GEOG 6 – The Geography of Resources and Energy
Fall 2010
Hofstra University
Department of Global Studies & Geography
Prof.:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue
Roosevelt 209H
516 463-5765
Jean-paul.Rodrigue@hofstra.edu
GEOG 6 – The Geography of
Resources and Energy
Objectives
GEOG 6 introduces in a broadly conceived manner the geography of resources. Resources
include a wide range of purposes such as natural resources, human resources, capital, as well
as energy. In spite of substantial developments in the service and information industries, we
still much live in a “physical world”. Resources are fundamental to many activities and much
value is attached to their procurement, transformation and use. Most resources are used to
produce an outcome of economic value, such as providing food, energy and materials for
manufacturing and construction. They thus have an economic and strategic importance which
is subject to geopolitical contentions. Additionally, resources are not uniformly distributed
and geography is an essential aspect for their procurement and availability on markets.
Learning Goals and Objectives
Students will learn how human, physical and environmental components related to resources
and energy interact.
Knowledge and understanding:

Students will be familiarized with economic processes linked with the procurement,
transformation and distribution of resources, and their impacts on economic, cultural
and social activities.

Students will learn how resources are regulated and under the jurisdiction of a variety
of geographical units and how these relations shape the economic and social space.

Students will gain a level of understanding about environmental systems linked with
resources, such as climate and biogeography.

Students will be exposed to the nature of physical systems linked with resources such
as geomorphologic processes.

Students will be able to read and interpret resource information on different types of
maps.
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GEOG 6 – The Geography of Resources and Energy
Fall 2010
Skills:

Students will develop observational skills by analyzing relevant tables and figures.

Students will gain the ability to critically discuss resource and energy issues from
social sciences perspectives.
Requirements
GEOG 6 is part of Hofstra’s social sciences distribution requirements. Students entering this
class should thus be aware that they are expected to do all the readings and be able to write
well-structured class projects.
Responsibilities
Respective responsibilities are as follows:

The Professor’s responsibilities. Provide the most up to date and accurate information
concerning the class topics. Create a challenging learning environment where the
students are exposed to new concepts and ideas. Be available (virtually and
physically) to answer questions and discuss issues. Provide a fair and transparent
evaluation of the students’ work.

The Student’s responsibilities. Class attendance is the basic student’s responsibility.
Participation in class discussions constitutes an important dimension of the learning
process in a subject where issues, rather than the mere learning of factual material,
are the focus. Students are encouraged (and expected) to verbalize their ideas and
views on the issues to be discussed. Students are also responsible for reading the
required material before going to class and handing the assignments at the expected
deadline.
Evaluations
Several means will be utilized for evaluating students’ performance in the course. Three
examinations appear on the schedule of class activities. The examinations will emphasize
written work and the extent the students understand the core concepts introduced. Class
participation or its absence will also be assessed and factored in to the semester grade. In
addition, each student will be responsible for developing two class projects (see below).
You can accumulate in this class up to 225 points. Here is the breakdown of the point value
of each item you will be evaluated on:





Examination 1. 40 points.
Examination 2. 40 points.
Examination 3. 40 points.
2 class projects. 90 points (45 points each).
Class attendance and participation. 15 points.
The 2 class projects, of about 6-8 pages each, are concerning the following:

Media review. A review of current events related to resources and energy. From a
list of relevant media articles, the student will select four and review them in details,
particularly in terms of how they relate to the material covered in class. The purpose
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GEOG 6 – The Geography of Resources and Energy
Fall 2010
of the assignment is to insure that the student makes a relevant association with the
conceptual framework provided by the course and real world events. A more specific
set of guidelines will be made available on Blackboard at the beginning of the
semester.

Analysis. An overview of the issues related to a specific resource. It can imply the
analysis of a major corporation involved in the resources or energy sector or the
evaluation of a specific resource or energy source. The purpose of the assignment is
to insure that the student gains a deeper understanding of a dimension that relates to
his/her interests. A more specific set of guidelines will be made available on
Blackboard at the beginning of the semester.
Grades
To successfully complete this class, you need to accumulate 120 points:
(A) 200 points and above.
(C) Between 140 and 149 points.
(A-) Between 190 and 199 points.
(C-) Between 130 and 139 points.
(B+) Between 180 and 189 points.
(D+) Between 126 and 129 points.
(B) Between 170 and 179 points.
(D) Between 120 and 125 points.
(B-) Between 160 and 169 points.
(F) Below 120 points.
(C+) Between 150 and 159 points.
Grades are non negotiable and the only way a grade will be revised is if an error was made in
the evaluation process. An A is considered a reward for exceptional work, and as such will
not be awarded lightly. Test material will be based on both the assigned readings and material
covered during lectures. In order to gain a firm grasp of the issues discussed in class, it is
imperative that students complete the required readings before class. This amounts to about
80 pages per week, including course notes.
Disabilities Policy
If you have any concerns regarding a physical, psychological and/or learning disability that
may have an impact upon your performance in this course, appropriate accommodations can
be made on an individualized, as-needed basis after the needs, circumstances and
documentation have been evaluated by the appropriate office on campus.
The Office of Services for Students with Disabilities is located in 212 Memorial Hall.
Telephone: 516-463-7074. Please see the Hofstra Guide to Pride, or see their site:
http://www.hofstra.edu/StudentAffairs/stddis/index.html. All disability-related information
will be kept confidential.
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism is a serious ethical and professional infraction. Hofstra’s policy on academic
honesty reads: “The academic community assumes that work of any kind [...] is done,
entirely, and without assistance, by and only for the individual(s) whose name(s) it bears.”
Please refer to the “Procedure for Handling Violations of Academic Honesty by
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GEOG 6 – The Geography of Resources and Energy
Fall 2010
Undergraduate Students at Hofstra University” to be found at
http://www.hofstra.edu/PDF/Senate_FPS_11.pdf , for details about what constitutes
plagiarism, and Hofstra’s procedures for handling violations.
Outline
Topic 1 – What are Resources?
Resources come in many types and there is an important relationship between
technology and resources and the availability of resources in a closed world.
With modernization, economic growth and the improvement in standards of
living, each individual is also consuming larger quantities of water, energy, raw
materials and food. Demographic growth, combined with an increased demand
on resources, is having environmental impacts at the global scale. Many regions
of the world are having difficulties to provide basic resources such as food, water
and energy to their populations, although technological improvements have done
much to mitigate scarcity.
Topic 2 – Economic Role of Resources and Energy
Resources and energy are fundamental components supporting economic
activities. With the growth of the global economy, energy use has increased
dramatically to the extent that supplying additional energy needs has become a
complex challenge. This challenge is at the same time economic, geopolitical and
environmental. Energy should be affordable, efficient readily accessible and with
limited environmental impacts.
Topic 3 – Agriculture and Food
Most of the world’s arable land has already been taken over by agriculture and
urbanization. Providing for additional land is done at the expense of the
remaining forests. Food is also a fundamental resource linked to the capacity to
produce and distribute it to satisfy human nutritional needs. Malnutrition
remains a prevalent problem which, in addition to conventional perspectives of
hunger and deficiencies, has to include overconsumption. The agricultural
system is under stress to produce greater quantities of food with roughly the
same amount of land. However, the Green Revolution has significantly improved
the efficiency of agriculture, but a limit appears to have been reached in the
ongoing struggle to cope. Agricultural requirements of water are exhausting the
limited supplies of fresh water available from hydrographical and aquifer
sources.
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GEOG 6 – The Geography of Resources and Energy
Fall 2010
Topic 4 – Fossil Fuels
Very few commodities have become as vital as coal and petroleum. Coal has
been the first modern source of energy and played a substantial role in the early
stages of industrialization and continues to have many industrial and power
generation uses. Oil can be used as a source of energy as well as a raw material
in the manufacturing of plastics and fertilizers. As a commodity of strategic
importance, petroleum has for long been the object of geopolitical
confrontations. Several contemporary geopolitical events were closely related to
oil or had consequences on oil supply and prices. The oil industry is oligopolistic
both in its supply, demand, control and in its functional and geographical
concentration. The demand is controlled by a few very large multinational
conglomerates, each having a production and distribution system composed of
refineries, storage facilities, distribution centers and at the end of the supply
chain, gas stations. There are substantial reserves of natural gas, which are
expected to last longer than oil. However, unlike oil which is a liquid, natural
gas is much more complex to transport and store. This is the main reason why it
became a major source of energy much later than other fossil fuels. Natural gas
requires a high level of infrastructure investment as well as technical expertise to
be used. With liquefied natural gas and the ability to move it over long distances,
the use of this source of energy has substantial grown in recent years. It is thus
expected that natural gas will play a greater role as a source of energy in the
future.
Topic 5 – Hydroelectricity and Nuclear Energy
Both hydroelectricity and nuclear energy are considered controversial sources,
mainly because of the high level of infrastructure investment they require as well
as some risks involved with their use. This is particularly the case for nuclear
energy which in many developed countries has seen restrictions to its use and
expansion. The setting of hydro power project has been linked with notable
environmental impacts and most major river systems have already been
transformed by major dam projects. Nuclear energy is likely to play a greater
role as many developing countries such as China, are opting for this option as a
major component of their power generation systems. In the developed world, a
surge in fossil prices and a growth in the demand are forcing a serious
reconsideration of the role of nuclear energy. There are new technologies
enabling a safer and more efficient use of nuclear energy.
Topic 6 – Alternative Sources of Energy
From conventional energy supply, mainly depending on fossil fuels, energy
sources are gradually moving to alternative sources. They mainly include wind,
solar, hydrogen and geothermal energy. They are considered renewable sources
because they are replenished at a rate which is faster than consumption.
However, each alternative source of energy requires the use of new technologies
and the setting of new infrastructure for its production and distribution. By the
mid 21st century, it is likely that renewable energy sources will account for the
majority of the global energy supplies.
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GEOG 6 – The Geography of Resources and Energy
Fall 2010
Topic 7 – Commodity Chains
Supplying resources to the global economy is a fundamental activity that
requires the setting of commodity chains. They are functionally integrated
network of production, trade and service activities that covers all the stages in a
supply chain, from the transformation of raw materials, through intermediate
manufacturing stages, to the delivery of a finished good to a market. The chain is
conceptualized as a series of nodes, linked by various types of transactions and
transformations. Each successive node involves the acquisition or organization
of inputs for the purpose of providing physical goods to markets. Commodity
chains are thus the commercial expression of the use and distribution of
resources and energy within the global economy.
Topic 8 – Future Energy and Resources Systems
Since many resources are non renewable, many questions arise about the
provision of future demand. Reuse and recycling.
Bibliography
Required Readings
Kelly, R.A. and T. Mast (2008) Energy Supply and Renewable Resources, London: Checkmark Books.
416 pages
Additional Readings
Brown, L.R., G. Gardner and B. Halweil (1999) Beyond Malthus: Nineteen Dimensions of
the Population Challenge, New York: W.W. Norton. 167 pages.
Energy Information Administration (2008), International Energy Annual, US Department of
Energy, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/iea/contents.html
Klare, M.T. (2008) Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy, New
York: Metropolitan Books. 352 pages.
Postel, S. (1999) Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? New York: W.W. Norton,
313 pages.
Strahler, A.H. and A. Strahler (2005) Introducing Physical Geography, New York: Wiley.
752 pages.
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