Water, Food and Energy Futures · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Sharing water, food and energy

Geography · People & Environments · ages 15-16
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. A region has low rainfall, thirsty farms, and fast-growing cities. Why is it under water stress?

    • Its rivers are shared with friendly neighbours
    • Low supply meets high demand from farms and cities
    • Its people waste far less than average

  2. Why do rising incomes usually raise energy and meat demand?

    • Richer households buy appliances, vehicles, and meat-heavy diets
    • Richer households drink less water than poor ones
    • Rising incomes always shrink family sizes at once

  3. About a third of grown food never gets eaten, wasting the water, land, and energy behind it.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A town fits water meters and charges heavy users more. Which kind of response is this?

    • A supply side response, like building a reservoir
    • A demand side response, cutting how much is used
    • A trade response, importing water from abroad

  5. The world grows enough food, yet one dry region goes hungry. What best explains it?

    • Rain falls elsewhere and moving food there is costly
    • The region wastes far less food than others
    • Global harvests always match local harvests

  6. A city can fund either a desalination plant or a campaign rescuing surplus food. Which stretches water further per meal?

    • Neither, since both only help energy
    • The desalination plant, in every single case
    • The food rescue, since wasted food wastes its water too

  7. A student claims new technology alone will fix every shortage, so restraint is pointless. What is wrong with that plan?

    • Technology and restraint both have wins, and politics picks who is cut
    • New supply has never worked anywhere
    • Using less always costs more than building more

  8. Three countries share one river. The upstream one dams heavily in a drought. What makes this a diplomacy problem, not just a dry year?

    • Dams always raise rainfall downstream
    • One country controls water others depend on
    • Droughts never cross national borders
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Sharing water, food and energy W1-mt_nEcLm4RkSK-s1

  1. Low supply meets high demand from farms and cities · Stress is the gap between what falls and what farms, cities, and industry draw.
  2. Richer households buy appliances, vehicles, and meat-heavy diets · Higher incomes buy machines and meat, and both need more energy, water, and land.
  3. True · Food lost in fields, trucks, shops, and kitchens throws away its whole footprint.
  4. A demand side response, cutting how much is used · Meters and pricing do not add water; they push users to waste less.
  5. Rain falls elsewhere and moving food there is costly · Geography decides where rain and soils sit, and bulk transport costs real money.
  6. The food rescue, since wasted food wastes its water too · Rescued meals reuse water already spent, so the same harvest feeds more mouths.
  7. Technology and restraint both have wins, and politics picks who is cut · Supply wins exist, but demand fixes like cutting waste are often cheaper, and sharing needs rules too.
  8. One country controls water others depend on · Shared rivers turn local shortage into negotiation, and politics picks who gets cut first.
Worksheet · LightMySky