Year 10 HaSS Semester 2: Exam Flashcards
Geography and Civics & Citizenships
What is the definition of ‘Sustainability’?
Preserving resources for future generations by taking only what we need.
Identify the challenges to sustainability
Pollution, Land Degradation, Exploited Oceans, Population Growth, Climate Change, Fossil Fuels, Urbanisation and Habitat Loss.
What is Land Degradation?
A decline in land conditions, caused by direct/indirect human-induced processes including climate change.
What is Energy Use (fossil fuels)?
A non-renewable energy source made from decomposing plants and animals.
What is pollution?
The introduction of harmful materials into the environments
What is habitat loss?
The reduction in the space where a particular species or group of species can survive and reproduce.
How are these challenges all interconnected?
Land degradation and habitat loss reduce carbon absorption and harm ecosystems, worsening climate change.
Fossil fuel pollution damages air, water, and aquatic life, further degrading land.
Climate change can also make habitats uninhabitable, leading to species loss.
How do people interact with their environment?
- Resource Use
- Agriculture and Land Use
- Pollution
- Climate Change
How do people interact with their environment using resources?
People extract natural resources like water, minerals, timber, and fossil fuels for consumption, construction, and energy production.
How do people interact with the environment using agriculture and land?
People modify land for farming, grazing, and urban development, altering ecosystems, affecting soil quality, and contributing to deforestation.
How do people’s interactions with the environment lead to pollution?
Human activities, such as industrial production, transportation, and waste disposal, pollute air, water, and soil, harming ecosystems and public health.
Provide an example of positive environmental change -
Reforestation/Afforestation:
Planting trees helps reverse deforestation, improves air quality, boosts biodiversity, and absorbs carbon dioxide.
Provide an example of negative environmental change
Climate Change:
Human activities, like burning fossil fuels, raise global temperatures, leading to extreme weather, rising sea levels, and biodiversity loss.
How do people’s interactions with the environment lead to climate change?
Human-driven factors like burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial emissions contribute to global warming, which alters weather patterns and impacts ecosystems.
What is meant by the term environment change?
A change or disturbance of the environment often caused by human influences and natural ecological processes.
What is positive environmental change?
Actions that restore the environment support ecosystems and enhance human well-being, promoting a sustainable balance between humans and nature.
What is negative environmental change?
Alterations that harm ecosystems and human health disrupt natural systems, causing long-term damage and diminishing the planet’s capacity to support life.
Define the concept of sustainable development
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Identify two ways sustainable development is put into practice.
Sustainable Agriculture
Renewable Energy Use
What is renewable energy use?
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint, mitigate climate change, and decrease dependence on restricted resources.
What is sustainable agriculture?
Organic farming, crop rotation, and agroforestry improve soil health, reduce synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use, and promote biodiversity, ensuring food security and lessening environmental degradation.
What is climate change?
Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.
What are the impacts of climate change on the environment?
Causes changes in rainfall, resulting in more floods, droughts, or intense rain as well as more frequent and severe heat waves.
It makes oceans warmer and more acidic, leading to melting ice caps and rising sea levels.
How does climate change impact humanity?
Deserts are expanding, reducing land for growing food.
As a result, many people face the threat of not having enough water regularly.
Flooding and landslides destroy homes and communities, costing billions of dollars to fix.
This affects the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the weather we experience.
Identify the three different worldviews that people can adopt
Anthropocentrism (human-centred), stewardship, and ecocentrism (earth-centred).
Describe the anthropocentrism worldview
Humans are viewed as superior species on Earth and only have an obligation to themselves.
The value of other species and the natural world is based on how useful they are to humans.
It involves the belief in unlimited economic growth and that through intelligence humans can overcome environmental challenges.
Describe the stewardship worldview
The belief that it is an ethical responsibility to use resources in a way that ensures availability for future generations.
Humans should be caring managers (stewards) of the Earth.
This view is typically held by Indigenous people who have a strong connection to the natural world.
Describe the ecocentrism worldview
The belief that nature exists for all species on Earth.
Humans are equal to all other species and have no special right to resources.
People with this view typically advocate for the protection of the environment and all ecosystems.
Why do people alter coastlines?
People alter coastlines for housing estates and tourist facilities that can boost economic activity.
Coastal environments are usually filled in for commercial shopping, new roads and highways, the building of ports, harbours and waste treatment locations.
What are the impacts of people altering coastlines?
Increases pressure on the natural environment through land clearing, waste disposal, and pollution.
Disrupts natural processes like sand movement and damages coastal ecosystems.
Increases the likelihood of extreme weather events and sea-level rise, creating financial burdens for local governments and communities.
Identify two strategies adopted to rectify damage to coastal environments
- Dune Building
- Beach Scraping
How does dune building help coastal environments?
Involves beach scraping, sand nourishment, and revegetation with native coastal species.
Helps trap wind-blown sand, increasing dune volume and resistance to future erosion.
How does beach scraping help coastal environments?
Involves moving sand from the lower to the upper part of the beach using machinery.
Improves beach amenities and enhances the beach’s ability to withstand storms.
Local sand sources can be used for beach scraping.
List three internal causes of spatial inequality.
Debt burdens, political instability and population growth.
Outline debt burdens as an internal cause of spatial inequality.
Many developing countries increase their export earnings by taking advantage of natural resources, like forests and minerals, to pay off their debts.
They also promote the growth of cash crops to sell to consumers in developed countries.
Outline political instability as an internal cause of spatial inequality.
War and civil unrest occur due to weak political institutions and corruption.
Instead of spending money on development projects or improving social services to enhance people’s well-being, funds are often used to support the military and police.
Outline population growth as an internal cause of spatial inequality.
A country’s ability to meet the needs of its people depends on its population growth rate.
If the population grows faster than the economy, the country struggles to provide medical care, education, infrastructure, and enough food.
List three external causes of spatial inequality.
Trade imbalances, transnational corporations and dependency on development assistance.
Outline trade imbalances as an external cause of spatial inequality.
Developing countries rely on wealthy countries and face exploitation of their natural resources.
They struggle because the value of their products is often higher than the income they earn from exports. This situation puts them deeper into debt instead of helping them earn a surplus.
Outline transnational corporations as an external cause of spatial inequality.
Large organisations that have operations in developing countries because they supply cheap labour.
However, the goods produced cheaply are sold to consumers in wealthy countries, meaning they are beyond the financial reach of those employed to manufacture them.
Outline dependency on development assistance as an external cause of spatial inequality.
Many poor countries are heavily dependent on development assistance supplied by wealthy countries.
It can lead to corruption and the money distributed doesn’t even go to enhancing human wellbeing.
Define ‘greenhouse effect’
A process that occurs when gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap the Sun’s heat, making Earth warmer and at a temperature that supports life.
Define ‘coastal zone’
The broader geographical region where the ocean interacts with land
Define ‘hard engineering’
Man-made structures that manage coastal areas e.g. Sea walls.
