Using fuels
Web Guides
The headings in this guide come from the specification for the course.
1 Extent and pattern of fuel use in different countries and its change over time
It is enlightening to see how different fuel and energy usage is in various parts of the world. Who are the biggest users? Are they the countries with the largest populations? A useful starting point is the 'key world energy statistics' in the International Energy Agency web site. Start with 'supply', 'consumption' and 'outlook'. You will find a series of bar charts and other plots.
Another interesting source of information is the oil company BP-AMOCO which publishes an Annual Review of World Energy on its web site. The 'review' section is a useful starting point where you will find information displayed in graphs and charts to show the consumption of the various energy resources including nuclear energy and hydroelectricity.
2 Use of energy resources, standard of living and quality of life
CADDET Energy Efficiency site has lots of information on cost effective and energy saving technologies in industry, buildings, transport, utilities and agriculture. It also provides up to the moment news and links through its excellent on-line newsletters.
As you might expect there are fairly obvious comparisons that can be made between countries when looking at detailed tables giving population size, GDP, and energy supply and use. These are available by clicking on 'energy indicators' in the 'key world energy statistics' section of the International Energy Agency web site.
As a follow-up you might look under primary energy on the BP-AMOCO Review of World Energy site where you will find a bar chart showing energy consumption per capita in the main economic regions of the world and how these have changed over the years.
For the UK governments' views on sustainability and the quality of life see some of the reports on the web site of the Department of environment, food & rural affairs.
Friends of the Earth site provides lots of information and links concerned with pollution, green energy, global warming and the like. Its National Campaign for the UK has useful sections on Atmosphere and Transport, Energy and Climate and the Environmental Data Unit, amongst others. A campaigning organisation and of interest to see how it draws attention to its views.
If you are concerned about sustainable energy then the Sustainable Energy and Economic Network site of a non-profit public interest group promoting sustainable and equitable solutions to meet energy needs is useful to refer to. It expresses a particular viewpoint, as you would expect from such a group.
Whilst designed for a slightly younger age group, the The California Energy Commission's The Energy Story site does provide a good insight into the various sources of energy, what energy is, and ideas on energy efficiency.
3 World energy reserves and resources
How long will the world's energy resources last was a major concern in the energy crisis of the 1970s. What are current thoughts? The BP-AMOCO Review of World Energy includes pie charts, maps and bars showing the quantities and geographical distribution of the reserves of all the main energy resources.
Additionally the US Government Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration site has an enormous amount of data and other information on countries around the world, the UK included. It has plenty of useful links too - those for the UK are at the end of 'Individual Countries - United Kingdom'. It contains international data on energy reserves, carbon dioxide emission data from 1980-1998. Projections to 2020. This is a key site.
4 Alternative projections of patterns of use of energy resources in the future and the assumptions on which they are based
The future depends on what sources of energy are available and how we use them. So where does the future lie? To provide a degree of perspective it is of interest to look at the the European Commission's web site Global Overview of Renewable Energy Sources (AGORES) which contains lots of news, information, details of funded projects, policy and useful links. Similarly the US Government's Office of Transportation Technologies is full of information on the new technologies, heat engines, biomass, catalytic converters, fuel cells, and so much more, which may well control our destinies..
California's Energy Commission Energy Education site provides lots of resources here, though perhaps a little more geared to a slightly younger age group. Particularly of interest is its section on Alternative Fuel Vehicles.
The UK Department of Trade and Industry site provides access to various Government reports, a digest of UK energy statistics, information on renewable energy, nuclear etc., plus a wealth of local information. Additionally its Greening Government Operations section of the Department for Transport site provides details ot its transport plans for the future, together with emission figures for new cars and their associated fuel consumption, plus various links related to greener transportation.
World Energy Efficiency Association site provides links to energy and environmental resources around the world and so here might be a source of many ideas too.
See this web site for a 4 page POST report on the use of hydrogen as a fuel.
If you would like to see some rather more way-out ideas then the www.futurehorizons.net site provides links to lots of 'interesting' sites suggesting means of getting something (energy) for nothing. Memories of perpetual motion machines. Would you believe...?
Other resources
Renewable Energy World Magazine
James & James (Science Publishers) Ltd
35-37 William Road
London NW1 3ER
Fax 020 7387 8998
Articles can be viewed online, and archives searched for suitable material.
Exploring the Issues, photocopiable study guide on climate change with discussion points and activities can be ordered on web :
Independence Educational Publishers, PO Box 295, Cambridge CB1 3XP
Tel: 01223 566130
Fax: 01223 566131
AS General studies resource pack 2000
ISBN 086003 246 9
Topics: Traffic measures, Energy policy
Written by Dr Colin Swatridge and published by Phillip Allen Updates