International Studies
S1 Sustainable Development
Resource 4: Sustainable Development
Processing resources
Usually we need to do something with a resource before we can consume it.
Therefore, for example we cut down trees for firewood, which we burn to cook
food.
We need to mine a metal ore from the ground and heat it to a very high
temperature (smelt) to get the pure metal we need, eg Iron, Copper.
The flow chart shows this basic idea.
Natural resource
process ( eg
heating, drilling,
mining
Finished product
We need to add a fourth box, to show “waste”. In other words, almost all
processes that turn natural resources into useful products involve waste products
that have to go somewhere.
Think about it. If you burn coal to get heat, you still have embers in the fire.
You also produce soot. The soot and the embers and gases released from the
coal as it burns are all waste products. What happens to this waste is a very
important question.
Resources
Processes
Finished
products
waste
Coal: A Fossil Fuel
Twin cranes lift coal from Brazil out of a
Bulk Carrier at Hunterston Terminal, near
Largs. The coal is loaded by conveyor belt
on to freight trains that go to coal-fired
power stations in Fife and Yorkshire. These
trains run every day of the year.
Coal is one of several fossil fuels. They are called fossil fuels because they are
made from the fossil remains of plants (coal) or sea creatures (oil) from millions
of years ago. Today coal and oil are stored in rock layers, often very deep
within the earth’s crust. Since they are made from the remains of living things,
they contain carbon, just like trees. We burn coal and oil to make heat that can
then be used for many purposes.
Coal is found in huge coalfields (areas of coal-bearing rocks) many 100s of
meters below ground. A lot of our coal comes from Brazil and Russia because
we have used up most of our coal. It is dug out the ground using the human
resources of labour (coal miners) and technology, eg drills and cutting
instruments. It is transported from the coalfields, by train or ship, taken to
power stations, where they burn it to generate vast amounts of electricity. It also
gives off huge amounts of smoke and chemicals like CO2 into the atmosphere.
These fossil fuel emissions stay in the atmosphere, and are a major cause of
temperature change. Coal fired power stations make waste products such as ash
and sludge, which contain toxic chemicals. This waste may lie around as spoil
heaps, although sometimes it is landscaped.
Task 1: Storyboarding
A storyboard is a strip of frames. Each frame shows a particular stage in a
sequence. You can use words or images in each frame. Storyboards are often
used by directors to plan films. You can use them to think out geographical
ideas, too.
Make up a storyboard to illustrate our use of coal
Trading Resources:
The Global Economy
This process of turning natural resources into things we need and want is the
basis of the GLOBAL ECONOMY. Manufacturing industries employ millions
of people across the world. They process foods and drinks and make clothes,
electronic goods, cars, furniture, toys, appliances, etc. Ships, planes, trains and
lorries transport goods and all around the world. Millions of people work in
shops and offices to sell the things that others make. Therefore, without taking
and consuming resources, very few of us would have a job. It means that we are
all connected, and depend very much on other countries to sell us things we
need, or buy things we make.
Task 2 Look at the diagram above.
(a) How many people work in...
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Industrial jobs
Agriculture
Services ( eg shops and offices)
Their own business ( entrepreneurs)
(b)
i.
ii.
Are there more young people under 15, or older people over 65?
What effects might this have on the world’s resources?
Sharing Resources: Inequalities
Do all these 7 billion people use roughly the same amount of resources? The
same amounts of water, fuel, food, cars, clothes, computers, mobiles?
If we are using up resources too quickly, should we not do something about the
population.
Task 3
Look at the cartoon above.
( a) Which statement do you think best describes the message in the cartoon?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Poor people have too many children
People should have as many children as they want
WE need to manage the world’s resources more fairly
There are not too many people in the world.
( b) Imagine you had to draw two more frames of the cartoon. What might be
the conversation?
Extension Work- Costing the Earth
Experts estimate that the average European-or American- consumes about 32
times as much of the world’s resources as the average person from a poor
country (economically less developed country (ELDC)
India: Population 1000 million
If everyone in the world lived at the same level as the average person from India,
you would only need the countries that have been shaded in, about 1/3 of the world.
USA Population 300 million
If everyone in the world lived at the same level as the average person from USA
you would need over four worlds.
Task 4
Look at the graphic above.
Work in pairs, to discuss the following points.
( a) Should the world produce more resources so that everyone can live at the
same level?
( b) Should we tell people in the USA to stop using so much?
( c) Should we be worried that people in India want a higher standard of living?