Al Gore’s contribution to the global climate change debate is not in question and he has, along with the IPCC, been awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in raising awareness. If you haven’t seen his film “An inconvenient truth” then do get hold of the DVD – it may just be the most interesting PowerPoint presentation you will ever see! However, does he really understand the nature of the debate? The article below suggests that he has not yet taken account of the most fundamental trade-off in dealing with climate change – the trade-off between our own quality of life and that of our descendants in the future.
Save the earth in six hard questions MSN Slate (22/10/07)
Questions
| 1. |
Explain what is mean by a trade-off “between the quality of our own lives and the quality of our descendants’ [lives]”. |
| 2. |
What is meant by the term ‘risk-averse’ and how is this relevant in the climate change debate? |
| 3. |
Consider the questions raised by the article. Discuss how relevant the conclusion reached is in the light of these questions. |
In its first report on the impact of bio-fuels, the United Nations (UN) has warned that such fuels may increase poverty in developing countries and have a wider environmental impact than has in the past been suggested. With oil prices at a record high and with climate change pressures, much of the developed world has adopted targets for bio-fuels, but environmentalists have warned that the rush to grow the raw materials for bio-fuels may be more damaging to the environment than the fossil fuels they will replace.
Global rush to energy crops threatens to bring food shortages and increase poverty, says UN Guardian (9/5/07)
UN warns on impacts of biofuels BBC News Online (9/5/07)
UN raises doubts on biofuels Guardian (9/5/07)
Questions |
| 1. |
What are the external costs and external benefits resulting from the use of bio-fuels as opposed to fossil fuels? |
| 2. |
Using diagrams as appropriate, show the impact of increased use of bio-fuels on the social equilibrium in the market for fuel. |
| 3. |
Assess policies that European governments could put in place to ensure that the move towards increased use of bio-fuels has a positive environmental impact. |
You do perhaps need to check the date for this story, but once you have established that it wasn’t written on April 1st, you can start to take it a little more seriously. An alliance of an American oil company and food producer is to turn pig fat into diesel fuel. The fuel will apparently have the same chemical properties as diesel but a lower carbon dioxide content and zero sulphur, so should be beneficial for the environment the companies argue.
Pig fat to be turned into diesel BBC News Online (19/4/07)
Questions
| 1. |
Using diagrams as appropriate, compare and contrast the environmental impact of conventional diesel and the new pig fat bio-diesel. |
| 2. |
Discuss the extent to which the new pig fat diesel will be better for the environment than conventional diesel. |
| 3. |
Evaluate two policies that the government could implement to encourage the use of alternative fuels like the new pig fat bio-diesel. |
In developing countries the growth of urbanisation is causing some worrying social, environmental and health problems. As the introduction to the article below puts it:
“UN figures for urbanisation, published this week in the State of the World 2007 report, show that more than 60 million people – roughly the population of the UK – are added to the planet’s cities and suburbs each year, mostly in low-income urban settlements in developing countries. Unplanned urbanisation is taking a huge toll on human health and the quality of the environment, contributing to social, ecological, and economic instability in many countries.”
Streets ahead Guardian (17/1/07)
Questions
| 1. |
Assess the impact of the growth of urbanisation on the rate of development in developing countries. |
| 2. |
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of growing urbanisation to a developing country. |
| 3. |
Assess the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in helping to minimise the negative consequences of urbanisation. |