Topic 2: Consuming Resources
How and why does resource consumption vary in different parts of the world?
Key Ideas
Content
Resources are classified as renewable,
Define and classify different types of
sustainable and non-renewable, and this has
resources, including energy, mineral, physical
implications for their consumption
and biological resources.
Investigate the changing pattern of global
inequalities in the supply and consumption of
different types of resource.
Issues surrounding
energy supply and
consumption have
produced a changing
world of ‘haves’ and ‘have
nots’.
Examine the reasons for variations in the global
supply and consumption of:
•• one non-renewable energy resource
•• one renewable energy resource.
Assess the likely future pressures on both the
supply and consumption of the chosen energy
resources brought by global economic growth
and changing international relations.
What you need to understand
 Understand resources can be classified by
type and availability i.e. energy, mineral,
physical and biological. Non-renewable,
sustainable that can be deliberately renewed
and sustainable that renew themselves.
 To be able to give examples of each type of
resource.
 To understand what is meant by the terms
supply and consumption.
 To understand a country can only supply a
resource if it is available in the country and
they have the technical ability to extract it
(Saudi Arabia)
 To know some countries have a limited supply
and have to import some resources.
 Supply will change as resources run-out or are
discovered, or changing circumstances within
a country e.g. war.
 To understand factors that affect how much
of a resource is consumed (LEDC vs MEDC)
 To understand reasons for changes in the
supply and consumption of oil.
 To understand reasons for changes in the
supply and consumption of wind or solar
power.


To know how economic growth will impact the
supply and consumption of oil/wind
To know that how well countries get on will
impact the supply and consumption of oil/wind
(impact of conflict with Russia on oil supply.)
How sustainable is the current pattern of resource supply and consumption?
Different theories exist
Investigate the differences between
about how far the world
Malthusian and Boserupian theories about the
can cope with the current
relationship between population and resources.
consumption of resources.
The challenges for future
resource consumption
centre on achieving
sustainability.


Evaluate these theories by considering the
changing relationship between global food
demand and supply.

Identify ways in which governments, both
national and local, attempt to manage resource
consumption through education, conservation
and recycling.

Evaluate the potential of renewable resources
and the ways in which new technologies, e.g. the
hydrogen economy, might resolve resource
shortages.




Understand the Malthusian theory
(pessimistic) about population growth
and resources
Understand Boserupian theory about
population and resources (optimistic)
To know evidence for and against each
theory
To understand why food demand and
supply may change
To learn what is meant by the term
sustainable development.
To know ways in which resource
consumption could be reduced e.g.
farmers market, using bikes not cars,
recycling.
To understand the advantages and
disadvantages of using renewable
resources
To understand some ways in which
technology could resolve our resource
problems e.g. hydrogen fuel cell.