Impacts of changing trends in resource consumption (the water-food-energy nexus)
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Define food security.
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All Flashcards in Topic 3.2
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3.2.111 cards
Define food security.
When **all people, at all times, have reliable access** to enough safe, nutritious food.
Food availability vs access?
**Availability** = is there enough food in the area; **access** = can people reach and afford it.
Why can a country grow lots of food yet be food-insecure?
If the poor **cannot afford** it, access fails even when food is available.
Name four factors that lower food security.
**Drought/climate, conflict, poverty/high prices, rapid population growth** (also land degradation, pests).
How does drought threaten food security?
Failed rains and heat **ruin harvests**, so less food is produced and people go hungry.
How does conflict threaten food security?
War **destroys farms and blocks supply routes**, so food cannot reach people.
How does a growing middle class change diets?
Higher incomes mean **more meat, dairy and variety** and more food eaten overall.
Why does richer eating add land-use pressure?
**Meat and dairy need far more land and feed-grain**, so land is cleared to graze animals and grow feed.
Give one way development could **raise** food available.
Better technology, irrigation and infrastructure let a country **grow and import more food**.
How can a warmer climate affect food security?
It can **lower** it (drought, failed harvests) but also **raise** it where new areas become warm enough to farm.
Describe vs Explain on a food-emergency map?
**Describe** = state where the zones are; **Explain** = give the reason behind the pattern.
3.2.212 cards
Define water security.
Reliable access to enough **safe** and affordable water for a population's needs.
Define energy security.
A **reliable, affordable** and uninterrupted supply of energy.
Two threats to water security?
Drought and climate change, and pollution (also over-abstraction and shared-river disputes).
Two threats to energy security?
Import dependence and geopolitical conflict (also droughts cutting hydropower).
How can falling water availability hurt energy security?
Low river/reservoir levels cut **hydropower**, and water shortages limit cooling for thermal/nuclear plants.
Environmental vs geopolitical energy threat?
**Environmental** = drought/heat cutting supply; **geopolitical** = conflict, sanctions or a pipeline dispute.
Two reasons a country might avoid nuclear power?
Safety fears after accidents and dangerous, long-lived radioactive waste (also high cost and long build time).
What makes a site good for solar power?
**High daily sunshine** and **low rainfall/cloud** — many clear sunny days.
Define a geopolitical issue.
A problem caused by **relations between countries** — a conflict, sanctions or a pipeline dispute.
Why are water and energy security linked?
Producing energy uses water (cooling, hydropower) and supplying clean water uses energy (pumping, treatment).
Name a water-security case study.
Cape Town (2018): three dry years dropped dams below 20%, nearing a 'Day Zero' shut-off.
How does an expanding middle class strain water?
More meat/dairy and manufactured goods raise **water-intensive** demand, stretching supply.
3.2.312 cards
What is the water-food-energy nexus?
The way the three resources are **linked and interdependent**, so securing one affects the other two.
Define resource security.
Reliable, affordable access to enough water, food and energy.
What is a trade-off in the nexus?
Gaining one resource at the cost of another (e.g. more biofuel means less food).
How does food production depend on the other two resources?
Farming needs **water** for irrigation and **energy** for machinery, fertiliser and transport.
How does energy production use water?
Thermal and nuclear plants need water for **cooling**, and hydropower stores water behind dams.
Give one way securing water can reduce food.
A dam floods fertile farmland, or irrigation upstream leaves less river water for downstream farms.
Give one way securing energy can reduce food.
Growing crops for **biofuel** takes land and water away from food.
About what share of freshwater does agriculture use?
Around **70%** of the world's freshwater.
Name a nexus case study involving two countries.
The **Nile basin** -- Ethiopia's hydropower dam vs Egypt's downstream farms.
Why does climate change stress the nexus?
It shifts rainfall and droughts and raises temperatures, cutting water for farms and energy and lowering yields.
Name two drivers (besides climate) that squeeze the nexus.
**Population growth** and **richer diets** raising demand for all three resources.
What does a [10] 'to what extent' nexus essay need?
Both sides, **named examples** and a **justified judgement**.
Topic 3.2 study notes
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