3.1: Energy Security
For starters, have a look at this site, from Professor David Mackay.
Some useful sources of energy related information:
US Energy Information Administration
Enerdata - Energy Information Yearbook
3.1.1: Energy supply, demand and security
There is a huge amount of material available on this topic, so your task is to use the right sources - please avoid wikipedia.
The BP web site has a lot of information, especially its Statistical Review of World Energy in both Excel and pdf formats. This is (almost) the primary source for energy data. However, it is viewed as infallible, as certain assumptions are made about reserves.
Many national governments produce energy flow diagrams (called Sankey diagrams) - use a google search. These are for the UK in 2007 and 1977 - useful for comparisons over time, probably. The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change has a detailed set of links on energy, while the US Department of Energy provides a similar set of links on the US energy situation. The EU provides data (from their EU data mountain) of energy use in EU countries with some international comparisons too. You may need to “develop” the data.
The World Resources Institute provides a pdf of stats - nice to read but difficult to work with and probably from the BP Statistical review.
Finally, for global and detailed coverage which goes some way beyond mere stats, try the International Energy Agency’s site, especially their By Country section - ideal for looking up information on the giants: India and China. The Oil Drum is a useful web site, being a mix of facts, figures, graphics, reports and discussions, and they have a section on the UK’s Energy Security situation. However, some of this is comment, not fact. The issue of energy security is exercising various bodies in the USA, such as the National Petroleum Council, who recently produced a report called “Hard Truths” - this links to the executive summary, as the full report is 15MB! The OPEC web site gives the energy picture from the point of view of the members of that cartel. Nonetheless, it is an interesting source of information and they have an Annual Statistical Bulletin, also in interactive format which is fairly - well - interactive. Here is an Oil PowerPoint, gving an insight into complexities in that industry.
Energy types: there is a lot of stuff out there - look for it. However, on impacts of energy use you may have to be a little more persistent in your searching,
Fossil fuels cause atmospheric pollution - you know this from AS, so check that part of this web site.
Here is a useful article from The Guardian on the impacts of tar sand extraction in Canada, while this more strident report from an environmental campaign group tells a similar story. Oil extraction has human impacts too, such as the Piper Alpha disaster of 1988, and others, here for example. Oil industry safety is a key concern - see this article. The more recent Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is detailed by the BBC, the Guardian and also, by BP.
Coal poses many problems for the environment, as acknowledged by the World Coal Institute. The World Bank has a section on China’s coal industry, with a link to a document called “Towards a Sustainable Coal Sector in China.” There are issues with coal mining in the USA too, as that country seeks to maintain some degree of energy security. While the combustion of coal can be cleaned up, its extraction remains problematic (in China here and here), and its safety record in the UK wasn’t too good (scroll down and check the column on the left hand side of the page).
3.1.2 The impacts of energy insecurity
Energy security is being addressed by the UK Parliament, as is Peak Oil. This short extract from a report on the UK’s energy security was produced by BERR, now DBIS.
The UK’s energy pathways are interesting, and as you would expect, make us very dependent on the goodwill (or actions) of others. This European Pipelines map shows just how complex the web of links is which gets gas and oil to Western Europe. If you scroll down the page a bit, you’ll get to a map of the UK’s oil, gas and products pipelines. There’s a lot of detail here.
The University of Texas Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection has a whole page of links to energy maps of all sorts - many with pipelines.
Many of Western Europe’s energy pathways from Russia pass through problem areas. A quick glimpse at the Transnational Issues section of each country through which Europe’s energy passes from Russia shows that there is potential for insecurity. Energy from Russia passes through Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Czech Republic. Other countries do figure too, such as Lithuania, but they are not on the main routes. This page contains some useful information and further links about Russia’s supply of energy to Europe - take your time to read it and look at the available resources.
Some useful sources of energy related information:
US Energy Information Administration
Enerdata - Energy Information Yearbook
3.1.1: Energy supply, demand and security
There is a huge amount of material available on this topic, so your task is to use the right sources - please avoid wikipedia.
The BP web site has a lot of information, especially its Statistical Review of World Energy in both Excel and pdf formats. This is (almost) the primary source for energy data. However, it is viewed as infallible, as certain assumptions are made about reserves.
Many national governments produce energy flow diagrams (called Sankey diagrams) - use a google search. These are for the UK in 2007 and 1977 - useful for comparisons over time, probably. The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change has a detailed set of links on energy, while the US Department of Energy provides a similar set of links on the US energy situation. The EU provides data (from their EU data mountain) of energy use in EU countries with some international comparisons too. You may need to “develop” the data.
The World Resources Institute provides a pdf of stats - nice to read but difficult to work with and probably from the BP Statistical review.
Finally, for global and detailed coverage which goes some way beyond mere stats, try the International Energy Agency’s site, especially their By Country section - ideal for looking up information on the giants: India and China. The Oil Drum is a useful web site, being a mix of facts, figures, graphics, reports and discussions, and they have a section on the UK’s Energy Security situation. However, some of this is comment, not fact. The issue of energy security is exercising various bodies in the USA, such as the National Petroleum Council, who recently produced a report called “Hard Truths” - this links to the executive summary, as the full report is 15MB! The OPEC web site gives the energy picture from the point of view of the members of that cartel. Nonetheless, it is an interesting source of information and they have an Annual Statistical Bulletin, also in interactive format which is fairly - well - interactive. Here is an Oil PowerPoint, gving an insight into complexities in that industry.
Energy types: there is a lot of stuff out there - look for it. However, on impacts of energy use you may have to be a little more persistent in your searching,
Fossil fuels cause atmospheric pollution - you know this from AS, so check that part of this web site.
Here is a useful article from The Guardian on the impacts of tar sand extraction in Canada, while this more strident report from an environmental campaign group tells a similar story. Oil extraction has human impacts too, such as the Piper Alpha disaster of 1988, and others, here for example. Oil industry safety is a key concern - see this article. The more recent Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is detailed by the BBC, the Guardian and also, by BP.
Coal poses many problems for the environment, as acknowledged by the World Coal Institute. The World Bank has a section on China’s coal industry, with a link to a document called “Towards a Sustainable Coal Sector in China.” There are issues with coal mining in the USA too, as that country seeks to maintain some degree of energy security. While the combustion of coal can be cleaned up, its extraction remains problematic (in China here and here), and its safety record in the UK wasn’t too good (scroll down and check the column on the left hand side of the page).
3.1.2 The impacts of energy insecurity
Energy security is being addressed by the UK Parliament, as is Peak Oil. This short extract from a report on the UK’s energy security was produced by BERR, now DBIS.
The UK’s energy pathways are interesting, and as you would expect, make us very dependent on the goodwill (or actions) of others. This European Pipelines map shows just how complex the web of links is which gets gas and oil to Western Europe. If you scroll down the page a bit, you’ll get to a map of the UK’s oil, gas and products pipelines. There’s a lot of detail here.
The University of Texas Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection has a whole page of links to energy maps of all sorts - many with pipelines.
Many of Western Europe’s energy pathways from Russia pass through problem areas. A quick glimpse at the Transnational Issues section of each country through which Europe’s energy passes from Russia shows that there is potential for insecurity. Energy from Russia passes through Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Czech Republic. Other countries do figure too, such as Lithuania, but they are not on the main routes. This page contains some useful information and further links about Russia’s supply of energy to Europe - take your time to read it and look at the available resources.
