UK Resources Overview

Three resources, three kinds of gap

You already know that a resource problem is a gap between what a place has and what it uses. Applying that to the UK is where this section becomes interesting, because the three resources do not have the same kind of gap at all, and the differences are what the exam is really testing. Food is a gap between countries: the UK uses more than it produces, and the difference arrives by import, which is why anybody talks about food miles. Water is not like that. There is not a national shortage of water in the UK; there is a mismatch between where the rain falls and where the people are, so the gap is between regions inside one country. And energy is a gap in time rather than in space: some sources are declining and others growing, so the question is what replaces what, and how quickly. Three resources, three different kinds of gap, and almost everything the specification lists under this heading is a response to one of them.

Yes, this half too

The other module on this topic warns that this overview is compulsory for everyone whatever resource you go on to study in depth. That warning applies most sharply here, so it is worth being specific about what it means. You will study one resource in depth later, and your teacher chooses which. This UK section is not part of that choice. You are examined on the UK picture for food, for water and for energy, all three, whichever one you study in depth afterwards. Students who assume otherwise revise a third of it. If your class spent a term on water and barely mentioned agribusiness or the changing energy mix, that is not a sign those parts are optional; it is a sign you need to cover them yourself. The good news is that the three hang together once you see them as three kinds of gap, so learning all three is less work than learning three separate lists.

Words for the UK picture

Five terms this specification names for the UK. Each is a response to a gap, and it is worth knowing which.

Match the UK term

Shortage, or wrong place

Which statement best describes the UK water situation as this specification presents it?

• There is enough water nationally, but a mismatch between the regions that have most of it and the regions with most demand
• The UK does not have enough water in total and must import it
• The UK has plenty of water everywhere, so supply is not an issue
• The only water issue in the UK is quality rather than quantity

Enough but not here

Food and water are both gaps in space, and they are not the same gap. What separates them is whether the resource can practically be brought from somewhere else.

The three gaps in a sentence

For food the UK gap is between _____, because more is used than produced and the difference is imported. For water the gap is between _____ inside the country, because the supply and the demand are not in the same places, which is why water _____ exists. For energy the gap is in _____ rather than in space, because some sources are declining while others grow. So the UK section is not three separate lists but three different kinds of _____.

Which two describe the changing mix

Select the TWO statements that describe the UK energy picture as a gap in time.

• Some established sources are producing less than they used to
• Renewable sources are supplying a growing share of what is used
• The UK has run out of energy sources entirely
• Energy cannot be moved between places, so the gap must be regional

The sentence that takes a side

Four sentences from student answers about UK energy. Select the ONE that states a contested opinion as though it were a fact.

• Supporters of fracking argue that it makes use of a domestic source rather than an imported one.
• Opponents argue that the local environmental risks outweigh any benefit.
• Fracking is obviously wrong and should never have been considered.
• Fracking is a method of extracting gas held in rock underground.

A balanced paragraph on energy

A question asks you to assess how the UK should meet its energy needs as older sources decline. Here is a paragraph that would score well, with no figures in it at all. The UK energy picture is a gap in time rather than in place, since some established sources are producing less while renewable sources supply a growing share, so the real question is what replaces what and how quickly. Those who support extracting gas by fracking argue that it uses a domestic source, which reduces dependence on imports and the vulnerability that comes with it. Those who oppose it argue that the local environmental risks and the effect on land and water are too high a price, and that investment would be better directed at renewable sources. It can be argued that the disagreement is really about time: whether a source that could supply energy sooner is worth accepting when the alternative may take longer to build but lasts longer. A reasonable judgement is that the choice depends on how quickly the gap has to be closed and on how much risk is thought acceptable locally, which are matters of judgement rather than of geography alone. Notice what did the work. Each position is attributed to the people who hold it. Both are given at similar length. No figure appears, because none is needed to make the argument, and inventing one would have weakened it.

Why the water gets moved

Put the reasoning in order to explain why water transfer is a UK topic rather than an international one.

• Rainfall and demand are not distributed the same way across the country
• So some regions have more water than they need and others less
• Water is heavy and expensive to move far, so importing it is not realistic
• The gap therefore has to be closed inside the country
• Which is what a transfer scheme does, at a cost worth weighing

Say it without deciding it

Assemble a sentence in the register this subject rewards.

What those food choices answer

Agribusiness, seasonal eating and organic farming are all named by the specification. What do they have in common?

• Each is a response to the same gap between what the UK produces and what it consumes
• They are three names for the same farming method
• They are all ways of reducing water use
• Geographers agree that all three should be adopted together

Advising on the UK picture

You are asked to summarise the UK resource position for a report. Take the decisions in order.

• You start with water. How should you describe the problem?
• Why does that make water transfer relevant when it would not be for food?
• You turn to energy. What kind of gap is it, and what follows?
• The report has to mention fracking. How do you write it?

Explain the UK overview

Explain the UK position on food, water and energy, and assess what each one needs. Use no figures unless they come from a case study you have genuinely studied.

• Explain what kind of gap the UK has in food, and how it is currently closed
• Explain why the UK water gap is a different kind of gap, and what follows from that
• Explain why water transfer is a UK answer where importing is not
• Explain why the UK energy position is a gap in time rather than in space
• Name three of the food measures the specification lists, and say what each is a response to
• Set out one contested argument about energy, giving both sides attributed and at similar length
• Finish with a judgement about which of the three gaps you think is hardest to close, and why