Urbanisation

Refer to textbook page 108 to answer question 1.

You may refer to the DEFINITION of terms and words used in the textbook below to help you with your reading:

Urban areas
– Areas with characteristic of a city (good transport, housing, facilities, services, etc.)

Household
– A house and its occupants

Infrastructure
-Basic facilities, service and installation needed for the function of a country. Example roads and bridges)

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Read the following text to help your group answer question 2, 3, 4 and 5.

In 2004, 8% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emission came from residential and 13% came from transportation. In 2012, greenhouse gas emission from transportation accounted for 28% of United States total greenhouse gas emission. This was due to the increase in population growth hence greater demand for transport, low fuel prices during the beginning of the year and economic growth where people travel more often for business. The table below shows the greenhouse gas emission from transportation in United States (2012). There has been a slight improvement from 2005 onwards due to higher fuel economy standards.

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are released through the burning of fossil fuels (such as diesel, petroleum and gasoline) to power vehicles such as cars, trains, airplane and ships, and to provide energy for cooking, heating, cooling and lighting. Fossil fuels are organic materials that had decomposed for many millions of years and they contain mainly carbon. When burned, the carbon in the fossil fuel they combine with oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide. Organic waste from household sent to landfills emits methane (a greenhouse gas that is 23 times more effective than carbon dioxide in trapping heat) during decomposition.

These greenhouse gases absorbs infrared radiation (long-wave radiation) emitted from the earth’s surface and does not allow much of it to escape into space. With the increase in carbon dioxide and methane released by human activities in urban areas, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase leading to enhanced greenhouse effect. Where the high concentration of greenhouse gases traps “excess” heat in the atmosphere resulting to a rise in global temperature (global warming).