5 Important Topics from first 1/2 of Chapter 14: Globalization and the Geography of Networks

Jack S.
5/8/16
AP Human Geography
Per. 6
Chapter 14: Globalization and the Geography of Networks



Important Topics:
-Personal Connectedness
-Networks
-Time-Space Compression
-Global cities
-Networks with a social focus

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 13: The Humanized Environment

Jack S.

5/3/16

AP Human Geography 

Per.6

Chapter 13: The Humanized Environment 

Write Up:

 The documentary Home, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, discusses the matter of human's effects on the  planet. The documentary starts by giving a history of the earth and how it came to be. With stunning aerial footage of many different parts of the earth the viewer can see lots of biodiversity within the first few minutes. While the footage is quite beautiful, the topics being discussed are not. Topics such as the crisis of habitat destruction, energy depletion, and climate disruption are all touched upon. A major  problem with habitat destruction is the risk of contributing to mass extinctions. Destroying animals natural homes can eventually lead to the destruction of the species which take a large toll on diversity on the planet. Energy depletion is also a large problem the world faces today. With a lack of  renewable resources we rely on things such as fossil fuels which only adds to environmental stress. This problem goes hand in hand with climate disruption because the use of nonrenewable usually leads to an increase in greenhouse gases causing the ozone layer of our atmosphere to continue to deplete.  Overall, Home is an eye opening documentary filled with mind blowing statistics that help paint the bigger picture. I would recommend this documentary to anyone wanting to learn a little bit more about our earth and what we humans are truly doing to it. 

Map: 

I chose to color a map of Asia because when it comes to the topic of the Humanized environment Asia is very closely associated with that. With countries like China and India which produce a significant amount of the world's pollution alone it causes Asias name to be brought up on the more negative side of the conversation when talking about the Humanized environment.

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 12: Industry and Services

Jack S.

4/28/16

AP Human Geography 

Mr. Angus

Chapter 12: Industry and Services 

Article: Article Link

Sentence: The Colombian Coffee Company saw the sheer demand for authentic Colombian coffee but many of the brands were low quality and flawed so they started The CCC based out of Colombia creating new jobs and source their beans through local farms and pay above market price which helps grow the local economy and then The Colombian CoffeeCompany has seen their profits and demand for their coffee rise ever since they started.

Maps:

I decided to color a map of Africa for the major lack of very profitable and flourishing industries. Their 3 main industries include arts, film production, and music. While all of these industries are big in Africa the poor economy makes it hard for any industry to do well.

I decided to color a map of Russia because they rank as the  3rd largest oil producer in the world. The oil industry in Russia produces 11 million barrels per day trailing only the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. 

I decided to color a map of South America because of the agglomeration of industries that are housed there. These industries include a major transport equipment industry in Brazil, a large oil industry in Venezuela, and huge coffee industries in both Peru and Colombia. 

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 11: Agriculture

Jack S.
4/18/16
Mr. Angus
AP Human Geography
Chapter 11: Development

Thoughts and Ruminations

Presentation Link: Presentation

Supersize Me Write-Up: 

     In the documentary Supersize Me, a man named Morgan Spurlock eats only McDonalds for 30 days 3 times per day. Spurlock does this as an experiment to see what eating nothing but McDonalds does to your body. Before he begins the experiment Spurlock meets with three doctors who all say he a very healthy 30 year old man. At first Spurlock is 6'2 and 185.5 pounds. After just five days Spurlock had  already put on 10 pounds and they following five days he put on another 5 pounds. It is important to note that Spurlock could only walk the amount of steps the average American walks per day which comes out to 5000 steps per day which is not a lot. Additionally, if the cashier at the McDonalds asked if he would like his meal "Supersized" he had to say yes. After putting on a significant amount of weight Spurlock went back to visit his three doctors. Each doctor is appalled by the amount of weight he had put on in the short amount of time. In addition to the weight gain there were also other underlying problems. Spurlock found that he would become very sad when he was not eating the fast food but the instant he began eating it again the sadness vanished. One doctor claimed that Spurlock became addicted to the McDonalds food. Another one of his doctors urged him to stop the experiment immediately due to the fact that he could be prone to a heart attack or liver failure if he continued to eat this way. In the end, Spurlock ends up gaining 24.5 pounds and developed some very harsh health issues to go along with that. The main point this documentary tries to make is that fast food chains get their customers to keep coming back by getting them hooked to their food like a drug so they continue to pay for it while it simultaneously destroys their bodies. 

Link: Sentence Link

Sentence: Go Green Agriculture wanted to help the industry in agriculture become more environmentally friendly but many farmers are set in their traditional ways and refuse to change so Go Green Agriculture built their own farms with their technology and environmentally sound farming techniques and now there are 9 Go Green Farms across the U.S. making a difference.

Map: I chose to color a map of Cuba because in 2006 the World Wildlife Fund identified Cuba as the only sustainably developed country in the world. This is because they had adopted the practice of agrocelogy.  This is a farming practice that reduces and eliminates the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Many believe that Cuba is now the future of modern day farming, but many are hesitant to adopt this farming practice due to the fact that it might negativly effect the amount of food we are able to produce at one time.
Article Info is from:  Article
"Is Cuba the Future of Farming? - The Boston Globe." BostonGlobe.com. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

Model: Von Thünens model helps depict the different areas of farming that take place within a city. 

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 10: Development

Jack S.

3/28/16

Mr. Angus

AP Huaman Geography

Chapter 10: Development

                                                          Thoughts and Ruminations

Presentation Link: Presentation

Write Up: Sean Costello, Jack Shams, Quin Ramos, and Lexie Schmelzer

Development Case Study Write Up

In our statistical data collection, we found that Bent county needs the most help with development. Our group decided to choose Bent County because it was the poorest county when measured by GDP which is $16,505. One of the indicators we chose was liver disease death rate per 100,000 people. High death rates from liver disease can indicate heavy use of drugs and alcohol as well as mediocre access to adequate health care. Bent County’s death rate is almost four times higher than Boulder County’s due to liver disease. It was also a factor in our decision that many other groups chose Costilla county, and we wanted to distinguish ourselves by choosing a different county. There are also people in our class who have been through Bent County and shared their experiences in the county which was also a deciding factor for us.

Due to the poorer nature of the county, it is likely that most of the citizens of Bent county work in the primary or secondary sectors. While there are clearly tertiary, quaternary, and quinary workers in Bent, there are likely less of them.

Looking at our data the two metrics with the best correlation to development level were liver disease and teen pregnancy rate. Constant across the poorer counties was a high liver disease rate and teen pregnancy rate. All of the counties we selected had a higher teen pregnancy rate than Boulder County. Boulder County was at 18 percent while Bent County was at 71 percent. Liver disease in Bent was 23.12 while liver disease was 6.64 percent in Boulder (per 100,000). With the exception of Yuma, all of the selected counties had a higher liver disease rate than Boulder county as well.

The liver disease can be explained by inadequate access to health care and, to a lesser extent, alcoholism. The increased teen pregnancy rate is most likely attributed to lack of sexual education and low amounts of family planning centers. All of these problems stem from the lack of development in Bent county.

In order to get the most out of volunteer work and improving the quality of life in Bent County, we focused on churches and hospitals. Specifically, Bent County Healthcare Center, Las Animas Dental Clinic, Seed and Supply Church, Friends Church, First Presbyterian Church, and Seventh Day Adventist Church. Our group decided to pick these churches and hospitals in these counties mostly because there are very few volunteer opportunities within these counties outside of their local churches and hospitals.

Map: This is a map of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. This map is relevant to our chapter because these countries are three of the most developed countries in the world. In each country almost if not all citizens are above the poverty line which allows their economies to flourish. These countries also have very high GNP's which paves the way for development and wealth. These countries are what all coitmries strive to be like. 

Sentence: Farm Africa wanted to help underdeveloped periphery countries in Africa begin developing and provide sustainable food sources but the people in those countries don't have the tools or man power to build and sustain farms by themselves so Farm Africa was created to pioneer techniques that boost harvests, reduce poverty, sustain natural resources and help end Africa's need for aid and then 30,000 people in Kenya benefited from a doubled crop harvest. 

Link to Farm Africa:Farm Africa

Model: 

Stage 1: This stage would be a country with a weak economy where the majority of their money goes         to the military and religion.

Stage 2: This stage includes wealthy people in the population investing in infrastructure allowing it to grow and get better. Transportaion and sewage systems are put in place. 

Stage 3: This stage has small but quick growth and traditional practices are still in tact.

Stage 4: This stage is when madden technology beings to take hold and workers become more specialized and advanced.

Stage 5: This stage includes the economy being set on mass consumption and there is heavy industrial out put.

Stage 6: This is the final stage where all products are recylced and reused and there is no more pollution or waste and things like solar energy utilized daily. 

     

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 9: Urban Geography

Twitter: Chase and I designed and created this Twitter as a way to help more people find out about Rail to Trails.  We included a link to the Rails To Trails website and started a Rails To Trails hashtag. We also included articles about new trails that have recently been opened. Overall this Twitter allows virtually anyone to stumble upon it without knowing a thing about Rails To Trails and within minutes have a great understanding about what Rails To Trails is and their mission.

Link to Twitter account: https://twitter.com/RailsToTrailsCo

Sentence: Kiki Wallace wanted there to be an urban, environmentally friendly living space in Colorado but there was no such thing in Colorado in the early 1990's so she teamed up with firm Duany Plater Zyberk & Company then they designed and built Prospect New Town in Longmont Colorado which is considered around the US as one of the most urban and environmentally friendly neighborhoods in America.
http://www.prospectnewtown.com/


Map:

This is a map of the Roamn Empire at their peak. During this time period all of the countries in the Roman Empire became very urban due to the advanced technology, city planning, and the agglomeration of so many countries all intertwined.
http://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/research/research-projects/humanities/an-empire-of-2000-cities-urban-networks-and-economic-integration-in-the-roman-empire

Models:

Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 8: Political Geography

Sentence: Mexican immigrants wanted to enter the U.S. for new job opportunities and new begginings but people in the U.S. disliked the fact that immigrants where "taking their jobs" so the U.S. Government increased border patrol and security and then it became very hard to enter the U.S. from Mexico as an immigrant and it made it very hard for people who live near the boarder due to all of the traffic and extra security. 

Article: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/30/u-s-border-apprehensions-of-mexicans-fall-to-historic-lows/

Map: This map shows the Mexican United States border which is constantly a problem for both countries. In recent years it has become very hard to enter and/or leave from one of the countries to another.