The environment

Question 1

What are some examples of environmental issues?

Answer 1

• Pollution
• Climate change
• Loss of biodiversity
• Waste disposal
• Overpopulation
• Ocean acidification
• Deforestation
• Loss of resources
• Ozone layer depletion
• Desertification

Question 2

When did people start to become concerned with the environment?

Answer 2

• By the second half of the 20th century

- It was recognized that pollution of air and water was a serious threat to health.

Question 3

What environmental issues did the north focus on?

Answer 3

• Issues such as global warming, deforestation and conserving habitats.

Question 4

What environmental issues did the south focus in?

Answer 4

• Concerned about the effect of TNCs, uneven trade and Western consumerism in making it difficult for developing countries to avoid problems. (Cudworth 2003)

Question 5

Neoliberal perspective

Answer 5

• Advocates privatisation or the commodification of public goods, extending the market into areas it hasn’t reached before.
• Encourages privatisation of utilities such as water as they argue it would make the use of them more efficient.

Question 6

Saunders (1999)

Answer 6

• Neoliberal
• Sees the solution of the environmental problems in the extension of the free market.
• Capitalism may have contributed to environmental problems but its nature as an ‘unprecedented growth machine’ means that it’ll generate solution to solve the problems.

Question 7

Neo-Malthusian perspective

Answer 7

• Concerned with the implications to the environment from population growth, especially in developing countries.
• Issues come from population rising in LICs putting pressures on marginal land which will lead to problems such as desertification.

Question 8

Dependency theory perspective

Answer 8

• Argue the wealthiest people need curbing due to their high level of consumerism.
• Neoliberal policies have made making changes harder; less government control and more unaccountable TNCs.
• Exploration of South’s resources is generally for the people in the North. Eg. a family collecting wood doesn’t cause as much damage as a timber company exporting wood.