Hong Kong Flashcards
Food problems
Area 1000km2 compared to its 7 million population
70,000 people have no fresh fruit and vegetables
40,000 people can’t afford 3 meals a day
Food solutions
Created an enormous cargo supply to import food
Imports are more cost efficient and release less pollution
Energy problems
Rising population - more energy per person
Electricity consumption is increasing by 5% each year
75% is generated by fossil fuels - contributes to Hong Kong’s ecological footprint
Causes 3000 deaths per year (due to air pollution)
Amount of renewable energy used meets under 1% of their target
Energy solutions
Cover 20% of its surface area with 10% efficient solar panels to meet its renewable energy target which is 17% of the total energy needed
Transport problems
Rising population, more demand for services
Air pollution
Adds 30 minutes to people’s commute around 60% increase
Overcrowded
Excessive number of vehicles
Traffic and congestion - approx 500,000 licensed vehicles but private cars make up approximately 72% of these vehicles
Occupy a lot of road space but carries very few people
Transport solutions
More MRT lines
Imports becoming more efficient - shipping
Waste disposal and demand problems
Produce an estimated 6.4 tonnes of waste a year, which was dumped in a landfill and reclamation site
Not enough land to dump the waste
Waste disposal and demand solutions
Recycling
Making products reusable
Packaging could be environmental friendly, biodegradable
Concentrated Resource consumption
Rising population, more demand Domestic consumption of water had increased from 190 to 220 litres per day 66% commercial 26% residential 6% industrial 2% transportation
Concentrated resource consumption solutions
Using sea water to flush the toilets rather than using fresh water
Segregation problems - racial problems
Ethnic minorities make up 6.4% of Hong Kong’s population which means there is one ethnic minority in every 15 people
Many Chinese and ethnic minority students are separated in the education system - people are unfamiliar with other cultures and practices, causing tension
Social segregation
Social polarisation is the large divide between the extremely wealthy and the poorer, more deprived people.
These poorer residents often tend to be accommodated in densely packed slums located in Kowloon city but were cleared away and moved to rooftops
Referred to as ‘penthouse slums’ or ‘rooftop shanty towns’
Segregation solutions
Higher taxes to the rich to reduce the social divide between poor and rich - more integration