Global Hazard Patterns

Global Hazard Patterns This shows the distribution of hazards and their various causes and impacts; hazards are divided into Geophysical as they have to do with tectonic processes and hydro-meteorological as it involves the climate Geophysical Hazards Earthquakes- Most earthquakes are concentrated around plate boundaries; the more powerful earthquakes are located along destructive or conservative plate boundaries. As in a conservative plate boundary the plates are parallel to the plate margin so they slide past each other and for a destructive plate boundary the plates are converging. The fundamental explanation of their occurrences as with geophysical hazards has to do with the knowledge of plate tectonics. At destructive plate boundaries, oceanic crust are being subducted beneath a continental plate it produces various earthquakes types. The force as the plates meet causes stresses in the crust, then its pressure is suddenly released causing the ground above to shake violently thus resulting in what is formerly known as an earthquake. Also, by conservative plate boundaries the magnitude varies from shallow to quite high; this is true of the San Andreas Fault, Western USA. Furthermore, earthquakes are also located around constructive plate boundaries but are associated with low magnitude earthquakes so they pose little hazard to people. Volcanoes- Distribution of

  • Word count: 805
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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Is the impact of global warming restricted to changing sea levels and vegetation patterns?

Is the impact of global warming restricted to changing sea levels and vegetation patterns? Global Warming is principally the increase in the earth's temperature due to the use of fossil fuels and other industrial processes leading to a build-up of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons) in the atmosphere. It has been known since 1896 that carbon dioxide helps stop the sun's infrared radiation from escaping into space and thus functions to maintain the earth's relatively warm temperature (greenhouse effect). There is however growing evidence that the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the last century are leading to elevated global temperatures. Which could principally result in a sea level rise (through the melting of glaciers and polar ice caps) and changes to the world's vegetation patterns (through climatic changes). This in turn relates to the essays main aim, by discussing the 'view' that global warming could be restricted by these immediate consequences. One could say that the theories for changes in sea level and global vegetation patterns are more or less being proven conclusive in the form of physical evidence by means of photographs and scientific observations. Physical evidence if published in a scientific journal for example would convey the reality of global warming to the viewer, more or less

  • Word count: 2031
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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To what extent have economists provided a satisfactory theoretical and empirical explanation of the global patterns of trade?

To what extent have economists provided a satisfactory theoretical and empirical explanation of the global patterns of trade? Economists study the economical behaviour of humans so they can produce models, theories and equations that mimic patterns of conduct in order to predict how they will behave in the future. Trade has always been of interest to economists. The last decades have seen an increase in the number of economists trying to come up with explanations of global patterns of trade. This is related to the recent increase in global trade and international integration, the swelling popularity of the globalisation phenomena and the increase in the number of economists advocating free trade as the best policy to further economic development and increase living standards. These explanations of trade patterns are useful as they help countries decide who to trade with, what to trade and how to do it. Many reputed economists have attempted to capture the essence of international trade in theories but not all manage to develop a theoretical model that would hold in the real world. Back in the times when mercantilism was the main concept people had of accumulation of wealth, there was this general misconception that trading was a zero-sum game. This means that, when countries traded, one country got rich at the expense of the other one. Nations resorted to waging war between

  • Word count: 1153
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Business and Administrative studies
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Examine the global patterns and trends in the production and consumption of oil and discuss its geopolitical and environmental impacts.

Luis Rebollar 19-11-12 Geography Essay Examine the global patterns and trends in the production and consumption of oil and discuss its geopolitical and environmental impacts Lately, countries around the world have been dramatically affected environmentally and geopolitically, mainly due to the rise in demand for oil. Both the production and consumption of oil have been rising progressively since the early 1980‘s. As a result, countries such as Ecuador and Canada have been forced to deal with oil spills and the contamination of rain forests, while others such as Iraq have had to tolerate the burden of “resource wars”. Over the past decades, the production and consumption of oil has been steadily increasing. By looking at Figure 1, it can be said that oil production has barely increased since 1983, when it was at 53,000 thousand barrels per day (tbpd). Today, a bit less than 80,000 are produced. However, global oil consumption has been increasing continuously. We can see that in 1993, the global consumption of oil was approximately 56,000 thousands barrels per day, and that it has been gradually increasing for the pas 20 years. Today, we consume about 87,000 thousand barrels per day. Figure 2 shows the oil production and consumption by country. Figure 1: Global Oil

  • Word count: 1063
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Geography
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Outline the indicators used to identify patterns of development at a global scale and explain their limitations

Outline the indicators used to identify patterns of development at a global scale and explain their limitations Development indicators provide a means of measuring aspects of development for which is available and which are, therefore quantifiable. There is no yardstick for measuring development since the development process in multi-dimensioned. There are many development indicators and they are used to identify where poverty is worst, to stimulate debate to where aid is to be given. Development indicators can be split into three major groupings, those based on economic data, those based on social data and those based on demographic data. To measure development using economic data Gross National Product (GNP) is most commonly used. It's the total value of goods and services produced in a county in a single year. GNP/capita gives an average value for the wealth of the total population. Its found by dividing the total GNP of a country by its population size. Although GNP figures are easier to measure and obtain than other indicators, there are limitations to their use and validity. The figures are much more accurate in countries that have well-documented economies with many economic transactions and where trade is good, labour and services can be measured as they pass through the market place. Where markets are less developed and trading is done informally through

  • Word count: 1611
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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Global Warming

Global Warming The air quality of our atmosphere has been in drastic changes in the past century. Industrial revolution has cause major harm to our environment. Pollution, dumping toxic wastes into our ocean, and releasing harmful gases and sprays into the atmosphere. These are some of the cause of global warming so dangerous in the world's environment. We should take more action towards global warming before it's too late. What is Global warming? Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate (Global). Population growth, deforestation, and pollution have increased by a large margin from twenty, forty, or even a hundred years ago. Since the Industrial Revolution, machines have changed the way life we lived. Before the Industrial Revolution, human activity released very few gases into the atmosphere, but now through population growth, fossil fuel burning, and deforestation, we are affecting the mixture of gases in the atmosphere (Global). It is imperative that we, the people, take action on our dying environment, for the future of our kids and generations to come. Unless steps are taken to stop this progression of events, and even in spite of such steps, the vast majority of the evidence shows that the Earth will continue to grow warmer, with widespread and even catastrophic results. How did we find out what

  • Word count: 2306
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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Globalisation and changing career patterns

A consideration of the impact of globalisation on changing career patterns in the UK, with specific reference to the IT industry. Report by - Paul Senior April 2007 Word count - 5141 (excluding contents and bibliography) CONTENTS Page(s) . Introduction 3 2. What is Globalisation? 4 3. Globalisation & Employment 7 3.1. Changing Career Patterns in the UK 7 3.1.1. The British Coal Industry 8 3.1.2. Call Centres 10 3.2. Globalisation & IT Careers 13 4. The Impact of Globalisation 16 5. Conclusions 18 6. References & Bibliography 19 . Introduction There are many challenges that face both organisations and their employees in today's global marketplace. We live in an age of worldwide change. What happens in one part of the world affects people on the other side of the world. Industries across the globe are influenced by common developments. The term Globalisation is often used to describe this occurrence. It is used in a number of contexts. In the media, it is used almost daily to refer to a wide variety of political, sociological, environmental, and economical changes. However, in the business world the term is used to refer to production, distribution, and marketing of goods and services at an international level. Globalisation is changing the world we live in, and everyone is impacted by its continuing growth in many ways. The types of food we eat, the

  • Word count: 5896
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Economics
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Global Dimming

Global Dimming Geography IB HL Mr. Verity Nils Werner Global Dimming Global dimming is an alarming phenomenon. Visible pollution particles that are released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned cause global dimming. Similar to global warming, this process changes rainfall patterns worldwide. The amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the earth in the Middle-Eastern region has decrease by twenty-two percent because more sunlight is being reflected back into space. The visible pollutant particles from burning fossil fuels reflect sunlight and cause an increase in precipitation by causing more droplets to form. This causes clouds to reflect even more sunlight. It is very likely that global dimming has been disguising the negative effects of global warming by stopping some of the sun's energy from reaches the surface of the earth. A worldwide effort is being done to a control or limitation on pollution. There is a very possibility that as the air becomes less polluted by soot and sulphur dioxide, global dimming will decrease, consequently causing the effects of global warming to increase. America is a more economically developed country and is experiencing a very high level of global dimming due to their level aviation travel. Post 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York created the ideal opportunity to find out whether contour

  • Word count: 2299
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Geography
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Global warming

Surface temperature measurements recorded daily at hundreds of locations for more than 100 years indicate that the Earth's surface has warmed by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century. This warming has been particularly strong during the last 20 years, and has been accompanied by retreating glaciers, thinning arctic ice, rising sea levels, lengthening of growing seasons for some, and earlier arrival of migratory birds. In addition, several other data support that conclusion. But are humans to blame? Scientists delving into the earth's history have found quite a different global warming: an ancient, natural, 1500-year warming-cooling cycle driven by a known cycle in the magnetic activity of the sun. Written history tells us the Medieval Warming was a mild-weather period from the 11th to 13th centuries, with temperatures 1 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than today. It was followed by the Little Ice Age, with temperatures 2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit lower, harsh storms, encroaching glaciers, and crop-failure famines. History also records an earlier Roman warming, it too, followed by a mini-ice age. So are we just experiencing a natural warm period in the earth's cycle or is man to blame? Global warming can also be called the greenhouse effect, which is a natural occurrence that maintains Earth's average temperature at approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The greenhouse

  • Word count: 927
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Science
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Globalisation & changing career patterns

Globalisation: The Changing IT Industry Report by - Paul Senior April 2007 Word count - 2661 (excluding figures, bibliography, appendices) CONTENTS Page(s) . Introduction 3 2. What is an Emerging Market Economy 4 i. Figure One - Per Capita GDP 4 ii. Figure Two - Map of Emerging Market Economies 5 3. The Importance of Emerging Markets 7 4. Getting it Right - Key Considerations 10 5. Conclusions 14 6. References & Bibliography 15 7. Appendices Appendix One - Classification of Economies Appendix Two - GDP Per Capita Appendix Three - BMW in India Introduction There are many challenges that face both organisations and their employees in today's global marketplace. We live in an age of worldwide change. What happens in one part of the world affects people on the other side of the world. Industries across the globe are influenced by common developments. The term Globalisation is used to describe this occurrence. It is used in a number of contexts. In the media, it is used almost daily to refer to a wide variety of political, sociological, environmental, and economical changes. However, in the business world the term is used to refer to production, distribution, and marketing of goods and services at an international level. Globalisation is changing the world we live in, and everyone is impacted by its continuing growth in many ways. The types of food we

  • Word count: 3712
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Business Studies
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