7 (b) Discuss the similarities and differences in the environmental impact of the use of renewable and non-renewable energy resources.
Renewable energy resources will not run out. Examples include solar power which, despite giving power over a large area and not having numerous factors which it makes it environmentally damaging, the transport of materials to put solar panels on roofs can cause pollution through fossil fuel combustion releasing greenhouse gases and adding co2 to the atmosphere.another example wind power is aesthetically damaging due to the required installation of wind turbines. as with wind turbines aesthetic appeal with coal mines is a major problem.countryside areas such as forests are destroyed and in there place visually unappealing coal mines are inputted. they both harm species of animals and kill birds that fly into the wings of the turbine and in addition bats are killed by air pressure changes. Coal mines can cause a large number of animals to lose part of their natural habitat.
nuclear power is non renewable so is finite and once supplies run out the resource cant be used again. The dumping of radioactive waste is a major problem which eludes other energy resources. radioactive waste is not everyday rubbish it can effectively cause health problems for surrounding organisms and methods to store it in some cases cannot be called cheap- materials involved have to be designed to absorb radioactive radiation. further expenses are involved with the cost of extracting uranium 238 because they require fast reactors and these take extreme technological development to make and sustain, it should be noted in addition that uranium is a resource that requires a large effort for its extraction,and is time consuming as well as costly.
despite this it certainly is ahead of other energy resources in terms of how many people it helps- it is the only current energy resource which provides comparable energy amounts to which fossil fuels provide.
HEP provides a large area of habitat destruction much like mines but species harmed are mostly aquatic and this is because migration is prevented as the dam blocks movement.
it might in some cases reduce the aesthetic appeal of a reservoir. some aspect may not be as pleasing eye as it previously was without the dam.
they, like mines ,will have heavy noise impacts during construction. The closer to urban areas the reservoirs during this period the greater the noise pollution caused due to more people hearing the noises. rapid water flow used to match demand for electricity can cause fish to die because they cant swim fast enough and slow water flow to match demand for electricity can cause fluctuations in amounts of dissolved oxygen levels. hep does not have as many environmental impacts on land as that of mining but flooding from the reservoir although isn't particularly common causes damage to the surrounding area such as lots of eroded soil.
whilst providing an exact scientifically evidenced answer as to which one of either causes more environmental damage
would be very difficult -quantifying exact amounts of emission and animal species lost on a global scale would be task involved for example., scientists have deduced the amounts of damage that the fossil fuels are causing towards the ozone layer and therefore how much global warming is being caused and so therefore we know that overall its the non nonrenewable energy resources that are causing one of the biggest pollution problems since they are the ones which involve the primary use of fossil fuels which non renewable resources dont.
i havent finished the answer but could someone please provide some form of evaluation. The mark schemes on the large marker for env studs are not easy to interpret.
thanks