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EUROPEAN CASE STUDIES. POPULATIONS IN TRANSITION: UK AGEING POPULATION. According to recent estimates, the number of people over 60 could rise by 40% in the next 30 years, although there is much dispute about the figures.
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According to recent estimates, the number of people over 60 could rise by 40% in the next 30 years, although there is much dispute about the figures. With people living longer and longer because of medical and other advances, health experts believe the number of people suffering from debilitating conditions such as cancer and heart disease will grow and could mean a rising demand for nursing care. In the UK, heart expert Professor Michael Marmot has warned that there could be "a huge increase in the number of people suffering from coronary heart disease" in the next century. A recent Help the Aged report says: "Without a boost in those services which support independence, there is likely to be increasing pressure on those that cater for dependence: our hospitals, nursing and residential homes." the budget deficit will climb higher and higher as those pensioners collect their retirement and medical benefits – all to be paid by a shrinking core of taxpayers. further option is the immigration of skilled labour, which can help boost the labour market in general or specific types of skilled labour. But Britain would be required to drastically increase its current level of immigration of economically active workers to offset the impact of demographic change. This could certainly add further stress to an already controversial area of political debate. Increasing the age of retirement is a politically and socially controversial policy. The UK government looks set to introduce this in the near future. Under current government policy, the state pension age for women will gradually rise from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020. For both men and women it will rise further, from 65 to 68, between 2024 and 2046.
In May, Vladimir Putin, alarmed at Russia's declining population , which is falling thanks to short life expectancy and a plummeting birthrate (1.17 children per woman, down from about 2 in 1990), offered a bonus of 250,000 rubles (about $9,200) to women who would have a second child. giving a Russian $9,200 in cash is like giving an American $36,112. Would that be enough to convince lots of Americans to assume the financial responsibilities associated with an additional child? in 2000, Russia achieved what Russians consider a dubious milestone, deaths (2,225,300) outnumbered births (1,266,800) by an astounding 958,500. The crude birth rate had sunk to 8.7 births per 1,000 population. Along with a crude death rate of 15.3, natural increase hit an all-time low of –6.6 per 1,000, or –0.7 percent rounded off. The program must have worked since births in 2007 jumped to 1,610,100 from 1,479,600 the previous year and have rising ever since. This is one of the very few “success stories” in the industrialized countries’ efforts to raise the birth rate. Regardless of the permanency of recent years' improvement in fertility Russia cannot escape a rapid process of ageing. More than anything, this is why I so ardently argue against lumping Russia together with India and Brazil or more specifically; in Russia there is no positive demographic dividend in sight; rather what we have is a negative one. The plan included longer maternity leave, increased child benefits and most notably a full USD 9000 payment to women opting to have a second child Brainerd (2006).
The EU is the world's biggest trading bloc consisting of 27 member states. One aim of the EU was to create a single market where goods, money and people could travel freely between member states. Through the relaxation of protectionist policies, the free movement of labour and even the removal of exchange rates for Eurozone countries it was believed that all member states would benefit through increased job creation and income. Despite the EU helping growth in many member countries the current global crisis has hit the EU and in particular the Eurozone hard. The common currency has also meant that countries can no longer set their own interest rates which have harmed countries trying to slow growth or increase growth through the use of lowering or highering interest rates Since 1975 Europe gave Caribbean countries and a couple of other former colonies generous import quotas of bananas free from tariffs. The idea was to support former colonies & reduce the need for aid, by promoting trade. it made Latin American bananas more expensive because they had to pay tariffs despite the fact they should be cheaper to produce on larger plantations dominated by US TNCs (Dole, Chiquita & Del Monte). Not everyone was happy about this, especially country's like Germany who had lost all its former colonies, but were still paying too much for smaller Caribbean bananas. Because of the EUs hypocritical approach to free trade protests were made by the US and Latin American producers to the WTO. After years of failed negotiations a deal was finally struck in 2009 that would begin the slow reduction of tariffs on bananas. The agreement may hurt some Caribbean and African producers, but should see banana prices fall by up to 12% for European consumers.
By 2004, total electricity production stood at 382.7 TWh (up 23.7% compared to 309.4 TWh in 1990), generated from the following sources: gas – 39.93% (0.05% in 1990) coal – 33.08% (67.22% in 1990) nuclear – 19.26% (18.97% in 1990) renewables – 3.55% (0% in 1990) hydroelectric – 1.10% (2.55% in 1990) imports – 1.96% (3.85% in 1990) oil – 1.12% (6.82% in 1990) Government policy plays a key role in limiting greenhouse gas emissions toward avoiding dangerous climate change, and in meeting energy demand. Shifting availabilities of resources and development of technologies also change the country's energy mix through changes in costs. At the beginning of March 2012, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was 6,580 megawatts (MW), with 333 operational wind farms and 3,506 wind turbines in the United Kingdom. The country is ranked as the world's eighth largest producer of wind power. United Kingdom produced 60% of its consumed natural gas in 2010. In five years the United Kingdom moved from almost gas self-sufficient (see North Sea Gas) to 40% gas import in 2010. In tackling the energy trilemma saving energy is the cheapest of all measures. MP and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Davey pointed out in November 2012 that a modest 10% reduction in 2030 means five fewer power stations and £4bn cut from bills. The UK government has efficiency measures to cut the UK's energy use by 11% by 2020, that enable to replace 22 UK power stations while providing a major boost to the economy and living standards.
The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the fisheries policy of the European Union (EU). It sets quotas for which member states are allowed to catch what amounts of each type of fish, as well as encouraging the fishing industry by various market interventions. Fishing is a relatively unimportant economic activity within the EU. It contributes generally less than 1% to gross national product. In 2007 the fisheries sector employed 141,110 fishermen. In 2007, 6.4 million tonnes of fish were caught by EU countries. The EU fleet has 97,000 vessels of varying sizes. In Fraserburgh, Scotland, the Fishing Industry creates 40% of employment and a similar figure is in Peterhead. They are the EU's largest fishing ports and home to the Pelagic vessel fleet. It is often in areas where other employment opportunities are limited. For this reason, community funds have been made available to fishing as a means of encouraging regional development. TABLE COURTESY OF http://greenfieldgeography.wikispaces.com/conservation+strategies
The main shock occurred at 03:32 CEST (01:32 UTC) on 6 April 2009, and was rated 5.8 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale The earthquake was felt throughout central Italy; 297 people are known to have died, making this the deadliest earthquake to hit Italy since the 1980 The earthquake caused damage to between 3,000 and 11,000 buildings in the medieval city of L'Aquila. In a subsequent inquiry of the handling of the disaster, seven members of the Italian National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks were accused of giving "inexact, incomplete and contradictory" information about the danger of the tremors prior to the main quake. On 22 October 2012, six scientists and one ex-government official were convicted of multiple manslaughter for downplaying the likelihood of a major earthquake six days before it took place. They were each sentenced to six years' imprisonment. 297 people died in the earthquake, and 1,500 injured. Around 65,000 people were rendered homeless. Around 40,000 people who were made homeless by the earthquake found accommodation in tented camps[4] and a further 10,000 were housed in hotels on the coast.[33] Others sought shelter with friends and relatives throughout Italy. Poor building standards or construction materials seem to have further contributed to the large number of victims. According to firefighters and other rescuers, some concrete elements of the fallen buildings "seemed to have been made poorly, possibly with sand" Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi refused foreign aid for the emergency, saying that Italians were "proud people" & had sufficient resources to deal with the crisis.However he singled out the United States, announcing that he would accept aid for reconstruction
HAZARDS & DISASTERS: HUMAN INDUCED HAZARD GLOBAL INTERACTIONS: TRANSBOUNDARY POLLUTION
CHERNOBYL PLANT PRIPYAT UKRAINE (FORMER USSR) 26TH APRIL 1986 The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ultimately involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles. The official Soviet casualty count of 31 deaths has been disputed, and long-term effects such as cancers and deformities are still being accounted for. There was a sudden and unexpected power surge, and when an emergency shutdown was attempted, an exponentially larger spike in power output occurred, which led to a reactor vessel rupture and a series of steam explosions. From 1986 to 2000, 350,400 people were evacuated and resettled from the most severely contaminated areas of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. According to official post-Soviet data, about 60% of the fallout landed in Belarus. The resulting fire sent a plume of highly radioactive fallout into the atmosphere and over an extensive geographical area, including Pripyat. The plume drifted over large parts of the western Soviet Union and Europe. Contamination from the Chernobyl accident was scattered irregularly depending on weather conditions, much of it deposited on mountainous regions such as the Alps, Wales and the Scottish Highlands, where adibatic cooling caused rainfall. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that, among the hundreds of millions of people living in broader geographical areas, there will be 50,000 excess cancer cases resulting in 25,000 excess cancer deaths. For this broader group, the 2006 TORCH report predicts 30,000 to 60,000 excess cancer deaths, and a Greenpeace report puts the figure at 200,000 or more. Western Europe, precautionary measures taken in response to the radiation included seemingly arbitrary regulations banning the importation of certain foods but not others.
The employment rate in Newham is only 56.2% (6.5% London average). The number of Newham residents on job seekers allowance is 6.3%, compared to the UK average of 3.5%. The borough of Newham has a population of about 270,000. The population is very diverse, with only about 32% white British and the rest a mix of ethnic groups It will create 9,000 new homes in the Olympic park (during the games the houses will be used for athletes). At least half of the houses will be low-cost affordable housing. Newham has the 4th worst crime rate in London and the life expectancy is below the national average. In total 1,850km3 of polluted soil will be cleaned (left over from its industrial past) Transportation will be improved (DLR (Docklands Light Railway), East London Line (train line) and Eurostar (international train link to Brussels and Paris). 12,000 new permanent jobs will be created (managing new facilities, working in hotels and new transport links, etc.). Thousands more temporary jobs will be created during the games. A new media centre will be built that will remain after the games for creative arts The positive multiplier effect will attract new businesses e.g. restaurants, sports shops, etc. to Newham. Also money earned by the 12,000 extra people of jobs will be circulated in the local economy. Clearance of settlements, firms and sporting activities: The Clays Lane Peabody Estate (formerly Housing Co-operative) was removed for the event with the displacement of 425 tenants, along with two Gypsy and Traveller sites, 209 Lower Lea Valley businesses (nearly 5,000 jobs dispersed from the area), and the Manor Gardens Society Allotments. the GDP impact of London 2012 could reach £16.5bn. That's an impact driven largely by construction, as contracts for the building of the Olympic venues have filtered through to businesses across the UK.
