Geography 3AB: The Geography of Climate Change

Geopac 6

Sustainability and Climate Change

Key Learning points
Factors that impact on decisions about sustainability
  • outline the extent to which climate change impacts upon sustainability from local to global scales
  • discuss the key environmental, economic, social and political factors that impact upon decisions about sustainability.
Values and viewpoints in people’s use of places
  • outline the different viewpoints which stakeholders have towards strategies that aim to minimise the effects of climate change e.g. wealthy nations, developing/emerging nations, state and regional governments, environmental groups, multinational corporations, non-government organisations.
Care of places
  • discuss the current and proposed strategies implemented to reduce the adverse effects of climate change
  • discuss how human activity has adapted or may be required to adapt to climate change.

How does climate change affect sustainable practices in Agriculture?

Read pages 248-254

1. What types of climate changes might people in urban and rural settlements face?

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Agricultural Sustainability

2. Explain, giving examples, why some types of farming practices are likely to be affected by climate change more than others

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3. Explain the difference between mitigation and adaptation measures

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4. Briefly outline the main mitigation measures and farming strategies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

  • Soil carbon

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  • Methane emissions

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  • Nitrous oxide emissions

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  • Bio-fuel crops

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  • Reducing farmland

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5. Briefly outline the main adaptation measures and farming strategies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

  • Farming species

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  • Farming routines

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  • Conservation farming

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  • Farming regions

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6. How might climate change affect the sustainability of agriculture in Australia?

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7. How does climate change affect sustainable practices in Urban Settlements?

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Urban Sustainability

p. 254

8. List some of the points from the 2001 Federal Government report ‘AustraliaState of the Environment’ – Human Settlements’ that support the conclusion that Australians are among the world’s highest per capita greenhouse gas emitters.

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9. What are some of the issues which indicate that the sustainability of Australian cities is poor?

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10. Briefly outline some of the mitigation measures that can be implemented to used to reduce the impact that urban functions have in potentially contributing to climate change

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11. Giving examples provide the meaning of the following terms:

Landfill

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Environmental urban footprint

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Transit oriented development

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Pedestrian oriented development

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Biodiversity

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Land-use zoning

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Risk management

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Vulnerability

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P258

12. Give examples to illustrate some of the different strategies that can be implemented in urban environments to adapt to changes in climate - state how these strategies depend on the nature of the climate change, the affected region and the community

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13. Why are urban settlements in less developed countries less able to adapt to climate change?

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P258-60

14. Outline the types of urban planning that higher income countries can implement to help deal with the adverse effects of future climate change

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15. Draw a sustainability model diagram similar to the one on page 261 into the space below. Place each of the NetworkCity planning points in one or more of the three circles (environment, social, economic).

16. Explain how the NetworkCity planning policy meets the objectives of urban sustainability

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Solutions

17. Giving examples provide the meaning of the following terms:

Geo-sequestration

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Cap and trade

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Carbon credits

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Photovoltaic

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Green energy

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Carbon sink

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Biofuel

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18. List the different environmental issues that can affect the sustainability of urban and rural settlements – e.g. air pollution can lead to acid rain and this will impact on agriculture

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P261

19. List some of the strategies that can be taken to reduce the emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases

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20. Draw a diagram of an emissions trading scheme. Identify the types of industries or activities that would be involved I this scheme and write these into the diagram

21. Explain the purpose of a carbon output cap and how it could be used to reduce a country’s total carbon output

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22. Write an explanation of how a carbon trading scheme works and discuss its effectiveness in reducing anthropogenic carbon

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23. Use the following table to summarise the low carbon technologies referred to in the text.

Type of technology

Type of technology / Energy
Source / Advantage / Disadvantage / Potential

Viewpoints

24. Summarise the viewpoints supporting and opposing the arguments that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are causing climate change

Anthropogenic greenhouse gases cause climate change?
Supporting / Opposing

25. List the main stakeholders involved in the climate change debate?

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26. What is the IPCC and what is its role in eh global climate change debate?

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27. What evidence has the IPCC provided to support anthropogenic factors are largely responsible for climate change?

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28. Outline some of the points put forward supporting and opposing the emissions trading scheme

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