Unit 3 ICAI ELL AA Sts SENT In this section you'll learn about the six ‘key ideas’ which you may be asked to explore within Unit 3. Unit 3 is very different from Units 1 and 2. There is no particular content that you can learn or revise for! The exam will provide you with resources that you won't have seen before. It will ask you questions, and you'll need to understand what the resources are about How can you prepare for an exam whose content you can never know in advance? In fact, if you've covered Units 1 and 2 you'll be perfectly Prepared to manage this exam. Unit 3 is about key ideas which are woven into the w jole course. You'll probably be able to think of examples you have studied once you read through the key ideas below. 1 Sustainable * Investigate the ‘Brundtland’ definition of sustainable development development - whether current social and economic isan important needs ean be met while protecting the environment and cone resources for future generations. * Ways of judging whether development is sustainable so economically or environmentally by comparing small sc otiom-up projects using intermediate technology with scale, top-down approaches. Examples in this book which could help you prepare for this include: Section 3.5 ~ Threats to the Biosphere Sections 4.7 and 4.8 - Solutions to the water crisis in developed and developing countries. Section 12.7 - Biogas and sustainat velopment in rural India 2 Si ds environmental sustainabi ce the 1990s |» investigate attitudes tow. ‘environmental e.g, those of TNCs, governments, NGOs and pressure groups such as Greenpeace. me —_* Explore reasons why these organisations have ditfere increasingly attitudes towards environmental sustainability and ac important different polices, e.g no-growth and switching to renewable resources. Examples in this book which could help you prepare for this include: ‘Section 3.4 — conflicts of interest in St Lucia Section 11.6 - who wins and loses from Globalisatio Section 12.7 - the debate about GM crops and sust 2 inable development New techn id help to provi ¥ a(Seine ee E 3 Demand for ‘© Investigate how pressure on resources can lead to environmental resources is and social problems, at a range of scales, e.g. the exploitation of ‘ising globaly but forests, energy and water resources. resource supply © Consider how pressures on resources are likely to increase, due is often finite to population growth and affluence through development and \which may lead globalisation and how this leads to confict between Individuals to conflict. ‘and organisations, eg, oll driling in Nigeria and conflicts between ‘TNCs, governments, local people and NGOs. Examples in this book which could help you prepare for this include: * Section 2.5 - how human activity can change the atmosphere and may be a cause of climate change * Section 9.1 — the rising global population Section 10:1 end 102~inereasing global demands on escurces [Key Idea | Ways in which you could stud) ‘4 Balancing «Investigate how Governments ty to meet economic and socal the needs needs but also protect the environment, €.g. conservation areas ‘of economic and greenibelts versus urban and industrial development. develocment Investigate how global organisations (e.g. the United Nations) ‘and conservation have become more important in managing environmental threats, isadiffcut ‘and why national governments have differing attitudes to global challenge. agreements e.g. Kyoto Protocol Examples in this book which could help you prepare for this include: * Section 3.7 - ways of conserving the biosphere e.g. RAMSAR + Section 4.8 - the development of small-scale solutions to problems of water supply * Section 10.7 - how governments encourage the development of renewable energies. 5 Achieving ‘Examine the management and funding challenges for sustainable ‘governments trying o achieve sustainable development both development locally and nationally, €g. renewable national energy targets and requires funding, | recyeiing management Invstigae the role of NGOs in achieving sustainable andleadership. | development, e.g. the impact of environmental groups on deforestation or the campaign to promote fair trade. Examples in this book which could help you prepare for this include: * Section 2.9 - how Egypt is threatened by climate change * Section 3.8 - encouraging the sustainable management of ecosystems + Section 10,10 - the development of renewable energies and technologies. 6 Physical ‘© Examine trends in population and urbanisation to understand processes and —__ why increasing numbers of people, property and livelihoods are environmental \uinerable to tectonic hazards and the impacts of climate change. ‘changes «= Investigate why managing risks is challenging due to the rising increasingly put demand for places to live and the uncertain and unpredictable people at risk. ature of risks. Examples in this book which could help you prepare for this include: * Sections 1.7 and 1.8 ~ Living with the threat of earthquake hazards and how these can be managed * Section 2.8 and 2.9 — the changing climate, and risks posed to the UK and to the African continent Section 4.4 = living with chronic water shortage in the Sahel. Me ee eared co-cites reduce the pressure upon the (8 Section 15,9). Big dams can help to mest the economic needs of countries, but wth cil and envionmonta Tree planting programmes in Cameroon have required the involvement of lel, national and J commaiities (ee CCoostal areas are more at risk offloading as sea levels ise (8@29 Making Geographical Decisions Key Idea 1: Sustainable development is an important concept The question of deciding whether something is sustainable’ or not crops up a lot in geography. Often the question occurs when a new project is being developed, such as The Three Gorges Dam from Unit 2 (Chapter 12) Sustainable development was defined in the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) report ‘Our Common Future’ (1987). The definition below is often called the ‘Brundtland’ definition, after the chairperson of the WCED, Gro Harlem Brundtland: ‘Sustainable development is development that meets the needs ofthe present without compromising the ability of future generations 10 meet their own needs." This definition suggests that human development is sustainable when: © icmeets the needs of people today, ie. incomes and quality of life improve © development today does not reduce quality of life for people in the future. One way of deciding whether development is sustainable is to use the stool of sustainability model (Figure 1) This uses three criteria (social, economic and environmental) to judge whether development is sustainable. If one of the legs is judged to be unsustainable then the stool will ‘fall over’. Figure 1 The stool of sustainability ‘Key features Sustainable development ‘Social ‘Directly improves ife, such as better + Excludes some people, such as women or an ‘education, health and housing ethnic minority group, increasing inequality ‘+ Promotes equality between different |+ Imposed on people from above, 80 they have groups no say in decision-making Economic + Increases income for many people ong + Leads to debt, which future generations will term, 50 qualty of life improves + Proves to be good value for money, benefiting the most people forthe least cost | ae Environmental | Helps conserve biodiversity, 6g | deforestation _* Uses non-polluting and renewable resources eeu a What is the definition of sustainable development? Questions to think about: 1. Re-examine the Three Gorges Dam project on page 94. Do you think this project was economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable? Are bottom-up development projects (page 93) more sustainable than top-down ones? Is there such as thing as a sustainable level of population? (See Unit 2, Chapter 9.) selective logging rather than large-scale cxa_) | have to pay back '* Only makes a small number of people wealthy and increases inequalty * Wastes fite natural resources, e.g. fossil fuels, which are then not available in the future * Causes pollution, e.g. industry polluting the air and water, that future generations will have | to clean up Sustainable development is important because what humans do today should not make life harder for future generations. eae In reality, no development is 100 per cent sustainable. There will aways be some negative impacts on the environment and/or some people. The trick is to try and minimise these negative impacts as far as possible.= = 3G o a 9 nit 3 Making Geogra| Key Idea 2: Since the 1990s ‘environmental sustainability’ has become increasingly important Since the ‘Our Common Future’ report in 1987, This is a definition of environmental sustainability the word ‘sustainability’ has increasingly become _ from the business website SmallBizConnect: a eed “Environmental sustainability involves making decisions This is possibly because since the 1980s and taking actions that are in the interests of protecting the environmental issues have become much more natural world.’ Jniportaint tiers GR pUbHe kwwarerievm euetves: © “HR )/e0| near alneainety gavel eed © cfimate change and global warming (Unit 1, Notice that this definition is about the natural a oor 2, Changing Climate) environment rather than human development (the @ biodiversity loss and deforestation (Unit 1, definition of sustainable development on page 131 Chapter 3, Battle for the Biosphere) refers indthaate eimiopren) ‘At the same time, many people have experienced levels of human development because of globalisation (Unit 2, Chapter 11) and development projects (Unit 2, Chapter 12). Different organisations have different attitudes towards environmental sustainability TNGs such as BP and VW NGOs such as Oxfam and CAFOD ‘TNCs often stress their environmental policies Many NGOs that work in the developing worid and efficiency, but are sometimes accused of ‘emphasise the need to use small-scale, intermediate ‘greenwashing' and ‘tokenism' by environmentalsts technology such as water hand-pumps, solar panels |= using sick marketing and public relations to appear and rainwater harvesting. They focus on using _more environmentally friendly than they really are. _ renewable resources. _ Conservation organisations such as the WWF Environmental pressure groups such as _ The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) focuses on Greenpeace “the eco-footprint concept. This suggests humans are Pressure groups such as Greenpeace focus on “already ‘living beyond their means’ in terms of using pollution and waste, such as the damage done to the ‘natural resources: environment by industry, energy consumption and the ‘throw-away’ society. } It is important to realise that people and over to renewable energy resources, recycle organisations have very different attitudes towards __ more and use resources more efficiently. the need for environmental sustainability: © A radical alterative is what is called a ‘no- © Some see it as a marketing opportunity. By growth’ or zero-growth economy; humans appearing ‘green’ and ‘eco-friendly’ consumers __ should stop trying to get ever more developed Colne ele terericse snd prctita willbe and restrict economic and population growth. higher. These views about environmental sustainability © Others believe that humans can lead very are very different. It would be very difficult to get similar lives to the today, but only if we switch all organisations and people to agree tanding ez > Wouccn In terms of sustainability, the shift How is ‘environmental sustainability’ different from ‘sustainable | from a focus on human development development’? towards environmental issues happened in the 1990s. Questions to think about: 1. Look back at the energy resources you studied in Unit 2, Chapter 10 and consider if they are environmentally sustainable. Sieh Many people are very critical of the concept of environmental sustainabiity, because it reduces the complex idea of ‘sustainable human development down toa narrow focus on not harming the environment. 2. Think about trade and globalisation from Unit 2, Chapter 11. Is global trade good or bad for the environment? 3. Identify the management measures from Unit 1, Chapter 3 that are designed to make humans’ relationship with the biosphere more environmentally sustainable, Making Geographical DecisionsKey Idea 3: Demand for resources is rising globally but. resource supply is often finite, which may lead to conflict The main reason that sustainability has become such a buzzword is because, increasingly, the supply of resources does not match demand: T 2: a Tos | |= World population was 3 billion in 1960, grew to 7 ilion in 2010, and could be 10 billion by 2050 * Energy and water demand is rising fast and could double by 2035 | | + Demand for food could also double between 2010 and 2050 The constant demand for more resources leads to: © overuse of water supplies, so they dry up and become polluted by farming and industry © deforestation, which means some species are lost © increased levels of CO, and other gases in the ait as more fossil fuels are burt. Akkey issue is growing affluence (increasing wealth). As countries develop and people get richer, they: © cat more meat, fat and sugar and less carbohydrate and fibre — meat and processed foods take more land and energy to produce © move into larger, better serviced houses in urban areas — and begin to use electricity, piped water and other services © become more mobile, and transition occurs from bicycles to motorbikes and cars - which burn fossil fuels © demand products, like foods, from around the world - they become part of globalisation and global trade, and use ever more resources. This means that the wealth and development level of people is justas important as the number of people in terms of resource consumption. @ esi understanding ‘An increasing population causes rising demand for resources. Why does increasing wealth do the same? Questions to think about: resource demand on a global scale? Would there be more or less conflict if humans developed renewable resources (Unit 2, Chapter rather than non-renewable ones? and climate change (Unit 1, Chapter 2)?. c=) 1 How useful would population policies, like China's one-child policy (Unit 2, Chapter 9), be for reducing 3. What is the link between rising resource demand Resource supply 1105 Nord * Over 80% of global energy demand is met by fossil fuels, a finite resource ‘+ Some resources are showing signs of reaching peak supply, such as oi, wild ocean fish * The amount of ‘spare’ land that could be used for farming is very small Conflict over Nigeria's oil Oil was discovered in Nigeria, in the delta of the Niger River, in 1956, Oil is extracted by the TNCs Shell, Exxon-Mobil, Chevron and Texaco, but has caused continuous problems in the Niger Delta: © Shell has been accused of allowing thousands of barrels of oil to leak and pollute the sensitive defta ecosystem and farmland. © ‘Nigeria eas US$10 billion from oil each year, but almost none of this goes to the people in the delta who live in poverty. © The Ogoni people, who live in the delta, say they have suffered violence, evictions and health problems because of the oil extraction, NGOs like Amnesty Intemational and Friends of the Earth have tried to raise awareness of their plight to the world. Governments and TNCs want to profit from natural resources, but this often leads to environmental problems and inequalities which local people and NGOs see as unfair and destructive, Many natural resources have a finite supply; once we use them up there will be Ro more. Stretch and challenge ‘As the world becomes richer and more globalised, even very isolated extreme environments are likely to come under increased pressure in terms of resource exploitation. 10) www.therevisionbutton.co.uk/myrevisionnotes ®Unit 3 Making Geographical Decisic Key Idea 4: Balancing the needs of economic development and conservation is a difficult challenge Governments have a very difficult balancing act when it comes to economic development. They need to ensure the economy ofa country can provide enough income so people can have a good quality of life, but they need to prevent serious pollution and land degradation which destroys the natural environment. This is the tension between economic development and conservation (Figure 2). Figure 2 Economic development or conservation? Conservation isthe priority " Economic developments the priority & If economic development is prioritised: © Land will be lost to urban sprawl, factory and transport developments © pollution regulations will be weak, leading to environmental degradation and poor human health © farming will Be intensive and cause soil erosion, land and water pollution. IE conservation is prioritised: © protecting greenbelts could lead to housing shortages © money spent on conservation could be spent on social services © overly strict regulations could prevent investment in factories and offices. Check your understandin; What is the Kyoto Protocol? Questions to think about: 1. Can conservation, such as national parks and tropical forest reserves (Unit 1, Chapter 3), deliver economic development as well as conservation? 2. If humans continue to emit large amounts of greenhouse gases and this causes global warming (Unit 1, Chapter 2), could this have economic costs? Making Geographical Decisions axa_) ‘As environmental concerns have become global rather than just national issues, global organisations like the United Nations have stepped in to put forward global solutions. Getting many counties to agree is very difficult, as the 1997 Kyoto Protocol proved: The Kyoto Protocol This was the first attempt ata global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 developed countries attempted to reach agreements. EU countries signed up to reduction targets, e.g. the UK agreed to a 12 per cent cut and Denmark to a 20 per cent cut, but: © Canada agreed to a 6 per cent cut, yet withdrew from the agreement in 2011 and said that trying to cut fossil fuel use was damaging its economy. © The USA and Australia did not sign up to any cuts in 1997 because they believed this would close down factories and power stations, and jobs would be lost. @ some countries such as Spain have ignored the target they agreed to, whereas Finland has reduced emissions beyond its target. The Kyoto Protocol shows that countries have very different attitudes and priorities. Ieis important to realise that when elections take place and governments change, policies change too. Australia's government today is more willing to reduce emissions than the government in power in 1997. In some Scandinavian countries, such as Finland and Denmark, green political parties are more powerful than in other countries. arith ec Balancing the need to conserve the environment with the need to develop the ‘economy is very difficult. ear! Having clean air, water and land is actually very important for human health, as a polluted environment can cause many illnesses and health problems.Key Idea 5: Achieving sustainable development requires funding, management and leadership Even when a government has decided to adopt policies that favour sustainable development and environmental sustainability, there can be problems. New Policies need to be funded (mostly from taxes) and managed so people are not negatively affected: _—_Reeyeling in the Uk: = turbines in the UK ‘The UK has a target of getting 15% ofits energy from | The UK has a target to reduce the amount of renewable sources by 2015. Much of this will come | household waste going to tandifill sites by 2020 to fom wind turbines. But installing wind turbines has _| 35% of the amount in 1995, To meet this target, local met opposition: recycling has to increase, but: * Many people do not want to ive near a wind turbine,” moaKeE Hae mead saying they are ugly and noisy (thas become a |, Tevet . "NIMBY" issue - Not n My Baok Yard) ‘councils have had to spend money on new recycling bins for every household and new trucks * Coal and gas are cheaper sources of energy so the | Government has to provide subsides to the wind fies for not recycling were introduced but had to be | Sorapped, as the public was angry about them ower industry | |+ many counciis only collect bins once a fortnight to * As wind does not constantly blow, standby power |* Many dahnounearessed Save money, which has angered some taxpayers. For some important sustainability issues itis NGOs, pressuite gtoups and environmentalists rather than governments that lead the way. They launch campaigns to try and persuade the public, governments and business to change their attitudes and actions: @ Fair trade has been promoted by'the NGO Fairtrade International so successfully that even brands such as KitKat and Dairy Milk are now fair trade products, @ Inthe 1970s, Greenpeace and other NGOs began the ‘Save the Whale campaign to ban commercial whaling. Often direct action like ramming whaling ships was taken and made headline news. @ Chico Mendes was a Brazilian rubber plantation worker who became a slobally famous envitonmentalis in the 1980s. He was one of the Brst people to highlight deforestation and the plight of indigenous people in the Amazon. [check your understanding } en) arms: Sustainable developments like wind State two reasons why developing wind power in the UK turbines and recycling can be expensive to has proved controversial set up. Questions to think about: ener 1 What actions would the UK government need to take ‘global warming (Unit 1, Chapter 2) meant sea levels Even celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay have played a role in bringing the issue of overfishing and the waste from fishing ‘bycatch’ to the public's attention rose by 1 m and rainfall decreased by 20 per cent? 2. How important is education (Unit 2, Chapter 10) in Persuading the public that they need to lead more sustainable lifestyles?MAKING Had a look [_| Nearly there [_| Nailed it! [_| GEOGRAPHICAL DECISIONS ae ay Looking at sources Top tips When reading a source, always: The five Ws Use the 5 Ws to help you analyse sources. What is it? What is it about? 3 What does it show? read captions carefully e Why was it taken / written / produced? pnccernee deep sec, Who is it giving information about? Who are the people in it? 6 Where was it taken / written / produced? identify links with Units | and 2 make short notes on any trends in graphs or features in photographs note any differences or conflicts. When was it taken / written / produced? (How long ago, what time of day, etc.)? Have a look at this source to see the 5 Ws in action. What? A newspaper rotate ,Daryl Hannah arrested in Texas building ofa 7 pretenting pipeline controversial Bice im star Daryl Hannah was arrested Thursday aftemoon_for protesting at the construction of a ‘major oil pipeline in Texas. The Keystone XL Why? Beco pipeline is designed to Bring crude ol from Canada ee Daryl Hannah is a to Texas’ Gulf Coast. Hannah and 78-year-old tt . a y im stor and was ‘Texas landowner Eleanor Fairchild were arrested for criminal trespassing | |"9""2" °° 2 arrested whist afer they were accused of sinding infront of pipeline constuction °° “IO OW" protesting about equipment on Fairchild’s farm in Winnsboro, Texas. Ms Hannah said, “I 7" "1 an environmental Was peacefully protesting the advances of Trans Canada on Eleanor Fairchild’s land. They insist on bullying her and taking away her land. Secondly we are concerned that the pipeline may break and damage important natural environments such as the Ogallala Aquifer, which ul When? In 2012, Where? In Texas, when the supplies water to many US farms.” the USA. & (adapted from The Guardian, 5 October 2012), construction of pipeline was underway. Worked example Grr of the following Explain the two main reasons why Daryl Hannah was protesting in Texas. (4 marks) is Daryl Hannah suggesting? (2 marks) Daryl Hannah was protesting about the building of a A That the pipeline should Pipeline to carry oil from Canada to the USA. She is go ahead. orried that the pipeline might break and so pollute the B That the government water in the Ogallala Aquifer. This water is used by should force Eleanor mers in the USA so this would be a disaster. Fairchild to sell her land. secondly, she was protesting because the landowner in C That the pipeline might @xas, Eleanor Fairchild, does not want the pipeline to pollute the water supply. 55 her land but the government has forced her to T] D That the pipetine should be the land, ‘moved to another location,MAKING GEOGRAPHICAL DECISIONS ection 1: Oil supplies in the USA Your source booklet will always start by giving the background to the problem. Have a look at the sources below, then look at the worked example on the next page. Background to the problem Had a look (| Nearly there (vil Nailed it! bel How should the USA develop its future oil supplies? * Some people think that the US should aim to produce more of its own oil supplies. * Others believe that the US should reduce its reliance on oil and use more renewable energy. * Still others believe that the US should look to secure future oil supplies from friendly nations nearby. The government of the United States must make a decision about the future. Global oil supplies Figure 1b Consumption of oil | | er person by country, 2010 Figure 1a Oi reserves by global regions, 2010 Thousand milion bares 32 North South and Afica Europe Middle America Central and ast America Eurasia The USA has less than 5% of the world's Population yet consumes 2I% of the world’s cil Figure te US oil cao imports, 2010 1,000: 8 8 88 400 200: Thousands of barrels per day ° Over: 43% of the oil the USA needs is imported. Some countries are politically unstable, What if these countries decide not to sell to the USA in future? The USA might want to buy a5 much as possible from stable, friendly countries or Produce its own, 126 124 120 Ne ne 108 04 00 26 92 68 UsDIbarrel [ln tonnes \ 0-075 BO7615 226-30 MMore The USA is highiy industrialised 50 is very dependent on oil for its industries and standard of living, Figure 14 Rising world oil prices Oc.” Ose fo fee The rising cost of oil adds to the problem of cil supply in the USA Oil imports are costing more and more. We in lg Ok ae Pa 2 713 Make sure you check the price Of oil on the axis against the dates (20!I-2013) and then compare the difference in the prices. This means’you can back up your answer with statistics,Had a look |_| Nearly there |_| Nailed it! [_| Section 1: Oil supplies in the Figure te Three views on America's future ol supPleS Lester McDonnell, Chief Executive Canco Oil (Canadian oil): ‘We have large oil reserves in Alberta, Canada. We can get to export our oil to the USA, which gives them regular, safe supplies from a friendly country.” Martha Brook, US House of Representatives: ‘Doing nothing is not an option. We must increase the supply of oil to the USA. Renewables will not be able to produce enough eneray to meet the demand.’ MAKING GEOGRAPHICAL DECISIONS USK Jody Kahn, Campaign ~ Manager for Environment USA: ‘Natural wilderness areas which are important and we must protect them, not pollute them. The wildlife in these areas is of world importance. We should rely on renewable energy not on drilling for oil.” Worked example 1 (a) Study Figure 1c. Which countries provide most of the oil imported into the USA? Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Outline why these are the ‘most important suppliers of oil tothe USA. (4 marks) The USA wants to import as i much cil a5 possible from countries that are close to its borders. This is because oil can be difficult and expensive to transport so it is cheaper to import oil from countries (mark) near to the USA, and Mexico and zi Canada both share a border with the USA The second reason why these three countries supply most of the USA's imported oil is that they are friendly to the USA and are not likely to cut off oil supplies. This is also true of Saudi Arabia, which is a friendly nation in the Middle East and a supporter of the USA. Study the opi the United States ns of the three people in Figure le. Outline why oil supply is a challenge for Describe the increases in the world oil price since 2011? (2 marks) The world price of oil has increased from about $106 a barrel in October 2011 to over $119 a barrel in February 2013, 50 it has increased by over $13 per barrel. It was even more costly in March-April 201 before the start of the Euro crisis. SED (GB marks)| GEOGRAPHICAL Had a look a) Nearly there fa Nailed it DECISIONS ~~ Section 2: Developing new oil resources | Drilling for oil may be a possible solution for the USA. One area where thio might be possible is the Western Arctic Reserve (WAR) of Alaska. It is important to consider the economic and environmental costs and benefits of oil development in wilderness areas. | _MaKINc | ie The North Slope Oil Field and 3 pipeline carrying oil to the ice-free port of Valdez are already in place, so these will not need to be built. Key: — oil pipeine Border USA/ Arctic Cir Wildlife The pipeline runs beside two wildlife reserves. The technology for dilling in these extremely cold environments already exists 50 the companies have expertise in minimising oil pollution from driling and pipelines. Bering + Figure 2a Map of the Western Arctic Reserve eee There is already a route for tankers to take the oil from Valdez to the rest of the USA. Figure 2b Key facts about the Western Arctic Reserve (WAR) + In 1923, the US government designated the WAR an area of strategic oil and gas reserves which the nation could use in the future, for example in a time of emergency. + The atea consists of two ecological regions. ‘The Aretie coast to the north consists of pristine wetlands, coastal lagoons and grass meadows. It is home to 25% of the world’s Pacific Black Brant Goose population. It is a summer habitat for millions of migrating birds, together with moose, caribou, wolves and polar bears. The Brooks Range of ‘mountains has the highest numbers of Figure 2c The Brooks Range peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons and rough of mountains, Alaska egged hawks in the world. It has the largest herd of caribou (430000) in Alaska. + There is little environmental protection in WAR, only a few ‘special areas’. | + The cost of drilling for oil inthe WAR are high (in the region of $33 billion). | + 40000 tonnes of oil waste come from each | Fig. Oil drilling in the WAR could amount to 50000 tonnes of extra nitrogen dioxide. Think about what you've leamed about global warming Nitrogen dioxide is an important greenhouse qasMAKING Had a look [ul Nearly there [| Nailed it! pal GEOGRAPHICAL DECISIONS | Section 2: Developing new oil =~ resources 1 er ecb) 1 Identify three pieces of evidence from Figures 2a and 2b which show that the WAR is an important area for biodiversity. (3 marks) The northem part of the WAR is the Arctic coast. This is a region of wetlands, coastal lagoons and grass meadows. In contrast, the J second region is mountainous. The northern region provides habitat for 25% of the world's Pacific Black Brant Goose population whilst the Brooks Range is home to moose, caribou and polar bears. The northern region is a summer habitat for rrillions of migrating birds whilst the Brooks Range has the largest herd of caribou (430000) in Alaska. Worked example 2 Outline two possible threats to the environment of drilling for oil in 3 the WAR. (4marks) (One important threat to the environment is the destruction of wildlife habitat by dlrilin. in the WAR. The variety of wildlife, such as gyrfalcons, found in the two ecological regions are of world importance and damage to the habitat of these creatures could be a serious blow to their survival A second threat is the increase in global warming that would result from driling for cil in the WAR. Anything that adds to global warming would be an important threat to the world environment. => 3. Study Figure 2c then answer the questions. Examine the main Worked example (@) Explain why drilling for oil or building pipelines ae Lan across this area might be difficult and expensive. er Pench (4 marks) This is an area of steep slopes, high mountains and few roads, so it would be difficult to get drilling equipment into the area. It would also be difficult and expensive to try to build a pipeline because they would have to drill through the mountains and find ways to support it across the deep valleys. (b) Suggest why building pipelines or drilling for oil on the lowland area might also be a problem. The lowland areas might also be a problem because in spring, when the snow melts, the areas might flood roads, the pipeline and drilling rigs.| MAKING | GEOGRAPHICAL DECISIONS (ese Section 3: Developing new oil resources 2 The USA could acquire oil resources by building a pipeline from areas in North America, such as the tar sands of Alberta, Canada. Think about the balance between the costs and benefits. Keystone XL pipeline Nebraska — BL Acute 300 mis 500 km Figure 3a The Keystone XL pipeline, Canada Had a look [|_| Nearly there {_| Nailed it! |_| Figure 3b Key facts about the US Keystone XL pipeline + Appipeline could run from the tar sands to the oil refineries on the US Gulf Coast. + Itwould cross the Ogallala Aquifer and Nebraska Sandhills (one of the largest sand dune formations in the world). Up to 100.000 people would be employed building and operating the pipeline. ‘+ It would provide 5% of US oil needs and save 9% of US imports + US states along the route would receive extra tax revenues. *+ The cost of building the pipeline would be around $7 billion. + Anestimated 180 bi may lie in the tar sands, mn barrels of bitumen 1 Extracting tar | sands by open are needed, 50 water cast mining is easy because | | | | the layers are close to the 7. Poluted water surface. | pumped into open-air ponds. Overiying peat ‘Some polluted ag acer raat water can leach back must be clearedy |i the water table. 1 t Tris willhave a Y Waste water may 7 negative environmental polite local rivers, affect, Peat bog cari be which supply renewed easily. Habitats drinking water. would be destroyed. Figure 3d The Ogallala Aquifer These valuable water supplies could be affected by possible oil spills. What would the human, environmental and economic costs be? 104 ae 7 3, Crusher chews| vp oll sands into smaller pieces. ‘extraction diagram with heated water Heating uses large voli ofratial | a0. Burring the 85 adds to global warming by creating 2 lot of carbon dioxide (Gossibly 12-17% more than conventional cil production) 4. Tar sands mined 5. Tar (bitumen) separates from sand and water & Bitumen refined to produce oit_| L Extracting the oil uses a lot of water and natural gas, $0 will be expensive. Also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Figure 3¢ Tar sand ‘The Ogallala Aquifer sits underneath eight US states and provides water for 2 million people. 5 Over 27% of all US irrigated land depends ont. It supports some of the most productive farmland in the USA. There is not enough rainfall in the area to support large-scale commercial agriculture.