How does consumerism and our growing demand for resources damage the environment?
Key Idea 8.1 (Theme 8): consumerism and its impact on the environment, the growth of consumerism and the rising demand for resources and energy, the ecological footprint, and the environmental impacts including pollution, waste, resource depletion and climate change.
A focused answer on Key Idea 8.1 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 2 (Theme 8): the growth of consumerism and rising demand for resources and energy, the ecological footprint, and the environmental impacts including pollution, waste, resource depletion and climate change.
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What this dot point is asking
This dot point covers Key Idea 8.1 of WJEC Unit 2 Theme 8 (the environmental option): consumerism and its impact on the environment. You need the growth of consumerism and the rising demand for resources and energy, the ecological footprint, and the environmental impacts including pollution, waste, resource depletion and climate change.
The growth of consumerism
The ecological footprint
The environmental impacts
Why the impacts are growing
Try this
Q1. What is the ecological footprint? [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. A measure of how much land and sea area is needed to provide all the resources a person or country consumes and to absorb the waste they produce; a high footprint means using more than the Earth can sustainably provide.
Q2. Explain one reason consumerism has grown. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Rising incomes, especially in newly industrialised countries, mean more people can afford to buy goods; combined with advertising and cheap, quickly replaced products, this has greatly increased how much each person consumes, raising demand for resources and energy.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC Unit 2 (Theme 8)4 marksDescribe the environmental impacts of rising consumerism.Show worked answer →
A short data-response describe question. Reward described impacts.
Resources and waste. Making and using more goods uses up finite resources (minerals, fossil fuels) and creates more waste, including plastic and electronic waste.
Pollution and climate. Extracting, manufacturing and transporting goods, and generating the energy to do so, cause air, water and land pollution and release greenhouse gases that add to climate change.
Top marks. Two or three clear impacts, such as resource depletion, waste, pollution and climate change.
WJEC Unit 2 (Theme 8)6 marksExplain how a high ecological footprint damages the environment.Show worked answer →
A short explain question (levels marking). Reward developed links from consumption to damage.
What it shows. The ecological footprint measures how much land and resources a person or country uses; a high footprint means consuming far more than the Earth can sustainably provide.
The damage. Meeting that demand uses up finite resources, clears land and habitats, and burns fossil fuels, causing pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions that drive climate change, so the environment is degraded faster than it can recover.
Top band. Link high consumption to resource depletion, habitat loss, pollution and climate change.
Related dot points
- Key Idea 8.2 (Theme 8): managing environmental challenges sustainably, the meaning of sustainability, strategies to reduce resource use and waste (reduce, reuse, recycle), the move to renewable energy and sustainable living, and the role of individuals, governments and international agreements.
A focused answer on Key Idea 8.2 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 2 (Theme 8): the meaning of sustainability, strategies to reduce resource use and waste, the move to renewable energy and sustainable living, and the role of individuals, governments and international agreements.
- Key Idea 7.1 (Theme 7): measuring social development, the difference between economic and social development, the indicators of social development (health, education, gender equality and access to services), and the reasons social development varies within and between countries.
A focused answer on Key Idea 7.1 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 2 (Theme 7): the difference between economic and social development, the indicators of social development (health, education, gender equality, access to services), and why social development varies within and between countries.
- Key Idea 5.1: climate change during the Quaternary period, the evidence for natural climate change (ice cores, tree rings, pollen and historical records), the natural causes of climate change (orbital changes, sunspots, volcanic activity), and the contribution and consequences of recent human-induced (anthropogenic) warming.
A focused answer on Key Idea 5.1 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 2: climate change during the Quaternary, the evidence (ice cores, tree rings, pollen), the natural causes (orbital changes, sunspots, volcanoes), and the contribution and consequences of recent human-induced warming.
- Key Idea 5.4: human activity and ecosystem processes, the interdependence of the tropical rainforest (climate, soils, nutrient cycle, plants and animals), the causes and impacts of deforestation, and strategies for the sustainable management of an ecosystem.
A focused answer on Key Idea 5.4 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 2: the interdependence of the tropical rainforest, the causes and impacts of deforestation, and strategies for the sustainable management of an ecosystem.
- Key Idea 6.3: water resources and their management, the global pattern of water supply and demand, the causes of water surplus and water deficit (scarcity and stress), the impacts of an inadequate water supply, and the strategies used to manage water resources sustainably.
A focused answer on Key Idea 6.3 for WJEC GCSE Geography Unit 2: the global pattern of water supply and demand, the causes of water surplus and deficit, the impacts of an inadequate water supply, and the strategies used to manage water resources sustainably.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCSE Geography (Wales) specification (3110) — WJEC (2019)