GCSE Case Studies overview table

PSL + Causes

Social

Economic

Environmental

ST

LT Sustainability

Confluence, 6cm rain 2

hours
(antecedent),
thin
clay
soils,
impermeable bedrock,
urban, steep sides, low
bridges (dam)

Over 50 buildings damaged,

possessions
inside
destroyed,
lost
homes,
stress, 100 cars washed
away

Damaged
pavements
hazard, 300m sewage
pipes
washed
away
contaminate water, trees
uprooted

Helicopters
airlift
100, almost every
Cornwall
County
Fire Brigade station,
remain for week to
cleanup,

Channelising Jordan, raise car parks, flood

defences and bridges, plant trees
(sustainable will last and prevent flood)

150 million area, Dhaka

14 million, majority
country
below
1m
above sea level, snow
melt
Himalayas,
monsoon,
combined
catchment more than
110 million hectares,
deforestation

Around 900 deaths from

drowning, 860,000 homes
damaged,
2.5
million
farmers affected so food
shortages and starvation,
dysentery,
cholera
and
diarrhoea from wells

25 businesses destroyed, locals

lost jobs, insurance claims 20
million pounds, insurance prices
rise so more expensive to live
there, tourism 90% income but
attractions gone (Visitor Centre)
and tourists fear
Parts
of
Dhaka
(airport,
business, government) under
2m water, 2.5 million farmers
affected with drowned livestock
and destroyed crops so loss of
income and seeds next year,
food shortages and inflation, 12
million repairs divert away from
economic development

2/3 flooded, polluted wells

for million with silt,
sewage and debris, salty
water no crops,

Transports
destroyed
ActionAid

links
slowed,

Plant trees, Dhaka Integrated Flood

Protection Project $100 million e.g.
embankments, Oxfam small scale flood
defence schemes e.g. shelters 100
families, raised land livestock
(focus on minimising effects not reducing
causes so unsustainable, lack international
cooperation, flood protection redundant
global warming, expensive unsustainable)

9,0 Richter scale, NE

coast Honshu
Philippine,
Eurasian
and Pacific Plates,
destructive,
Pacific
subducted
under
Eurasian,
epicentre
18km below surface

Around 16,000 deaths, most

due to drowning from the
tsunami, , around 130,000
buildings collapse, over
500,000 homeless, fires gas
pipes, 24,00 stranded by
transport
destruction,
radiation (atomic divorces)

Destroyed
transport
links
(airport, ports, railways, roads),
internet and mobiles down,
electricity, gas and water gone,
business lost e.g. Toyota and
fishing, $309 billion cost 4%
GDP (most expensive natural
disaster), sea wall

Tsunami
destroyed
Fukushima
reactor,
radioactive leakage water,
food and land, around
24,000 hectares farmland
damaged due to salt
water, 24 million tonnes of
debris take 2.5 years to
clean

Transport
links
destroyed
slowed,
aircrafts used to
assess
damage,
military, emergency
services and UK
experts search and
rescue,
local
hospitals struggle

Fishing industry and agriculture destroyed,

electrical companies leave, radioactivity
remains, families suffer from stress and
loss, almost all landlines and water return
November, disaster prevention routes
roads, roads and buildings reinforced
(unsustainable but rebuilding to higher
standard and reviewing nuclear program)

LEDC Tectonic
Haiti
12/01/2010

7.0
Richter
scale,
Caribbean and North
American
plate
boundary, conservative,
epicentre 13km below
surface

30,000 commercial buildings

destroyed,
government
buildings, transport links (port,
airport), -8% GDP 2010, $10
billion cost (more than GDP
2009),
aid
affected
other
countries

Bodies in streets as
morgues
overwhelmed
after 2 days, rubble in
streets,
river
water
infected
with
cholera
through sewage

Category 5, max wind

175mph,
Gulf
of
Mexico

Agriculture
(sugar
cane)
damaged by 8.5m storm surge,
industry (30 oil platforms)
destroyed insurance pay outs
$34 billion, raised premiums or
stopped insuring so prices fall

LEDC Climatic
Cyclone Nargis
Myanmar
27/04-03/04/08

Category 4, max winds

135mph, Indian Ocean

30 oil platforms leaked 7

million gallons oil into sea,
damaged
wildlife
and
contaminated water, 16
National Wildlife Refuges
closed, lost safe protected
habitat threaten existence
75,000 swamp destroyed
(natural sea defence and
habitat), water polluted by
salt
water,
rubbish,
sediment and sewage
through storm surge, fields
infertile from salt water

Transport
links
destroyed
slowed,
huge
international
aid (20 million UK),
government
lose
control due to death
of
officials
and
destruction
of
buildings
Evacuate city, refuge
in
Superdome,
became unsanitary,
federal government
response but initially
slow

Pledges not followed through, other

disasters, 2% rubble cleared after 6
months, many still living in camps,
government still ineffective, poverty meant
people couldnt leave/ help themselves,
cant earn money, no changes in
regulations to reduce impact, rely on aid
(unsustainable)

MEDC Climatic
Hurricane Katrina
New Orleans
23-30/08/05

230,000 deaths, government

officials, 300,000 injured,
Cholera outbreak, 250,000
homes
destroyed
(not
earthquake proof), 1 million
homeless, tent cities slow
set-up so slept on streets,
lack of water, food and
sanitation in camps
Over 1800 died, 1 million
homeless, mostly floods
80% of city, cannot afford
repairs and no insurance,
looting,
carjarking
and
murder increased, police
needed elsewhere
Over 130,000 deaths, most
immediate due to 3.5m
storm surge, around due
to thirst, starvation drowning
and
disease,
450,000
homes destroyed, 350,000
homes damaged

Rivers/ Coasts
MEDC Flood
Valency & Jordan
Boscastle,
Cornwall
16/08/04
LEDC Flood
Brahmaputra,
Ganges, Meghna
Bangladesh
07-09/08

Natural Hazards
MEDC Tectonic
Sendai, Japan
11/03/11

Electricity lines destroyed, roads

destroyed hampering trade,
600,000 hectares agricultural
land destroyed, 65% rice fields,
50%
livestock,
huge
unemployment (farmers and
fishermen), $10 million cost

Transport
links
destroyed
slowed,
huge
international
aid (17 million UK),
military junta refused
aid
and
barred
workers
at
first,

Levees (St. Charles) rebuilt and raised,

floodgates and pumps, quarter homes
empty, reorganised FEMA (Federal
Emergency Management Agency)
(sustainable learnt from mistakes but
global warming may make levees
unsustainable)
Government
releases
very
little
information, 17,000 houses rebuilt and
500,000 still in shelters one year later
(difficult to judge but no evidence of better
preparation so probably unsustainable)

diverted away from other areas

Economic
Development
Aid Project
Greening Dafur
El Fashir

MEDC Industrial
Activity
Cambridge
Science Park

corruption

What
43
communities,
benefit
around 70,000, rely on land
for food and livelihood, recent
conflict and land led to less
produce, provides seeds,
water and crop knowledge
Over 100 businesses, mostly
quaternary
industry, e.g.
company invented Bluetooth

LEDC Industrial
Activity
Fiat
Betim, Brazil

Opened 1976, 2 million m3,

10,000 employees, up to
800,000 vehicles/ year

MNC
Coca-Cola
Mehdiganj, India

Founded 1886, over 200

countries, employs around
140,000,
3,500
different
products

Development and
Environment
Conflict
Pearl River Delta
SE China

Guangzhou, GDP grow 16%/

year (1980-2006), 30 million
employed, heavy and high
tech industry, close to Hong
Kong international business
while cheap land and labour,
less restrictive economic
policies,
build
excellent
infrastructure,
Chinese
government want control,
workers poor conditions, low
pay and long hours, no rights,
outsource skilled jobs

Social - Reliable food source improves health,

educated about crops, use money for other
things, knowledge passed on to others,
promotes reliance on agriculture
Cambridge Physical
less than half average
UK rainfall/ year, around
150 extra hours of sun/
year compared to UK
average,
sem-rural
landscape attractive
Brazil Physical -

Economic - Buying seeds and developing

rainwater harvesting initiatives initial costs,
knowledge is free, money comes from donors,
seeds produced so wont have to buy in future,
surplus sold, cheap seeds

Environmental - Vegetation holds together soil

(desertification), trees habitats for animals, knowledge to
give soil period of rest for nutrients, dangers of pesticide
and insectide, seeds produced each year, transport of
aid workers CO2 emissions

Cambridge Human - transport links (M11 to Science Park Physical - Science Park Human business facilities
London, 45mins train to Kings Cross, close to landscaped provide serene (Innovation Centre to start up businesses and
Stansted airport), trained graduates University environment, 20 acres public 5 fibre optic systems), social facilities (Trinity
cheap,
move
between
companies, grounds, buildings not visible, centre includes restaurant, cafe and bar,
collaboration with University, land and labour car
parks
and
rubbish health and fitness club, nursey), innovation
cheaper than London, residences around 100 screened
milieu (new firms attracted by collections of
cheaper than London
smaller firms to share ideas, workers)
Brazil Human car market growing Brazil (1 in Betim Physical rich in raw Betim Human large and so cheap labour
12 1980, 1 in 8 today), rapid population growth materials (iron ore), Minas pool of around 400,000 and growing, excellent
(1.134%), large and increasing market no Gerais state many steelworks, transport links especially to Rio de Janiero and
need for expensive transport, government less than 300km from coast, coast (BR381, BR262, railway), site already
offered money and cheap land, allow take most of population lives there, had sewerage, electricity and road links
profits back to Italy, less strict health, safety international ports, all cheaper
and environmental laws so cheaper
transport
Why typical wage Social - wealthy farmers Economic - rice and grain Environmental - 1l used for Sustainability - jobs provide income,
below 1/day, water lose income and land so down
40%,
100 0.33l bottle, water table drop chance education, improve infrastructure
free in most of India, status, water peaceful permanent staff paid 1/ 60m up to 3km away, only (roads for transport)
India NIC so emerging protestors
beaten 8hr, majority day labourers subclimax vegetation reach (sustainable)
consumers
(broken bones), women paid 70p/ 12hr, injured groundwater,
water-poor locals affected farming and daily lives,
jailed, men turned away
sacked no compensation
47C, toxic water water
pressure on and pollution of water
(unsustainable)
Air - CO2 and smog from cars, industry Management - targets 2010 Water - heavy industry, factories and Management - set standards for
and power plants increase Greenhouse reduce 40% SO2 and 20% NOx, sewage, cheapest way to get rid of different types of water (not
effect, No.1 in Co2 production over 7,700 reduce coal and oil usage, filtering pollution, 70% water untreated and 62% controlled
enough,
many
tonnes 2010, increase freak weather, emissions, encourage clean or grade IV or below 2007, some pH1, chemicals
not
monitored),
change spread of precipitation, SO2 and public transport, 2008 SO2 13% Bromine, Magnesium and Beryllium, encourage clean manufacture so
NOx cars and industry dissolve in and Nox 29%, reduce carbon dont break done, bio-accumulation, harmful water not produced,
rainwater, 80% rain Guangzhou acid intensity 17% 2015 40-45% 2020 toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenicity, over Chinese government $7.1 billion
rain, respiratory problems, soil releases (but as GDP increases can meet 90 species fish face extinction 2005, to build 30 sewage plants and
mercury and aluminium, lower pH water, without reducing CO2)
Chinese white dolphin endangered, water treatment facilities, fines to
damage plants and animals, aluminium
eutrophication
stop illegal dumping (hard to
Alzheimers, buildings,
monitor