Unit 1 Case Studies

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  • Created by: Alex
  • Created on: 12-05-11 20:24

The World At Risk

Tebua 

Background

  • small population - only 92,500 at risk
  • not much to loose economically - GNP is equal to that of just 3000 Americans
  • located in the Pacific 
  • the victim of "multiple hazards"

What hazards is it at risk from?

  • Flooding - rising sea levels
  • possible tsunami's - located in the Pacific
  • Tropical storms

What's happening?

  • temperatures rising in the Pacific region (1 degree in the last century) causing sea levels to rise by 21.4mm every year since 2001
  • rising sea is coming literally through the floor! permeable rock allows this to happen

What can be done?

  • The residents of Kiribati are likely to be flooded out soon, so many are applying to live in close countries e.g. NZ and Australia

Is it fair?

  • No! Tebua has done essentially nothing to deserve it. It's countries like the US who create 25% of all global emissions !

Australia

Background

  • Suffer from Bushfires - most frequent causes are 1) Carelessness (outdoor BBQ's) and 2) Lightening strikes
  • once they start, they're hard to stop!
  • 3 types of ways that fire can spread - 1) Ground fires (dry leaf litter spreading along the floor, 2)Crown fires (wind blows tops of trees which set the surrounding canopies alight, and 3) Spot fires (where bits of ash etc land on the ground litter, thus causing further and more spread fires

What hazards is it at risk from?

  • Bushfires (predominantly)

What's happening?

  • warm and dry weather that Australia is renowned for has caused dry, dense areas of woodland to become victim of forest fires 

What can be done?

  • "Ash Wednesday" in 1983 when 75 were killed and 400,000 hectares were covered showed that a way to reduce the impact was needed! 
    Come 2006/7, the busfires covered twice the area of 1983 yet killed only a few. So what is being done behind this success?
  • 1) Controlled Burning 
    -
    Increased population has meant there is more need for controlled burning. The burning of leaf litter in controlled situations reduces the "fuel…

Comments

Sammy Parker

Report

this is good but I think something with more facts/figures and less opinion based questions like "is it fair?" would be more usefull