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas).
Renewable Energy Resource: one that can be used continually without the fear of it running out (can be naturally replenished) eg: wind, water, geothermal, wave, tidal,
solar, HEP. (Little/no environmental pollution).
Sustainability: meeting needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Energy Mix: the breakdown (in percentages) of primary energy sources a country uses in its production/consumption of secondary energy for direct use - usually
electricity.
Energy Crisis: a serious shortage of energy that interrupts domestic supplies and impacts all sectors of the economy.
Fossil Fuels: Fuels made of hydrocarbon from decomposing prehistoric organisms over long periods of time.
Oil sands/Tar sands/ Extra heavy oil: Naturally occurring mixtures of sand/clay, water and bitumen (extremely viscous form of petroleum).
Peak Oil Production: point in time at which global crude oil production will hit its maximum rate, after which production will start to decline.
Resource Endowment: The amount of natural resources a country has in its possession and can exploit for manufacturing/production of energy.
Energy Gap: The difference between a country’s demand and supply of energy.
Pollution: The contamination of the environment eg: land, air, water, noise, visual, light. Introduction of harmful materials (pollutants) into the environment.
Degradation: A decrease in the quality of an environment/specific ecosystem eg: land, air, water.
Conservation: the practice of caring for resources such as air, water, soil, minerals, fuels, plants and animals so all living things can benefit from them now and in the
future. Official supervision of rivers, forests, and other natural resources in order to preserve and protect them through prudent management.
Population Pressure: An increase in demand for energy, creating strain on energy supplies from an increase in population.
Deforestation: removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use eg: for farms, ranches or urban use.
Afforestation: Establishment of a forest in an area with no previous tree cover.
Desertification: Land degradation where (relatively dry) land becomes increasingly arid, typically with loss of wildlife, water bodies and vegetation. This is a result of
climate change or human activities.
Land Reclamation (Land Fill): the process of creating new land from ocean, riverbeds, or lake beds and the restoration of productivity or use to lands that have been
degraded by human activities or impaired by natural phenomena.
Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA’s): Type of designation for an area that needs special protection because its landscape, wildlife or historical value would be
threatened by unrestricted development. UK. 22 in England eg: Lake District & South Downs.
Urbanisation: proportion of people living in built environments such as towns and cities.
Urban Decay: the process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude – due to lack of investment and maintenance. Often
accompanied by a decline in population numbers, decreasing economic performance and unemployment.
Urban Regeneration: Improving an area (physically & economically) that has been experiencing a period of decline.
Waste Management: Processes involved in dealing with the waste of humans/organisms – includes collection, transportation and disposal of garbage, sewage and other
waste products.
National Parks: Large area of land protected from development by governments because of its natural beauty and biodiversity, of which public can usually visit.
Nature Reserve: A protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, reserved and managed for conservation.
Eco Tourism: The responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.
Water Stress Index:
- Water Stress: Supply below 1700cm3 per person/year. Occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period or when poor
quality restricts its use. Considers water availability, quality and accessibility.
- Water Scarcity: Supply below 1000cm3 per person/year. Refers to the volumetric abundance, or lack thereof, of freshwater resources typically calculated as
a ratio of human water consumption to available water supply in a given area. Considers water availability.
Physical Water Scarcity: a result of inadequate natural water resources to supply a region's demand eg: arid regions.
Economic Water Scarcity: is a result of poor management of the sufficient available water resources. Population lacks monetary ability, technology and infrastructure to
utilize existing sources of water eg: Sub-Saharan Africa.
,2.1: Sustainable Energy Supplies
Global:
World total primary energy supply by fuel:
*FACT: the richest 25% of the world’s population in HIC’s use over 75% of the world’s available energy
sources.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (2015)
7) “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all” by 2030.
One in five people still lacks access to modern electricity.
Currently, non-renewable resources dominate global energy.
Fossil fuels in 2012 accounted for 87% of worlds power generation.
Forecast that this figure will fall to 55% in 2040.
Factors affecting the demand for and supply of energy – national scale
U.S Energy Information Administration (EIA) – increase in global energy consumption is
projected to increase 48% by 2040 world demand for energy is increasing at a rapid rate.
Consider these…
Sustainability
Levels of development
Resource endowment
Climate
Income
Technology
Pollution
Energy policy
Energy security - as a result of the US support of Israel in the Yom Kippur wars in 1973, Saudi Arabia held an oil embargo on the US,
which resulted in an oil crisis that greatly limited the supply of oil and dramatically increased prices.
Energy Security: the ability of a nation to secure sufficient, affordable and consistent energy supplies for its domestic, industrial, transport and
military requirements. Current and future energy needs have a high probability of being met, irrespective of economic or political instability.
talking about if they have enough energy to meet demand & weather the country is dependent on others for their energy.
Ways to increase energy security:
Exploiting own resources to achieve as close to full self-sufficiency as possible eg: Norway exploiting its HEP resources and offshore oil and
gas fields, India exploiting renewable energy eg: solar, wind, HEP, also use a lot of coal
Supplementing own energy resources with imports from reliable and consistent supplier nations eg: Canada is net exporter of gas and oil to
the USA & is a net importer of coal from the USA, and both countries co-supply each other with electricity in different regions.
Importing energy from a wide range of suppliers - if one energy producer falls out of favour due to price, supply or political factors, custom
can be switched to alternative sources relatively simply.
Switching supply so there is less dependency on imports – USA has significantly reduced oil and gas imports from the Middle East and South
America in the last 20 years by exploiting its own deep onshore shale gas through a controversial process known as hydraulic fracturing or
‘fracking’ Eg: North Dakota Access Pipeline
Reducing domestic demand for energy - greater cycle use rather than cars, and subsidising solar panels for house and business roofs can
assist attempts to reduce the need to rely on other countries for energy supplies.
Resource Endowment: the amount of natural resources that a country possesses.
Some countries are rich in domestic resources (eg: Saudi/Russia is rich in oil, Iceland for geothermal etc).
Some countries lack such resources rely on imports. Capital & technology are required to exploit the resources.
Factors affecting Supply of energy
Environmental Economical Political
Deposits of fossil fuels are only found in a Accessibility and cost of fossil fuels. Nuclear requires permission from the
limited no. of locations. International Atomic Energy Agency.
Solar power requires consistent sunlight (high Onshore deposits of oil & gas usually cheaper to International agreements (Kyoto Protocol, Paris
insolation). develop than offshore. However, depends on Agreement) limits fossil fuel expansion.
type of energy eg: offshore wind is more efficient.
Wind power requires high avg. wind speed FDI essential in LIC’s for development for energy Economic sanctions/reduced trade tariffs caused
throughout year resources eg: Japan invested $20bn in India’s by diplomacy.
, solar power.
Tidal power needs high tidal range. Rise in energy prices big profits increased Govt. may insist on energy companies to produce
spending by countries for R&D certain % of energy from renewables.
HEP development requires high precipitation, Technological development Legislation issues.
steep sided valleys, impermeable rock
Electricity infrastructure (power stations) HEP sites close to existing transport routes more Corruption (deters FDI, poorly managed energy)
requires space, flat land, geologically stable economical to build than in remote areas.
foundations (earthquakes, tsunamis). EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
Factors affecting the level of demand for energy:
Population increases exponential growth. Currently 7.6 billion projected 9.7 billion in 2050). Growth concentrated in Africa, India, SE Asia &
the Middle East. India expected to overtake China as most populous country in world.
Growing World Economy – GDP of world’s economy expected to double by 2035. Populations become wealthier, lifestyles improve use more
energy.
Increasing standards of living – no. vehicles globally to double from 1.2bn in 2014 to 2.4bn in 2035.
Urbanisation – increase demand for modern forms of energy.
Advances in technology - increase the availability of products which require energy. However, advances in tech also means that products become
more efficient hence reducing demand for energy.
Industrialisation of countries – China, India
Trends in the consumption of fossil fuels, nuclear power and renewables (hydro-electric power (HEP), wind, biofuels) in LICs, MICs and HICs.
Energy HICs NICs LICs
Overall Energy use is constant in OECD Demand increase at faster rates – due to General increase in demand –
Consumption countries demand currently higher development & industrialisation. population growth and industrialisation.
than in LICs.
Fuels Oil – Middle East, Russia, USA Coal – India and China Low
Gas – Russia and US, Coal – India, China
Nuclear USA, France, Korea, Russia, Canada, India & China Low when compared – technology not
Germany well established. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya.
Renewables Germany - world leader in solar Increased use – India and China. China was Increasing
(40GW). US investment in renewable leading location for renewable energy
less than china. investment 2017 [$126.6 billion] 45% of
the global total.
The environmental impacts of energy production, transport and usage at local and global scales.
Environmental Impact Local Scale Global Scale
Energy Production DAPL – destruction of wildlife habitats, 9 threatened Climate Change - 87 % of all human-produced CO2 emissions
endangered species in area where pipeline will run. come from the burning of fossil fuels. For every tonne of coal
burned, approx. 2.5 tonnes of CO2 is produced.
Transport of energy North Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL)– issues with transport. Oil Spills – Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 2010 Gulf of Mexico.
Contamination/pollution of the community’s primary source Explosion of oil rig. > 200 million gallons of crude oil was spilled.
of drinking water (from Missouri River) where 41% of citizens 16,000 miles of coastline affected (Texas, Louisiana,
live in poverty threatens to pollute aquifer that carries Mississippi). Killed/Injured 82,000 birds, 6000 sea turtles, 26000
drinking water to 10 million people. marine animals (dolphins, wales)
Usage of the power
12.2: The Management of Energy Supply
Case study of one country’s overall electrical energy strategy showing some of the issues of changes in demand for and supply of electricity, actual
production of electricity, location and evaluate the success of the overall strategy.
Energy Strategy: is a government’s long-term plan to guide decisions on its energy consumption, production, distribution and trade.
Case Study: India’s Overall Electrical Energy Strategy
Country: India
Population: 1.3 billion
Current Energy Mix: Coal (60%), HEP (14%), Renewables (16%), Nuclear (2%), Gas (8%), Diesel (<1%)
Future Energy Mix: Coal reduce to 50%, Renewables inc. to 40%
Worlds 3rd largest consumer of electricity [after China & USA]
World’s 3rd largest importer of crude oil in 2014.
4th largest CO2 emitter.
Goal: increase renewables (solar, wind, HEP; through FDI), decrease coal & import reliance (transfer from oil to solar by 2030).
PM Modi’s ambitions:
target of generating 100GW of solar power by 2022 [already achieved 20GW in 2011)
175 GW of electricity from renewable energy by 2022 including 60 GW from wind power, 10 GW from biopower, 5 GW from small
hydropower however this will cost trillions of rupees.
Increase overall % of renewables in mix to 40% by 2030.
,Mineral fuels such as coal and crude oil make up about 25% of India’s total imports.
Renewables sector now produces 60 GW of electricity from renewable sources annually [2014].
India signed Paris Climate Agreement in Nov. 2017 promising start to combat climate change.
Issues of changes in demand and supply of electricity in India
Supply (Low) Demand (Increasing)
Only 95% energy produced meets demand (5% national deficit) Increase in population; 400million - 1.3billion (1960 - now)
Northern Grid Power Failure [2012] blackout, 700 million Rise in demand due to increase in living standards, economic
without power in NE. India eg: Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, growth & development, advances in tech, transport,
Punjab. manufacturing.
Problems with access – 40% don’t have legal access India had a GDP growth rate of 7.1% in 2016.
High import dependence (in 2012, India imported 82% of the oil Energy demand in India has grown by 46% (almost doubled)
they consumed). since 2000 (IEA 2015).
Unaffordable in slums Urbanisation/industrialisation
240 million people (20% of population) still have no access to Electricity Pilferage – Indian electricity grid loses 32% of all
electricity [IEA] power generated as it is stolen this means there’s a 10%
Unreliable/unpredictable power supply – 50% of the industrial shortfall in meeting demand, causes electricity to be very sporadic.
firms in India have experienced power cuts of more than 5 hours 3/4 of Indian energy demand is met by fossil fuels
each week. Paris Climate Agreement may increase the demand for
Disparities in infrastructure and development - 94% of Indians renewables.
living in urban areas do have electricity, while only 67% in rural
areas have access to electricity.
Spatial distribution wise, renewable sources may be able to meet the energy demand for those in more rural areas as here, there tends to be
lower demand for energy as many are not living high energy consumption lifestyles – mini grids.
Actual production of electricity
Renewables: India has 45GW of hydropower, 23GW of wind power capacity, 20GW solar.
Coal: Abundant coal production. Produced >600 bn metric tons of coal in 2017. Worlds 3rd largest coal reserves (12% of worlds total).
Problem: Quality of coal high ash content 3/4 of current production has ash content >30% poor efficiency (below 35%). Low calorific
value of the coal means more coal must be burned per unit of electrical output, leading to higher local emissions.
Oil: Oil consumption of 3.8 million barrels per day (2014), 40% used in transport sector.
Natural Gas: makes up 6% of energy mix in 2013 (relatively small) compared with 21% globally.
Nuclear: India has 21 operating nuclear reactors at 7 sites (6GW). relatively small at 2% of energy mix.
Location
300 days of sunshine every year best conditions solar energy is reliable
States differ in their resource endowments, both fossil fuel & renewables, as well as in their geographical proximity to coal mining areas and
ports. All of these factors have a significant impact on how the local electricity sector is structured and performs.
HEP - HEP development requires high precipitation, steep sided valleys, impermeable rock.
Biomass – low cost and self-sufficiency makes it popular in rural communities - currently 994 MW of off-grid biomass power plants and Utter
Pradesh in the north of India is able to exploit a large amount of its biomass potential due to sugarcane production.
Success of strategy
- Innovative solutions and energy efficiency initiatives to supply its people with 24/7 electricity by 2030.
- Renewable energy reduces the need to import foreign and more expensive sources of fuel.
- Lack of self-sufficiency puts India in a vulnerable position where, not only are the import bills costly to the country, inflation rates in
the foreign countries will affect the prices of oil for India.
Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Project
World Bank providing > $1 bn to support India’s solar plans Grid Connected Rooftop Solar Project aims to put solar panels on
rooftops across the country add 100MW of solar rooftop capacity to the grid.
Solar power starting to displace coal as an energy source Photovoltaic (PV) 1/4 price since 2009, projected to fall 66% by 2040.
To overcome challenges eg: limited land availability installing solar panels on rooftops and floating solar platforms on rivers in
addition to solar parks.
In addition to this…
, Rajasthan has signed a joint venture agreement with India’s largest thermal power generating company - Adani Power. A $9 bn
investment is targeted to make 10GW solar park by 2022; this contributes in catering state demand as well as demand for energy in
neighbouring states.
Local scale ‘Solar Village Project’Solar Village Project’ is a non-profit organisation Rangpur Village, Bihar (poverty-stricken). Given Rangpur their
own ‘Solar Village Project’Solar Home Lighting System’, power to 1000 villagers. Chakar Fields Village (Bihar) Pahari Village (Uttar Pradesh). 100 homes
provided with a lighting system powered by solar energy. HOWEVER, largely dependent on funding from donations etc… funding is
unsecure & limited.
Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission 2010 target of 100 GW of solar installations by 2022, 40 GW of rooftop solar
photovoltaics (PV) and 60 GW of large- and medium-scale grid-connected PV projects.
India created world’s first completely solar powered international airport [Cochin International Airport] in southern state of Kerala
producing 60,000 units of energy every single day. $9.3 million
‘Solar Village Project’Smart Power India’ (SPI) – established by the Rockefeller Foundation to implement Smart Power for Rural Development
programme – implementing minigrids which over 41,000 people across 106 villages have benefitted from – proves access to reliable
electricity.
Benefits of Solar Energy
- Price of solar power has hit a record low undercutting fossil fuels cheaper for govt to use solar energy instead financial sustainability.
2.44 upees per kWh, which is cheaper than coal, India’s current main source of energy [coal], at 3.20 rupees per kWh.
- Climate 300 days sunshine use solar to full potential
Drawbacks of Solar Energy
Unsustainable because a lot of land is required to install them as seen in the construction of solar parks.
Socially unsustainable - Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka on the outskirts of the Thar Desert some farmers unhappy with
project being built on their land affected 5000 families - received little compensation. Neighbours around area left with no
power despite living so close to solar park.
Rooftop solar systems have not yet become widespread in India won’t meet demand on a national scale
Many houses in India are not suitable for building solar panels on roofs.
UJALA Programme – launched Jan 2015
Distributed > 300 million LED bulbs residential consumers get LED bulbs from UJALA distribution centres bulbs more
accessible for poor.
Programme helped save >6000 MW energy & resulted in 25 million-ton reduction in CO2 emissions p/y.
India plans to replace all 770 million incandescent bulbs with LEDs by 2019 more efficient, reduction in CO2.
Under the implementation of 12 states including Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.
Govt. is trying to promote sustainable development through this programme by ensuring energy efficiency.
50,000 km of Indian roads have been illuminated with the installation of 3million + LEDs.
Increases quality of life
Wind Power – meets demand regionally rather than nationally
Jaisalmer Wind Park - ‘a series of connected facilities in the state of Rajasthan producing >1000MW of electricity’.
Tamil Nadu – southern Indian state - gets 14% of its energy needs from renewables. Location – costal state so receives heavy wind
flows. Muppandal windfarm the total capacity is 1500 MW, the largest wind power plant in India.
India added 5.5GW of new wind-power capacity in 2017
Benefits
West and South of India (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat) have 90% potential for wind power monsoon season brings high
speeds in southern states.
The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) have ranked India fourth for ‘Solar Village Project’installed wind power capacity’ after China, US and Germany.
In 2016-17, wind power had generated nearly 10% of total power generation capacity – future potential.
Drawbacks
Noise pollution, turbines kill birds – threat to wildlife, eyesore
Land available for large wind farms is very scarce in certain regions
Hydroelectric Power (HEP)
Contribution to HEP generation in India has been declining in recent decades from 40% in 1980 to just 12% in 2013 [IEA]
7th largest producer of HEP.
Tehri Dam (2006): biggest dam in India. Bhagirathi River, Uttarakhand.
Extremely expensive: $1 bn
Benefits:
2400MW of HEP.
, 270 million gallons of drinking water
Irrigation for 270,000 hectares
Drawbacks:
Build on earthquake prone area - 8.5 mag earthquake would fracture dam and submerge 500,000 people. Dam designed so that it
could sustain an earthquake of up to magnitude 7 however the area is susceptible to earthquakes of up to magnitude 8 on the
Richter scale.
Building the dam led to the displacement of 40 villages (approx. 40,000 people) caused disruption to their lives as they had to
find new jobs.
Of these 40,000 people, 24,000 displaced people were still not provided with land rights and lacked basic amenities
HEP hard to implement involves displacement of people, submergence of land (dams)
Corruption - Central Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating six cases of corruption against high ranking officials
the construction of a dam requires concrete and the concrete industry contributes to 5% of worldwide CO2 emissions.
Conclusion – a lot of these are small scale projects. On a larger scale, there has been limited FDI due to reluctance of dealing with India due
to corruption and also because of electricity issues (frequent blackouts, electricity theft).
Other…
*Can also talk about Dabhol for LNG and how it failed due to political reasons and lack of supply.
Specification Point: ‘Candidates must study one named located scheme to produce electricity (e.g. a power station), showing some of the issues of changes in demand and supply, in power
production and its location, and evaluate the success of the scheme’.
DABHOL POWER PLANT CASE STUDY.
What is it? Dabhol Power Station is a 2184 MW combined cycle power station
in India which is now called the ‘Ratnagiri Gas & Power Limited’.
Location: Near Anjanwel Village in Ratnagiri Maharashtra
(160km South of Mumbai), India.
When was it built? Began construction in 1992.
Estimated Cost: $2.9bn
Primary fuels that the Dabhol plant uses:
(Before) Naptha a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture a derivative of crude petroleum.
(Now) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) natural gas (mainly methane, ethane) which has been converted to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized
storage or transport. When liquefied, it is 1/600th of its original volume. Regasified LNG is transported through the Dahej-Panvel-Dabhol Pipeline.
Imported from Middle East (Qatar).
How do natural gas power plants work?
Electricity is produced at a natural gas power plant. A fuel (natural gas) is burned to produce heat and pressurised gas. The high pressure created spins a turbine
which is connected to a generator. Inside the generator, magnets spin which creates an electrical current, this generates electricity. The electricity is transmitted
as moving electrons through a series of wires to homes and business. Some power stations also use the waste heat to boil water to produce steam which drives
another turbine which generates electricity combined cycle power station.
Background Information:
Dabhol plant was built through the combined effort of Enron, GE (General Electric) and Betchel.
GE provided the generating turbines, Bechtel constructed the physical plant, and Enron was charged with managing the project through Enron
International.
At the start of its construction, the Dabhol power station was the biggest foreign investment in India.
*Enron: an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Texas world leaders of natural gas in 1990s.
*Betchel: Bechtel Corporation is the largest construction and civil engineering company in the US.
*Enron International: company’s primary focus was developing & building natural gas power plants outside North America.
*GE: is an American MNC operating through some of the following segments lighting, oil & gas, power, renewable energy, transportation, engineering industries.
Why was Dabhol Power Station Built?
Growing demand for energy (population increase, industrialisation).
At the time, India had an energy deficit of 18% and frequent blackouts.
Public State Electricity boards were running in most states at a loss because of high operating costs and low charges to users. Highly subsidised
especially for agricultural users.
Built in Maharashtra good location for power plant close proximity to deep-water port save costs on transportation of fuel.
Maharashtra also already generated 12% of India’s generation capacity.
Promised to meet 3% of country’s energy demands.
Timeline of Events
1992: India opens its power sector to private foreign investors.
Construction planned to be completed in two phases.
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