Energy Security

Topic 1: Energy Security

Energy supply, demand and security 

Enquiry question: To what extent is the world ‘energy secure’ at present?

What students need to learn: There are many energy sources that can be classified in different ways (flows of renewable sources, stocks of non-renewable and recyclable sources) and that have different environmental costs.

Suggested teaching and learning: Investigating types of energy resources, their classification, and contrasting the environmental impacts associated with their production and use.

Renewable Sources: Renewable sources of energy are those capable of natural regeneration on a human timescale. They provide almost continuous flows of energy. These sources include inland water, wind, the tides, ocean waves, geothermal heat and the sun’s rays.

Non-Renewable Sources: Fossil fuels are those formed over a geological time from the partly decayed remains of plants and animals. They include coal, oil and natural gas. They can be used or combusted only once and therefore finite. They become exhausted because they can only be replaced over a considerable periods of geological time. For this reason, they are classified as non-renewable sources of energy.

Recyclable Sources: Recyclable sources of energy include wood, which can…