Managing Resources
High Resource Use (MEDC)
Countries such as the USA and the UK use vast amounts of resources for example each person in the USA consumers on average the equivalent of 7.87 million tonnes of oil. This large energy consumption may be for a number of reasons. The first being that northern America is prone to very severe winters which means that many people use a lot of heating oil to heat there homes. The Americans seem to have a love affair with large and thirsty cars with many returning below 20 miles to each gallon of fuel used. This is prompted by the cheap cost of petrol in America compared to the rest of the industrialised world. The third reason is that America still has many large manufacturing industries, which require lots of fossil fuels.
Lower Resource Use (LEDC)
An example a country with lower resource use in Kenya. This is because a lower percentage of the population will own motor cars so meaning that less pollution is emitted into the atmosphere that way. The climate in East Africa means that there is no need for heating in people’s houses in winter. The main factor however is that people do not have the money to be able to afford to purchase large amounts of energy in the form of either the form of electricity, petrol or oil. Kenya does not have a large scale-manufacturing base as in line with most developing countries it exports most of its materials as primary products with out-processing them so meaning that less energy is needed.
Increasing Resource Use (NIC)
An example of increasing resource use is China, which on average uses the equivalent of 0.68 tonnes of oil per person. This figure is much lower than the American figure but is rising all the time. This is due to the rapid industrialisation of China. China has a large population, which requires a considerable amount of energy. This is because as China develops it is increasing the amount in manufactures so meaning that it requires more electricity and fuel oil for its factories. As China develops and people become wealthier this means that people start to want luxury goods such as air conditioner units, fridges and cars. These all use large amounts of energy in the form of electricity and petrol and due to the sheer number of people in China it is likely that this rise will continue.
Renewable Energy.
Britain has used wind for many things since the middle ages however it was not untill 1991 that its first windfarm opened at Camelforth in Cornwall. This windfarm situated 250 meters above sea level where average wind speeds are 27 km/hour generates enough electricity for 3000 homes. By 1996 there were 60 windfarms either planned or working in the UK. Wind roughly produces 0.2% of the UK’s energy needs. Wind farms are mainly built on exposed upland sites, on the West Coast and now on and off shore on the East Coast. Below are a few examples of wind farms.
Scrooby Sands- off the Coast of Great Yarmouth Norfolk
Euros Power- on the east coast at Winterton on sea Norfolk.
Windcluster- on the West coast of Britain in Cumbria.
Denholm- On exposed high land in Yorkshire.
Below is a table of advantages and disadvantages of wind power.
Advantages / DisadvantagesDo not cause air pollution. Will reduce use of fossil fuels / Does not blow all the time. You can’t store electricity generated in a storm.
Winds stronger in winter-peak time for electricity. / Spoil the scenic attraction of the landscape.
After initial expense of setting up relatively cheap to run. / 7000 turbines generate same amount as 1 nuclear power station.
Source of income for farmers whose land they are on. / Noisy and can disrupt TV, radio.
Wind could generate 10% of UK’s total electricity. / Can be a navigation hazard to ships and planes.
Tourism (MEDC)
The North York Moors National park is situated in Northern England close to urban areas such as Teesside. As such on a many people choose to visit here on sunny summer weekends this number can be as many as 150,000 mainly by car causing congestion. The visitors mainly head for Honey pot sites, which is a place, which attracts visitors and experiences visitor pressure. An example of a place is Goathland which is where ITV’s Heartbeat programme was filmed. As many as 1.25 million people visit Goathland each year meaning that there can be up to 700 parked cars in the village each day.
Facts about the National Park.
Created in 1952.
Aprox 150 000 hectares in size.
Population of about 25 000.
About 11 million visitors per year.
Physical Features
Plateau-like surface cut by rivers (dales)
Heather covered moorland on the higher parts
Bracken woods and farmland in the lower parts
Spectacular coastal scenery.
Problems in the National Park
One of the major pressures on the park is the damage caused by walkers. Walkers often erode the vegetation on or near footpaths meaning that the vulnerable soil is washed away by rain. Therefore footpath repair is an essential management technique in the national park this can include fencing off areas in upland parts and laying slabs on lower ground.
Conflicts between local people and visitors.
In the 1980s farmers reclaimed moorland and turned it into pasture to increase incomes some visitors felt this detracted from the beauty of the area.
Planting of coniferous forest. Nearly 20% of open moorland has been ploughed up and planted with conifers in the past 20 years. This brings in money but limits visitor access and spoils views.
Quarrying is an important economic activity giving permanent employment to people but it does spoil the scenic beauty of the area.
Tourist Resort Southend.
Southend is situated on the eastern end of the Thames estuary. It grew as a tourist resort as it was easily accessible from London and so became popular after the advent of railways as these promoted easy accessibility. The popularity of Southend increased dramatically in the Victorian period.
Today Southend has many attraction ranging from the golden mile, to peter pans play ground and it also has the world longest pier.
Southend has maintained its accessibility as it has two railway lines running from London into the town. It also has two major roads the A13 and A127 which link it to London and the M25 and therefore the rest of the national motorway network.
Tourism In an LEDC (Kenya)
People visit Kenya for two main reasons 1- The wildlife parks on the Plateau
2- The coastline of the Indian ocean
Tourism is important for Kenya as it provides 21% of foreign exchange earnings and over 11% of total wage employment. The industry also acts as a catalyst for other areas of the economy such as agriculture.
Kenya has some of the most prolific and accessible game parks where people can see many of the big 5 game. It has great scenic beauty with vast expanses of savanna grassland and bush. You can also trek up mount Kenya, which is Africa’s second highest peak.
The coastal strip from Malindi to Mombassa has vast expenses of white coral sand and warm waters of the Indian Ocean. You can go on a glass-bottomed boat and see over 240 species of fish and a variety of corals.
Tourism brings benefits to Kenya. It has bought foreign exchange into the country. It has led to the protection of wildlife. Kenya has remained relatively prosperous whilst neighboring countries like Ethiopia slid in to civil war.
Tourism has bought problems as well.
Dependence on tourism meant that when visitor numbers fell in 1997 the effct was sever.
Damage to the environment.
People walk on the corals in the sea killing them.
In the game parks drivers of mini busses get too close to animals scaring them off and churning up the savanna in the wet season turning into a dust bowl in the dry.
Poorly paid and inexperienced officials likely to be open to bribery.
Conflicts with local people. When the game parks were set up the local Masai tribe were driven off their land. Due to a shortage of grazing land farmers have had to move closer to the edge of the parks. Lions eat there cattle, elephants trample crops and people are often injured by animals but they are not allowed to kill the animals. Most of these people gain very little from tourism.
Green Tourism- Eco Tourism
Green tourism/eco-tourism is a form of tourism in which protection of the local environment and the way of life of local people is considered to be important.
In Kenya the Masai are now seen as key to the tourist industry due to the rise in green tourism. This is because over three-quarters of the game that people come to see are situated on lands outside the game park owned by the Masai. In the colonial past the Masai would have been driven off the land to make way for Europeans and the animals. But because to increased health of vegetation and wildlife outside the parks two tented camps have been set up on the important migration route between Amboseli and Tsavo national parks. Because this is on Masai land they are paid about a thousand pounds a year. Therefor the Masai are receiving money directly from tourism.
There are a few problems one of which is that Masai need to continue with there traditional farming activities which do not go well with promoting tourism. Many Masai are illiterate so meaning tour operators may rip them off.
The need for Management
Antarctica is often described by people as the last reaming wilderness on earth. Until recently its remoteness had saved it from tourism, but now it is exactly this wilderness people wish to see. Therefore with visitor passing 10,000 in 1995 for the first time strict rules are needed. Many people arrive and live on a cruise ship so minimizing the impact. All cruise operators must comply with the guidelines laid down by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators. These rules were visitors must not:
Disturb wildlife in any way
Go within 5 meters of the penguins
Walk on Lichens
Leave litter or waste.
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Itaipu Brazil
- In 1992 a dam was completed across the River Parana at Itaipu on the border of Brazil and Paraguay. The lake behind the dam is 180 km long and 5km wide. There are 18 turbines which make it the worlds largest HEP scheme
- Although a joint scheme between Brazil and Paraguay, Paraguay recives its needs from only one turbine with Brazil buying the rest at reduced cost and transporting to Sao Paulo area.