B2 Flashcards
1
Q
Urry (2015)
Greenbelt vs Housing
A
- number new homes on greenbelt England x5 past 5 years
- England 14 greenbelts, covering 13% land
- claim need 250,000 homes build year solve housing crisis
- 37% housing allocations areas of outstanding natural beauty
2
Q
Valuation Ecosystems CS
A
Mantadia National Park, Madagascar
- forests benefit farmers as act buffer floods
3
Q
UN (2010)
A
Recognised water as a human right - need minimum 50l safe and affordable water
(world produces enough calories for everyone in terms food, problem inequity)
4
Q
Virtual Water Examples
A
Tea = 28l per cup (farming, packaging, brewing - mostly green water)
Coffee = 136l a cup (grow, harvest, process, wash, roast - 5x water as tea, lot Green water grow crop, 7l grey water per cup)
Milk = 915l per 1l
- rainfall on pasture, irrigation and stock drinking water
5
Q
Agricultural Improvements CS
A
Green Revolution 1940-60s
- fertiliser, pesticide, seeds
- rice yield 10x traditional varieties
- successful India, China
- loss genetic diversity India 30,000 to 10 species rice
- 70,000 to 30 crops globally
6
Q
Food and Health Stats
A
- 925mn people undernourished (800mn developing world)
- 2008 500mn adults obese
- USA 12% food insecure, 4% hunger vs 65% overweight
7
Q
Carrington (2018) Meat
A
- need reduce meat-eating to avoid climate destruction
- western countries beef consumption needs to fall by 90%
8
Q
Hoekstra and Mekonnen (2012)
Water footprint
A
- Agricultural production 92% global annual average WF, industrial 4.7%, domestic 3.8%
- global average consumer WF 1,385 m3/y vs US 2,842
- problem global freshwater resources - govs need focus not just on meeting national demand, but on global patterns eg. not consider import/export water-intense commodities - important understand WF country
- China, India and US combined = 38% global WF production - china and US largest WFs terms industry
- Virtual water exporters = US, China, India, Brazil, Argentina vs importers = US, Japan, Germany, UK, China
- China highest WF consumption world - per capita more useful as large pop - UK and US higher - US high due to meat consumption - developed higher WF in general
- large external WF if depend freshwater resource import eg. Malta water-scares
- limitations = only traces one step eg. imported from, assume commodity made there; also low estimate grey water as hard track pollution eg. of fertilisers
9
Q
Guardian (2010)
GB and Peru
A
- Asparagus grown in Peru, sold UK problem water footprint
- asparagus production Ica Valley (desert = constant irrigation needed) depleting water resources = small farms / families wells run dry + water to main city under threat - export is unsustainable
- water table falling dramatically from 2002 when extraction overtook replenishment - 8m year
- UK world’s 6th largest importer virtual water (high-value food imports - asparagus typical, market only exist since 90s but consumes 6.5mn kilos year)
- Peru asparagus export earns $450mn year (95% from ica valley)
- 2 wells serving 18,500 people already dry Valley - company water use = problems locals
- companies face rising water costs due over abstraction = deepening wells or buying old ones - often companies claim farms use water carelessly vs companies efficient
- CC make water shortages worse glaciers shrink feed river
- WB policy to promote export as developing policy - how much actually help?
- village in valley houses get water for 1 hour 3x week - 2007 EQ worsened problem w damaged infrastructure - family 10l per person per day
10
Q
Van Huis et al (2013)
Cooporations control world food production
A
- monopolies corporations in food sector - increasingly political power - N companies benefit disadvantage S eg. Vietnamese aquaculture consumers pay $10 kilo fish, farmer gets $1 - production costs = 10cents
- 1996 10 biggest seed companies 30% market, now 3 largest over 50%
- produce 1kg meat needs 3 kilos grain / soya - could feed extra 3.5bn people - over 90% soya production goes to animal feed, soyabean cultivation linked forest destruction S america + 2/3 nitrous oxides emissions from feed-based livestock farming
- factory farming!
- 75% all crop plant varieties lost C20th - Philippines over 3,000 rice varieties, now 2 green rev
- Monsanto market leader seeds (US) - producer pesticide, agent organic Vietnam, GM soya - controls 90% GM seed market
- Yara market leader fertiliser (Norway) - 50 countries operates, 7600 employees
- Walmart bigger revenue GNP Sweden
11
Q
Houses of Parliament (2011)
Water in Production of products
A
- global water demand outstrip supply 40% 2030
- virtual water = 95% human water use (86% food)
- focus water withdrawal vs water consumption - companies may put back
- water scarcity impacts 1 in 3 globally
- Aral Sea - reduced volume 80% since 1960 (cotton)
- govs need calculate virtual water use + understand to reduce - need recognise interdependence in water strategies
- consumer choice as tool to manage water consumption eg. labels on products (but need consumer understanding to work)
- need better cooperation in supply chain reduce water - social responsibility businesses to be sustainable - UN CEO Water Mandate - M&S water sustainability plan 2007 make chain more sustainable - eg. UK products, Kenyan flowers
- need tighter water management in agriculture
12
Q
Houses of Parliament (2011)
GM
A
- EU little approval GM - regulation commercial crops EU level - caution to new tech GM - GMOs undergo EU risk assessments then decide on application - only 1 GM crop licensed for cultivation past 13 years
- but EU does import GM eg. UK livestock depends soy for feed, 90% from Brazil / Argentina where 69%/99% production was GM 2009 - hard to separate for EU imports
- 2050 food demand may rise 70%
- GM not natural - concern spread unnatural genes - need separation mechanisms
- 2010 GM crops grown 29 countries
- biodiversity loss, land, water use, GHG emissions, pesticide use (risk resilience weeds)
- can increase yields non-GM crop breeding like selective breeding - eg. MAS (Marker Assisted Selection)
- GM largely research phase, patents controversial
13
Q
Arid Flooding CS
A
Egypt Floods (torrential rain) - Cairo - happens annually (2015/6)
- 22 killed + 72 injured
- gov give £50mn for flood-hit areas
14
Q
UNESCO (2003)
A
Groundwater is the worlds most extracted raw material
15
Q
Rodell et al (2009)
Indian Groundwater stocks shrinking
A
- NW India water shortage
- 2 satellites to determine GW reserves - 1m decline water table year - Delhi GW depleting 10x fast
- India 20% pop, 4% water globe
- A net loss of 109 cubic km of water (109 billion tonnes) from Aug 2002 to Oct 2008 (double the capacity of India’s largest surface-water reservoir- the Upper Wainganga)
- Rainfall during the study period was close to long-term climatic mean so depletion unlikely to be due to unusual dryness or variability
- Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana have 114 million people, and ~500 mm/yr rainfall (just less than London) with pronounced seasonal and regional differences
- Crop irrigation accounts for 95% of groundwater consumption (rice)
16
Q
Overabstraction CS
World Meteorological Organisation (2014)
A
The Aral Sea
- drained / diverted soviet cotton
- over 60% loss water 30 years
- saltwater intrusion
- 2013 sea split
- 10% of former glory
- World Bank and Kazakhstan work to regain sea - over 300 square miles recovered - fish into local markets again - 8-mile dike to raise sea level
- future lies transboundary cooperation
17
Q
Drought and Water Scarcity CS
A
Europe
- since 1980 number droughts increased and becoming more severe costing 100bn euros past 30 years
- water scarcity increasing - 11% population and 17% EU territory affected up to 2007
- CC worsen problem
18
Q
Water Scarcity / Stress Stats (UN 2006/7)
A
- 1/5 worlds population live areas physical scarcity
- 1/4 face economic water shortage
- 2025 1.8bn people live areas absolute water scarcity
- 30 countries water stressed
- 20 absolute water scarcity (Israel and Jordan well below this)
- 2/3 in water stressed conditions
19
Q
Drought and Solution CS
A
South Africa, Cape Town Drought
- 3 years drought 2013 = 1,100mm to 2016 = 500mm
- 4 mn people fed dams
- heavily invested water infrastructure
- new investments for 2020 - desalination plants, wastewater treatment units, groundwater extraction projects
- shock people into behaviour change “50l a day keeps day zero away”
- reduced consumption (2015 1.2bn l day population vs 2018 500l) - behaviour change and suburban restrictions - 50l day per person (25l in informal settlements already)
- increased supply using grey water, private boreholes, storage tanks, bottled water etc.
- maps monitoring peoples water use - neighbours police + info online to change behaviour
- drought due CC tripled - but not sole cause
20
Q
Armstrong (2006)
A
- need clear understanding to discuss and resolve issues water management
- water ethic similar to Leopold’s land ethic - water centre web life in landscape
- right if preserves or enhances water’s ability to sustain life, wrong if decreases that ability
21
Q
Water Marketed or not CS
A
Market
- Nestle not human right, needs privatised
- people have to work to afford water
- NGO public right vs private - water as another foodstuff (CEO priority enterprise)
VS
- week w/o water horrendous effects - water necessary
