Year 9/10 Revision Material – Exam Week 2
1. Definitions of resources/natural resources
A material source of wealth, such as timber, fresh water, or a mineral deposit, that occurs in a natural state and has economic value.
The different types of resources are:
•Energy
◦Uses: heating, cooking, transport, electricity, etc.
◦Examples: oil, coal, gas, water, sunlight
◦Category: non-renewable and renewable
•Mineral
◦Uses: building, jewellery making, manufacture
◦Examples: iron ore, diamond, quartz, stone
◦Category: non-renewable
•Physical
◦Uses: Energy
◦Examples: water, wind and sunlight
◦Category: renewable
•Biological
◦Uses: food production, energy, manufacture
◦Examples: biofuels, wheat, timber, fish
◦Category: sustainable
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Resource and supply use
The global supply and use of resources is not consistent across the world. There are inequalities and pressures on supply and consumption.
•The regions that generally consume the most resources are Europe, the USA and Japan.
•The regions that consume the least resources are Africa, South America and parts of Asia
•Some of the richest regions have few natural resources (e.g. Japan) which some of the poorest regions are resource rich (e.g. Sudan)
•The richest 20% of all humans consume over 86% of all global resources while the poorest 20% consume only 1.3% of all global resources
•There is inequality within countries as well as between them (e.g. poor people in the USA and rich people in India.)
2. Mechanisation
Mechanised agriculture is the process of using agricultural machinery to mechanise the work of agriculture, greatly increasing farm worker productivity. In modern times, powered machinery has replaced many farm jobs formerly carried out by manual labour or by working animals such as oxen, horses and mules.
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3. Impact of mechanisation
Mechanisation has resulted in less people being needed to work in the primary sector especially in MEDCs/AC’s.
This has contributed to rates of urbanisation in richer countries.
As a result in some areas rural areas have fallen into decline or have had to diversify their economic structures.
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4. Demand and supply of energy
The UK government wants to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions. It also wants to increase the amount of energy which comes from renewable sources.
By 2020 European Union targets state that 20% of energy must come from renewable sources. Each member state of the EU may have a different target, as 20% is an average figure for the EU.
The UK has a target of 15% of its energy consumption being sourced from renewable energy. (In 2009 only 3% of energy came from renewable sources in the UK). Sweden has a target of nearly 50% whereas Malta has a target of 10%.
The EU also aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% below 1990 levels by 2050.
There are two ways the energy use can change in the UK:
Reducing the demand for energy
Increasing the supply of renewable energy
Reducing energy demand
The demand for energy in the UK varies. This is because of:
Economic factors: For example during the recession energy demand did not increase as predicted
Seasonal factors: For example the demand for domestic energy over winter is greater than over the summer.
Temporal factors: For example at night there is surplus energy on the national grid because demand is lower
Regulations have forced vehicles to become more energy-efficient and give off less atmospheric pollution. The government has also continued to increase fuel and road taxes. Even so, the use of transport is rising so fast that the amount of CO2 given off by transport vehicles continues to rise.
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5. % increase/decrease
First: work out the difference (increase) between the two numbers you are comparing.
Increase = New Number - Original Number
Then: divide the increase by the original number and multiply the answer by 100.
% increase = Increase ÷ Original Number × 100.
If your answer is a negative number then this is a percentage decrease.
Organic farming is a method of crop and livestock production that involves much more than choosing not to use pesticides, fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, antibiotics and growth hormones.
7. Commercial farming
Commercial farming is when crops and animals are produced to sell at market for a profit. This commonly involves larger farms, advanced machinery and the use of other technology to maximise yields.
8. Subsistence farming
Subsistence farming is when crops and animals are produced by a farmer to feed their family, rather than to take to market. Is commonly is basic farming methods, operates in poorer countries and is done on smaller scales than commercial farming.
9. By-catch
By-catch, in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while catching certain target species and target sizes of fish, crabs etc. Bycatch is either of a different species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juvenile individuals of the target species. The term "bycatch" is also sometimes used for untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting.
10. Impact of commercial fishing
Overfishing occurs when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction. Gathering as many fish as possible may seem like a profitable practice, but overfishing has serious consequences. The results not only affect the balance of life in the oceans, but also the social and economic well-being of the coastal communities who depend on fish for their way of life.
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Billions of people rely on fish for protein, and fishing is the principal livelihood for millions of people around the world. For centuries, our seas and oceans have been considered a limitless bounty of food. However, increasing fishing efforts over the last 50 years as well as unsustainable fishing practices are pushing many fish stocks to the point of collapse.
More than 85 percent of the world's fisheries have been pushed to or beyond their biological limits and are in need of strict management plans to restore them. Several important commercial fish populations (such as Atlantic bluefin tuna) have declined to the point where their survival as a species is threatened. Target fishing of top predators, such as tuna and groupers, is changing marine communities, which lead to an abundance of smaller marine species, such as sardines and anchovies.
Many fishers are aware of the need to safeguard fish populations and the marine environment, however illegal fishing and other regulatory problems still exist. WWF works with stakeholders to reform fisheries management globally, focusing on sustainable practices that conserve ecosystems, but also sustain livelihoods and ensure food security.
11. Fish farming
Fish farming commonly involves farming fish in pens from birth until they are large enough to eat.
Many of the concerns surrounding fish farming arise from the crowding together of thousands of fish in their artificial environment. Waste products, including feces, uneaten food, and dead fish, are flushed (often untreated) into the surrounding waters where they add to the contamination of the water supply
12. Food security
Food security, as defined by the United Nations' Committee on World Food Security, is the condition in which all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Food should be safe, affordable and nutritious.
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13. Factors which influence food security
War and conflict
Soil quality
Land Ownership
Water
Mechanisation
Capital
Gradient
Temperature
Climate
The state
Infrastructure
Waste
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