Unit 1 Flashcards
Social changes since 1900
patterns, health, hygiene and nutrition have all increased life expectancy leading to large numbers in elderly cohorts.
• NHS and free health care for all post WWII, e.g. Vaccination programmes for all
• Government role in providing clean water/education campaigns, e.g. smoking bans
• Role of H&S legislation and training to make work safer
• A range of social changes have resulted in lower fertility (role of
women, contraception.
• Credit education leading to work changes (less manufacturing)
which may have improved health and longevity. Also health
campaigns (e.g. FAST stroke saves lives),
• Social movements e.g. Suffragettes can also be linked with fertility.
• Diet and personal fitness – awareness has much improved life
expectancy
Cyclones in the Phillipines
- Philippines is located in cyclone belt approx.5-250 N and makes some link with rotation / Coriolis Force affected by storms as they blow west in Pacific Ocean
- Sea temperatures around 26 0C , allowing warm, moist body of air to develop due to intense evaporation
- Comments explicitly on frequency / number/scale of tropical storms (measured on Saffir-Simpson scale / around 10-20 per year)
Why are some countries more affected
Many African countries/populations are reliant on agriculture so coastal flooding causes loss of land /reduced yields/ income
• May develop or exemplify this e.g. lost fertile alluvial land e.g. Nile or Ganges delta
• Increased costs of drinking water (salt water incursion)
• Economic impacts on coastal cities e.g. Lagos or Mumbai
and may provide details e.g. loss of informal housing,
markets hotels, tourist amenities e.g. Maldives
• Infrastructure losses e.g. coastal roads, port, railways,
airport
• Credit increased cost of medical care if more coastal
disasters /storm surges
• Existing sea defences need reinforcing
• Losses for the poor who cannot afford sea defences
• Considers impact on national GDP/government spending
Advantages of trade blocs
• Free trade between member states/ trade liberalisation achieved through abolition / relaxation of import / export tariffs or duties allows access to new markets
• Results in cheaper prices to consumers in neighbour countries, to the benefit / profit of producers / firms as well as to customers / consumers ultimately reflected in higher GDP
• Encourages investment (FDI) from TNCs e.g. Cadbury in Poland
• Benefits of common external tariff
• Details of how successful firms prosper by exploiting
comparative advantages and specialising and building
economies of scale
• Attraction of joining Euro currency to encourage foreign investors
• Credit arguments which may go beyond economic/trade
e.g. security / inter-dependence
• Allow credit for answers commenting on migration (NB
only relevant for EU), but for 5
More people affected
- Increased numbers of affected people may be linked with population growth (examples from Philippines likely) and density. Migration to urban areas and living in risky locations (flood plains, river banks, steep slopes). May link to increase in vulnerability and risk equation.
- Also to rising affluence (‘more to lose’) in NICs / BRICs/ middle- income nations. Growth in value of possessions (electronics) and more have insurance so more is reported.
- Some credit may be given for climate change suggestions, e.g. drought / typhoons which are likely to affect more people (e.g. links with more intense hurricanes)
Why do natural disasters cause fewer deaths?
Causing fewer deaths –
• Fewer deaths linked to improved prediction, disaster response and
post-event reconstruction (e.g. aseismic design of buildings).
• Also low cost strategies like Red Cross evacuation sites for flood risk
locations e.g. Bangladesh or drills in Japan (1st Sept annually)
• Credit reference to detail about warning systems e.g. Hurricane and tsunami warning systems in Pacific
• Capacity to cope increasing (e.g. Emergency kits and drills). Credit use of Risk Equation if appropriately explained. Growth in social media and texting means communications improve even to the poor. Issue of complacency however limits effectiveness (e.g. volcanoes like Mayon, Philippines)
Good answers will use a range of examples of different hazards with detail to illustrate.
Examples of recent hurricanes and floods may demonstrate both these trends most effectively e.g. Typhoon Haiyan in Philippines in Nov 2013: approx 7000 died but 12 m affected.
IPCC scenarios
Amount and rate of future global warming – attempts include IPCC reports and interim reports from, for example, the Met Office or Hadley Centre.
• A range of scenarios for GHG emissions exist, focusing on CO2 (equivalent) ppm:
550ppm amount seen as critical divide between high-impact and lower-impact scenarios (focused on variety of effects e.g. coral bleaching, sea-level rises).
Why is it difficult to predict CO2 emissions
fficult to predict –
• This hinges on economic factors, including world economic
projections (growth of China, India; but slowdown since 2008
credit crunch);
• Future population growth rates are unknown
• Political factors will influence rate of change, including
introduction of mitigation measures e.g. Australia’s carbon trading; UK government’s changing attitude to green taxation/ renewable energy , failure to implement Kyoto
• Technological advances may be made to reduce emissions
• Unforeseen consequences of attempts to mitigate
• Roles of different players (Global groups/Governments/TNCS/
EU legislation on emissions/ local councils/individuals
• Credit impacts of natural causes (e.g. sunspots, volcanic
eruptions onset of ‘new ice age’) and feedback loops /tipping points (albedo changes, permafrost melt) that could come into play, altering rate.
• Variable reliability of data for past changes and scientists make different interpretations e.g. “Climategate” questions reliability of research data.
Geophysical hazards in California
- The San Andreas fault (part of a broader fault zone) marks a conservative plate boundary where two tectonic plates (Pacific Plate, North America plate) slide past each other; can generate earthquakes up to magnitude 8.0; faults frequently ‘lock’
- Earthquakes shallow and so more destructive (5 major earthquakes being recorded in the last 100 years)
- Unconsolidated basin / coastal sediments in LA and San Francisco lead to severe shaking with added risk of liquefaction.
- Landslides take place in heavy winter storms where hillsides have been burnt by wildfire and eroded; may link to El Nino.
- Credit reference to volcanoes in Northern California (Mt Shasta, Lassen Peak); this is the southern end of the Cascades volcanic arc subduction zone (North American plate / Juan de Fuca plate); wet partial melting magma generation.
The Phillipines and ego physical hazards
The dense oceanic Philippines plate is being subducted beneath Eurasian
plate (June 1991 Pinatubo; also Mt Mayon) which can generate earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions.
• Landslides / mass movement can result from tropical monsoon climate,
subject to heavy rainfall which can lead to land sliding / made possible
because of deforestation of many hillsides.
• Role of heavy rainfall in lahar risk.
• Tsunami risks associated with subduction zone.
Some answers may compare geophysical hazards in the two locations e.g. arguing that volcanic hazard are more common in the Philippines / tsunami risk is high
Impact of sea level rise
Loss of farmland e.g. in locations such as the Nile Delta and Bangladesh
• Potential disruption of low-lying capital city / global hubs e.g. London,
Bangkok, Jakarta, New York (Hurricane Sandy could be mentioned); the high
costs of defending vulnerable coastlines e.g. Thames Barrier style defences
• Displacement of people from delta regions / low lying coasts; increased
potential for conflict
• Increased risk from natural hazard impacts e.g. storms / erosion worsened by
rising sea levels
• There are broader environmental impacts e.g. those experienced by Arctic
nations.
Some nations are likely to suffer more than others because of:
•
Physical vulnerability
Economic vulnerability: high levels of poverty, lack of GDP available to adapt at a national level and also the individual level; expect examples of
vulnerability / resilience / lack of it e.g. Bangladesh could be contrasted with
the Netherlands (Delta Project).
• Physical vulnerability: coastal relief, deltas, atolls (Maldives),subsidence
(e.g. Jakarta, Bangkok) off-setting effects of isostatic uplift; more local vulnerability may extend into inland areas e.g. along Nile valley, rias, fjords. Contrasts could be made with countries which have fewer areas close to se
