geography term 4 Flashcards
Distinguish between an earth-centred and human centred worldview.
An earth-centred worldview holds that we are dependant on and part of nature, and that the earth’s ecosystem exists for all species. A human-centred worldview views the earth as a support system for human life.
Identify the different worldviews.
An egocentric worldview believes that they are the most important creature on earth and that everything and everyone is important to the extent they support them and their lifestyle. An anthropocentric worldview views humans as the most important species which are in charge of the earth, using it to support them and their lifestyle.
An ecocentric worldview believes that we should do whatever we can to minimise our impact and preserve the earth’s biodiversity. A biocentric worldview believes that we have a responsibility to use the earth’s resources in a sustainable way and other species may be useful but they also have the same right to exist as we do.
Define the stewardship worldview.
A stewardship worldview believes that we are able to use natural resources to support ourselves sustainably and maintain a balance between humans and the environment. They also believe that it is their responsibility to ensure that they leave the earth in a condition that is comparable to the one they inherited.
With reference to ONE example, how do varying worldviews influence environmental management strategies?
The impact of worldviews on values and interactions with nature lead to different priorities in environmental management responses. For example, those with a stewardship worldview believe in a balance between the humans and the environment and hence manage it through cool burning.
With reference to an example, discuss the varying environmental management approaches
Cool burning is when low height and intensity fires are lit and burn leaf litter while maintaining the canopy of trees. This is significantly effective as it does not damage the plants, their seeds or other animals as they are able to escape due to the slowburning fires. Furthermore, when done regularly, a location only has to be burnt once every few years. However, the cool burning process can be tedious, as the burns must be completed in small sections of a large forest.
How do competing demands influence environmental management? (e.g. palm oil production - economic growth vs. natural environment)
Competing demands influence environmental management as businesses prioritise their need for economic growth, as opposed to the protection of the natural environment. This is evident in palm oil production, which has a high demand, as over 50% of all products in supermarkets contain it. Palm oil plays a major role in Indonesia’s economy, generating 4.5% of the country’s GDP and allowing for employment of over 3 million people. This has reduced the amount of people in poverty. However, to accommodate palm oil plantations, severe deforestation occurs to meet the high demands for this product. As a result, the habitats of animals such as the Sumatran tiger, elephant and orangutan, are lost and the animals are critically endangered.
Describe ONE environmental management strategy.
An environmental management strategy is cool burning, which includes lighting low height and intensity fires that burn grass and leaf litter, whilst maintaining the canopy of trees.
Assess ONE environmental management strategy in achieving environmental sustainability. Make reference to ONE country example.
The environmental management strategy of cool burning is significantly effective in achieving environmental sustainability. These low height and intensity fires burn grass and leaf litter whilst maintaining the canopy of trees. Cool burning does not significantly damage the plants, their seeds or other animals as they are able to escape due to the slow burning of the fires. Furthermore, when done regularly, only small cool burns are lit so that locations are only burnt once every few years. Hence, cool burning is a significantly effective management strategy in achieving environmental sustainability.
Identify TWO push and TWO pull factors influencing movement to urban areas.
Two push factors influencing movement to urban areas is war and poverty, while two pull factors are education and jobs and economy.
Distinguish between push and pull factors.
Push factors are the reasons as to why people don’t want to live somewhere (war, poverty, drought), while pull factors are the reasons why people want to migrate somewhere (education, jobs and economy, culture).
With reference to ONE example, explain the economic consequences of urbanisation.
The economic consequences of urbanisation include an increase of wealth within cities. This is evident in the urbanisation of China, where there has been migration from the Western and Central parts of China to the Eastern coastal areas in order to gain access to jobs and education, that can improve the wealth of citizens. This resulted in Six Special Economic Zones (SEZs) existing, which tend to be located along the coast as the ports located there allow for trade with the rest of the world. These zones tend to have lower tax rates and are exempt from tariffs, hence having higher levels of employment and wages which results in increased levels of wealth for those who live there.
Discuss the social consequences of urbanisation in China.
The social consequences of urbanisation in China include inequality within cities, inequality between cities and rural areas and higher levels of suicide. As slums form, internal migrants tend to be lower skilled with less levels of education, resulting in inequality within cities and an increased amount of crime. Inequality between cities and rural areas occurs as people move away from rural areas, businesses are unable to provide services to residents remaining in these areas, worsening their quality of life. Higher levels of suicide also occur as internal migrants tend to have higher levels of poverty and their working conditions tend to be poorer.
Identify ONE environmental consequence of urbanisation.
One environmental consequence of urbanisation is the increase in pollution, as urban expansion increases the demands on the environment, such as an increase of cars on the road.
Discuss the urban settlement patterns in Australia.
In Australia, 85% of people live within 30 minutes of the coast, resulting in three cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, having larger populations than the entirety of Australia. This has resulted in Australia’s inland being sparsely populated, such as Anna Creek, which is larger than Israel but only has 8 people working there and approximately 10,000 cows. This is a result of the lack of rainfall in these areas, which have led to an inability to grow food as the soil is old, not nutrient rich and not suitable for farming, with only 6% suitable.
Example of ONE megacity.
An example of a megacity is Tokyo, which has a population of over 37 million people.
