Issues in GCSE Geography

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! There are no mapwork activities in Units 9 and 10 of Get That Grade! Instead Unit 9 has an activity on Photos and Field Sketches, and Unit 10 gives you sound advice on Sitting The Exam

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Issues in GCSE Geography
All of geography deals with ‘Issues’.

An issue in geography can be thought of as something about which you can say, "People are concerned about this matter, in this place or these places because…"

A geographical issue can be described in a way which looks at the headline impact of some aspect of place or places.

Then the issue can be understood by looking at the geographical causes that have led to it arising.

Finally you can consider how best to manage the issue, so as to increase the benefits and reduce the damage that occurs.

If you have been following the whole of this course you should have looked at a variety of issues in each of the topics for revision including:

Topic 1	Why do volcanoes and earthquakes cause more deaths in LEDCs than in MEDCs?
Topic 2	What issues are caused by migration? How do rising population totals and ageing populations cause concern for various countries?
Topic 3	How should planners strike a balance between the need to prevent homes and workplaces being flooded and the need to conserve landscapes in river valleys?
Topic 4	Can inner-city redevelopment ease problems of low quality housing environments and traffic congestion? What are the issues caused by urbanisation in LEDCs?
Topic 5	Can areas such as the rainforest be used by people without causing destruction of the ecosystem?
Topic 6	Can the world’s population be fed by the farming industry? Can this only be done by intensification? Does intensification have to lead to over-production and damage to the environment and economy?
Topic 7	How can the National Park authorities balance the need to allow access to the Parks with the need to conserve wild, unspoilt environments?
Topic 8	Developing greenfield sites for industry is cheaper than re-using brownfield sites, but it destroys attractive environment. Can a compromise be found between the needs of different groups?
Topic 9	Who is economic development for? Can economic development for all be sustainable?

If you are asked about any of these issues you should be prepared to write about them in terms of the 3 stages listed below:

• description of the issue
• its geographical causes
• managing the issue

• how these conflicts arise
• whether the conflicts can be resolved, and
• how conflicts can be reduced in future

• the greenhouse effect and global warming
• acid rain
• destruction of the ozone layer

Average world temperatures are increasing

Sea level is rising

World climate seems to be getting more extreme

The rate of change of these 3 measures seems to be increasing.

Note the use of the word ‘might’. Scientists are still not all convinced that what follows is true, but more and more of them seem to be coming round to this point of view as the evidence builds up. However, in an exam you are probably better to use the words ‘might’ or ‘probably’ in your answer, and to explain why you are doing so. Do not be afraid of a little uncertainty. It does not show that you do not know your geography. In fact it shows you know it well.

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• there is carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• this lets the sun’s rays through the atmosphere to warm the Earth (waves coming from the sun are short wave rays).
• heat is then re-radiated from the surface
• carbon dioxide (and other gases and particles) stop some of these rays from escaping, trapping them in the atmosphere (they are long wave rays, different from the in-coming rays).
• this is the natural ‘greenhouse effect’, and it is responsible for making the Earth warm enough for human life
• since the Industrial Revolution people have been releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels
• this has led to an increase in the greenhouse effect

Add labels to the following diagrams, and learn them!

Note that the main greenhouse gas is CO₂, though there are others. The main sources of the increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are:

• burning fossil fuels – especially coal and oil
• burning forests
• the digestive systems of cattle! (methane)
• draining of peat bogs and burning of peat
  

This has probably caused:

• increased world temperatures
• increased rainfall
  – hotter air can hold more water vapour, leading to more rainfall
• increased weather instability
  – hotter air leads to more convection and more rapidly rising air leads to storms
• rising sea levels
  – may be due to melting polar ice caps – though that may be compensated for by more precipitation of snow
  – heating of oceans causes water to expand

It might cause:

• falling temperatures in UK
  – it might lead to the Gulf Stream being diverted, so that UK does not get warmed by this water from the Gulf of Mexico.
• increased drought in prairies, etc.
  – distribution of wind and pressure belts may change

The lists above give brief outlines of some of the results. You need to learn detailed examples showing how some of these might affect particular places.

The issue could be managed by:

• reducing outputs of greenhouse gases
• learning and planning how to cope with the consequences
  

Reducing output of gases was discussed at the Kyoto conference in 1998. Countries agreed to cut their emissions to 1990 levels by 2001.

In 2000 a further conference was held at the Hague.

• The EU was well on the way to meeting its targets.
• USA, Canada, Japan and Australia were not meeting targets.
• USA, Canada, Japan and Australia want to ‘trade’ their carbon dioxide production by ‘buying’ the share of pollution allowed to some LEDCs.
• USA, Canada, Japan and Australia also say they should be allowed to continue producing CO₂ if they plant forests in their own countries and elsewhere to use up the CO₂.
• Forests that use up CO₂ are known as ‘carbon sinks’.
• Many LEDCs and NICs feel that they need to increase production of CO₂ because they need to do so to develop.
• LEDCs feel that MEDCs should make technology available to them either free or cheap, to allow them to cut emissions. They say they need wind technology, clean burn car engines and so on, and cannot afford the development costs on their own.
  

This issue is still being discussed.

Can you explain why EU, USA, and LEDCs hold their views? What are your views? Can you explain and justify your own views?

If reductions are not made soon, or perhaps even if they are, people will have to learn to live with the consequences of global warming by:

• building coastal protection schemes such as Thames Barrage and Bangladesh Coastal Protection Scheme
• agreeing that some coastal areas cannot be protected, and abandoning them
• preparing for droughts in some of the world’s main grain producing areas by developing new strains of seed, or developing farming in other, wetter areas
• stock piling food in case of drought
• planning for the migrations that will follow changing climate and flooding of low-lying land

Learn detailed case studies to illustrate some of these possible reactions.

Be ready to discuss the issues from different points of view, e.g. how would the following feel about abandoning land on the east coast of Yorkshire?

• farmers whose land is being lost
• councillors who would have to pay the cost of protection
• people who live down the coast, whose land might be eroded more quickly if the land up the coast was protected
• naturalists and bird watchers

Acid rain
The main cause of acid rain is the burning of fossil fuels – especially coal and oil. That is the same as the main cause of the increased greenhouse effect, so that is where confusion might arise in some people’s minds. However, you must be careful. The acid rain issue has very different consequences than the global warming issue.

What is acid rain?

All rain is slightly acidic. This is because, as it falls through the atmosphere, rainwater dissolves a tiny amount of carbon dioxide. With the water this forms a very dilute solution of carbonic acid. (It is this acidity which allows rainwater to dissolve limestone, about which you may have learnt elsewhere in your course.)

However, the issue of acid rain arises because of the pollution of the atmosphere by sulphur and nitrogen, mainly from the burning of coal and oil. ‘Normal’ rainfall has a pH of between 6.0 and 6.5. Polluted, acid rain can have a pH of 4.5 or even less. This can have many damaging consequences, including:

• damaging and destroying plant life, especially trees
• polluting lakes and streams
• killing fish and other organisms that used to live in these streams
• corroding water pipes, and possibly damaging the health of people who drink the water contaminated with metal
• weathering buildings and statues
  

What causes acid rain?

Label the diagram below to show the causes of acid rain.

Your labels should mention:

• Sulphur dioxide
• Nitrogen oxides
• dry precipitation
• wet precipitation (acid rain)
• dilute sulphuric acid
• dilute nitric and nitrous acid

Explain why the pollution can travel from Britain to Scandinavia. Then label 3 of the results of acid rainfall, and learn the diagram!

Managing acid rain

There are two main ways of managing the problems caused by any kind of pollution. They are:

• accept that pollution happens, and try to reduce its effects
• try to reduce the pollution

Suggest how polluted lakes and soils can be treated to reduce the effects of acid rain. List ways in which people can reduce:

• pollution from power stations
• pollution from cars

One of the main issues involved in any pollution problem is:

"Who should pay to deal with the problem?"

One important principle, which should reduce the pollution in the long run, if it can be enforced is:

"Make the polluter pay."

How would this affect the issues of acid rain pollution?

If part of the problem comes from burning coal in power stations, and if the polluter had to pay to clear up the mess, who would pay the bill in the long run? Would it be:

• the power station managers (reduced wages)?
• the shareholders in the electricity company (reduced profits)?
• the government (increased taxes – but who pays them?)
• the electricity consumer (through higher prices)?
  

You must be prepared to discuss this issue.

When people are asked to write about the views of different pressure groups they often refer to ‘environmentalists’ or to ‘Greenpeace’ or ‘Friends of the Earth’ or ‘WWF’ or ‘RSPB’ or ‘EA’. Then they have only very vague views as to what they actually stand for. Try to be precise and give specific details of the groups you refer to. Greenpeace are a militant group of environmentalists. They campaign very strongly about causes that have included whale hunting, pollution of the sea by oil rigs, nuclear waste disposal, GM crops, etc. They seek to draw attention to their causes through direct action which gains them a lot of publicity. Friends of the Earth are less militant. They do not engage in direct action. They are more concerned with researching issues and publicising their research findings. Then they negotiate with governments and firms to try to make them more environmentally responsible. However, they are concerned with many of the same issues as Greenpeace. WWF, or WorldWide Fund for the environment, started off as the World Wildlife Fund. Their aim is to protect all wildlife, and threatened species in particular. A few years ago they changed their name because they realised that one of the biggest threats to wildlife was loss of habitat. The best way to protect species is to try to educate people and to persuade governments and land owners to protect the ecosystem. RSPB, or Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, is a bird conservation organisation. They also work to educate and to persuade landowners to sustain the environment. They also have several areas of countryside which they have set up as reserves for birds and other wildlife. EA or Environment Agency is the body set up by the government to protect the environment. They are particularly concerned with water quality and management of river basins. EA is quite a powerful organisation, but it mostly works by persuading people and organisations to take a sustainable approach to the environment. They rarely use their legal powers to take polluters to court.

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Destruction of the ozone layer
This may be as serious an issue as the two that have been dealt with so far in the topic. However, it does not feature on many GCSE geography syllabuses. Therefore it will be dealt with very briefly.

What is the issue?

The ozone layer is a layer high in the atmosphere where oxygen molecules (O₂) have been broken down and then reformed into ozone molecules (O₃). This layer has recently been reducing in thickness, especially over the polar regions.

When this happens more of the sun’s ultra violet rays can penetrate through the atmosphere. These rays can burn people’s skin and damage their eyes if they go out in the sun without protection. The skin damage can lead to cancer in some cases.

What causes the problem?

This is not caused by burning coal and oil like the previous two problems. The main cause is the escape of chloro-fluoro carbons (CFCs) and other chemical products, which used to be used to power aerosol sprays and are also used in refrigeration systems.

How can the problem be managed?

As stated above people can treat the effects or the causes. Treatment of the effects includes:

• wear barrier creams
• avoid excessive sun-bathing
• wear good sun glasses to protect the eyes

• use of CFCs in aerosols has been banned, worldwide
• new products have been developed for use in refrigeration, which are less damaging
• manufacturers have set up systems to collect old fridges and dismantle them, taking out the CFCs without letting them escape into the atmosphere