UK Economy 2 Flashcards
State the impacts of industry on the physical environment
Air pollution
Wastewater
Land pollution
Landscapes scarred by ugly derelict buildings
Coal mining led to the creation of spoil heaps, vast mounds of waste material removed during extraction.
Explain the impact of air pollution on the physical environment
Air pollution- Operation of factories results in the emission of pollutants. Minute particles called particulate matter are damaging when breathed in, sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) can cause acid rain and CO2 can cause global warming.
Explain the impact of wastewater on the environment
Wastewater- Industries use a lot of water and produce a lot of waste water too. Waste water can come from industrial outlets, treatment plants, and sewers. This pollutes underground reservoirs of water and our rivers, damaging wildlife and ruining potential drinking water.
Explain the impact of land pollution on the environment
Land pollution- Heavy industries use lots of land and often deal with very hazardous chemicals. These were dumped on industrial sites in the past, or industries suffered leakages onto the land and soil.
How can industrial development be made more sustainable
Technology can be used to reduce harmful emissions from power stations and heavy industry - Desulphurisation
Stricter environment targets on air pollution, water pollution and landscape damage with heavy fines for industrial pollution
Carbon capture and storage process - this can save 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually by the 2020s
Green spaces / landscapes
Encouragement of greener methods of transport (for example cycling and walking)
Use of renewable energy sources / use of grey water
how modern
industrial development can be more
environmentally sustainable
Example
Teeside
Permits to output high volumes of pollution will become so expensive (4x in 2030 what they were in 2015) that these businesses will lose their competitive edge
Water quality has also been improved by the creation of the Tees Barrage, a dam across the Tees.
The South Tees Development Corporation (STDC)
STDC are a government group (awarded £123million of funds from Government) charged with bringing the area of land that used to have a steel works in it back into productive use. In 2020 they announced the creation of “Net Zero Teesside”
MGT - MGT’s £650million biomass power plant is the largest of its kind in the world. It will be fuelled by wood chip and pellets and, by around 2020, will generate electricity for the equivalent of 600,000 homes.
Northumbrian Water - Northumbrian Water operates a state-of-the-art effluent treatment facility within the site, serving the major industrial complexes in the area
PMAC - PMAC is bringing a £250million waste to energy plant on Redcar Bulk Terminal land. The facility will generate enough electricity from household and commercial waste to power 56,000 homes. * Redcar Bulk Terminal -RBT is one of the best deep water facilities of its type in the UK..
Suggest why there is a lower population of 20-30 year olds living in rural areas
Young people are leaving the rural areas for work in the cities (urban areas)
Explain why middle aged people might move back to the rural areas
People might want to start a family so they move to the more quiet, more spacious rural areas.
Working from home
Why do people leave the cities to live in the countryside
People leave cities to live in the countryside for a better quality of life. People might want to start a family
Explain why the population of urban areas is growing faster than the population of rural areas
The population of urban areas is growing faster, but this is mainly the result of natural increase and immigration.
What is a greenbelt
Greenbelt is protected land, it is natural green open space in which further building is not allowed
What would happen if the council would remove the greenbelt in an area
Without the greenbelt these areas might have experienced even greater population growth.
State an advantage and disadvantage of greenbelt
Advantage - Greenbelt has been successful in preserving rural areas
Disadvantage - It has also limited the amount of land available for building new homes. As there is a housing shortage in the UK, there is pressure on the government to allow more building on the greenbelt
Why are local people who live in greenbelt and national park areas suffering
There is high demand to live in both the greenbelt and national park areas. This has increased the house prices making homes for local people unaffordable. Those people are forced to rent locally or to move away to find affordable homes elsewhere where the quality of life is not as good
What is counter-urbanisation
Counter-urbanisation is when people leave the cities to live in the country for a better quality of life.
Why is the greenbelt important
Greenbelt is protected land, it is natural green open space in which further building is not allows. Without the greenbelt. some areas might have experienced an even greater population growth.
What is the cycle of rural decline
People especially the young, leave for more opportunities in urban areas
As a result, employers find it difficult to recruit labour.
Therefore, less investment happens in the areas and businesses are forced to close down.
Less money, and less employment and fewer people leads to shops and services declining
People notice the decline and the lower quality of life
social changes in the rural
landscape in one area of population
growth
Area of population growth:
Kidlington, Oxfordshire
Changes - In 1901 population was 1300. The population has increased massively to 13723.
It grew by 30% between 1981 and 2001
Social
Small housing estates have been built to house people who work in the settlement itself, in the city of Oxford and in nearby urban areas
Village services have prospered. Approximately 50 shops, banks and building societies, a public library, a village hall and a weekly market
Negative - It is harder for younger adult to buy homes in this area - difficult to stay long-term. This is because the demand to live in this area is high, therefore house prices will increase making homes for local people unaffordable.
economic changes in the rural
landscape in one area of population
growth
Kidlington, Oxfordshire
Most people who live here work from home
Due to Gentrification, the demand to live in these areas increase, therefore house prices rise, making it harder for the young economically active to work and live in these areas. (This results in there being less employment and economic growth)
New people are likely to invest in new local businesses
Houses are bought as second homes - seasonal homes
Describe the changes in population in an area of population decline
Outer Hebrides, Scotland
since 1901 it has experienced a 50 per cent decline in its population, mainly due to young people moving away. They have migrated to the mainland in search of jobs. The current community is around 27,000, and most inhabitants live on the islands of Lewis.
How is the character and service provision in the Outer Hebrides changing because of the population decline?
School closures could result from fewer children
An ageing population, caused by the migration of young people, will require higher amounts of social care, which will have social and economic impacts]
Elderly are being left behind with limited means
A further decline in the fishing and farming industry due to the ageing population
How are the employment rates changing in the Outer Hebrides due to its population decline? How is the industry being affected
Maintaining transport services such as ferries and other services is very costly
There has been a significant decline in traditional fishing for lobsters and prawns
Tourism has become an essential source of income. However, the infrastructure is struggling to cope with this
Shellfish catches have increased, due to more foreign boats
Services closing: Farms can only provide small amount of work
Describe the improvements and new developments in roads
Over 100 new road schemes before 2020.
Constructing additional lanes on busy motorways and major roads such as the A1.
Over 1600km of new lanes will be added.
Congestion costs the economy £2 billion per year relating with 25% relating to accidents
. The ‘smart motorway’ scheme is a scheme adding 24 0 miles of additional lanes by removing the hard shoulder and variable speed limits.
Extra lanes added to turn main motorways into ‘smart motorways’: Traffic flow can be controlled remotely which helps reduce congestion by using the hard shoulder on busy stretches of roads
Explain how the new improvements and developments in roads will impact the UK economy
These new improvements and developments will create new jobs in construction, boosting local and regional economies.
The new improvements and developments in roads allow people and deliveries to get to their destinations quicker
Reduces commuter pain (the amount of time spent in traffic)
Describe the improvements and new developments in rail infrastructure (HS2)
High Speed 2 (HS2)
The high-speed railway will link London to major cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and London
Now expected to cost up to £100 billion, despite originally costing £56 billion
It will connect around 30 million people with 25 stations such as Curzon Street, Birmingham. It will reduce journey time to 49 minutes between London and Birmingham
Explain how the new improvements and developments in rail infrastructure will impact the UK economy (HS2)
It will connect 8 out of the UK’s largest 10 cities as well as bringing up to £92 billion in benefits to the UK economy, which can be reinvested
It will provide 30K jobs with 70% of these outside of London, thus helping reduce the north/south divide
It will be a method of low carbon travel, improving air quality within the UK
It will reduce road traffic, as freight will be able to travel on existing railway lines (which are being improved through electrification). This will attract new businesses and further add to the economy of the UK
Describe the improvements and new developments in rail infrastructure (Crossrail )
Crossrail in central London - (Electrification projects)
A new underground line has been constructed to improve east-west connections across London. It will also reduce travel time for commuters.
London Crossrail project involved 32km of new line beneath central London
9 new stations being built, round the centre of the country
24 trains per hour
65 new trains built. Some of the trains will be 205m long.
Explain how the new improvements and developments in rail infrastructure will impact the UK economy (Crossrail)
Despite being a positive for London, it is a negative for the rest of the UK. This new development encourages transport in and around central London rather than encouraging transport from the rest of the UK into central London
Money shouldn’t be going into central London, it should be going into other parts of the UK - to improve their local economies through developments in infrastructure and the creation of new jobs outside London which helps to reduce the development gap
Describe the improvements and new developments in port capacity
London Gateway is a new port on the Thames capable of handling the largest container ships in the world (up to 4,000 m long
When complete, will employ 8,000 - cuts carbon emissions as already close to London.
Liverpool 2
Liverpool 2 project doubled container capacity to over 1.5 million a year by constructing a deep water quay on the River Mersey
Opened in 2016 it created 1000s of jobs, boosted the regional economy, and reduced freight traffic on the roads, thus reducing the north/south divide
Explain how the new improvements and developments in port capacity will impact the UK economy
The UK has always been a trading nation and its port industry is the largest in Europe
95% of the UK’s imports and exports enter and leave via a port
The UKs largest ports are run by private companies which have invested heavily in the port infrastructure
Roughly 32 million passengers travel through UK ports each year
Ports employ around 120,000 people.
The liverpool 2 project is creating over 1,000 new jobs, thus reducing the north/south divide
Describe the improvements and new developments in airport capacity
Heathrow Airport Expansion- third runway at heathrow
Largest airport in the UK
Plans to expand by 2030 - new runway costing £18.6 billion
Already operates at full capacity of 480,000 flights a year
Increases Heathrow capacity by 50%
The third run way will allow for more planes to pass through Heathrow at anu given time
The additional runway aims to reduce congestion and increase capacity.
Explain how the new improvements and developments in airport capacity will impact the UK economy
A third runway will provide up to 260,000 more flights each year, to 40 new destinations
The long term benefits of the Heathrow expansion is increased tourism, as more tourists are able to get to the UK at any given time. The money that the tourists spend help boost the UK economy
It will create thousands of jobs and boost the local economy.
Where are ports found
Ports are found at coastal and estuary locations around the UK - import/export bulky materials and goods.
Where are airport found
Airports are located close to major cities - London is particularly used for international flights. Also used for transporting lighter goods.
