A2 Term 2 Sustainability
G4 Case Studies and Figures
Water What physical factors affect the supply of water? Climate - Amazon Rainforest - The total annual rainfall is often more than 250 cm. Temperatures of 27°C (80°F) mostly stay the same. -
Canada - The annual rainfall is about 31cm, while the temperature gets to highs of 16⁰C and lows of -25⁰C
How do humans influence water supply? -
Pop increase - China in 2050 will have a population on almost 1.5billion people having MASSIVE problems for the country for its water supply
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Growth of Business - Tourism in the last 10years has grown by 32%
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Rapid Urbanisation - In Brazil between 1970 and 1990 over 20million people moved from villages to cities.
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Climate Change - While glaciers and ice caps will melt releasing more freshwater. Greenland ice sheet melted by over 200km² in 15 years
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Pollution - In China, 70 percent of the country's water is suffering from pollution, with an estimated 300 million people drinking contaminated water on a daily basis, and 190 million drinking water that is so contaminated it effects their health.
Sustainable water supply •
New Storage Capacity – Three Gorges Dam - The dam reservoir is on average about 660 kilometres (410 mi) in length and 1.12 kilometres (0.70 mi) in width. It contains 39.3 km3 of water
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Aswan Dam, Egypt whereby they estimate 5% of all the water being stored evaporates due to the high temperatures
Water Transfer - The Chinese Government have put into place an idea of transferring water from the South to the North of the country by transferring water from the Yangtze River to the Yellow River. This project will divert 44.8 billion cubic meters of water from South to North •
It is estimated that irrigation schemes lose 10% of water through leakage and seepage
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Cow Green Reservoir and Water Transfer - 2 mile long reservoir in the Lake District that transfer water for 25% of Teesside (Newcastle) due top the use of concrete channels
Groundwater Source – India - The plan is to drive deep under the surface to find the water table and pump it to the surface. It is estimated there is 10 times more water under India than there is precipitation every year.
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Delhi, India in 2006 it was found that there was 50% more chemicals in the groundwater sources than thought due to the high levels of farming and the use of pesticides
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In the UK 20% of our water comes from groundwater, but we have very high regulations and filters to ensure our water is of high quality
Desalination – Algeria - The Government has invested $490 million in a desalination project for the city of Algiers in Algeria. The cost of producing water through using desalination has fallen by more than 80% in the last 20 years
Sustainable Water Demand -
Recycling - Sydney, Australia - The Government has spent $20 million on recycling schemes such as recycling and treating water from the 2 sewage plants to create a further 500,000 million litres of water •
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Grey Water - In Japan, since 2009 ever new build has to have the toilets and sinks combo’s. On average, they save around 40% of water •
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Fuzhou, China tried implementing a recycling scheme very similar to Sydney's however the filtration system was not as rigorous leading to an increase in health problems such as diarrhea in the city
2 button toilets – half flush only uses 1.5 litres of water while a full flush uses 6 litres
Reducing Consumption - Showers use around 1/3rd less than water than a bath does
Sydney, Australia •
Built a desalination centre costing almost $3 billion
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Allocate $2 billion to improving water efficiency by fixing leaking pipes
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Develop major stormwater capture and recycling initiatives
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Subsidise the purchase and installation of rainwater tanks
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Fund water efficiency measures and recycling
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Make dual grey water systems mandatory in all new housing developments
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Reinvest profits from Sydney Water into maintenance of our water infrastructure
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Recycle sewerage for industrial and commercial uses.
Energy Problems with the supply of energy -
Coal Power Station - This power station creates enough electricity for 2 million homes. It produces 200 million tonnes of CO2 each year
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Nuclear – Sizewell, Suffolk - The power station was built in 1969. It produces enough power for 500,000 homes. The radioactive waste is disposed off 300m under the North Sea floor
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HEP - Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River (China) - The reservoir flooded a total area of 632 km² of land. The government estimates that the Three Gorges Dam project will cost 180 billion yuan (US$25 billion). 10% of China’s electricity needed
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Wind Power – Thanet, Kent, provides electricity for half of Kent
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Solar – Masdar City – off sets 15,000 tones of CO2
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Coal provides 25% of the worlds electricity
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Renewable only 13%
Demand for energy changing -
In UK, year on year since 1994 electrical goods sales have increase by 2.7%
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The UK government announced in 2007 that incandescent bulbs would be phased out by 2011. Since they use about 1/4 of the energy of incandescent bulbs they are a key part of efforts to fight climate change. They're not cheap, these energy saving light bulbs, but over their lifetime they'll save you 65 quid and a lot more besides.
Sustainable Energy Supplies -
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Wind - Wind Power Stations – Over 2770 wind turbines in the UK at 270 different projects cutting CO2 by 4624141 tonnes. Thanet, Kent, provides electricity for half of Kent •
It is estimated that 15% of the time, wind turbines are making no electricity
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Oaxaco, Mexico has 250 wind turbines which engineers argue are constantly turning and creating electricity due to their position in the Pacific Ocean
Solar - Masdar City – off sets 15,000 tones of CO2
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South California, engineers have built a lunar power plant which uses the light from the moon and stars to power over 10,000 homes
HEP - Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River (China) - The reservoir flooded a total area of 632 km² of land. 10% of China’s electricity needed •
The Three Gorges Dam costed $25 billion
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Aswan Dam is costing $500 million which is a lot less than Three Gorges Dam, but it produces 40% of the electricity that the Three Gorges Dam
Sustainable Energy Demands -
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Energy Efficient Light Bulbs - In 2007, it became illegal to sell non-energy saving light bulbs. Energy saving light bulbs save 40% of energy and last 6 times longer •
These light bulbs are difficult and expensive to find for spotlights and are not available for dimmer switches. Since 60% of households have at least one of these, it can be challenging to use energy efficient bulbs every where
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Germany has been using energy efficient light bulbs since 1985 so the UK is behind other countries in this area
Dell in 2008 created a laptop which would take 3 hours to fully charge but has a charge life of 11 hours •
It was found after 2 years of use of the Dell laptop, the battery life reduced from 11 hours to just 3 hours
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Since laptops have become more and more popular, companies like Acer have come into the market to offer much cheaper laptops which doesn’t have this technology
‘A’ rated White Goods - A washing machine that is rated A compared with one which is rated D is 40% more efficient. It has led to customers being able to pick efficient goods leading to sells of A and B rated goods increasing by on average 15% in the last 5 years compared with C/D rated goods •
Since an average life span of a washing machine is 12 years, while a fridge is 14 years. Many older versions are inefficient and were not bought with efficiency in mind
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Sells of washing machines in China have increase by 350% in the last 10 years, but majority are not efficient and are not rated
Food Global patterns of food consumption -
63% of males in USA are over-weight or obese
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45% of females in USA are over-weight or obese
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Healthy fruits and vegetables make up only 10 percent of caloric intake in the U.S. Diet
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More than 60 percent of young people eat too much fat, and less than 20 percent eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.
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In 2000, it was estimated that 30 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls born in the United States are at risk for being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives.
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In 2000, health care costs associated with physical inactivity were more than $76 billion
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A 10% weight loss will reduce an overweight person's lifetime medical costs by $2,200-$5,300.
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In the United States obesity is estimated to cause an excess 111,909 to 365,000 death per year,
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Every 2 minutes someone dies in the developing world due to lack of nutrition and food intake
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Ethiopia 1984 - less than 10% of the average rainfall in 1984
Almost 2 million people died (Greater Manchester Population)
5.8 million people relied on relief
90% of the country’s herd died within 2 years
21% of the population died including 60% of all infants
Factors that promote or hinder food production -
This, at a time when farmers are losing 45 cents on every gallon of milk they sell in America because they are making less than the cost of production
Sustainable Food Production Hydroponics –Quito (capital) of Ecuador - 34% of the urban population are un-nourished.30kg per person per year (S. American average is 66kg per person per year) – 70% in the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables eaten and 30% increase in income for the families. Furthermore, there was a longer term reduction in disease in the families who had access to the hydroponic crops. Families were happier and had better appearances. -
10% of water needed compared with normal growing methods of crops
Aeroponics - – 5% of the amount of water than a normal growing method. -
Lim Chu Kang, Singapore - The poor and over-farmed soil in Singapore has led to farmers needing to find new farming methods.
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Aeroponics was trialled in Lim Chi Kang in 1997 with an increase in production from 900kg a year to over 3000kg a year.
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This also made the production of the crops cheaper by 20%. The crops were also disease free allowing more crops to be sold or eaten.
Blue Revolution– Fiji The Government has invested $12million in new sustainable irrigation schemes with the involvement of drip irrigation schemes rather than sprinklers.
GM Crops - Maize Growing in Spain - About 400,000 hectares in Spain are GM Maize. Yield has increased by 35% in Spain, although there has been tension among protesters -
GM crops need 60% less fertilisers than normal crops
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By 2005, GM crops had increased by 75%
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GM crops produce about 10% more yield (crop)
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Arizona, USA - Commercial planting began around 1997 in the United States, the heartland of GM crops, and increased rapidly over the years.
By now, GM crops have taken over 85-91 percent of the area planted with the three major crops, soybean, corn and cotton in the US
Over 3 million people in Arizona work with GM crops including farmers, labourers etc
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Crop yield increase by 10%
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GM crops are expensive to buy so are only grown in MEDC’s which already have enough food
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GM crops are un-natural causing problems with the ecology (food web) in the area
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Less need for pesticides and fertilisers so cheaper for farmers in the long term
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GM crops can be planted in harsh environments, e.g. very hot areas in Africa
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Lack of trust in GM crops and their effects on to people who eat them leading to the EU banning GM crops growing
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The crops provide new seeds available to be used the next year impacting on to the seed sellers and distributors
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Allergies have increased in many people who have eaten large amounts of GM crops
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A 2008 review published by the Royal Society of Medicine noted that GM foods have been eaten by millions of people worldwide for over 15 years, with no reports of ill effects
Cities Classification of cities
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Lagos, Nigeria has grown from 300,000 in 1950 to an estimated 15 million today, and the Nigerian government estimates that the city will have expanded to 25 million residents by 2015
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In Brazil between 1970 and 1990 over 20million people moved from villages to cities.
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Rio de Janerio - In 1950, only 7 percent of Rio de Janeiro's population lived in favelas, in the 21st century it has grown to 19 percent or about one in five people living in a favela.
According to national census data, from 1980–1990, the overall growth rate of Rio de Janeiro dropped by 8 percent, but the favela population increased by 41 percent.
After 1990, the city's growth rate leveled at 7 percent, but the favela population increased by 24 percent.
By the year 2000, this created an all-time high of people living in concentrated poverty
Pressures on a city -
Transport - London Congestion Charge - £8 a day, 60,000 fewer cars in the zone
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Communication - Norwich - The £1.1m project covers 30 square kilometres - most of Norwich city centre, outlying business parks, the hospital, and the University of East Anglia.
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Differences in wealth - The income received by the top 10 percent of the Brazilian people represented 47.75 percent of the total income received in 1999.
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Meanwhile, the income received by the bottom 50 percent of the Brazilian people represented only 12.55 percent of the total income received in 1999.
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The top 1 percent of Brazilian people received 13.31 percent of the total income in 1999, more than the income for the bottom 50 percent combined.
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Areal Extent - London has expanded by 5 in the last 150 years, taking over surrounding villages and towns. An example is Wimbledon which use to be a village on the outskirts of London
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Pollution – Beijing, China - The air pollution causes up to 1,750,000 premature deaths each year. China's polluted environment is largely a result of the country's rapid development and consequently a large increase in primary energy consumption, which is primarily provided by coal power plants. •
WHO figures for 2004 show 110 people out of every 100,000 die from chronic respiratory diseases in China, compared to a level of 72 per 100,000 in the UK.
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The Chinese Government put $20 billion "greening" effort that included banning half the city's 3.3 million vehicles, halting most construction and closing dozens of factories.
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Investing in the technology to reduce CO2 from factories
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Planting more plants and trees.
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New laws with housing development with a percentage of the land developed for park land and open spaces
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Specialist teams on cleaning the city with litter collection teams etc
Sustainable solutions -
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Differences in Wealth - While in Salvador, Brazil the local Government has invested $250 million in new roads and services to encourage businesses to move to the city. •
The local Government purposely employed low income people who are unskilled to build the new road and railway links. Furthermore, provided additional grants and tax havens to companies who would be employing a large unskilled workforce.
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Companies that create clothes for Next and BHS have re-located to the city employing over 9500 people.
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Criticisms - Qingpu district, Shanghai - This district is not connected by river or ocean so very little foreign investment in this area. The local government has tried to encourage TNC’s by building the 318 Highway, however, the distance from the ports are too far
Areal Extent – Crawley 1949 - The ‘New Town’ would be planned to have 13 different neighbourhoods all with it’s own local shops, hairdressers, pubs, churches, primary and secondary schools.
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The 13 neighbourhoods would surround the town centre which hosted the main train station to London and Brighton, mainstream stores, cinema and entertainment
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Criticism - La Paz, Bolivia whereby a new capital was built to encourage people to migrate for work and to reduce the pressure on other cities such as Sucre
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Quality of Environment - Beijing's 17 million residents have endured dense smog caused by industry, coal-fired heating and traffic that increased at a rate of 1,000 vehicles a day.
o The Chinese Government put $20 billion "greening" effort that included banning half the city's 3.3 million vehicles, halting most construction and closing dozens of factories. o Between 1999 and 2002, China converted 7.7 million hectares of farmland into forest o In the neighbouring cities of Tianjin and Tangshan, more than 300 factories will be shut. Dongtan, Shanghai - Dongtan will be a city of three villages. Phase one should be completed by 2010, and will accommodate a population of 50 000, rising to a projected 500 000 by 2040. -The city is being designed as three village neighbourhoods concentrated at the southern tip of the site. - The infrastructure (roads, public transport, schools, hospitals, commercial areas, green spaces) will be designed to encourage inhabitants to travel by bicycle or public transport rather than car. - These ‘villages’ meet to create a city center, where commercial activities will be concentrated. – City will be linked by a network of pedestrian walkways – Car-Pool: an intranet service will connect people who want to share a car and forecasts travel times. Only zero-carbon vehicles will be allowed to drive within the city. – Pollution-free buses, trams or water taxis, powered by fuel-cells or other zero-carbon technologies will run between neighbourhoods. – Traditional motorbikes will be forbidden, replaced by electric scooters or bicycles.