The future of oil as a resource

• Many have argued that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

was a political strategy by the US to control its oil
production. It is estimated that by 2050, land locked Asian
countries will produce 80% of the oil needs of the US.
• This has led to insecurity on the part of most governments
regarding the future of oil production in the world. This
insecurity emanates from the following:
– Terrorist activities in most oil producing countries like Nigeria
which makes its oil production unstable.
– Emerging economies like Brazil, India, China increasing the
demand for crude oil
– Geopolitical development: eg. Iran using its oil to ‘flex’ with the
West
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 Impact of oil extraction and usage
• Oil also presents environmental challenges and a recent
example is BP’s oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

• Concerns are therefore raised about the nature of oil

consumption in the world and whether countries should
continue to depend on oil.
1. Environmental impacts of oil extraction
• Disruption of sensitive environments (tundra, rainforest, ocean habitat)
• Transportation spills. Eg. Transportation of oil from Alaska to Mainland US and its
associated problems of oil leaks
• Toxic wastes
• Consequences of military interventions

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2. Environmental impacts of oil usage
• Climate change
• Air pollution

3. Social impact
• Usurpation of indigenous peoples' rights
• Decommissioning of ships
• Military intervention to secure supplies
4. Economic upheaval from disruption of supplies
Case study- Shell and Ogoniland
– Slide show of MENDS (Movement for the emancipation of the Niger Delta)
and Ogoniland in Nigeria.
– Energy on the environment – Oil in Alaska, New wider world pp.128-131

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 Alternative energy sources
• The consequence of the global production and consumption of
oil resources has led to the demand for alternative sources of
energy.
• This is an attempt to:
a. minimize the emissions of green house gases associated with the use of
oil,
b. reduce the dependence of major consuming economies on the oil
producing countries seeking political supremacy by virtue of their oil (e.g
Russia, Iran and Venezuela)
• Examples of Alternative sources of energy include: Solar ,Wind power ,
Tidal Power, Nuclear Power, Hydro Power.

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 1. Solar
• In 2008 South Korea opened the world’s largest solar power
plant. It covers the equivalent of 93 football stadiums and
provides electricity for 100,000 homes.
• The sun is the primary source of solar energy.
Advantages:
• It is safe
• It is pollution – free
• It is efficient and of limitless supply.
Disadvantages:
• It is expensive to construct a solar station
• It is affected by clouds, seasons and nighttime

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 • Nuclear Power
Advantages:
• Cheap, abundant and reliable source of energy
• It can last for several years, unlike coal and oil which lasts for
about 300 and 50years respectively.
• Western countries would not have to rely on the Middle East
for oil
• Requires small amount of uranium to produce enough
energy. E.g. 50 tons of uranium per year compared with
500tonnes of coal per hour to for coal-fired power stations

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Disadvantages
• Uranium is a radioactive material so nuclear power
industries face the problem of waste disposal

• Cost of decommissioning of old plants and reactors

is very high

• Environmental disaster could be very high. E.g

Cherno byl, in 1986
• Nuclear energy also has political implications
especially in countries that are deemed to habor
terrorists. E.g. Iran tries to use nuclear energy.
However, the West is not comfortable with this,
resulting in the imposition of sanctions against the
government of the country.
– Reference – Geography – An Integrated Approach by David Waugh. Read
the whole chapter on Energy

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 Wind Power:
Advantages:
• No pollution
• No finite resources involved
• Reduction in environmental damage elsewhere
• Suitable for small-scale production
Disadvantages:
• Visual impact
• Noisy
• Winds may be unreliable
• Large scale development hampered by high initial cost
• Difficulty in finding suitable location

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 Hydroelectric power:
Factors affecting location:
• Relief – needs a valley (gorge) that can be dammed
• River regime – a reliable supply of water
• Geology – a stable, impermeable rock
• Climate - a reliable supply of rain water
• Market demand – to be profitable
• Transport facilities- to transport energy

The site depends on:

• Local shape (narrow deep)
• Local geology
• Lake potential (large head of water)
• Local land use (non-residential)
• Local planning ( lack of restriction)
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Disadvantages
• HEP plants are costly to build
• Only few places have sufficient head water
• Markets are critical since plants need to run at full
capacity
• May lead to the destruction of human settlements
• Flora and fauna are destroyed as a result of lake
development
• It may lead to water borne disease especially for
people living close to the lake.

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 Case study- Three Gorges Project
Facts:
• The dam was completed in 2009 on the Yangtze in China
• Over 1 million people were relocated from the dam areas
• It is 2km long and 100meters high
• The Yangtze provides 66% of China’s rice and contains
400million people
• The Yangtze drains 1.8million square km and discharges 700
cubic meters of water annually.

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Benefits of the dam:
• Generates 18000 megawatts of electricity , 8times
more than the Aswan Dam HEP can provide.
• It will enable China to reduce its dependence on coal
• It will supply energy to Shanghai with population of
about 13million.
• It will protect 10million people from flooding (over
300m people died from flooding in the 20th century)
• It will allow shipping above the Three Gorges – dam
raised water level by 90meters
• It has generated thousands of jobs

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Protest against the building of the dam:
• That the project was unnecessarily expensive – cost
about $70billion.
• A number of towns and cities, including Wanxian
(140,000 pple) and Fuling (80,000pple) would be
submerged by the dam.
• Flooding has occurred along most rivers that feed the
Yangtze river.
• The region is located in a seismically active area and
landslides are frequent.
• The land provided for the resettlement of people
affected by the dam is 800m above sea level, very steep
with thin soils and colder.
• NB: Read New Wider World for details on this case study: 293-295
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 Picture of Three Gorges Project

Yangtze Three Gorges Dam Project, China Yangtze River Dam, Three Gorges Reservoir.url

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 Methods of reduction of resource consumption
• As world resource consumption continues to increase and
natural resource reserves dwindle, there is the need for nations
to reduce their demand for resources.
• This is made possible through:
A. Conservation: the process of protecting and managing a
resource in such a way that it will not lose its value. This can
be done through a sustainable use of the use. E.g forest
resources can be conserved by protecting the forest against
irresponsible lumbering activities and by encouraging
afforestation.
B. B. Waste reduction: also called ‘reduce’, it is the process by
which a small amount of a resource is used in order not to
waste it. Eg. Turning off lights in a room when not needed,
ironing clothing all at once rather than once a day, heating
only the amount of water needed in a kettle. 15
C. Recycling : refers to the processing of industrial and household
waste so that the materials can be reused. This may include
waste paper, polythene, glass, metals etc.
D. Substitution: is the replacement of a given resource with
another. For example, the need to use renewable energy
resources such as solar energy or hydrogen to power cars
rather than depending of non-renewable sources of energy
such as oil and gas is a form of substitution.
E. Landfill: This is the act of burying waste in the ground and then
filling it up with soil or other materials. This is done mostly at
the domestic level and in some countries such as the UK, it is
allowed on a large scale basis for some small amount of
hazardous materials.

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 Strategy aimed at reducing the consumption of one resource.

• Let’s discuss this aspect of the topic.

• E.g
• Reduction in the fish stock in EU
• Waste recycling in Litchfield, UK

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 The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
• In 1988, the United Nations set up the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) which brings together thousands of scientists
from around the world.
• Their task is to assess existing research and knowledge about climate
change and its effects, and to provide comprehensive reports at regular
intervals.
• Several years of work go into preparing each report. The most recent
report, known as the Fourth Assessment Report, was published in 2007.
• In 1992, governments agreed to form the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This international agreement
has been formally accepted by 191 countries plus the European Union –
almost all the countries in the world.
• The objective of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous, man-made interference with the climate system.
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• Under the Convention, governments monitor and report the
greenhouse gases they produce, develop climate change
strategies, and help the poorer among them address climate
change. They meet once a year to review progress and decide
what to do next.

• The Convention was designed as an umbrella under which

more action would be agreed in the future.

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 The Kyoto Protocol
• In 1997, in the Japanese city of Kyoto, gov’ts took the next step
and agreed the important Kyoto Protocol. This treaty commits
industrialised countries to reduce or limit their greenhouse gas
emissions and reach certain emission targets by 2012.
• The Kyoto Protocol focuses on industrialised countries because
they are responsible for most of the past and current
greenhouse gas emissions and have the knowledge and money
to reduce them.
• For example, the amount of greenhouse gases produced in the
EU is around 11 tonnes per citizen every year, while developing
countries produce only around 1 tonne per citizen each year.

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 What you can do
Climate change is a global problem, and yet each of us has the power to make
a difference. Even small changes in our behavior can save energy and
resources and help prevent greenhouse emissions,
without affecting our quality of life. In fact, they
can save us money.
• Recycle things. Recycling an aluminum can to produce a new one requires
one-tenth of the energy needed to produce one from scratch. Paper
factories use far less energy to make paper from old newspapers than from
wood pulp.
• Avoid foods that take a lot of water and energy to produce or transport, such
as meat and processed meals.

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