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.