UNIT 3 TOPICAL UPDATES & TEACHING SUGGESTIONS (WINTER 2010-11)

This resource contains topical updates and teaching suggestions that may be of use to
teachers delivering Unit 3 of the Edexcel GCE Geography Specification. All information
is drawn from newspaper reports (key data sources are the Financial Times and
Guardian newspapers).

Topic 1: Energy security

ENERGY SUPPLY, DEMAND & SECURITY

„ Energy rivals scramble to secure resources 1

China is now the world’s second largest economy and the world’s leading exporter of manufactured
goods. 70% of Chinese energy is supplied by coal reserves found within the country itself. Much of its
remaining energy needs are met by imports of oil (after the USA, China is the world’s second largest
importer of crude oil).

China imports its oil primarily from the Middle East; and is also prepared to import from countries and
regimes that the West is reluctant to deal with, like Sudan and Burma. As an overview, we can say that
China relies heavily on oil from Middle Eastern and African sources, whilst the USA looks primarily
towards Latin America (see below).

It is widely predicted that in the long term the two superpowers must start competing over sources of
crude oil. At the moment, China accounts for half of current world growth in oil demand. As long as its
economic growth rate remains high at around 10% per annum, so too will China require ever-increasing
energy supplies. Although it has the largest global population, its per capita energy use is currently fairly
low - less than a third of the US figure. However, this is set to change during the 21st Century.

Images (c) Financial Times

Activity: Practice question - building synoptic links

Study the Figures above which show changing energy trends and relationships. Evaluate the possible
importance of energy security as an influence on the future superpower status of different countries.
(15 marks)

(Tips: think about whether China’s growth can be sustained or America’s current position as number
one superpower upheld without guaranteed energy security; you may also consider whether major oil
suppliers such as Saudi Arabia will become even more important global players in the future).
ENERGY SECURITY AND THE FUTURE

„ Toxic fallout of China’s solar panel boom 2

One recent newspaper report weighs up the environmental sustainability of China’s recent move towards
boosting alternative energy supplies both for itself and for the countries it trades with. The production of
solar panels in China is said to be causing serious environmental damage. Over half of the world’s solar
panels are mass manufactured in China, buoyed by rising European and north American demand for
renewable “green” energy supplies. However, the pollution caused in the creation of these panels is
anything but green.

Solar panel manufacturers in Europe and the USA are legally required to use expensive recycling
techniques to deal with the waste products. In contrast, the Chinese factories have less clear instruction
and often just dump the chemical waste produced by the manufacturing of solar panels. This is reported
to have caused widespread environmental damage. Contamination by silicon tetrachloride is alleged to
have caused air, soil and water pollution in the local environment around the solar panel factories.
Crops are failing and rivers are poisoned.

The situation has become so bad that the ReneSola factory has now been forced by the Chinese
Government to overhaul its waste disposal system. But the action may come too late for local villagers
whose water supplies “turned black and stank of chemicals”. One local stated: “lots of farmers in our
village have died of cancer.” In recent years, the Chinese government has become more sensitive to
pollution issues. However, whilst it may have dealt with one major offender there are still other solar
panel competitors at work who are polluting heavily.

Activity: Research opportunity

Find out more (and view slideshow) here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/AR2008030802595.html

Topic 3: Biodiversity Under Threat

MANAGING BIODIVERSITY

„ Biodiversity summit sets targets for 2020 3

Key players from around 190 nations met recently at the United Nations COP10 biodiversity conference
in order to help “prevent the worst loss of life the earth has seen since the death of the dinosaurs”.
Delegates agreed to set the Aichi Targets – a series of goals that includes:

• cutting natural habitat loss by a half,

thereby protecting biodiversity
• increasing terrestrial nature reserves to 17%
of the world’s land area by 2020 (the
current figure is 10%)
• boosting the percentage of the world’s
oceans that are protected from fishing and
over-exploitation – the target is to increase
the figure from 1% to 17%, therefore
creating a much larger space in which fish
and other aquatic life forms can thrive.
“This is a day to celebrate in terms of a new and response to the alarming loss of biodiversity and
ecosystems,” stated one member of the UN.

The conference delegates also agreed on a new treaty, the Nagoya Protocol, which asks national
governments to consider ways in which they can pay financial compensation for genetic material and
traditional medical knowledge which has been collected in the past from poorer countries but is now
widely used in profitable ways. A fund will be set up for developing countries which could be used for
conservation or research centres.

The treaty will come into effect in 2020 after it has been ratified (signed) by each nation involved. There
is still much to be done before then, however, and a further conference is planned for 2012.

Activity: Further research

You can find out more about the COP10 biodiversity conference here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/nagoya

Topic 4: Superpower Geographies

SUPERPOWER FUTURES

„ UK mission to China 4

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and other senior British politicians recently took a trip to China in a
bid to improve trade relations. This was a clear sign that the UK – a leading global superpower of the
past – now views China as a present-day economic superpower with whom a close relationship is
desirable (the UK government recently said it wants to double levels of trade with China over the next
five years). During the visit, UK firm Rolls-Royce signed a £750m deal with China Eastern Airlines.
Britain has also set a target for a rapid expansion of mandarin teaching in its schools and colleges!

However, in line with many other western governments, UK politicians are concerned about China’s lack
of democracy and human rights. In a keynote speech to students in Beijing, Cameron recommended that
China might find it “helpful” to move the system of government there towards a multi-party democracy,
He suggested that prosperity and stability are stronger when linked to economic and political progress.

David Cameron did not specifically mention human rights, though, nor did he discuss the Chinese
winner of the 201o Nobel Peace Prize, Liu Xiaboa, who is currently imprisoned in China and was
prevented from attending the award ceremony. The Chinese have a poor record of human rights but
Mr. Cameron did not wish to offend his hosts by bringing up the topic in public. It is thought that he
raised these matters in private.

Activity: Discussion

Do you think that David Cameron should have criticised China’s human rights failings more openly? Or
does his failure to do so suggest that the UK government views China as a superpower that it cannot risk
offending? What do you think?

„ China and the USA: new naval rivalry 5

China is increasing its military strength and is beginning to rival the USA in more than just financial
terms. China has focused on a dramatic build-up of naval “hard power” in the South China Sea and
possibly beyond into the Indian Ocean. This poses a real challenge to the geopolitical dominance of the
USA in the region.
China is said to be building up its naval power in order to guarantee protection for its oil imports thereby
helping safeguard its own energy security (see the first story). The USA is unhappy: in 2009, Robert
Gates, the US defense secretary stated that new missiles and weapons in the region could “threaten
America’s primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific.” In an earlier speech he said that
developments could “end the operating sanctuary our navy has enjoyed in the western Pacific for the
better parts of six decades”.

Image (c) Financial Times 6

Activity: Practice question

Study the figure above. Using this information and your own knowledge, explain why the USA may feel it
superpower status is increasingly challenged by China. (10 marks)

„ India’s boom fails to feed its own hungry people 7

Despite its fast economic growth, emerging superpower India is still home to hundreds of millions of
people who continue to live in poverty. In 2010, India’s economy grew at 8.5%, making it the second
biggest growing economy in the world after China. However this success is a result of two-speed
growth: the economic boom is concentrated in India’s southern states, which are home to a group of
major global businesses. In other parts of India, in contrast, too many people suffer from malnutrition
and starvation (see the map on the next page that shows the wealth of different Indian states).

In December 2010, Professor Amartya Sen, the Nobel laureate economist, stated that it was “stupid” for
India’s Government to have achieved dramatic economic growth without yet helping many millions of
Indians to escape chronic undernourishment. In order to be seen as a responsible superpower, he
suggested that India should act quickly to improve the lives of all of its 1.2 billion population.
• In some states like Utter Pradesh, the per capita income is significantly lower than the national
average and the national income gap is getting worse not better.
• The obvious result is that many are malnourished in Utter Pradesh - despite some economic growth,
the average calories consumed by the poorest has remained at the same level for the last 10 years.
• In eleven out of the nineteen Indian states, 80% of the population suffers from anemia.
• More than 50% of India’s children suffer from stunting and inadequate nutrition.

Source (c) Financial Times 8

Activity: Practice question

Study the information and map above. Using these data and your own knowledge, explain why different
groups of people may have contrasting views about whether India is close to gaining superpower status.
(10 marks)
Topic 5: Bridging the Development Gap.

THE CAUSES OF THE ‘DEVELOPMENT GAP’

„ A measure of cheer: development and ‘life

satisfaction’ 9

Development is a multi-strand concept: we consider

social as well as economic indicators, for instance.
Should we also try to measure national happiness as
part of the development equation? Some people
think so. There is now a growing global interest in
what makes us happy.

Studies of global happiness throw up interesting and

challenging results. Researchers of “Happiness
Economics” discovered the Easterlin Paradox, which
states that although many consider money to be
imperative in improving happiness, richer societies
do not appear to be any happier than middle income
ones.

As the old adage has it, money does not seem to buy
happiness. So Happiness Economics researchers
are now trying to find out what does. But it is
difficult to find valid and reliable data, especially
when comparing countries or social changes over
time.

New UK-based surveys will be examining how

people spend their time and how they feel doing
specific activities, ranging from commuting to eating
dinner. Data from this new research is due to be
published later in 2011.

Activity: Practice question

Study the Figure (right). Using this information and

your own ideas, explain how economic development
can affect a country’s social and development.
(10 marks)

Source (c) Financial Times 10

REDUCING THE ‘DEVELOPMENT GAP’

„ UN warns of missed MDG hunger target 11

The Millennium Development Goals included the target that by 2015 the number of
undernourished people in developing countries would be halved. However, it is now ten years since the
goals were set – and we are nowhere near achieving that figure. In order to meet the MDG goal on
hunger reduction, the world still needs to cut the number of those on the verge of starvation by 500
million. A small success registered in 2010 when the figure dropped by 10% from 1 billion in 2009 to
925 million. However, the MDG global agreement to halve the number of people suffering from
undernourishment runs out in 2015. So what are the future trends for poverty reduction?

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is worried that the 10% drop in 2010 of those
suffering from undernourishment is now probably unrepeatable due to an on-going global rise in price of
wheat, meat and sugar. “In order to tackle the root causes of hunger, governments should encourage
investment in agriculture, expand safety nets and social assistance programmes and enhance income-
generating activities” stated the FAO. It also warned that figures could rise as a result of population
growth, the recent flooding in Pakistan and the earthquake in Haiti, two destinations that already suffer
from chronic hunger.

Topic 6: The Technological Fix?

THE GEOGRAPHY OF TECHNOLOGY

„ Research is shifting to Asia12

America’s Silicon Valley used to be the world’s number one

destination for the technology industry; however financial
investors may be losing interest. Asia is now giving Silicon
Valley a run for its money.

The USA remains for now the world leader in terms of

research in many areas; it employs 70% of the world’s Nobel
prizewinners and is home to 15 of the world’s top 20
universities. However, the global picture is changing rapidly
and China now employs 1.4 million researchers - a number
that matches those of the US (see left).

Silicon Valley is attracting less entrepreneurial talent than it

used to. Many US venture capitalists are currently shifting
investment towards Asia. Additionally many Asian
immigrant entrepreneurs who had moved to Silicon Valley
are now returning home.

The 1980s saw electronics manufacturing move to Asia and

the 1990s saw information technology back-office and media
post-production work gravitate towards India. Now it is
thought that sections of cutting edge research and
development are moving east too.

Biotechnology and medical research has taken off in South

Korea. China is becoming an important player in green
technology development, with its government working hard
to be seen as the world leader in this field.

Source: Financial Times 13

REFERENCES
1 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/533b8d50-24bf-11e0-a919-00144feab49a.html#axzz1CtrLjZ8D
2 ‘Toxic fallout of China’s solar panel boom’ by Richard Sheridan & Richard Jones c/o The Sunday Times
3 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/29/biodiversity-talks-ministers-nagoya-strategy Image © Misuam Ck
4 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/546f7bce-ec15-11df-b50f-00144feab49a.html
5 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aab96b50-232b-11e0-b6a3-00144feab49a.html
6 www.ft.com/cms/aff80c2a-233a-11e0-b6a3-00144feab49a.jpg
7 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/baf1f800-0df2-11e0-86e9-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1DYuNc7z4
8 www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6f65e20e-0dfa-11e0-86e9-00144feabdc0.jpg
9 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/990cbbde-11e5-11e0-92d0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1DYuNc7z4
10 b61dd128-11f3-11e0-92d0-00144feabdc0
11 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7c88edf6-bfde-11df-9628-00144feab49a.html#axzz1EDfxXJnA
12 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/33902778-2405-11e0-bef0-00144feab49a.html#axzz1EDfxXJnA
13 04826ca6-23fc-11e0-bef0-00144feab49a