INTERGENERATIONAL EQUITY

Intergenerational & Spatial Inequity

Enquiry Questions

  • Do we have a responsibility to leave our environment better than we found it for future generations?

  • Do we have a responsibility to ensure future generations have access to the same or greater resources/living standards?

  • Do we have a responsibility to ensure that other nations don’t bear the burden of our actions?

  • Do we have a responsibility to allow natural resources to be available for future generations?

  • Are these individual responsibilities or national/global responsibilities?

Scale

  • Scale refers to the spatial level at which geographical phenomena are explored.

  • Scales in Senior Geography:

    • Individual/Personal

    • Local

    • Regional

    • National

    • International

    • Global

  • Control is primarily at the local scale, but all scales are interconnected.

Intergenerational Inequity

  • Intergenerational inequity refers to the unfair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens between current and future generations.

  • Present generations, especially in industrialized nations, exploit resources and emit high levels of greenhouse gases.

  • This leaves future generations to deal with the consequences.

Who Causes the Problems?

  • Past and present generations (industrial revolutions, fossil fuel dependence).

  • Industrialized nations:

    • High emissions.

    • Deforestation.

    • Unsustainable economic growth.

  • Corporations:

    • Over-extraction of resources.

    • Plastic waste.

    • Pollution.

  • Short-term policies:

    • Governments prioritizing economic growth over environmental sustainability.

Oil Production and Consumption

  • Consideration of which countries produce the most oil and which consume the most fossil fuels.

  • Analysis can be total or per capita.

Tale of Two Graphs

  • The type of map is a cartogram.

  • Cartograms distort geographic areas to reflect the magnitude of a chosen variable rather than their actual land area.

  • An example used is oil production.

Oil Consumption Data

  • Consumption (million oil-equivalent tons):

    • Canada: 150

    • United States: 2,656

    • Saudi Arabia: -620

  • Per capita consumption (oil-equivalent tons):

    • Trinidad and Tobago: 8.3

    • Kuwait: 19.1

    • Turkmenistan: No data

    • United Arab Emirates: 2.1

    • Qatar: 4.4

    • Singapore: 0.2

    • Australia: 5

  • Only the top 10 countries for per capita consumption are given.

Spatial Inequity

  • Spatial inequity in environmental change and management refers to the unequal distribution of environmental benefits and burdens across different geographic areas.

  • Some communities experience greater exposure to environmental degradation, while others have better access to resources and environmental protection measures.

  • Causes:

    • Natural causes: Landlocked countries might have less access to freshwater or experience different natural weather patterns and access to resources.

    • Human Causes: Climate change, pollution.

Research Task: Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

  • SIDS are a group of low-lying coastal countries that share unique geographic, economic, and environmental vulnerabilities.

  • Research Questions:

    • Q1. List 5 countries that could be considered SIDS.

    • Q2. Find an estimate of sea level rise by the year 2100 (upper and lower limit) from a reliable source.

    • Q3. Find a graph/chart/image etc. that impacts the change in sea level rise on one SIDS nation.

    • Q4. Outline the key objectives of Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

    • Q5. What key victory did they achieve in 2023?