There is a "significant risk" that global production of conventional oil could "peak" and decline by 2020, a report has warned.The UK Energy Research Centre study says there is a consensus that the era of cheap oil is at an end.
BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Warning over global oil 'decline'
Worldmapper has 200 new cartograms which show the world and its countries mapped based on population. The maps “were created as part of a Leverhulme Trust project to remap the world and extend the Worldmapper project, have been created using population distribution data so viewers can understand how many people make up each nation.” Click on the map to see individual cartograms for each country or pick from the list of countries.
There are 165 nuclear reactors producing power in Europe (excluding Russia), with six under construction and others planned.
London authorities have paired up with Thames Water, Britain’s largest private water company, to launch a water station program this month that aims to reduce the city’s use of bottled water. Mayor Boris Johnson’s push for more public drinking fountains in addition to the new station program could be the first steps towards banning bottled water in the city, The Guardian reported Sunday.
London on Tap: Reducing Bottled Water Consumption | Circle of Blue | WaterNews
Norway is the best place in the world to live while Niger is the least desirable, according to an annual report by the United Nations.
BEST
Norway
Australia
Iceland
WORST
Niger
Afghanistan
Sierra Leone
At first glance they could be mistaken for distorted creepy-crawlies - bloated body parts with randomly placed antennae and spindly legs, their gridlines looking much like the compound eyes and variegated wings of an insect. In fact, each image is a country map - reinterpreted by a pair of Sheffield University geographers. The result is a remarkable series of cartographic designs that cast the world in an entirely new light.
Thousands of people may have died in remote village areas when a powerful earthquake struck Sumatra last week, emergency workers and officials fear.
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Sumatra quake 'levelled villages'
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/10/2009_sumatra_earthquakes.html
At least 75 people are dead and thousands are trapped under rubble after a strong earthquake shook western Indonesia, officials say.Buildings, including at least two hospitals, were brought down by the 7.6 magnitude quake, centred about 50km (30 miles) off the coast of Sumatra. Officials say the death toll is expected to rise. It comes hours after a tsunami from a separate quake killed more than 100 people in the South Pacific. A tsunami watch issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in the wake of the Indonesian quake has been lifted.
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Dozens dead in Indonesian quake
Journey with Sir David Attenborough as he shares his favourite moments from the last 30 years of wildlife film making. Dive into the BBC's archive, explore the wealth of video, sound, stories and breaking news, and let the greatest show on Earth unfold.
Candidates should be able to
- Describe the significance of fuelwood in LEDCs and of non-renewable fossil fuels in terms of their availability in certain areas and in terms of the contribution made by coal, oil, natural gas and wood in supplying vast amounts of energy.
- Describe the growing significance of renewable energy supplies [geothermal, wind, running water, solar, biogas] to reduce dependence upon fossil fuels, to alleviate the world's energy crisis, and to offer opportunities for the development of alternative energy sources.
- Describe the factors influencing the siting of different types of electrical power stations with reference to those listed in the Syllabus [thermal, hydro-electric power, nuclear].
- Describe the uses made of water for agriculture, domestic and industrial demand. Candidates should also recognise that in certain areas there are water shortages which impact upon the local people and the potential for development. This leads to competition for the use of the available water resources and requires careful management.
All these aspects would benefit from the selection of appropriate case studies.
geographyalltheway.com - GCSE / IGCSE Geography - Energy and Water Resources
All life on earth is sustained by energy from the sun. Plants and animals can store energy. Some of this energy remains with them when they die. It is the remains of the stored-up energy of ancient animals and plants that make up the fossil fuels that power our cars and factories today.But fossil fuels are non-renewable energy sources and will one day run-out and because burning them generates greenhouse gases, relying on fossil fuels for energy generation is unsustainable. Hence the need to find more renewable, sustainable ways of generating energy.
What do I need to know?
"Energy Resources" is NOT the same thing as "Types of energy".
"Types of energy" means "kinetic energy", "chemical energy" and so forth.
"Energy Resources" is about ways of getting energy so we can generate electrical power.
High in the hills of Kenya's Mau forest, some 20,000 families are facing eviction from their farms - accused of contributing to an ecological disaster which has crippled the country.
THE HEART OF KENYA
Mau forest is the largest in Kenya - the size of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya combined
10 million people depend on its rivers
They feed six lakes - Victoria, Turkana, Natron, Nakuru, Baringo and Magadi
Plus eight wildlife reserves - including the Masai Mara, the Serengeti and Lake Nakuru
The rivers have potential for 518MW hydro electricity - 41% of Kenya's total
In all, the forest provides an economic benefit of 20 billion shillings (£166m) per year (UNEP)
But already, a quarter of its 400,000 hectares have been destroyed by farmers and loggers
BBC NEWS | World | Africa | Life dries up in Kenya's Mau forest
As a veto-holding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China's position will be crucial to international efforts to deal with Iran's secret nuclear facility.
"Iran is an important country for China: we have diplomatic interests, but also energy and trade links," he said. "[And] if China is too harsh, it will not be favourable to its image and influence in the Middle East."
China is the world's second-largest consumer of crude oil while Iran has the world's second largest reserves; Iranian oil made up more than a tenth of China's crude imports last year. Earlier this year, the two countries announced a $3.2bn three-year natural gas deal, and in the spring Iran's Press TV reported that trade volume between the countries leapt from $400m in 1994 to $29bn in 2008.
Can China help to defuse the nuclear threat from Iran? | World news | The Observer
