Primary Economic Activity
Taking resources from the land or the sea
Economic Activity
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Economic Activity can be divided into 3 categories. These are;
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1. Primary Economic Activity
2. Secondary Economic Activity
3. Tertiary Economic Activity
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What is Primary Economic Activity?
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Primary economic activity involves taking natural resources from the land or
the sea.
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Q. What is a natural resource?
Q. What natural resources are available from the land or the sea?
Primary Economic Activity
• We now know that Primary economic activity involves taking natural
resources from the land or the sea. We take resources from the land
and the sea in the following ways;
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1. Farming
2. Fishing
3. Forestry
4. Mining
5. Quarrying
• Q. Many people work in the primary economic sector. List some jobs
that people do in the primary economic sector.
Primary Economic Activities
Primary Economic Activity
• In developing (poorer) countries many people are employed in
primary economic activities.
• Q. Why do you think this is?
• In developed (rich) countries less people are employed in primary
economic activities.
• Q. Why do you think this is?
Natural Resources
• Natural resources are things provided by nature which are useful to
people.
• Q. Make a list of things provided by nature which are useful to
people.
Natural Resources
Natural Resources
Types of Natural Resources
• There are 2 types of natural resources.
– 1. Renewable resources
– 2. Non-renewable resources
Q. How do you think these types of resources are different?
Renewable Resources
• Renewable resources are resources that can be used over and over
again. With careful management, they will not run out.
• For example, if we cut down trees to make wood, we can plant new
trees to take their place.
• Q. Can you think of any other examples?
• Other examples include water, fish, plants/crops.
• Q. Explain why these examples are renewable resources.
Non-Renewable Resources
• Non-renewable resources are resources that can only be used once.
Each time such resources are used less of that resource is left for
the future. Non-renewable resources will eventually run out.
• Q. Can you think of any examples of non-renewable resources?
• Examples include coal, oil, gas, and peat.
• Q. Explain why these examples are non renewable resources.
Water – A Renewable Natural Resource
The Water Cycle
Evaporation
Condensation
Run Off
Precipitation
Water – A Renewable Natural Resource
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More than 2/3 of the earth is covered in water. However, only a very small
amount of the water on our planet is fresh water.
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Fresh water is what we need for drinking, washing, and cooking.
Fresh water is also needed for irrigating farmland and for making things in
factories.
In some countries, almost everyone has access to safe drinking water. However,
in other countries many people do not have access to safe drinking water.
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Q. List 5 countries where everyone has access to safe drinking water.
Q. List 5 countries where less than 33% of people have access to safe
drinking water.
Water Use
Water Use and Wealth
• People who live in
wealthy countries use
much more water than
people who live in
poor countries.
• Q. Why do you think
this is?
• Q. In Ireland we do
not have to pay for the
water we use at
home. Is this a good
thing?
How do we get our water?
Water Supply
Water Supply in Dublin
• Most of Dublin’s water
comes from Co.
Wicklow.
• A number of
reservoirs have been
built to store water
which is then pumped
to houses in Co.
Dublin
• Q. Why is Wicklow a
good location to get
the water needed for
people living in
Dublin?
Water Quality
• Water can be polluted by
farming, and industrial
activity.
• Q. Why is the river quality
in the Northwest of
Ireland better than in the
East of Ireland?
• Q. What can be done to
help ensure that water
quality is improved in the
East of Ireland?
Water Contamination
Toxic Waste in the Food Chain
Fish eaten
By humans
Factory Spill or
Run Off from Farms
Chemical enters the
river or the sea
Plankton eaten
By fish
Chemicals eaten
By plankton
Water Conservation – Saving Water
• Water is an important
natural resource. It is
important that we do not
waste water.
• Q. Estimate how much
water you use per day.
• Q. Discuss things you
could do to conserve
water.
Irrigation Projects
• Crops need water to grow.
They normally get the water
when it rains.
• In places where there is little
rainfall, irrigation is needed.
• Irrigation means pumping
water from a river or lake to
farmland. The water is then
sprinkled over the crops.
• Q. Why is Irrigation common
in the South of France and
not in Ireland?
Irrigation in France
Irrigation
Egypt and the River Nile
Oil – A Non-Renewable Resource
Oil – A Non-Renewable Resource
• Oil is a non-renewable resource.
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Q. Why do you think oil is considered to be a non-renewable resource?
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Oil is a very important source of energy in our world today.
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Q. How is oil used as an energy source?
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Oil is a non-renewable resource. Therefore it is important that we try to
conserve the oil we have.
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Q. What can we do to help conserve the earth’s oil?
Play the Game. www.willyoujoinus.com/energyville
Oil in the Persian Gulf
Countries with big Oil Reserves
Oil as an Energy Source
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Oil is one of many energy sources
used in the world today.
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Q. Which of the energy sources
shown on the graph do you think
is the best? Why?
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Q. List one positive and one
negative effect of using nuclear
power.
Oil Producing Countries
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Which country in the world
produces the most oil?
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Which country in the world uses
the most oil?
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Explain how an oil discovery in
a country can be a positive
thing.
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Explain how an oil discovery in
a country can be a negative
thing.
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Name a country where oil has
had a positive effect and one
where oil has had a negative
effect.
The Price of Oil
The price of oil can go up and down depending on demand.
The Price of Oil
- In 1973 oil was only $2 per barrel.
- In July 2008 it was $147 per barrel.
- In November 2008 it was only $47 per barrel.
Q. Why did oil increase in price in the 1970’s?
Q. Why did oil reach a record price of $147 a barrel in July 2008 and
fall to $47 per barrel by November?
Q. Explain why high oil prices is a bad thing for Irish people.
The Real Price of Oil?
The Real Price of Oil?
Saudi Arabia – An Oil Producing Country
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Saudi Arabia produces more oil
than any other country in the
world.
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Since the 1930’s Saudi Arabia
has changed from a country
where most people lived in the
desert to one of the wealthiest
countries in the world.
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Q. How has Saudi Arabia used
it’s oil money to improve the
lives of its citizens?
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Q. Explain how large amounts
of Saudi oil money has been
poorly spent.
Oil and Gas in Ireland
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Unfortunately we have not yet
found large deposits of oil or gas
off the Irish coast.
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However, there is much
exploration occurring around our
coastline.
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Gas from Kinsale has been used
to supply gas to Dublin and other
cities.
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Gas has also been discovered in
the Corrib Gas Field. However,
there has been lots of controversy
regarding where this gas should
be brought ashore.
Oil Use in Ireland
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Q. How much oil per
person was used in
Ireland in the year 2000.
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Q. How much oil per
person was used in other
EU countries.
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Q. Suggest some reasons
why Irish people use
more oil than other
European people.
Exploitation of Peat
• Peat is a non-renewable
resource which is found
in Ireland.
• Peat is cut from bogs,
either blanket bogs or
raised bogs.
• Q. List two differences
between the two types
of bogs.
Blanket Bog
• Blanket bogs are found
mainly in the western
counties in Ireland.
• They are shallow bogs.
• Their average depth is 2.6
metres.
Raised Bogs
• Raised Bogs occur mainly
in the central plain of
Ireland.
• They are very deep bogs.
• Their depth can be over
10 metres.
Exploitation of Peat
• Peat is exploited in 4 phases.
Cutting Turf: For about 1,000 years turf has been cut by hand in Ireland
using a peat spade called a Sleán.
Commercial Turf Cutting:
• Bord na Mona, the company
which exploits peat in Ireland
uses many large machines.
• 1. A Grader: A machine like a
bulldozer used to level the
surface of bog.
• 2. A Miller: A machine used to
scrape peat from the surface of
the bog.
What is peat used for?
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Q. Peat is mainly used for…?
Q. Why is it convenient for Ireland to use peat to generate electricity?
Q. What else is peat used for?
Sources of Electricity in Ireland
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Q. What % of Ireland’s electricity was made from peat in 1978?
Q. What % of Ireland’s electricity was made from peat in 2002?
Q. List two forms of electricity production which have increased since 1978.
The Importance of Peat
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Bord na Mona is the name of the
company which exploits peat in
Ireland.
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Peat is very important to our
economy.
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Bord na Mona employs 2000
people. Many of these jobs are in
regions where job creation is
difficult.
Peat is used to generate electricity.
Peat is exported to other EU
countries.
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Renewable Energy Sources
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We know that oil is a non-renewable resource. So are most of the other
ways we get energy. Coal, peat, gas etc.
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Therefore, we need to both conserve energy and also to try to make more
use of renewable energy sources. There are many different types of
renewable energy sources.
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Q. Can you name any renewable energy sources?
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Examples include;
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1. Hydroelectricity
2. Solar power
3. Geothermal energy
4. Tidal energy
5. Wind Energy
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Q. Which of these renewable energy sources could we make use of in
Ireland?
Renewable Energy Sources
Hydroelectric Power (HEP)
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Hydroelectric Power is created using the power of falling water. A dam is
built across a river to trap the water. When part of the dam is opened the
water rushes in. The water is used to turn a turbine which creates electricity
Hydroelectric Power (HEP)
Hydroelectric Power (HEP)
Hydroelectric Power (HEP)
Solar Energy
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Solar energy uses the
power of the sun to
create electricity.
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Heat and light from the
sun are captured by
solar cells.
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The cells convert the
heat and light to
electricity.
Solar Energy
Solar Power
Geothermal Energy
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Geothermal energy works
by pumping water down
deep into the earth’s crust.
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The water is then heated by
hot rocks in the earth’s
crust.
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The heated water is
pumped back to the surface
where it can be used to
heat homes.
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The hot water can also be
converted to steam which is
used to turn turbines to
create electricity.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal Energy
Tidal Energy
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Tidal energy uses the power of the rising and falling tides to turn turbines.
This creates electricity.
Tidal Power
Tidal Power
Wind Energy
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Wind power is becoming
a very popular source of
renewable energy.
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Wind power has been
used for a long time. The
Dutch built windmills to
pump out the water when
they were creating their
Polders.
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Modern wind turbines are
very big. They are usually
grouped together in what
is known as a wind farm.
Wind Energy
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Wind farms are
increasingly being built
out at sea. This is
because it is a windy
location and it prevents
visual pollution on the
landscape.
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Smaller wind turbines are
also available. They can
be put on top of your
house or school to
generate renewable
energy.
Wind Power
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Q. Using evidence from the graph, explain how we know wind power is
becoming more popular.
Q. Why do you think wind power is becoming more popular?
Q. ‘Ireland is an ideal place for wind farms’. Discuss.
Fishing – Over Exploitation of a Resource
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Fish are renewable resources.
If we catch a fish and eat it, other fish will be born to replace it.
However, in many parts of the world too many fish have been caught. The
number of fish has gone down a lot.
Q. People have always caught fish to eat. Why do you think that the problem of
over fishing has arisen only recently?
How do People Fish?
How do People Fish?
How do People Fish?
Most fish are caught in the continental shelf. This means they are caught
around the coast of the continents.
Ireland’s Fishing Ports
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Ireland has many fishing
ports.
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Fishing is extremely
important to many of these
small fishing villages.
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Fishing has been carried
out in these areas for
generations.
Over Fishing
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Over fishing has occurred because fishermen are using large fishing nets to
catch huge numbers of fish.
They are also using what are called Factory Ships which can stay at sea for
long periods. They use high tech radar and sonar to find the fish.
Types of Fish and where they are caught
Sustainable Exploitation of Fish
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Many types of fish are now endangered because of over fishing.
Governments and the EU are trying to limit the amount of fish being caught.
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They have taken the following steps;
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1. Made conservation zones around some countries.
2. Excluded foreign fishing boats from fishing in Irish waters.
3. Reduce the number of fishing boats.
4. Introduced yearly quotas for fish catches.
5. Banned the fishing of some endangered species.
6. Made the fishing season shorter for some types of fish.
Q. Do you think these steps are a positive thing? Why?
Q. Many people are against the quotas. Explain why it may be difficult for some
people to accept these changes.
The Irish Box
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The Irish Box was a rich
fishing ground.
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In 2003 it was made
smaller when a
Conservation Zone was
made.
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Strict quotas have been
implemented in this zone to
help fish stocks to recover.
Fish Farms
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Fish farming is becoming more and more popular. Salmon are grown in
many fish farms around the coast of Ireland.
Q. What has happened to the value of farmed fish since 1998?
Q. Why do you think fish farming is becoming more popular?
Farming
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Farming is an example of a primary economic activity.
There are many different types of farming which produce different types of
produce. Examples include;
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Dairy farming
Cereal farming (Tillage)
Market gardening
Beef farming
Mixed farming
Work on the Farm
Percentage of People Working in Farming
How do People Farm?
How do People Farm?
How do People Farm?
How do People Farm?