Glob+-+Energy+Demand

This section will look at the causes, effects and impacts of the increasing global demand for energy.

There are three main reasons:
 * increasing global population
 * population getting richer
 * advances in technology increase the availability of products

**World population growth**

The world's population has increased rapidly over the last 100 years from 1.65 billion in 1900 to 6.4 billion in 2008 and predicted to be as high as 8.91 billion in 2050. Many of you will have in your houses, a washing machine, fridge, tumble drier, dishwasher, microwave, television, computers, mobile phones and games consoles but this has not always been the case. As people have got more money, they look around at what there is to buy that will make their lives more comfortable and desire to own such goods. These goods use energy not only to operate them but also in their manufacture, so increasing personal wealth increases our demand for energy.

**Technological advances**

Advances in technology requires the use of energy in terms of developing it and making the products.

Social, economic and environmental impacts of an increasing demand for energy

**Social**

Impacts on people's health: increase of emphysema and bronchitis are problems associated with industrialisation. Some cities are shrouded in a haze that blocks out the sun and contains a dangerous mix of chemical, including those from coal, smoke and ozone. People may choose to travel to work using a different method of transport in an attempt to be environmentally friendly and fitter. Also we may change where we go on holiday.

**Economic**

These are clear with rising energy prices and with the cost of petrol soaring in the UK in the early months of 2008.

**Environmental** Predicted effects of global warming:
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt;">on land: where spoil heaps have built up adjacent to coal mines when unneeded material has been dumped
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt;">on water: where the transportation of oil has led to major pollution incidents such as the Exon Valdez oil spill off Alaska in 1989 and the Prestige sinking off the coast of north-west Spain in 2002
 * <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tabstops: list 36.0pt;">on air: where poor quality is responsible for ill health on a local scale and for substantial effects on a global scale, where global warming is seen to be the main result.



<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">A good example of the problems caused by increasing demand for energy as those caused by the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, USA <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">[] <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">media type="custom" key="9132850"media type="youtube" key="AtDJgyeh8TU" height="301" width="461"