Up to date case studies - PHYSICAL Flashcards
Oil exploitation in the UK 2023
2023 - The UK’s largest untapped oil field has been approved by regulators
Rosebank 80 miles west of Shetland is estimated to contain 500 million barrels of oil
Can produce up to 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide
Hurricane Otis ‘Catastrophic’ storm makes landfall in Mexico
November 2023 - Category 5 tropical storm. The gulf of Mexico acts as a breeding ground as sea surface must be at least 27 degrees for tropical storms and with climate change they are becoming more frequent and intense.
Slow arrival of aid led to looting
45 people dead
The speed of the storm led to a lack of preparation
5 year delay 2023
Rishi Sunak delays 2023 - A five-year delay in the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, meaning a requirement for all new cars to be “zero emission” will not come into force until 2035
Tuvalu
Falepili Union - Tuvalu is a series of low-lying islands in the Pacific which is home to 11,200 people as of 2023 Australia has permitted 280 people per year to receive visas to live, work and study in Australia. Tuvalu has agreed it will not enter defence pacts with any other countries without Australia’s approval. Australia has also pledged funding to help Tuvalu adapt to climate change, including (£8.8m) to expand the landmass of its main island by 6%.
Shell suing ‘Greenpeace’
2023 - Environmental protesters occupied a vessel transporting one of the oil company’s floating platforms earlier this year. Activists boarded the White Marlin ship north of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic in January.
The group said Shell offered to reduce its damage claim to $1.4m (£1.14m) if Greenpeace’s activists agreed not to protest again at any of Shell’s oil and gas infrastructure at sea or in port.
‘Cowspiracy’
Palm oil has taken up 26 million acres of rainforests however, livestock has taken up 136 million acres.
660 gallons of water to make one hamburger.
Over 1,100 activists against deforestation have been killed in the last 20 years in Brazil
Amazon deforestation 2023
Amazon deforestation rate halved in 2023 - lowest recorded deforestation rate in the last five years still deforested an area more than 6x the size of New York City
2023 Hottest year on record
Last year was about 1.48C warmer than the long-term average before humans started burning large amounts of fossil fuels, the EU’s climate service says. Due to the influence of El Nino.
UK invest in nuclear energy
The new plant would quadruple energy supplies by 2050. The government’s Civil Nuclear Roadmap is intended to bolster the UK’s energy independence by exploring a new site for another nuclear power station of the size and scale of the £30bn plants under construction at Hinkley Point in Somerset and committed to Sizewell in Suffolk.
New hi-tech attempt to save the arctic
Perched on sea-ice off Canada’s northern coast, parka-clad scientists watch saltwater pump out over the frozen ocean.To slow global warming.
As sea-ice vanishes, the dark ocean surface can absorb more of the Sun’s energy, which accelerates warming. So the researchers want to thicken it to stop it melting away. They are drilling a hole in the sea-ice that naturally forms in winter, and pumping around 1,000 litres of seawater per minute across the surface.
Exposed to the cold winter air, this seawater quickly freezes, helping to thicken the ice on top.
Morocco drought 2024
Al Massira reservoir is drying up which is Morocco’s second largest reservoir. It is vital for irrigation required for crops contains just 3% of the average amount of water that was there nine years ago after six years of drought and rising global temperatures.
Ablation
The removal of surface snow or ice by melting or evapouration.
