Global and UK Resource Security: Trends in Food, Water and Energy
Global and UK resource security looks at how reliably food, water and energy supplies meet demand, worldwide and within the UK.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the definition of resource security (reliable, affordable access to a sufficient, good-quality supply) and the three drivers of rising global demand: population growth, rising living standards and industrialisation.
- Learn why global supply of food, water and energy is unevenly distributed, giving one physical cause (climate, geology, rainfall) and one human cause (wealth, technology, infrastructure) for an example of inequality of supply.
- Learn the UK's changing energy mix: the move away from coal-fired power towards natural gas, nuclear power and renewables, particularly offshore wind.
- Learn the UK's water surplus and deficit pattern (higher supply and lower demand in the north and west; lower supply and higher demand in the south and east) and what a water transfer scheme does.
- Learn the meanings of 'food miles' and 'seasonal imports', and the difference between agribusiness and organic or local sourcing.
- Practise describing a resource trend shown in a table or graph, always quoting figures from the data given rather than writing only in general terms.
- For 'assess' or 'evaluate' questions, plan one paragraph in support of the statement, one giving a counterpoint, each backed by a named example, then write a conclusion that directly answers the question.
Worked example
A reservoir in the north of England has a usable storage capacity of 180 million litres. A water transfer scheme can pipe water from it to a reservoir in the south at a rate of 4.5 million litres per hour. Calculate how many hours it would take to transfer half the northern reservoir's capacity, and state how many whole days this represents.
- Find the volume to be transferred: half of 180 million litres is 90 million litres.
- Divide the volume to be transferred by the transfer rate: 90 / 4.5.
- Calculate: 90 / 4.5 = 20 hours.
- Convert hours to days by dividing by 24: 20 / 24 = 0.83 (2 d.p.).
- Round to the nearest whole day: the transfer takes 20 hours, which rounds to about 1 day.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What is meant by 'resource security'?Show answer
Answer: Having reliable, affordable access to enough good-quality food, water and/or energy to meet a population's needs.
Q2Give one reason, other than population growth, why global demand for resources such as energy has increased in recent decades.Show answer
Answer: Rising living standards mean more people can afford resource-intensive goods and services (such as cars, meat and electrical appliances), and industrialisation increases the energy and water used in manufacturing.
Q3Name the power station whose closure in 2024 ended coal-fired electricity generation in Great Britain.Show answer
Answer: Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, in Nottinghamshire.
Q4State whether the north and west of the UK, or the south and east, has the larger water surplus, and give one reason why.Show answer
Answer: The north and west, because upland areas there receive higher rainfall while having a lower population density and therefore lower demand for water.
Q5What is a water transfer scheme?Show answer
Answer: An engineered scheme, such as a pipeline, aqueduct or canal, that moves water from an area of surplus to an area of deficit so that supply can meet demand.
Q6Define 'food miles'.Show answer
Answer: The distance food travels from where it is produced or grown to where it is finally sold and consumed.
Q7Give one difference between agribusiness and organic farming.Show answer
Answer: Agribusiness uses large-scale, mechanised, high-input methods (such as heavy machinery, fertilisers and pesticides) to maximise yield, while organic farming avoids most artificial chemicals and relies on smaller-scale, lower-input methods.
Q8A supermarket can import strawberries flown a distance of 8,400 km, or buy strawberries grown 240 km away in the UK. Calculate how many times further the imported strawberries travel than the UK-grown ones.Show answer
Answer: 8,400 / 240 = 35 times further.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a GCSE Geography exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Table 1 shows the approximate share of UK electricity generation from three sources in two years. These figures are illustrative only, to show the general trend rather than exact recorded data. Source | Share in Year 1 (%) | Share in Year 2 (%) Coal | 40 | 2 Natural gas | 30 | 35 Renewables (wind, solar and others) | 10 | 40 (a) Calculate the change in coal's share of generation between Year 1 and Year 2, in percentage points. (1 mark) (b) Describe the pattern shown in the table, using figures to support your answer. (3 marks)
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Explain two ways in which the UK's energy mix has changed in recent decades.
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'The greatest threat to global resource security is inequality in the distribution of supply, not an overall shortage of resources.' Evaluate this statement, referring to food, water and/or energy.
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See real GCSE Geography past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
Free printable worksheet
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