Using examples at the local scale, examine the 'two-way' relationship between climate and human activity in upland moors and valleys.
Using examples at the local scale, examine the 'two-way' relationship between climate and human activity in upland moors and valleys The reasons why human activity has developed in these upland moors and valleys are due to a variety of physical factors. The moorland and valley areas are generally high ranging from 200 to 300 metres in height. The relief is relatively flat and can be undulating as found in the Peak District, Dartmoor, Brecon Beacons and in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. The soils are generally poor, thin and weak in granular composition and are usually vegetated with wild plants and grasses. Agricultural activities such as hill sheep farming in Exmoor have developed. Only the hardy sheep are able to tolerate the weather conditions found in these areas. Also tourist visitor numbers have increased in recent years, due to greater a greater interest in outdoor exhibitions of organised groups, professional and amateur hikers as well as the general public, therefore encouraging the need for tourist facilities. Roads and motorways have been built to provide access through these terrains, for examples the A684 motorway that passes through the Pennines to Yorkshire from Lancastershire. Furthermore organisations such as the Forestry Commission have converted many upland areas into forests as found in the Flow Country in Scotland and on many of the flanks of the
With reference to a range of geomorphic hazards you have studied, examine the role of human activities in both preventing and controlling this hazard type.
With reference to a range of geomorphic hazards you have studied, examine the role of human activities in both preventing and controlling this hazard type. Preventing geomorphological hazards virtually impossible simply because the power of the earth is far greater than the power of humans and the ways in which we could try to prevent such hazards occurring outright. The example of the Californians highlights this well; an attempt was made to lubricate the San Andreas with water in the hope that movement would be more flowing and thus produce less energetic shockwave, as it is the vibrations of earthquakes that cause the body of the damage.. Preventing the geomorphic hazards from being a threat to human is very possible, particularly through human activity because our technology is developing rapidly and so as a result we are understanding the hazards that a posed by geomorphological events and there are many hundreds of individual example to prove this. Controlling the effects of geomorphological hazards is possible, and is successful as shown by a variety of examples worldwide, although it is by no means simple. Preventing geomorphological hazards from ever occurring is virtually impossible, simple because humans do not have the power to stop the convection currents that drive tectonic plate movement, we don't have the power to prevent a volcano from erupting and we don't
As the world's expanding population burns large quantities of fossil fuels and simultaneously cuts down large expanses of fore
As the world's expanding population burns large quantities of fossil fuels and simultaneously cuts down large expanses of forests worldwide, the concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are building up in the atmosphere. "The green house effect is the (imperfect) analogy used to explain the atmospheric phenomenon that keeps our planet warm enough to sustain life." There is mounting evidence that this shift in Earth's atmosphere will lead to global changes and potentially major climatic disruptions . The major concern is not that the greenhouse effect is real;"we wouldn't be here if it wasn't." It's that it "may be exacerbated by anthropogenic increases in the effective gasses, threatening a disruption to the equilibrium between incoming and outgoing energy, and a resulting average global warming." From 1880 to today, by many measurements, the global average temperature has increased by 0.5 Degrees Celsius. Human and ecological systems are already vulnerable to a range of environmental pressures, including climate extremes and variability. Global warming is likely to amplify the effects of other pressures and to disrupt our lives in numerous ways. "Melting icebergs and expanding oceans may cause floods." The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts
The world's drylands, contrary to popular misconceptions of being barren unproductive land, contain some of the most valuable
The world's drylands, contrary to popular misconceptions of being barren unproductive land, contain some of the most valuable and vital ecosystems on the planet. These dryland environments have surprising diversity and resiliency, supporting over two billion people, approximately thirty-five percent of the global population (UNEP, 2003). In fact, approximately seventy percent of Africans depend directly on drylands for their daily livelihood (UNEP, 2003). However, these precious and crucial areas are at a crossroad, endangered and threatened by the devastating process of desertification. There are over one hundred definitions for the term 'desertification', however the most widely used and current definition is as follows: desertification refers to the land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions due to human activities and climate variations, often leading to the permanent loss of soil productivity and the thinning out of the vegetative cover (UNCCD, 2003). It is important to note that desertification is not the expansion and contraction of deserts or hyper-arid territories, which grow and decrease both naturally and cyclically. French ecologist Louis Lavauden first used the term desertification in 1927 and French botanist Andre Aubreville, when witnessing the land degradation occurring in North and West Africa in 1949 popularized this term (Dregne,
Evaluate the arguments for and against the use of GM crops in developing countries. Which do you support and why?
Social and Political theory Evaluate the arguments for and against the use of GM crops in developing countries. Which do you support and why? One of the major causes for debate in recent years has been the argument over whether or not genetically engineering or genetically 'modifying' crops is a just practice. Genetic engineering refers to the methods that make it possible to change the pattern in genetic material. Changing the pattern of the DNA molecules may make it possible to change countless characteristics in the living organism. This ability to modify an organism's genetic makeup has innumerable uses for researchers trying to understand the basic biology of plants and animals, including humans. In applied plant science, the research is helping the development of agricultural crops that are better for the environment and for consumers. However, are they fulfilling this aim? Are GM products really safer for the consumer and for the surrounding environment? There are many apparent strengths and weaknesses to genetically modifying crops, all of which can be divided up into certain aspects. For example, what are the consequences of GM crops upon; health, the environment, society/culture and the economy. It is mainly within these areas that the essay will examine these strengths and weaknesses. It is the opinion of this essay that although there are definitely potential
Southeast Asia, a political treatment.
Southeast Asia, a political treatment. In the current state of global environmental activism it is arguable as to who are the key players. In Southeast Asia Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have played a significant role in bringing forth issues that are presented as a conflict between personal opinions, economic progress and environmental concerns. There is a great divide mentioned by both authors between the state and the individual. The ideal role of the individual in a democratic state would be one governed not by subjection or coercion but by self-imposed governance. It is the internalization of state control by self-regulation that can insure citizens' exercising rights and responsibilities. That said, the roles of NGO in Southeast Asia have been to make apparent that which an individual may not be able to see or to act on, not even on a community level. The agenda of the organization is usually to get government concessions to fund projects that bare a mask of environmental conservation. However, what this means for the individual member and the community at large I believe is very significant. Leaving the agenda of the NGO as a price that comes with a gift that a lot of these marginal communities deserve, consider the good that comes from this new dynamic. In exposing environmental worries that threaten livelihood [excessive logging, fishing, environmental
Drawing on a range of sources, discuss what might be the 'core' of modern geography and comment upon the forces that are contributing to, or working against, intellectual fragmentation.
4. Geography is a discipline in which there is nothing but 'fragmentation around a defended core' (Johnston, 1998, 139). Drawing on a range of sources, discuss what might be the 'core' of modern geography and comment upon the forces that are contributing to, or working against, intellectual fragmentation. R. J. Johnston's article 'Fragmentation around a Defended Core' (1998) is a convincing contention of the belief that geography is a fragmented discipline. By fragmented, Johnston refers to the divide of geography into different specialist sections; this does not only occur in geography, all scholastic disciplines are fragmented to varying degrees (Johnston, 139). Johnston's main arguments concern the higher susceptibility of geography to fragmentation due to the subject having strong links to other branches of learning, the positive and negative impacts of this fragmentation, and the existence/creation of a 'core'. This core binds the fragments together so that they can be commonly referred to as separate branches of geography. Here geography is the parent discipline, if you will. Questions arising from this paper are numerous. Firstly, what is the 'core' that binds together the different fragments of geography? For this, scholars varying definitions of geography need to be consulted. The changing 'identity' of geography is also important and of use here. Secondly, does
A Study of a Hill In the new forest
A STUDY OF A HILL IN THE NEW FOREST. BY: CLAIRE CRUMP FOR: ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES ACCESS DATE: NOVEMBER 2002 WORD COUNT: A Study of a Hill in the New Forest. Objectives: The aim of the investigation was to study & identify the relationship between the changes in vegetation & soil over a hill in the New Forest. Background: The location of the hill was a site in the New Forest in Hampshire known as Dead Mans Hill. Please see map on page 3. It is understood that the site acquired its name during the Second World War, when it was used as a mass grave. The study was undertaken on a dry day in early October. Initially the sky was overcast with a breeze but during the latter part of the investigation the sun came out. At the top of the hill a clear view of surrounding countryside could be had. There was also a car-park and a well used road which ran along side it. The majority of the surrounding land was heathland. Which was covered with grassland, heather, bracken (which was starting to die off) & gorse (some of which was still flowering). There were also a few trees which punctuated the undulating heathland of Dead Mans Hill, including Scots Pine, Birch & Oak. Down the hill were several well used tracks & paths. A number of dogs with their owners & horse riders were around during the course of the investigation. There were several free roaming New Forest
"What may cause sea levels to rise? How might rising sea levels pose significant problems for human populations? How might these negative effects be addressed?
Extended Writing - Geography "What may cause sea levels to rise? How might rising sea levels pose significant problems for human populations? How might these negative effects be addressed? Rising sea levels are one of the effects of global warming and this is a major problem that our world faces today. Briefly global warming is a greenhouse effect on the Earth that is linked to deforestation and an increase in industrial gas emissions into the air. Rising sea levels are caused by polar ice caps in Antarctica and Arctic melting from the warmer temperatures due to global warming. Rising sea levels pose a major problem for large populations living on the coast and this can cause a massive movement of refugees looking to live in-land or in other countries. Many scientists around the world are working on a solution for the problem, but several scientists are contradicting each other on various topics. The main cause of rising sea levels is major melting of mountain glaciers in Antarctica. Ideas as to a possible sea-level rise are estimated at "up to 100 centimetres over the next 100 years". The Pew Centre on Global Climate Change ('PCGCC') have stated that sea levels have risen 25 centimetres in the last 100 years and they say they will rise another 50 centimetres in the next 100 years. The effects on coasts if sea levels were to rise are mass erosion of beaches; major
The Mesolithic era.
The last Ice Age ended 10,000 radiocarbon years ago and saw the beginning of the Mesolithic period (Mithen, 1999). In Europe, the Mesolithic era was a transitional time between the ice ages and post-glacial environments and hunter-gatherers and farming societies. Europe entered into a period of intense climatic change; temperatures increased, ice-sheets retreated and sea levels rose. Much of the European landscape changed from periglacial tundra to deciduous woodland. The proliferation of plant-life, and subsequently wildlife, forced the people of the Mesolithic to adapt to this new and unpredictable environment. Archaeological investigation shows the development and adaptations that occurred throughout the region, but as with today, post-glacial Europe was a vast area with variances in culture and environment that have led to a great diversity in the sites and artefacts that are discovered. The establishment of forest led to differences in the type and patterns of game available for hunting. Whereas Upper Palaeolithic bands hunted predictable migratory game such as reindeer their Mesolithic successors had to create new subsistence strategies to deal with the multitude of species that faced them (Fagan, 2001). Legge and Rowley-Conwy (In Pryor, 2003) provides evidence of the variety in Mesolithic diets by analysing animal bones found at Starr Carr. They showed that wild