Case Study 15: Economic Activity And The Environment: China Air-Pollution, Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill, Tourism In Cancun

Question 1

What are the local impacts of China’s air-pollution

Answer 1

• factories of cause a problem -> Burning of fossil fuels releases nitrogen oxide (N02) – a pollutant that combines with moisture in the air and results in acid rain
• it also causes breathing and health difficulties
• car ownership has increased rapidly – which also admit an NO2
• The result is a thick smoke of pollution that hangs over eastern China
• European space agency have shown that emissions in nitrogen oxide in China increased by 50% in the period from 1995–2005
• 400,000 Chinese people die every year from diseases caused by air-pollution
• World Bank says that 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China

Question 2

Where is the location of the Gulf of Mexico

Answer 2

Gulf of Mexico, south of states Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi and north of Mexico

Question 3

What is the management for the government to call oil spill

Answer 3

Collect and remove the oil from the water:

1. use booms and coral the oil then skim is to “scrape” its of the surface
2. Burn it in a controlled manner
3. Let it degrade

Question 4

When did the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico occur

Answer 4

2010

Question 5

What was the cause of the oil spill

Answer 5

• natural gas caught fire on the oil rig and cause a mass fire. Oil then leaked into the Gulf
• Oil and water don’t mix so lots of oil sank and floated in planes under the surface, the rest floated on the surface of the ocean

Question 6

What are the impacts of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill

Answer 6

• an estimated 200,000,000 gallons of oil flowed into the golf from 5000 feet below the surface
• Fish died
• rare turtles consumed a lot of oil making them ill
• dispersants ( One of the management techniques) harm wildlife
• lots of oil washed up onto beaches

Question 7

what factors make Cancun, Mexico the ideal location for a tourism resort

Answer 7

• Sun sea and sand: long white sandy beaches
• Sea temperatures are above 25°C all year round, making it ideal for water sports
• The tropical location means that hot temperatures all year – lots of sunshine and blue sky is, especially in the dry season from November to March
• Second longest barrier reef
• rainforests
• turtle and birdwatching
• archaeological means of the Mayan civilisation

Question 8

Funator

Answer 8

• The Mexican national tourism development agency believed that a new mass was tourist resort would create massive positive multiplier effects
• previously a tiny fishing village in the 1970s. The first hotel opened in 1974

Question 9

What is the social costs of tourism in Cancun

Answer 9

• tourist enclave: tourists are separated from local communities; tourists spend more money in the company than in local businesses
• locals live in chanted housing up to an hour away from the resort
• local people aren’t allowed on beaches

Question 10

The economic cost of tourism in Cancun

Answer 10

• most airlines that carry the tourist are owned by foreign transnational companies
• The buses have been imported. They take tourist to foreign owned hotels which they have a lot of imported food and drink
• many workers only and five dollars for working a 12–14 hour day
• workers are only offered short, temporary contracts
• local teenagers are jealous of the lives and opportunities of visitors
• local shops go out of business as tourists are discouraged from using them

Question 11

Environmental cost of tourism in Cancun

Answer 11

• tourism should be sustainable – it should have long lasting benefits
• during the building of the resort, thousands of mangrove trees were cleared from the lagoon to make room for you at marinas and watersports
• lagoon badly polluted by sewage and oil spiller from boats
• are you reef getting damaged – coral reefs are very fragile and slow-growing. They are vulnerable to disease is – sewage being thrown in the sea
• New hotels are built with better energy solutions
• creation of a ‘sacrificial reef’

Question 12

How has China developed

Answer 12

• 1990s China’s economy has been growing rapidly
• Chinese MNCs have been making everything from shoes to high-tech electronics
• as China’s gross national income (GNI) or average income per person has grown, fewer people in China live in poverty and standards of living have increased
• it is estimated that in 2020 China’s GNI will be similar to the USA today
• this type of growth is unsustainable