The Impacts of UK Industry on the Environment
Geography: AQA GCSE, topic 5.2.3
The Impacts of UK Industry on the Physical Environment
The shift from the secondary manufacturing sector to tertiary and quaternary services is good for the environment.
Less manufacturing is good for the environment
- Manufacturing usually produces more harmful chemicals and more greenhouse gases than information technology industries.
- However, the UK still consumes the same number of goods, they are just produced elsewhere and imported. The damage caused by the UK's consumption could actually be worse if the goods are produced in countries with lower levels of environmental regulation.
New factories & buildings can be more efficient
- New technologies allow houses to be built with better insulation, meaning that less energy is needed to heat them. Materials can be recycled and chemicals can be captured more easily.
- Tata Chemicals have built a plant in Cheshire that uses Carbon Capture and Storage to take carbon from the air, before then using the carbon to make glass & baking soda.
- Celtic Renewables is a business that tries to make biofuels from the waste products of whiskey production.
- Jaguar Land Rover's new factory in Wolverhampton uses solar panels and recycling to reduce its impact on the environment.
Test yourself on The Impacts of UK Industry on the Environment
Where did Jaguar Land Rover build an engine manufacturing plant in 2014 that had many sustainable design features?
Why could less manufacturing in the UK actually be bad for the global environment?