3.9) Ethical and environmental concerns about unsustainability have led to increased localism and awareness of the impacts of a consumer society:

Question 1

Globalisation and a global conscience:

1) Give examples of two events that reached global TV audiences instantly:
2) What has this greater awareness of global evets led to?

Answer 1

1) 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the 2011 Arab Spring and the 2015 Tunisian and Parisian ISIS murders.
2) There are increased calls for rights and other changes across the world.

Question 2

1) What did the Arab Spring do?
2) What does Amnesty International do?
3) What are environmental pressure groups doing?

Answer 2

1) For the first time in Arabic countries, women challenged their governments.
2) They campaign for more human rights as global awareness increases.
3) They are working to find new and better ways of meeting people’s needs sustainably.

Question 3

Sustaining globalisation:

1) Give an example of how the UK’s supply chain eliminates the issue of seasonal produce:

Answer 3

1) Our supply chain extends to places like Kenya, which grows cash crops, overcoming any seasonal or geographical boundaries.

Question 4

Ecological Footprints:

1) How many Earths would it take, to supply every country at the UK’s current level of consumption?
2) At current levels of growth in global consumption, how many more planets will the world as a whole, need before 2050?

Answer 4

1) 3.1

2) Two planets worth of resources by 2050

Question 5

1) What is biocapacity per capita?

Answer 5

1) Measures the capacity of an area to generate renewable resources, and to absorb wastes generated by their consumption.

Question 6

1) To live within the planet’s means, how big should the ecological footprint per capita be, in relation to biocapacity per capita.
2) How much more is Luxembourg consuming?

Answer 6

1) They should be the same - biocapacity per capita is 1.7 global hectares.
1) It is demanding 9 times more resources and waste disposal facilities, than the planet can regenerate or absorb into the atmosphere.

Question 7

Can globalisation and sustainable development exist side by side:

1) Where was the world’s first ‘Transition town’?
2) By 2016, how many countries had such communities?
3) What is their aim?

Answer 7

1) Totnes in Devon, which has a population of 8000.
2) 50
3) To reduce their carbon footprint, and to increase their ability to adapt to shocks.

Question 8

1) How do they intend to reach their sustainability goals?

Answer 8

1) > Reducing consumption, by repairing or reusing items.
> Reducing waste, pollution and environmental damage.
> Meeting local needs through local production.

Question 9

1) What are the advantages of the ‘Bristol Pound’?

2) What is the problem with such strategies?

Answer 9

1) it encourages people to spend in local businesses, rather than in TNC’s.
2) They threaten global economic growth, as reduce demand for new items from overseas. Many developed countries rely on a throw away culture for economic growth.

Question 10

1) What are some of the economic benefits transition brings?
2) What is the Multiplier Effect?
3) What if you spent £10 in a supermarket?

Answer 10

1) Every £10 spent in local businesses is worth £23 - thanks to the Multiplier Effect.
2) This is when local employees and suppliers are paid.
3) Locally it would only be worth £13, due to the profits being returned to the Head Office, which might be in a different country.

Question 11

1) What are the disadvantages to the transition approach?

Answer 11

1) > Services such as transport are centrally coordinated, so it’s hard to influence them.
> Transition is difficult in big cities like London.

Question 12

1) What are some community-scale Transition initiatives?

Answer 12

1) There are 40, some of which include Crystal Palace Food Market, Brixton Pound and Brixton Energy.

Question 13

Fairtrade:

1) What are some of the problems with the WTO’s policy of trade liberalisation?
2) What does Fairtrade aim to do?
3) How does it certify products?

Answer 13

1) It pitches small businesses against larger rivals, and it can mean that the growers of commodities receive small shares of the product’s value.
2) Return a bigger proportion of the revenue to producers or growers.
3) They issue a FAIRTRADE Mark, as a guarantee that they are produced ethically, and a fair price has been given to the producers.

Question 14

1) How does Starbucks claim to help farmers?
2) Where does Starbuck’s Fairtrade Certified Espresso Roast come from?
3) In 2014, how much of their coffee was Fairtrade certified?

Answer 14

1) By improving their coffee quality and environmental sustainability.
2) It’s sourced from small farms in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Peru.
3) 8.5%

Question 15

Ethical Shopping:

1) How has M&S become increasingly aware of ethical issues in shopping?
2) How are supermarkets encouraging ethical shopping?

Answer 15

1) They sell Fairtrade teas and coffees, and naturally dyed clothes and fabrics from small businesses overseas. This reduces carbon emissions.
2) Local produce is labelled, in order to encourage people to buy the products that involved the least emissions of carbon.

Question 16

1) What are the downsides to ethical shopping?

Answer 16

1) > Buying organic destroys forests - less fertilisers and pesticides mean that more land is needed to produce the same amount.
> Fairtrade raises farmers incomes, but also increases overproduction, causing prices to fall.
> Buying local food minimises ‘food miles’ and helps the local economy, but consumers still use cars to go shopping.
> Growing cash crops, even under Fairtrade conditions, can mean that some farmers won’t have enough food to feed themselves.

Question 17

Waste and Recycling:

1) Give an example of an NGO, that is trying to change people’s behaviour:

Answer 17

1) ‘Keep Britain Tidy’

Question 18

1) In 2012, how much waste did Britain produce?
2) Where did it come from?
3) How much of the waste was generated by households?
4) What has happened since 2004?

Answer 18

1) 200 million tonnes
2) Half of it came from the construction industry.
3) 14%
4) Waste management and recycling has shown steady improvement.

Question 19

1) How has the UK shown a steady improvement in waste management and recycling?

Answer 19

1) > |n 2013-14, the amount of waste managed by local authorities was 25.6 million tonnes, 9.1% lower than in 2000-01, despite a 9% increase in population during the same period.
> In 2014-15 the amount of waste recycled was 43.7% of the total, compared to 12% in 2000.
> In 2000-01, 79% of local authority waste was sent to landfill. By 2013-14 this had fallen to 31%.
> Amount of waste being incinerated has more than doubled since 2001-01, to 24%

Question 20

1) How do recycling percentages vary between local authorities?
4) Out of the 4 UK constituent countries, Wales has the highest recycling rate. It was 55% between 2010 and 2014.

Answer 20

1) South Oxfordshire District Council achieved 67.3% in 2014-15, whilst Newham and Lewisham only achieved 18% in 2013-14.