Extreme Environments & Sustainable Development (DP IB Geography)

Revision Note

New Technology & Sustainable Development in Cold Environments

  • The ecosystems of cold environments are naturally fragile and provide one of the last wilderness spaces on Earth

  • Economic growth risks pushing these ecosystems into a decline that is impossible to recover from

  • With careful management, it is possible to find a balance between economic growth and saving the cold environments

  • Strategies include:

    • Use of technology to monitor wilderness areas

    • Using appropriate technology to increase sustainability in areas at risk of damage

Sweden

  • Sweden is a heavy consumer of energy due to its development and cold climate

  • However, it has some of the lowest carbon emissions of any developed country

  • Sweden has invested money into renewable energy sources like solar and wind power

  • Sweden gets more than half of its energy from clean sources such as wind, sun, and water

  • 95% of these green energy sources come from hydroelectricity, but solar and wind power are becoming more important 

Solar panels in Stockholm

Solar panels on a rooftop with a wind turbine in the background against a clear blue sky, symbolizing renewable energy sources.
Photo by Nazrin Babashova on Unsplash

Nepal

  • The population of Nepal is mainly rural, with only 16% of the population living in towns and cities

  • Nepal has no coal, oil or gas reserves, so these have to be imported

  • The landscape is mountainous and includes much of the Himalayas, which are an obstacle to providing modern energy

  • Only 10% of the mountain villages have access to electricity, with the remaining villages relying on  fuelwood

  • Nepal does have a good supply of water, enabling the use of small-scale hydroelectric projects

  • Micro-hydro harnesses the power of water to produce electricity 

  • Cheaper, faster and less damaging than large hydroelectric dams, these micro-hydro projects have improved the standard of living in the communities

  • The reliance on kerosene and fuelwood has reduced and emissions have fallen

Method of cooking using a pressurised kerosene stove

A woman holding a child on her lap cooks food in an outdoor setting using a large pan. A gas cylinder is visible in the background.
Photo by Aalok Atreya on Unsplash

New Technology & Sustainable Development in Arid Environments

  • The use of sustainable and suitable technology in arid regions involves major investments in projects that some countries would find difficult to fund

  • Deserts are good for solar energy since they receive high levels of sun

  • Solar panels are expensive to build and buy, so they are only affordable in wealthier nations or where governments or charities can fund them

  • Instead of technology, traditional desert communities use passive cooling and convection currents to make their homes cooler

  • HICs use solar energy more

New Mexico earthship homes

  • Earthship homes in New Mexico's deserts are an example of sustainable housing 

  • Earthship houses are passive solar homes made from natural and recyclable materials that are designed to be 'off-the-grid' and consume no fossil fuels or energy

  • Earthship homes are thermal-mass constructed, which is when they are naturally insulated 

  • To achieve this, walls made of thick mud bricks or old car tyres rammed with earth that are half-buried

  • The design promotes natural convection and cross-ventilation, allowing air to enter the house through windows or louvres and leave through skylights, providing a nice breeze 

  • The homes are oddly shaped to maximise solar energy

  • In winter, sun-facing windows provide heat, while in summer they are shaded

  • Earthship homes use water sustainably by collecting water from their surroundings

  • Water is collected from occasional rain, winter snow, and condensation

  • Water collects on house roofs and travels through a tiny gap into storage cisterns inside

  • Wind energy supplements solar power, and each home has one or more wind turbines that produce electricity to store in batteries

Earthship house 

Photo showing an earthship house partially exposed above ground made of mudbrick
Photo by Natalia Blauth on Unsplash

Desalination

  • Involves the removal of salt from seawater to make it drinkable

  • It is a costly method of increasing fresh water supplies 

  • Seawater, overland flow, and groundwater can be used for desalination

  • The two main methods are:

    • Distillation

      • The traditional way

      • Seawater is heated and boiled

      • The steam produced is condensed 

      • The salt is left behind in the boiler

    • Reverse osmosis

      • Seawater is filtered at high pressure

      • Small tubes syphon off drinkable water

      • The saline solution left behind is pumped back to sea

  • Both methods are still used but reverse osmosis is more modern and efficient

  • Desalination plants are expensive to build and maintain, so they mainly operate in HICs in water-stressed regions

  • Saudi Arabia: water desalination has doubled over the past decade to reach 2.2 billion ㎥ in 2021, up from 1.1 billion in 2010

  • Oman, UAE, Australia and USA are the other big users of desalination

Pros and cons of desalination 

Images showing the positives of desalination such as providing a reliable source of freshwater
Image explaining the disadvantages of desalination such as high levels of  returned salt harm marine life.

Hydroponics

  • Hydroponics is a type of agriculture that grows plants without soil

  • Plants can be grown indoors in carefully-controlled conditions

  • Their roots are suspended into an aqueous solution that contains all the nutrients that they need to grow

  • The solution flows around the greenhouse in channels so all the plants are well supplied with nutrients

  • Lighting can be supplied via solar panels

  • Conditions can be monitored carefully and yields can be improved

    • Yields are not dependent on good weather

    • Tomatoesstrawberriescucumberslettuces and peppers are examples of hydroponically-grown crops

  • This uses 90% less water than traditional farming methods

  • Disadvantages of hydroponics

    • High setup costs

    • There is a high running cost for fertilisers, artificial light and perhaps heat

    • Disease can spread quickly around a hydroponic greenhouse and damage a lot of crop in a short space of time

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