GEO 172: Human Geography
Fall, 2004

August 26: Geography's root is geo (the earth) and graphein (to write). Geographic topic include economics, politics, demography, agriculture, industry, etc. Geography looks at these topics in a particular way - spatially. Geography is about being in place - and across space. Students then took a little quiz, as follows: (1) What is the most populous country in the world? (2) What is the dominant religion in India? (3) Apartheid, a very harsh policy of racial segregation, was dismantled in the country of ___ in the 1990s. (4) To what language family does English belong? (5) What is the #1 vegetable producing state in the US? (6) Where might you find a squatter settlement? (7) In 1994, a genocide occurred. Extremist Hutu tried to wipe Tutsi off the face of the earth. In what country did this occur? (8) What country is the largest source of immigrants to the U.S.? (9) What is economic globalization and how does it impact you? (10) What is ozone depletion? After taking the roll and going over the syllabus, I read the quote "we all must belong somewhere to be complete persons." Students introduced themselves and told each other about the place where they belong - i.e., home.

August 31: geography = geo (earth) + graphein (to write)
Aristotle (2300 years ago) was the first to demonstrate earth was spherical.
Eratosthenes (2200 years ago) was first on record using word geography.
The father of Human geography is Karl Ritter (1779-1859)
The father of Physical geography (which includes meteorology, biogeography, climatology, etc) is Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859).

One important geographic concept is distribution (the arrangement of a feature in space). There are three components of distribution: (1) Density, the frequency with which something occurs in space. The arithmetic density (total #/unit) vs. physiological density (# persons per unit of area suitable for agriculture).What is an example of a place where the arithmetic density is low but physiological density is high? (Saudi Arabia, because of desert). High population doesn’t necessarily mean high density (China). High population density doesn’t mean poverty (e.g., Netherlands is one of the world’s wealthiest and very high density). (2) Concentration: Clustered or dispersed? Are the houses spread out or all together? (3) Pattern. The grid pattern of Township and Range (Land Ordinance of 1785) is apparent in the midwest and western US. The land was surveyed off into 6 miles X 6 miles squares and then into 1 X 1 mile square (640 acres) and finally into quarters of 160 acres. These 160 acres were claimed and settled by American pioneers. Other patterns include the railroad track focus of Earlington, Kentucky - one of two towns in Kentucky built by the L&N railroad. Lexington also has an interesting patterns - spokes that radiate out from the center. These "spokes" lead from Lexington to the town bearing its name (e.g., Versailles Road, Paris Pike).

On the globe, the invisible (and human-designated) north-south lines are known as Meridians or lines of longitude. Zero degrees runs through the Prime meridian (Greenwich, England). Because there are 360 degrees in a circle and a day lasts 24 hours, the time zone should change each 15 degrees. Political decisions results in this not always occurring (China has only one time zone). Running north and south parallel to the equator are the Parallels or lines of latitude.

Mapmaking – revival during Age of Exploration and Discovery. Maps are made by Projection – transferring location on earth’s surface to a flat map. The science of mapmaking = cartography. The earliest SURVIVING maps – 4300 years ago – Babylonians (in today’s Iraq) – but mapmaking is undoubtedly even older. Polynesians used “stick charts” (3-dimension) maps for 1000s of years – shells = islands, palm strips = waves. A map's scale is the level of generalization. These pairs go together: small scale- large area (e.g., 1:2,000,000) and large scale-small area (e.g., 1:2000). Maps always have distorted (the larger the area mapped, the greater the distortion). Distortion:  area, shape, distance, direction. The types of maps include: Thematic – single category of data; Cartogram – places are sized according to some particular attribute (such as population); Dot – dots represent quantities; Choropleth – use shading/colors to indicate magnitude; Isoline (isopleth) – lines connect points of equal value; and Mental map – we all have them to help us organize daily activities.Contemporary mapping technologies include: Remote sensing – satellite; GIS (geographic information system); GPS (global positioning system)

Place names: Toponym (place + nym) = name given to a place on earth. Toponyms often provide insight into the place, ex: Issaquah, Seattle, Tacoma, Wenatchee, Snohomish (all in Washington state); these are all Native American names. Toponyms sometimes change:  Bombay to Mumbai; Leningrad to St. Petersburg; Peking to Beijing. The changes often occur after decolonization.

Site vs. situation: Old Paris was located on an island in the Seine River; this is its site. Its situation (and what made it a great city) is its situation: rivers for transportation, recreation, and trade; agricultural lands in the hinterland.

Review quiz: The father of Human Geography is _. A person tells you that the arithmetic density of Country X is low, but that the physiological density is high. What do you immediately know about Country X? The time zones are associated with lines of longitude. These lines are called the _. The science of mapmaking is called _. The earliest surviving maps date from 4300 years to a place called _. The map I’ve just put on the overhead projector is a/an _. The second map is what type of map? _ The term _ means “place name.” Briefly describe your hometown’s site – and your hometown’s situation.

September 2:

Another of geography's key concepts is "human-environment interaction." The textbook provides two case studies of human-environment interaction. Students paired up and read these cases (beginning on page 20): The Netherlands and Florida Everglades. Be familiar with both of these cases.

The next concept is that of regions. A region is an area on the earth's surface sharing some important commonalities. Vernacular region = a place people believe exists as part of their cultural identity, for example “the south” – southern accent, southern hospitality, southern food, southern baptist, etc.

Next: culture (from Latin meaning “to care for”) = body of customary beliefs, material traits, social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people. What do people care about – ideas, beliefs, values
What do take care of – material (food, clothing, shelter)

Next: Diffusion is the process by which characteristics spreads across space over time. The place where the innovation starts is called the hearth (as in culture hearth or agricultural hearth)
The types of diffusion include: (1) relocation – people migrate, carry innovations with them; and (2) expansion:
hierarchical – powerful people adopt the innovation first; contagious – the innovation spreads like a contagious disease; and stimulus – the concept spreads, but not the innovation (Macintosh Apple’s idea of using a mouse, even though Mac didn’t do as well as Microsoft)

Students watched part of a video entitled "Power of Place: Geography A Spatial Perspective". Concepts were illustrated using places around the world: Relative location: In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, maquiladora factories employ Mexicans at a fraction of the cost of a US employee. Many Mexicans cross illegally into the US daily - or long-term - to earn livelihood. Juarez is what it is today because of its location relative to El Paso, Texas just across the border. In the mid-west US, many businesses sprang up to supply new Japanese auto assembly plants. Though St. Petersburg is quite northerly, it is a successful city of 5 million. It was built as a "window on the west" turning its gaze toward cosmopolitan Europe. Lanzhou, China lies in a remote desert where Han Chinese and Muslim intermingle. This ethnic composition is a result of Lanzhou's location on the ancient silk road that connected China with the Middle East. Human/Environmental Interaction: Lanzhou, China has been able to prosper in a desert climate partly via its "stone fields" where layers of stone are used to hold in the soil moisture. In the country of Oman, while fresh water is lacking, the presence of oil has allowed Oman to transform part of the desert into a cityscape. In West Africa, the northern part of the Ivory Coast is near desert while the south tends toward tropical. With the lush forests of the south, the Ivory Coast has become the world's largest producer of cacao (chocolate). Today, the resource has been stressed to the breaking point. Realms and Regions: In the region of West Africa, economic development has focused primarily on the export of raw materials, rather than on creating a skilled workforce. West Africans have migrated from drier areas to southern Ivory Coast where population pressure is stressing the environment. In the East African country of Kenya, many of the same problems as in West Africa exist. Diseases, such as malaria, trachoma, and AIDS, put additional stresses on these societies. In South Asia, rising population will make India the world's most populous country in a few years. Access to already scarce water will become an even more serious problem. In Southeast Asia, water is not a problem, but rising population stresses other resources in the region.

Review: (1) In the Netherlands, one finds land that is usable because the water has been drained from it. These pieces of land are called _. (2) The Cokes, 7-Ups, etc. in the machine downstairs may be tied to the draining of the Everglades. What’s the connection? (3) In India, the elite were the first to learn English. Many Indians now study English. This is an example of _ diffusion. (4) In the Power of Place video, we learned that the Mexican city of _ lies just across the river from the U.S. city of El Paso, Texas. In Russia, the city of _ is still sometimes referred to as the “window to the west.” The Silk Route connected Islamic peoples with East Asians. A place where the two cultures met, and live together, is the Chinese city of _. In the Sub-Saharan country of _, the landscape is near desert in the north and near tropical rainforest in the south.

Homework for September 7: Write, in your own words, what each of the key terms on page 68 mean. Provide an example of each term.

September 7:

HOMEWORK: Search the internet for the Population Reference Bureau. Print the 2004 World Population Data Sheet. On an index card, write down 10 important points from these data.

Chapter 2: Population.
The scientific study of population characteristics is demography

Writing in 1798, Thomas Malthus postulated that the food supply would increase arithmetically but the population would increase exponentially. As a result, the population would soon outstrip the food supply and the population would crash. That didn't occur globally, although food distribution is a serious problem in many places. The Neo-Malthusians (example: Paul Ehrlich) suggest that it isn't food that will be the limiting factor, but the resources of the earth. The Cornucopians (example: Julian Simon) suggest, on the other hand, that an increasing population is a good thing. More brains will come up with more solutions to any problem faced.

As of today, the world’s population is 6.396 billion
•    Most populous countries: China, India, US, Indonesia, Brazil. By 2050, India will be the most populous country; it is expected to have about 1.6 billion people by then.
•    Population clusters are found in East Asia (1.5 billion), South Asia (1.4 billion), Europe (583 million), and   Southeast Asia (546 million).
South America (400 million) has more people than North America (343 million)

Key terms on page 68:
Census – counting of a population

Agricultural revolution – the time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering (8000+ years ago)

DENSITIES:
Ecumene – portion of earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement
Arithmetic density - # of people per unit of land
Physiological density - # of people per unit of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture
Agricultural density - # of farmers per unit of arable land

BIRTH/DEATH MEASURES:
Crude birth rate - # of births per 1000 population per year
•    21/1000 (world)

Total fertility rate – the average # of babies a woman has during her lifetime
•    Total fertility rate = 2.8 (world); Europe = 1.4; North America = 2.0; Africa = 5.1
•    Zero population growth – decline of the total fertility rate to the point where the natural increase rate equals zero (a zero population growth will be reached after the global total fertility rate stabilizes as 2.1 [the replacement rate]).

Life expectancy – average number of years an individual can be expected to live, given current social, economic, and medical conditions. Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn infant can expect to live.
•    The global life expectancy is 67 years, with a range from 35 in Sierra Leone to 82 in Japan (81 in Iceland). It’s 77 in US and 79 in Canada

Crude death rate = # of deaths per 1000 population per year
•    9/1000 (world)

Infant mortality rate - # of babies per 1000 born who don’t live to be one year old

Natural increase rate – rate of population growth (not including immigration)
•    21/1000 (birth rate)  -  9/1000 (death rate)  = 12/1000 or 1.2% = natural increase

Doubling time - # of years needed to double a population, assuming a constant rate of natural increase
To compute doubling time, divide 70 (a constant) by the annual rate of natural increase.
The global rate is 1.2% (see above), divide 70 by 1.2 = 58 years
Russia = -.7 (100 years half)
Middle America = 2 (35 years)
Europe = 0%
North America = .5% (140 years)

Dependency ratio – % over 65 + % under 15 divided by the % 15-65

Overpopulation – number of people in an area exceeds the capacity of the environment to support life at a decent standard of living.

Population pyramid – bar graph representing the distribution of population by age and sex

Sex ratio – number of males per 100 females in the population. The US's sex ratio is expected. For a group under 15 years of age, there are about 105 males to 100 females, but this reverses by age 30. In India and China, there are more males than expected because of population policies and desire for male babies.

Demographic transition – the process of change in a society’s population from a condition of high crude birth and death rates and low rate of natural increase to a condition of low crude birth and death rates, low rate of natural increase, and a higher total population
•    Industrial revolution – series of innovations in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods
•    Medical revolution – medical innovations from Europe and North America that diffused to poorer countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Improved medical practices helped eliminate many of the traditional causes of death in poorer countries and enabled more people to live longer and healthier lives

Review: (1) In 1798, a man named _ postulated that population would soon outstrip food supply. (2)_ density is defined as the number of farmers per unit of arable land. Why is this rate so low in the U.S.? (3) El Salvador’s birth rate is 26 and the death rate is 6. The annual rate of natural increase is _. If this rate continues, El Salvador’s population will double (from 6.7 million to 13.4 million) in what year? _ (4) Antarctica is not part of the earth’s _ because there are no permanent human settlements there. (5) Is a sex ratio of 110 more likely to be found in the U.S., Brazil, or India? _ (6) The _ is the number of babies per 1000 born who don’t live to be one year old. Would you expect the rate to be higher in Costa Rica, Cuba, the U.S., or Sierra Leone?_ (7) The_ is the average number of babies a woman has during her lifetime.

September 9:

We discussed information gleaned from the 2004 World Population Data Sheet (Population Reference Bureau): (1) The 15 countries with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS are all in Africa; with the highest rate being found in Swaziland (38.8%); (2) The world's most populous countries are: China, India, USA, Indonesia, Brazil (3) In 2050, the world's most populous countries are expected to be: India, China, US, Indonesia, and Nigeria. Between 2004 and 2050, populations are expected to increase in all regions except for Europe. (4) Sub-Saharan Africa's population will continue to grow as 44% of its people are currently below the age of 15. Soon, many will be entering their child-bearing years. (5) The Infant Mortality Rate ranges from 3 (Iceland) to 150 (Liberia). (6) The world's population is currently 6.396 billion. By 2050, the population is expected to be 9.276 billion. Less than 20% of the world's population lives in rich (developed) countries, while 80% lives in poorer (developing) countries.

Students watched a video entitled "Six Billion and Beyond": During the 1900s, the earth's population increased from 2 billion to 6 billion. A major point of the video dealt with the importance of improving women's life, that the focus of population efforts needs to be on increasing women's choices rather than just on contraception. Another underlying theme had to do with balancing the rights of the individual with what the earth can sustain. To illustrate and discuss these points/themes, viewers were presented six case studies. Mexico City is a megacity of 18 million. By 2015, there will be 26 such megacities. Mexico is strongly Catholic and often, questions about birth control cause a conflict between "faith and life". Even so, the total fertility rate in Mexico has dropped from seven to 2.5 children in the past 30 years. At least some of the young people are concerned about lack of opportunities in the future. In Mexico, 40% of the population is under 15 years old. Half are sexually active, and 1/3 use birth control. Public education about condom use, sexually transmitted disease, and other sexuality issues is provided. We saw a bit of the February 1999 conference in The Hague, Netherlands where Hillary Clinton spoke of lifting up lives, rather than just worrying about numbers. Kenya's population has increased five-fold since 1948. Over half of Kenya's women have their first child prior to their 20th birthdays. Only 20% of young adults finish high school and the unemployment rate hovers around 70%. Many women in Kenya are the breadwinners for the family (e.g., many must spend 3 hours per day just gathering firewood and water). Many women want smaller families, but only half of the women who want smaller families have acess to contraception. In fact, many times men make the decision about contraception and as one young bride put it, they can be very stubborn. The birthrate would go down if women had their first baby later and if the babies were spaced more widely. Today, 1/6 of young adults in Kenya are HIV positive. Public education, including youth centers to help, is ongoing in Kenya. As one educated African woman noted, however, there are so many problems in Africa that the spectre of HIV is just another problem. How do you prioritize all the problems? In India about 63% of the women are illiterate and, even today, 2/3 of the girls don't go to high school. Half are married by 18 and have their first baby by 20. Girls are valued less than boys from day one. We saw three young women who are counseling pregnant women and working for social improvement. They believe in the importance of education for women and are working for progress in their comunity (Delhi). In the rural areas, conditions are worse for women. About 70% of Indian women live in rural areas; the TFR is over 4. They are trying to cope with an increasingly degraded environment. In 40 years, India will become the world's most populous country. In China, we saw a prosperous urban family. Population controls were put into place in 1979. The basic policy is one child per urban family, two per rural family, and three per minority family. Today, about 20 million babies are born each year, 5 million of which are born without permission. A very steep fine is imposed on unapproved births. Outwardly, many agree with the policy and point to the fact that average income has nearly tripled in the past 20 years. Those who remember the 1959-1961 famine, during which 30 million died of starvation, are happy about the improvements since the days of Mao's "Iron Rice Bowl". Mao promised everyone enough to eat, from cradle to grave, but not much more than "just enough". Still, 70% of the population lives in rural areas where the people are very poor. These families feel that they must have a boy to survive. Abortion and sterilization are contentious issues. As a final note, the population quotas have now been dropped in 32 counties as an experiment. Italy is actually losing population. In 1958, one million children were born. In 1998, only 500,000 were born. There are more people over 60 years of ago than under 20 years old. The accelerated aging of the population is a function of the very rapid change in the status of women. The average woman is 30 years old before her first baby is born. By that age, many will not have a second or third baby. For the birth rate to rise, there will have to be changes in the economic, cultural, individual, and collective psychology of the country. The United States, with 4% of the population, consumes 25% of the resources used each year. An American consumes 30-50 times more resources as a person in a developing country. The number of vehicles in our country is growing three times as fast as the population. We are converting 160 acres of land per hour to urban uses. We would need at least two more planets for everyone to live as we do in the US.

Review: (1) In the developing world, _ is currently the largest city. By 2015, there will be 26 megacities.
(2) In Mexico, many women face a conflict between faith and life. Briefly explain this conflict. (3) In what country did we see Hillary Clinton speaking? _ (4) The population of the African country of _ is five times that of 1948. What are two of the specific population problems faced? _ (5) In India, the population is now about 1.1 billion. What is one of the women's issues that must be addressed in order to reduce the rate of natural increase? _ (6) In the 1950s in China, during a program called _, couples were encouraged to have many babies. Today, that has all changed. In the rural areas, couples can usually have a maximum of _ baby(ies). What happens if a baby is born without permission? _ (7) In the country of _, more people are over 60 years old than are under 20. (8) The United States, with a population of 285 million, has a population problem too. Explain what that problem is. _

GEO 172: Articles for Critical Thinking Essay #1
See the syllabus for instructions. Please select at least five of the following for your analysis and essay:
From http://news.bbc.co.uk
September 6, 2004: “China’s Drive to Transform Tibet”
August 31, 2004: Sudan’s ‘Lost Boys’ in America
August 28, 2004: “Darfur Rebels Walk Out of Talks”
August 14, 2004: “American Dream Awaits Russia’s Turks”
June 30, 2004: “Indian Dam Town Defies Deadline”
June 21, 2004: “People Seek ‘Country Life’ Values”
June 15, 2004: “Mormons Trace Welsh Ancestry”
May 18, 2004: “Migration: A Force of History”

September 14: Migration
Students worked in groups, learning the meanings of the key terms (page 100):
Brain drain – large scale emigration of talented people
Chain migration – migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there
Circulation – short-term, repetitive, or cyclical movements that recur on a regular basis
(home to work to store)
counterurbanization – net migration from urban to rural areas in more developed countries
emigration – migration from a location
floodplain – the area subject to flooding during a given number of years according to historical trends
forced migration – permanent movement compelled usually by cultural factors
guest workers – workers who migrante to the more developed countries of Northern and Western Europe, usually from Southern and Eastern Europe or from North Africa, in search of higher-paying jobs
immigration – migration to a new location
internal migration – permanent movement within a particular country
international migration – permanent movement from one region of a country to another
interregional migration – permanent movement from one region of a country to another
intervening obstacle – an environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that hinders migration
intraregional migration – permanent movement within one region of a country
migration – form of relocation diffusion involving permanent move to a new location
migration transition – change in the migration pattern in a society that results from industrialization, population growth, and other social and economic changes that also produce the demographic transition (stage 1 of demographic transition = don’t move, stage 2 = international, stage 3 & 4 = internal)
mobility – all types of movement from one location to another
net migration – the difference between the level of immigration and the level of emigration
pull factor – factors that induce people to move to a new location
push factor – factors that induce people to leave old residences
quota – in reference to migration, a law that places maximum limits on the number of people who can immigrate to a country each year
refugees – people who are forced to migrate from their home country and cannot return for fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion
undocumented immigrants – people who enter a country without proper documents
voluntary migration – permanent movement undertaken by choice

Review:Write down the key term that applies to each of the following examples: In Russia, many more emigrate than immigrate: __ A higher paying job: __ A Moroccan, with a high school education, goes to Germany for a decent paying job: __ A move from Louisville to Lexington: __ War:__ Thousands of Mexicans slip over the borders into the U.S. each year: __ It takes a hardy soul to traverse the Himalayas from Nepal to Tibet: __
When the birth rate and death rate are high, people tend to not migrate: __ Puerto Ricans move to New York. Others follow them. __ College-educated people migrate from Kenya to the U.S.: __ Residents of Boston moving to the Great Plains to live on a ranch: __ It’s not a good idea to build here; you can expect a flood every ten years: __ Beginning in the late 1400s, Africans were put on ships and brought to the Americas as slave labor: __

September 16:

Migration: According to the US 2000 Census: Nevada fastest growing state; Asian/Pacific Islanders largest percentage growth since 1990 (43%). The largest minority group in the US is Hispanic (~ 40 million). This word, Hispanic, is for the convenience of the American government. Hispanic is taken to mean a common ethnicity, but there are many cultures. About 2/3 of immigrations come from Mexico. One third are less than 18 years old. 40% of those older than 25 have not graduated from high school.  Arkansas experienced the biggest growth of Hispanics (because of the chicken industry). The highest number of minoirites are in Texas, California, New York.

Students watched a film entitled Americas: Continent on the Move. The film begins with an older woman walking in her fields. The harvest used to be good, but now the fields are barren. She lives in the old silver mining capital, the Mexican state of Zacatecas. All four of her daughters have moved away, to Mexico City, to try to have a better life. The film then cuts to some footage of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. The revolution (led by Zapata), the first major one in this region of the world, was the result of economic discontent and most specifically because of inequities in the distribution of land. After the war, a new constitution was adopted and in the 1930s, President Cardenas did begin redistributing land. Almost 50 million acres were distributed to the peasants. Unfortunately, much of this land was of poor quality and the plots were small. Industrial agriculture, on large plots of land, produced cash crops (fruits and vegetables for the U.S. during the winter). Mexico's economic model, going back to the 1950s was "import substitution." Import substitution means that a country tries to make its own stuff, rather than purchasing from elsewhere. As jobs were created, many migrants headed to Mexico City, in hopes of a better life. Once vibrant villages became ghost towns, places to visit on special occasions and to bury the dead. Back to the woman in Zacatecas, her oldest daughter moved with her husband to Mexico City in 1972. At first, they stayed in a makeshift house. They had no money so her husband walked until he came to a market. He went through the garbage to find food to eat. Finally, they were able to afford a room in a house. The husband got a job in a refinery, then in a factory. He worked very hard. They arrived in Mexico at an opportune time, as oil was discovered in Mexico in the 1970s. It seemed that Mexico was on the road to becoming a developed country. The Mexican government took out huge loans to build up the country. Wages went up, a rising middle class appeared, and the rich prospered as never before. Government expansion translated into education, health care, and running water and electricity for the slums. The family we've been following in the film bought a little plot of land and built their own home. Little by little, services such as sewage connections, water, and electricity, were added. They helped establish community action groups to ask the government for materials so that they could do the work in their community themselves. The woman says that her husband was proud; he had made the right decision to move. As others looked to the success of families like theirs, 1000 migrants per day continued to flow into Mexico City. While jobs did continue to be created, there were not enough jobs. Many immigrants set up small businesses. An underground economy was established, with certain neighborhoods known for certain services/products (bookbinding, shoes, etc.). The increasing population of Mexico City overwhelmed the housing, transportation, and service sectors. Many lived on the fringes. Mexico City was turning into an example of the worst of under-development alongside the worst of over-development. In 1982, the prices of oil plunged. President Portillo apologized for not being able to do more to save the economy. Mexico's growth ground to a halt, the currency was devaluated, the economy crashed, and Mexico was still saddled with an enormous debt. At this point in the film, we meet a construction worker who is leaving his family and village to seek work in Mexico City. By this point, most workers go alone rather than taking their families. He finds that the going rate for construction workers in Mexico City is $60 to $80 per week, lower than he is willing to accept. He says that he may have to go back home empty-handed. We then see a wrestling persona who is suited up in a Superman-type outfit. He goes around helping people and encouraging them to organize to make their lives better. He visits a building, home to 22 families, that is about to collapse. The government told the people to get out, so now they are living in a camp on the street. The government has not come to finish the work of demolition. We go back to our original family and the woman tells us that, in order to make more money, her husband started driving a taxi in 1988. Now the eldest son drives it. One of the increasing problems in Mexico City is urban violence. This family's next door neighbors tried to take over their land, saying they owned it. The husband had the deeds and went to court. After a one year court battle, the husband won. The neighbors were angry and murdered the husband. The woman says that now that her husband, the father of their five children, is gone everything is very hard. Leticia, one of the children, says how sad she is now that her daddy is dead. The eldest son is now the breadwinner, and he thinks that they should perhaps move back to the village. For decades, Mexico City held great promise of a better life, but now migrants have to look elsewhere. The cities along the border with the US are the fastest growing in Mexico. One of the fastest growing of these border cities is Tijuana. In 1980, maquiladoras began to appear in Tijuana. Maquiladoras are assembly plants; the pieces are shipped in and after assembly are shipped back out. The only tax is on the value added by the Mexicans' labor. One young woman from the Mexican state of Sinaloa (a state that produces food for export to the US) is excited about the opportunities in Tijuana. She feels that she will get to move up the ladder. Seventy percent of maquiladora workers are single, young women. They are paid lower wages than men are. The work is often hazardous, union organizing is very difficult, and the situation exploitive. The pay is, in some cases, as low as 55 cents per hour. Many live in cardboard houses. Then we meet another woman. She is 32 years old and worked in a maquiladora for five years. She said that she was considered too old to work and to get rid of her, she was transferred to work that injured her eyes, then transferred again to work with chemicals that caused internal damage, and then given the late shift. Finally, she gave up. The factory managers won. We see a woman walking up a dirt street and dumping a big bucket of dirty water on the side of the road. The voice-over says that it is sad to see families bring their children. When they have to go back home, with empty pockets, their relatives ask, "but aren't the streets paved with gold?" No, the streets are definitely not paved with gold, otherwise the family would not have failed to prosper. The 32 year old woman says that some become so frustrated that they ruin their lives with bad habits. Others have to resign themselves to living in poverty. The maquiladoras are important for Mexico, however, as they are the second biggest source of foreign exchange. We then hear about the new trade agreement, NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement). A government official says that industries will come to middle-sized cities and so people will move to those cities for opportunities. In the state of Zacatecas, industrial parks are replacing plows and tractors. The Mexican Constitution was changed in 1992 (Article 27, which established the land redistribution process [the outcome of the Mexican Revolution led by Zapata[) to do away with the land redistribution. We see the people being told that this "reform" will bring them liberty and justice. The small land owner can now sell or rent his land. More investment will come. The peasants will benefit. The peasants disagree. They believe (this film was made in 1993) that the change in the Constitution will result in them being forced to sell their land to large landowners. The peasants will go back to being slaves, or worse. They feed the country but they are forgotten. We see a demonstration of peasants who are angry. They support the "liberty and justice" of Zapata and Cardenas. The government then argues that NAFTA will create better markets for their agricultural exports. One says that perhaps 60 million Mexicans live beyond the poverty line. They don't really care about being in the developed world. They just want to have decent lives. In the last segment of the film, the woman who we met early in the film goes back to visit her mother and village. She wants to move her family back. She says that her dream for the future is to come back to Zacatecas to live, to have her children marry here, and for them not to be spread all over the place. For now, she has to get back on the bus to Mexico City. The last line of the film is "The country's real strength is in its people."

Review: (1) The film begins in the central Mexican state of __. Once a rich agricultural area, the state is now in serious decline. (2) The 1910 Mexican Revolution was caused by economic discontent and more specifically by __. After the revolution, almost 50 million acres were redistributed to the peasants. (3) A woman and her husband moved to Mexico City in 1972. Although they began their life there in a shantytown, they eventually prospered. They had been lucky, moving to Mexico City during the 1970s boom. What was one of the big drivers of this boom? __ (4) The global recession of the early 1980s translated into severe hardship for many Mexicans. Many continued to migrate to Mexico City. What were the job prospects in the mid to late 1980s for these migrants? (5) We saw an example of the urban __ that has taken its toll on Mexico City. For the family in this film, it began with a dispute over a land title. (6) By the early 1990s, Mexicans were looked outside Mexico City for a better life. At that point, where were the fastest growing cities? __ (7) In Tijuana, many come to work in the __, which are assembly plants. These assembly plants employ primarily single, young women. Why? (8) When this film was made, NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) was about to become effective. What did government officials think would be the result of NAFTA? What did the peasants think would be the result of NAFTA?

September 21:

Chapter 4 – Folk and Popular Culture
Definitions of key terms on page 131:
•    Custom – repetitive act by a group (habit that a group of people have adopted – e.g., driving cars
•    Folk culture – traditionally practiced by small, homogeneous groups in rural areas
•    Habit – repetitive act by an individual (e.g., eating Cheerios for breakfast everyday)
•    Popular culture – found in large, heterogeneous societies  … larger scale
•    Taboo – restriction on behavior imposed by social custom … e.g, eating dogs

Students gathered into groups and discussed the following issues:
•    What’s good about American popular culture? brings people together, good for U.S. corporations, keeps our economy going, etc.
•    What’s negative about American popular culture? pollution, sameness, beauty/age standards, materialism, etc.

Folk music:
•    Chinese legend that music was invented in 2697 BC when the Emperor sent a worker to cut bamboo poles that would produce a sound matching the call of the phoenix bird.
•    Folk songs tell a story or convey information about daily activities. They are often political and usually root for the underdog (union coal strikers, etc). A Kentucky folk musician, who is quite famous (and who is responsible for saving a lot of our mountain music) is Jean Ritchie.

Popular music:
•    Written to be sold to a large # of people
•    Technical skills, frequently must be performed in a studio with electronic equipment
•    Popular music as we know it originated around 1900 – variety show called vaudeville (in the US) … a music industry developed in NY, in a district that came to be known as Tin Pan Alley

Diffusion of folk and popular culture:
•    1600s: Swiss Mennonite bishop named Jakob Ammann gathered a group of followers who became known as the Amish .. originated in Bern, Switzerland, Alsace in nE France, and Palatinate region of sw Germany
•    Amish came to US in 2 waves: 1st in early 1700s (enticed by William Penn’s offer of low-priced land) and 2nd group in early 1800s and settled in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and Ontario
•    Amish: only 70,000 in U.S., present in 17 states

The physical environment influences folk culture (doesn’t impact popular culture as much):
•    Netherlands wearing wooden shoes – farmers wear wooden shoes which are waterproof, as they work in fields that often are extremely wet b/c much of the Netherlands is below sea level
•    Fuel shortages led to quick-frying (in Italy) and eating bean sprouts (in Asia)
•    Soup, a food traditionally consumed by poorer people
•    People chose foods, partly as a result of availability and also because of properties associated with certain things .. in Paraguay, the Amerinds eat jaguars to make them strong, brave, and swift. The mandrake (native to Mediterranean climates) is thought to enhance lovemaking abilities.
•    Various culture groups also have food taboos, e.g., Ainus in Japan won’t eat otters because they think they are forgetful animals and consuming them will make the person forgetful too
•    In the 17th and 18th centuries, Europeans wouldn’t eat potatoes because they thought it caused typhoid, tb, famine. Potato famine in mid 1800s in Ireland

Housing
•    Much of the new subdivision housing we see is the same regardless of where we go in the U.S. (as opposed to the older housing stock, with a Pacific Northwest redwood style, Southern California stucco, New England Cape Cod, etc.). It is part of popular culture.
•    Early style of folk housing in the U.S. was the "I" house (one room deep and at least two room wide). The variant on that style in Lexington is the shotgun house (one room wide and at least two rooms deep).

Many folk medicines have now been made part of the popular culture (you need only go to Good Foods Coop and look on the shelves to see that this is the case). Many were used to make modern pharmaceuticals (e.g., willow bark for aspirin). Some of the folk medicines include:
St. Johns Wort - mild anti-depressant
Gingko - memory
Basil – heart medicine and cure for melancholy
Sassafras – bruises, blood purifier, curing fevers
Witch hazel – inflamed, tender skin, varicose veins, bruises, astringent
Goldenseal – disorders affecting mucous membranes, counters infection
Thyme tea – ease sorrow (also anti-bacterial)
Fennel seeds, leaves, roots – obesity
Sage – cold
Lemon balm and rosemary – prevent baldness

Review: (1) A/an __ is a repetitive act practiced by a group, while a/an __ is a repetitive act by an individual. (2) How are folk culture and popular culture different? (3) According to legend, music was “invented” in what country?__. Kentucky has many folk musicians. Probably the most famous of all is a woman named __.(4) Why did the Amish migrate to the U.S.? __ (5) How does the physical environment affect types/styles of folk housing? __ (6) Name one folk medicine and what it is used for: __

September 23:

Students watched Strangers and Kin, a 1984 film produced by Appalshop (in Whitesburg, Kentucky). Here's a review of the film: "Using funny, often poignant examples, Strangers and Kin shows the development and effect of stereotypes as technological change collides with tradition in the Southern mountains. The film traces the evolution of the "hillbilly" image through Hollywood films, network news and entertainment shows, dramatic renderings of popular literature, and interviews with contemporary Appalachians to demonstrate how stereotypes are created, reinforced, and often used t rationalize exploitation. Strangers and Kin suggests how a people can embrace modernity without becoming 'strangers to their kin'."

The film uses three actors to read some of the stereotypical statements. The film moves from a stereotype to a mountain activity. Following are the notes I took. A young mountain woman (woman 1) tells about moving to the Piedmont for a year; her dad took a job in a rock quarry. Her mom had always made all her clothes, but when they moved, she felt that she needed to have different styles. She began asking her mother to make her clothes that looked like those the other girls' moms bought. The whole family was unhappy in North Carolina and moved back to the mountains. The girl was so happy to be home. We then hear from a man (man 1) who says that, when he was in college, a girl he liked was not allowed to date him because her father said he didn't want his daughter being around a southern hillbilly. We then hear from another man (man 2) who says he was told all sorts of things about blacks and other ethnic groups, so he was scared of them. He later learned that they had all learned the same sorts of things about mountain people - and so they were scared of "hillbillies." Woman 1 reads that mountain people are high strung and sensitive; they are also vicious and knife-happy. She says that mountain people are different and have remained different, and that they are sometimes depicted as being a little less intelligent. We then hear from an elderly man who loves being out in the country/mountains. He can holler, shoot, whatever he wants. Man 2 acknowledges that some mountain people, including him, are a little "backwards." We then see a baptism in a creek, and the front of a country church that says "Defeated Creek Church." Man 2, sitting in front of a coal tipper, says all this modern equipment is just down the road from the mountain people, up in the hollow, who still raise gardens and are pretty self-reliant. We then see people having a foot washing, with a person stating the importance of hanging on to traditions. Back to stereotypes, we learn that Toynbee said mountain people are barbarians, a condition that could be traced back to frontier warfare. Man 2 says that actually the mountain people had to learn how to live with the Indians - that they were Indianized white men. We then hear from William Byrd who said that mountain men have an aversion to all sorts of labor except for having children, and in this they excel. Man 2 responds that theirs was essentially a classless society, where wits were more important than manners. Another person (a French man) sees these traits as rudeness. In 1887, George Washington Harris again espoused the idea that mountain people are barbaric, ornery, and mean. Andrew Jackson, claiming it to be a benevolent gesture, announced the removal of the Indians in 1838. Cherokees were arrested and driven at bayonet point to the stockades. One must explain the flow of blood in Indian county, because murder is murder no matter who it is. The Indians and now the mountain people are impediments to progress, and must be gotten rid of. Over a 30 year period, through the 1880s, 1890s, and 1900s, writers (the local color writers) came to the mountains looking for good stories. One writer said no act of chivalry or nobility was seen. There was only lust for human blood. Poor cooking was blamed for the barbarity. One of the local color books was The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come. Man 1 tells of his mom, a Texan, getting off the train in Hazard. She liked the local color books and had lots of notions about the mountain people. She never felt at home and she wanted her children to be separated from the mountains. In 1901, Marie Pool, writing about North Carolina, said she wanted to save the mountain people from their depravity; it would be hard because they had generations of depravity behind them. Woman 1 (I think) said that outsiders don't care to see what the mountain people really have. We then see scenes of old growth trees being cut and many workers and logs ready to ship out. The industrialist comes in and then seeing the hurt he causes, must somehow rationalize that hurt away. We hear part of an old coalmining song in which a son asks his dad to stay home and not go to the mine. He dreamed that something bad was going to happen. We hear the words of an industrialist who, in 1912, advocated building a cotton mill. He said that the children (remember child labor laws) should work in the mill; they'd make more money than their worthless dads. Also in 1912, an editorial in the New York Times stated that the mountain people needed either to be educated or exterminated. In 1940, a film called Comin' Round the Mountain showed men lying around doing nothing except drinking moonshine. The old man was said to have as many sons as hairs on his head. In 1900, William Frost called the mountain people "our contemporary ancestors" and said that they were not so much degraded as just not graded up. He saw the new wave of immigrants as scary and thought that the mountain people were diamonds in the rough. It was said that "these people" would have a future if they were properly trained. Berea College "discovered" them and was in a position to educate the mountain people. In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation creating the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). TVA represented planning for generations to come. So into the mountains came the bulldozers and other heavy equipment. A TVA infomercial said that, for many of the mountain people, their presence was seen as an intrusion - that because of isolation and bigotry, they held onto antiquated ideas. We then see a clip from an old movie. The older woman is talking to the young industrialist. She says that she doesn't want a dam, that she wants the rivers and nature to be free, that the dam will take away her soul. The man says that, no actually the electricity will give her a soul. She says she won't move until she's forced to. Woman 1 says that mountain people are viewed as enemies of progress. They don't want coal mines, dams, and new roads. They do want to keep their traditions. We then see a little snippet from the 1958 Thunder Road where Robert Mitchum wrecks his car at an electrical sub-station. We then see a young Walter Kronkite who narrates the 1963 news special "Depressed Area USA."  The film shows shabby houses, dead cars, and a littered roadside - very depressing for sure. This is followed with a magazine article entitled "Poverty USA." Man 2 says that it was very humiliating for a person's poverty to be shown in these reports. Then we see the 1964 CBS news report with Charles Kuralt entitled "Christmas in Appalachia." Young children are in a forlorn-looking schoolhouse singing off-key. Man 2 then talks about being put on a bus, along with all his classmates, and taken into town to pick out free shoes. It was embarrassing, to him and his father. Man 2 says that, when he was growing up, they had plenty or foods and clothes and everything. He never wore the charity shoes. We then hear from Harry Caudill who in the late 1960s was still spouting very negative stereotypes about mountain people. An engineer, standing in front of a rail line, says that expectations needs to change, that the confinement of culture must be overcome. Then he says that people die, so it doesn't matter what they think. The people who will use the electricity (or whatever) are the ones who count. We then see a younger Paul Patton, who was Pike County Judge Executive at the time. He says that industry is coming to the mountains. The banking industry is strong and industrial dominance is on the horizon. We then meet a very old mountain lady who shows how to cook up a salve for cuts and sores. She uses four kinds of bark, a bud from another tree, hog lard, and mutton tallow. She said that she never had any doctor medicine, never was in the hospital (except to visit) - and she says the reason why is she knows how to make her own remedies. We then go to Pikeville's Hillbilly Days. People are all dressed up to fulfill the hillbilly stereotype. There are Confederate flags, old sputtering vehicles, "moonshine," and so on. Woman 1 says that the mountain people start being confused and then they start accepting these images of themselves. Mountain people have to create their own images. They need to go to the old timers and ask them how to succeed. The film ends with an old man in the forest. He is holding a medicinal plant and says that, while the educated people say that this plant no longer exists, it does because he has it in his hand. His message is that the mountain people are also survivors, who will continue to exist.

Some questions to ponder: How have mountain people been depicted? How have those images been perpetuated? What was the tie made to Native Americans? What was the local color writer period? What sorts of "development" have come to Appalachia? What were the various contexts within which "progress" was discussed? Why did the mountain woman not want electricity? Paul Patton is an eastern Kentuckian himself; were his ideas in conflict with the prevailing mountain view? In what ways do outsiders tend to stereotype mountain people? How do mountain people see themselves? Can one embrace modernity without becoming "strangers to their kin"?

Key to Test #1:
If  you test begins with "1. Which of the following statements ....," then the key is: (1) a (2) d (3) c (4) b (5) d (6) b (7) d (8) b (9) c (10) a (11) la (12) ma (13) ea (14) tf (15) ia (16) db (17) da (18) se (19) ic (20) be (21) gc (22) ce (23) pf (24) hc (25) za (26) zb (27) mb (28) na (29) ha (30) cn (31) cf (32) ra (33) ac (34) pd (35) sc (36) sb (37) ga (38) lc (39) bc (40) rb (41) va (42) pb (43) tg (44) md (45) pa (46) cd (47) cg (48) te (49) ci (50) mf

If you test begins with "1. The first person on record ....," then the key is: (1) b (2) c (3) a (4) a (5) d (6) c (7) b (8) d (9) b (10) d (11) rb (12) va (13) pb (14) tg (15) md (16) pa (17) cd (18) cg (19) te (20) ci (21) mf (22) la (23) ma (24) ea (25) tf (26) ia (27) db (28) da (29) se (30) ic (31) be (32) gc (33) ce (34) pf (35) hc (36) za (37) zb (38) mb (39) na (40) ha (41) cn (42) cf (43) ra (44) ac (45) pd (46) sc (47) sb (48) ga (49) lc (50) bc

Begin new material for Test #2.

September 30:
Chapter 5: We began the chapter by reading page 135. This introduction makes the point that fewer American students learn foreign languages than students in other countries. We discussed the reasons why (American hegemony, dominance, everybody wants to learn English) and reasons why we should be learning additional languages (increases cognitive abilities, we need to have high educational standards, we need to be partners in the world community). Students then studied the chapter's maps, gleaning the important information.

Map page 138: Although the map shows that English is the official language of the U.S., it isn't. We don't have an official language. The point of the map is valid, however. It makes the point that many countries that were colonies of the British still speak English today.

Map page 139: This map shows the emigration of the Celts, from England to France, Wales, Cornwall, and Scotland. Further, it shows waves of immigration to English. This immigration includes that of Jutes, Angles, and Saxons (from Denmark and Germany) in the 5th century; Vikings (from Norway) in the 10th century; and the French in 1066.

Map page 140: This map shows significant correspondence between where Old English and Middle English were spoken in England.

Map page 143: This map shows where the U.S.'s greatest diversity of dialects are found: in the eastern part of the country. The three major dialect regions in the east are Northern, Midlands, and Southern.

Map page 144: This map shows where Indo-European languages are spoken in Eurasia (Europe and Asia). In western Europe, one finds Germanic and Romance languages. In eastern Europe and Russia, one finds Slavic languages. In Southwest and South Asia (Turkey to Bhutan), one finds Indo-Iranian languages.

Map page 145:  This map shows where Germanic languages are spoken in Europe. German is spoken in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. English is spoken in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Northern Germanic languages are spoken in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland.

Map page 146: This map shows that Indo-European languages are spoken throughout most of South Asia. In central India, this Indo-European language is Hindi. In other places, other Indo-European languages are spoken. In southern India (and some other places), non-Indo-European languages are spoken.

Map page 148: This map shows where, in Europe, Romance languages are spoken. These languages include French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. Catalan, spoken in eastern Spain, is a Spanish dialect. In France, two main French dialects are Langue d'oil and Langue d'oc.

Maps page 151: These maps show two theories of how the Indo-European language diffused. Some think the language diffused from a hearth near the Kazakhstan/Russia border, beginning 5000-4000 BC. The other has Indo-European diffusing from present-day Turkey, beginning around 6000-5000 BC.

Map page 152-153: This map shows where various language families are spoken. Half the world's people speak an Indo-European language. Mandarin, a Sino-Tibetan language, is spoken in China. Niger-Congo languages are spoken across much of Sub-Saharan Africa, while Afro-Asiatic (Arabic) are spoken in North Africa and much of Southwest Asia.

Map page 158: This map shows the language families spoken in Africa. In addition to those language families mentioned above (map page 152-153), the indigenous African language family of Khoisan is spoken in southwest Africa and Nilo-Saharan is spoken in north Africa.

Map page 159: This map shows the diversity of languages spoken in Nigeria, a country in west Africa. Yoruba is spoken in the west, Igbo (or Ibo) is spoken in the east, and Hausa is spoken in the north. A number of other languages are spoken as well.

Maps page 162: These maps show language diversity in Belgium and Switzerland. In Belgium, the language diversity (French in the south and Flemish in the north) acts as a centrifugal force. In Switzerland, language diversity is more of a centrpetal force, with French, German, Italian, and Romansh speakers living peacefully in one country.

Map page 165: This map shows that, unsurprisingly, most of the world's internet users live in rich countries (North America, western Europe, and Japan).

Map page 167: This map shows that, while most Canadians speak English, in the province of Quebec, 80% speak French.

We watched a film entitled The Global Tongue. The film begins with a concert to support Australia's Aborigines. English was used, during the colonial process, to destroy cultures. There are currently 6,000 languages spoken in the world, but half will die within 100 years. Today, English is the base component of most media. Germans feel left out if they don't speak English. It is needed to participate in global affairs. Language follows military and politics; it moves as a result of power. While BBC News is taped in London, England, Asian monks, African youth, and people all around the world listen. In fact, 90% of listeners speak English as a second, third, or even fourth language. The BBC originated as the network of the British empire. We then go to Jamaica where the British established good British schools; Jamaican children got a good British education, but didn't learn about their own country. Here, in the Caribbean, European languages  provide the treble line (with vocabulary, tones) and African languages provide the rhythm. Around the world, one billion are learning English as a foreign language in any given year. Within two generations, more will speak English as a second language than as a first. Already, 20% of the world's people speak English at some level of proficiency. We see new combinations, for example, Hindlish, a combination of English and Hindi. Is this good or bad? Well, language does progress. A study was conducted on recent migrants to England. Their language is peppered with all sorts of way of speaking. We then see a music performance by Apache Indian. Then, we go to a BBC report in California. The BBC is speaking to a global audience, so they try to use words that everyone understands. For example, they don't say "Victorian," they say late 19th century. They don't say "Victorian values," they say a strict code of sexual morality. Today, 80% of electronically stored information is stored in English. English is the international language of business. We then go to Chinnor, England, home on One World Online, a human rights organization. English is the language of the internet. In France, English words are banned. A linguist thinks trying to hold back the onslaught of English is an exercise in futility. Still, companies are fined for having labels with even two or three English words on it. In India, we see a new use of the word "only," as in "that film was terrible only." Any culture clash is a language clash. We then go to Alaska, where the U.S. required the people to learn English. They began to forget their own language and are now re-learning it. We then see a music video, from India. It is an example of hybridity: western music and musical instruments, with Punjabi dress and language. It represents a fusion of culture. English used to be "owned" by the British, then it was "owned" by the U.S., and is now increasingly owned by no one in particular, we have a symphony of Englishes.

October 5:
English isn’t the most spoken language (Mandarin Chinese is) but it is the global language - the global lingua franca (language of int’l communication). Note language family map on pages 152-153: 50% of world speaks Indo-European.

English colonization – the sun never sets on the British empire
English is a Germanic language ….
4000 years old tribes called the Celts (speaking Celtic) arrived
450 AD (1550 years old) Germanic tribes invaded …
1.    Jutes (northern Denmark)  … settled SE England
2.    Angles (southern Denmark) … settled north England
3.    Saxons (NW Germany) … settled south, west England
Angles’ (Engles) Land (language = englisc) = England
800’s -- Vikings (from Norway)
1066 – Normans (from Normandy in France) – spoke French and became England’s official language for 150 years.
1362 – official language changed back to English

Today, two Englishes: British and American (+ bunch of dialects within that – regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation). Differences result from early isolation. Vocabulary different because new things encountered: moose, raccoon, chipmunk, canoe, squash. New inventions – lift (elevator), torch (flashlight), lorry (truck). Spelling different because of strong US national feeling for independence (thank Noah Webster): remove the U (colour); substitute z for s (colonization); and substitute s for c (defense).

Hindlish, which we learned about in last Thursday's film, is an example of a pidgin language (a simplified form of a lingua franca + elements of their own languages).

History of language:
Prehistory (before writing): 10,000-15,000 languages probably spoken when world’s pop was 5-10 million
Today: 6000 to 6800 languages, of which ½ to 90% could be extinct by the end of the century
½ of all languages are spoken by fewer than 2500 people, but speakers need at least 100,000 speakers to pass from generation to generation. Why would languages become extinct? war, genocide, fatal natural disasters, adoption of more dominant languages, government bans

Some examples of last vestiges of languages:
In the U.S. (in Anchorage, AK) is the last speaker in the world of Eyak (Marie Smith, 83)
Manx, from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea disappeared in 1974 w/ the death of its last speaker
1992: Turkish farmer’s passing marked the end of Ubykh (language from Caucasus with the most consonants on record, 81)
Why does this matter? Lose rich sources of material for work documenting a people’s history, finding out what they knew, tracking their movements. The world becomes less diverse

Today, 8 countries account for more than half of all languages. In order:
o    Papua New Guinea
o    Indonesia
o    Nigeria
o    India
o    Mexico
o    Cameroon
o    Australia
o    Brazil

There are efforts to revive some languages:
o    Hawaiian – reintroducing into public schools (almost became extinct when US banned school from teaching students Hawaiian after annexing the then-independent country in 1898 – now 7-10,000 speakers, up from 1000 in 1983
o    Cornish – language of Cornwall, England, thought to have died around 1777
o    Mayan languages
o    Hebrew – evolved in the last century from written language into Israel’s national tongue, spoken by 5 million
o    Welsh
o    Navajo
o    Maori

Going the other direction, ½ the world’s people speak just 8 languages as a first language
o    Mandarin Chinese – 885 M
o    Spanish – 332 M
o    English – 322 M
o    Arabic – 220 M
o    Bengali – 189 M
o    Hindi – 182 M
o    Portuguese – 170 M
o    Russian – 170 M
o    Japanese – 125 M
o    German – 98 M

A language family is a group of languages descended from a single, earlier tongue
o    30-100 language families worldwide
o    recognize similarities via vocabulary and grammar
o    Indo-European (with 3 billion speakers, the most spoken language family) may have developed near today's Russian/Kazakhstan border or in central Turkey, about 5000 years ago

Take a look at the language branches map on page 155. Branches within a language family include Germanic (which is part of the Indo-European language family). English is in the Germanic branch. The Romance language branch – developed from Latin (2000 years ago), the “Roman’s language." The Spanish and Portuguese (both Romance languages, along with French, Catalan, Italian, etc) were languages of the conqueror. Even today, 2/3 speak Spanish in Latin America speak, 1/3 speak Portuguese.
o    Most of the Amerind tongues of western hemisphere disappeared in the face of Euro conquest and settlement. There are at least 3 language families in North America because of 3 waves of migration: Amerind (1st); Na Dene (2nd – Canada, US SW); and Eskimo-Aleut (3rd – extreme north, Greenland)

While Indo-European is spoken thoughout Europe, the Basque language is still spoken in an isolated area in the Pyrenees, straddling coastal France and Spain. All of the other mention of the language family to which Basque belonged are now dead and gone.

The map on page 146 shows that most of the people of India and Pakistan also speak Indo-European
In the south are Dravidian speakers, who were pushed to the south by invading Aryans (Indo-Euro). Many speak Hindi, but there are a number of other widely spoken languages in India. Next door in Pakistan, speak a language (Urdu) that is spoken very much like Hindi but written in the Arabic alphabet. Most Pakistanis are Muslim and their holy book (Koran) is written in Arabic.

The non- Indo-European language families include Sino-Tibetan, the 2nd largest family. These languages are spoken by nearly ¼ of world, and includes Chinese. Mandarin Chinese is the official language of China and one of 6 official languages of the UN. The Chinese characters represent ideas of concepts – ideograms – not specific pronunciations. Chinese is, therefore, an ideographic language. For some examples, look at page 156 – figure 5-13

In Africa, there are about 1,000 distinct languages documented. Some speak Khoisan – click languages (south). Swahili, an important language, is spoken in much of eastern Africa

As we've previously discussed, toponyms are place names. They are the language on the land - the record of past inhabitants who namings endure, perhaps corrupted and disguised. In the U.S., 27 of 50 state names originated in Native American languages, etc.

Review: (1) English belongs to the _ language family. (2) England got its name from the _, a Germanic tribe who invaded about 1550 years ago. (3) American English is different from British English. List one difference: _
(4) About how many languages are spoken today? _  At best, how many languages will likely be spoken in a 100 years? _ (5) There are a few countries where many, many languages are still spoken. Name one of the top 8 countries in terms of language diversity: _ (6) As a first language, the most spoken language in the world is _.
(7) Where did the Indo-European language probably originate? _ (8) Where did the name “Romance,” as in Romance languages, come from? _

October 7:
We began our discussion of religion by talking about places where religion has caused bloodshed: Israel, Northern Ireland, India, Tibet. Some countries have state religions: Buddhism (Burma, Laos, Thailand); Islam (Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran); Lutheran (Norway, Sweden). Some countries try to replace faith in god with faith in the state: the former U.S.S.R. in the past and China still today (as Mao said, "religion is poison"). Countries with no state religion and in which religion has no direct influence on affairs of state or civil law are secular states. The US is supposed to be a secular state, but our country is becoming less secular. Religion is evident in the landscape: think of cemeteries (Catholic vs. Protestant in the US) and no cemeteries (for example, in India where Hindus are cremated -- many hope to be cremated along the banks of the Ganges River, the most sacred river in India).

Religion can be classified as follows: monotheistic (belief in one god) or polytheistic (many gods) or as universalizing (missionary work, try to convert -- Christianity, Islam, Buddhism), Ethnic (place based, with cultural identification -- Hinduism, Shinto, Judaism), and tribal religions (place based but practiced by a small number of people with a unique identity -- animism, shamanism; note that animists believe that life exists in all objects, from trees to rocks to scorpions; shamans are religious leaders, healers, workers of magic who the community accepts as having special powers with which to intercede with and interpret the spirit world).

Christianity: 2 billion adherents (Catholic = 1+ billion, Protestant = .5 billion and Orthodox = .2 billion); Islam: 1.3 billion, the fastest growing (Sunni = 1+ billion and Shi'ite = 200+ million) ; Hindu: nearly 1 billion; Buddhism: 360 million; Sikh: 20 million (Punjab, India especially); Judaism: 15-18 million (with largest concentration in North America and second largest in Israel).

Group work: In groups of five, students learned about and discussed major religions:
(1) Buddhism: founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who was born about 563 BC in Nepal (note: disputed birthplace; India claims its birthplace too); most Buddhists live in Asia; does not recognize a god as creator, and the Buddha (an enlightened Siddhartha Gautama) is not worshipped as a god; practitioners seek Enlightenment; the Dalai Lama is a Buddhist spiritual leader; the four noble truths are: human life is full of suffering, the cause of suffering is greed, there is an end to suffering, and the way to end suffering is to follow the Middle Path; the central ritual of Buddhism is meditation; the 8-spoked wheel is the dominant symbol of Buddhism (it represents the 8-fold path, or Middle Path).
(2) Hinduism: One of the world's oldest religions, going back over 4000 years to northwestern India; rather than "Hinduism," practitioners call their religion sanatana dharma (eternal religion); move Hindus live in South Asia; Hinduism is a polytheistic faith, with gods and goddesses as form of the supreme being, Brahman (Vishnu and Shiva are very important gods); Hindus believe in reincarnation (samsara), karma, and moksha (when one's soul merges with Brahman); Hindu society is divided into 4 castes, with some living below the caste system; the sacred texts include the Vedas and the Upanishads; the Ganges River is very sacred to Hindus and many make pilgimages to bathe in its waters.
(3) Christianity: This 2000 year old faith began with followers of Jesus; after being killed, his body disappeared and his followers saw this as a definitive sign of Jesus' relationship to God; large Christian populations are found in the U.S., Mexico, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, and Russia; Christians believe in God's presence in 3 forms: God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; the Bible includes both the Old and New Testaments.
(4) Islam: The word "Islam" means "submission;" the followers of this 1400 year old faith believe that Mohammed (Muhammad) was the last in a series of prophets (including Jesus); Muslims are monotheistic, believing in Allah; the central beliefs of Muslims are known as the Five Pillars of Islam: statement of faith, ritual of prayer, giving of alms, fasting during holy month, and pilgrimage to Mecca; the holy scripture is the Koran (Qu'ran).
(5) Judaism: This is the oldest monotheistic religion, going back 4000 years; they believe that they are the chosen people and that God gave them a large area in the Middle East (of which Israel is part); the main groups are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform; the holy book, the Torah, includes the first five books of the Old Testament; in Israel, Jews pray at the Western Wall, which was part of a great Jewish temple; the most common symbol of Judaism is the six-pointed Star of David.
(6) Sikhism: This 500 year old religion began in India's Punjab; teachings include tolerance of all faiths, a rejection of the caste system, and avoiding rituals of fasting or idol worship; 80% of Sikhs today live in the Punjab; they are monotheistic and believe that God sees everyone as equal, thus all Sikh men carry the last name of Singh and women have surname of Kaur; the holiest shrine is the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India; symbols of the faithful include: having uncut hair, a wooden comb, a ceremonial sword, white shorts, and a steel bracelet.

October 12:

Video entitled "Faces of Culture: Religion and Magic": religion helps explain the unknown, based upon belief systems, a commonly-held worldview, its origin may have been in response to fears of accidents, illness, and death. The first group featured were the Native Americans of the US: we heard about their animist beliefs; believe that the forces of good and evil are in a delicate balance; everything has a cause and an effect. The Mayans of southern Mexico also recognize a permanent struggle between good and evil and spirits in all things. Their religion exemplifies what can happen as the result of crisis. The Mayans adopted some Catholic rituals (from the conquering Spanish) but held their own animist beliefs; they still use divination, shamans, and drugs to affect the supernatural. When people take the supernatural into their own hands, this is magic. On the island of Bali in Indonesia, we saw Balinese Hinduism. They believe that life and death are illusions; to break the cycle of birth and death is the goal. There are three worlds: upper (God), middle (human), lower (demons); all must be kept in balance. At the Feast of the 11 Powers (held at the end of the Balinese century), rituals seek to put the earth back in balance. If harmony is restored, all the evil in the world will be gone for a brief moment. Agriculture/nature, life, and religion are tightly intertwined in Bali. Back in the US, religion is often relegated to special occasions. We saw some of the Krishna practices; God is seen as being in the center, and as the way toward peace and harmony. In the former USSR, the state tried to stamp out religion and to substitute the state as the source of values and social control. The video ends by asking if scientific discovery will make religion obsolete? Probably not. Einstein once said that "the cosmic looks more and more like a great thought."

Judaism: 18 million. Judaism: monotheistic religion, 3000-4000 years old, Yahweh - God, Torah - holy book,. About 2000 BC, the people migrated from Mesopotamia (Iraq) to Canaan (Israel). When famine struck, they migrated to Egypt (about 1200 BC). In 1020 BC, Moses led them back from Egypt to Canaan. The Jews believe that this is the promised land (that God gave them) and that they are the chosen people. Beginning during Roman times, the Jews dispersed throughout the world; this is called the Jewish diaspora. After WWII, the UN proposed dividing Palestine into two countries: one for the Jews and one for the Palestinians. The state of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948.

Islam: Sunni (leaders must be faithful, community leaders, followers of the Koran) versus Shi'ite (or Shia or Shiah) (leaders must be blood descendents of Mohammed). Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was born in 570 AD in Mecca. At the age of 40, he began receiving revelations from Allah: there is one God. As Mecca's people were polytheistic at the time, he had to flee temporarily (to Medina). The flight (622) marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. At the time of his death in 633 AD, Saudi Arabia had converted to Islam. Afterwards, Islam spread to Indonesia, India/Pakistan, to North Africa, via the Moors to Spain and via the Ottomans to parts of eastern Europe. Today, Islam (like Christianity, its roots are in Judaism) is the world's fastest growing religion. Allah is god; the holy book is the Koran (Quran); Islam means submission to the will of God; Muslims believe that Jesus, Moses, and others were prophets, with Mohammed the last and greatest of the prophets; the Five Pillars of faith include (a)repeat saying of basic creed -- a belief in Allah (b) prayers 5 times per day, facing Mecca (c)month of daytime fasting during Ramadan (d) almsgiving and (e) pilgrimage to Mecca (if possible).

Rastafarianism: Haile Selassie, the former king of Ethiopia, is believed to be the lamb and sacred god of the black people; he is said to be a direct descendant of King Solomon; say early Christians were black; dreadlocks symbolize the lamb's wool; marijuana is used as was "magic mushrooms" (seen in the Faces of Culture video); reggae music; Jamaica and the Caribbean Islands are associated with these beliefs.
           
Hinduism: Hinduism is the world's oldest religion (over 4000 years old). The Aryans, who invaded from the north, pushed the dark-skinned Dravidians south. The Aryans are credited with the beginning of Hinduism. The religion is an amazingly diverse one, with some believing in only one god and others having many, many gods. Hindus believe in: (1)reincarnation: birth and death in a cycle    (2)dharma = duty  for the station and duties of one's life    (3)holy places = Hindus are particularly attuned to nature. The Ganges River is one of the most sacred sites. (4)karma  = ex: doing good deeds or bad deeds will influence the station at which you are next born, i.e., a "bank" of deeds. (5)caste = originally based upon skin color, it is now a four-tier non-color based structure with many subdivisions. At the top are the Brahmins (usually priests, administrators, or others in power). Below the bottom rung of the caste system are the "untouchables" a classification that has been illegal in India for a number of years; today this large group of people are called dalits or sometimes harijans. Where one lies in the caste system is reflective of past lives, past deeds.

Jainism: Began about 600 BC. Important tenet: "non-injury to all living things." Jains believe in right conduct, right knowledge, right belief.

Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who was born 563 BC. After years of meditation, he found enlightenment and is now called Buddha, the Enlightened One. He taught that people suffer because of greed. He taught non-violence. There are two main tracts: Buddhists who focus on meditation (e.g., Tibetan monks) and those who focus on teaching.

Sikhism was founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539). The faith, an amalgamation of Hindu and Muslim thought, was at first a pacifist faith. Most live in the Punjab of South Asia and desire a separate country.

Homework: In your own words, explain what each of the key words at the end of the chapter on Ethnicity mean.

October 14: Ethnicity

In pairs, students read the Palestinian and Israeli perspectives. Palestine has been a name on maps for years, so to say (as the text does) that the Palestinian ethnicity began in the 1960s is not correct. Perhaps the author meant that the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) was established.

Israel/Palestine: The issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians are complex and deadly. Since the fall of 2000, the Palestinian have been engaged in the second Intifada, which is a rebellion against what they see as an intolerable situation. The Guardian (June 23, 2003) entitled "Time to Get Tough." issues faced by the Palestinians: short supplies of food, medicines; anemia, homes reduced to rubble, old/productive orchards destroyed, Israeli settlements, inability to get produce to market, fishing rights severely restricted, medieval security fence with ditch/razor wire/look-out posts, poor infrastructure, roadblocks.

Rwanda: Population=8 million, 5% urban, GNP per capita=$190/year, life expectancy=43 (M) and 44 (F). Hutu there first; Tutsi in 1300s; Tutsi kings by 1600s; 1899 German colony; 1916 Belgian colony; Belgians elevated Tutsi and treated the majority Hutu like scum. In 1962, independence; Hutus in power. Tutsis treated badly; many left; formed Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) outside country. RPF rebellion in 1990 ended in power sharing agreement. During negotiations, 1990-1994, hoes and machetes imported. April 1994, President's airplane shot down. In chaos that followed, extremist Hutu (called the Interhamwe - those who fight together) put killing plan into action. Set up roadblocks, tracked down - killed Tutsi. UN peacekeepers pulled out after 13 Belgian peacekeepers killed. Massacres all over the country. International action very slow. The killing finally stopped when RPF took Kigali (the capital). In 100 days, 800,000 Tutsi were killed. The United Nations officially declared this a genocide, the only one since WWII. 

South Africa: The Xhosa (Bantu Africans) probably came into South Africa in the 1500s. Zulu (also Bantu) also immigrated. Afrikaners (Boers) - Dutch - came into South Africa mid 1600s. British in late 1700s, and took over in 1806. Population composition: 76% black, 13% white, 9% coloured, and 3% Asian. Apartheid (1948) by Afrikaner government (the Nationalists) to maintain white privilege: "separate development of the races," classification/registration by race, separate facilities, sex/marriage between races prohibited, no black vote or any voice in the government, no right of blacks to protest, homelands created, pass laws needed for travel outside homeland. The homelands are rural; townships (such as Soweto) are urban - meant as temporary slum housing for black workers. Economic sanctions led to collapse of system in early 1990s. Nelson Mandela was released from prison, worked with all political parties, and was elected the first black president of South Africa in 1994.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a population over 129 million. It was a British colony until 1960. Three major ethnic groups: the Yoruba (southwest, Christian), the Ibo (southeast, Christian), and Hausa-Fulani (north, Muslim) live in Nigeria. A civil war, from 1967-1970, claimed one million lives; the Ibo had hoped to become an independent country named Biafra. Nigeria is an extremely corrupt country. Oil was first drilled in Nigeria in 1965. Today, it is a major oil producer, taking in $100 million per month in oil revenue and $400 billion from oil since 1970. Nigeria is the 10th largest producer in the world and the 5th largest foreign supplier to the US, yet it is one of the world's poorest countries (mostly because of government and corporate corruption). Lagos, the largest city with 13.5 million people, was established as a farming and fishing village. From the mid 1700 to the mid 1800s, it was a slave trading center. In 1861, the British took it over. Today it has been called "the biggest disaster area that ever passed for a city."

Key Term Review: (1) _, a unifying force, such as how Americans came together after 911. (2) _, a group of people who share cultural traditions – for example, the Kurds. (3) _, scare tactic to induce whites to leave a neighborhood. This was very common during the Jim Crow years in the U.S. (4) _, a country with several ethnic groups – for example, Switzerland. (5) _, or loyalty and devotion to one’s country, usually with the feeling that “we are the best.” (6) _, the forcible removal of one ethnic group by a stronger ethnic group – for example, the Albanians in Kosovo. (7) _, the breaking apart of a country, is most closely associated with Yugoslavia. (8) _, “separate development of the races,” is associated with South Africa. (9) The Zapatistas of Chiapas are fighting for _, the right to govern themselves. (10) _, the notion that some people are superior to others because of racial differences – for example, the Belgians perspective on Rwandans.

Articles for Critical Thinking Essay #2. Please see syllabus for instructions. Select five of the following articles, for inclusion in your essay:
“US Presses NATO to Prepare Takeover of Afghanistan Military Operations,” October 14, 2004, http://www.turkishpress.com
“An Alphabet for What Could be the Last Weeks of the Bush Era,” October 14, 2004, http://jang.com.pk (The News International, Pakistan)
“Israel Could Become International Parish, FM Warns,” October 14, 2004, http://palestinechronicle.com (The Palestine Chronicle)
“Turkey Wants Say Over Kirkuk,” October 14, 2004, http://www.arabnews.com (Arab News)
“The Policy of the European Integration has been Ukraine’s Key Issue for Several Years,” October 14, 2004, http://english.pravda.ru (Pravda)
“UPI Energy Watch: Kazakstan,” October 12, 2004, http://quotes.freerealtime.com (United Press International)
“Chen Counsels Patience with China,” October 14, 2004, http://english.www.gov.tw (Taipei Times)
“Turkey Rebuffs Calls to Recognize Greek Cypriot Government,” October 13, 2004, http://www.turkishpress.com (Turkish Press)
“Human Rights in North Korea,” October 14, 2004, http://times.hankooki.com (The Korea Times)

October 19:

Students watched "Abolition: Broken Promises" (available in LCC Library E 185.61 A26 1998). 1800-1850: bounty hunters could get rich off returning fugitive slaves; 1850 Fugitive Slave Law - very bad for blacks; Abraham Lincoln - believed that blacks were inferior to whites; 1858 - Dred Scott Supreme Court decision; north was against slavery because slavery interfered with the free market; 1820-1860 - new state every 3 years; 1860 - Lincoln opposed westward expansion of slavery, so southern states began seceding from U.S.; in 1862, the war was not looking good for the north because the south had international support; in 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation allowed the north to recruit 178,000 blacks, many of whom were newly freed; the war came to look like a war of liberation (NY city called it the "nigger's war"); 1864 - the campaign for US president was overtly racist, with idea of miscegenation (inter-breeding) first used; after civil war - blacks jumped into politics and rejoiced in new-found liberty -- black churches, families reunited, etc. - but the whites believed they had "given" blacks their freedom, not that the blacks had earned it; troops in the south for 10 years after civil war - but, like a current situation that comes to mind, the government had no plan for what to do after the war -- it was chaos. Lincoln's assassination in the first weeks of peace made things much worse; Andrew Johnson, a southern former slave owner, became president. Johnson didn't hold southern accountable. Nevertheless, the 14th and 15th amendments were passed, allowing blacks the right to vote and to civil equality, and in 1875 - law passed giving equal access to services. In 1866, KKK formed, followed by a decade of vigilante violence. In 1877, south got home rule. Freed slaves had been given 40 acres and mule, but land redistribution was very controversial and much of the land was taken by the whites. The sharecropping, which lasted for 3 generations, again put southern blacks in a slave-like position. In the late 1800s, random lynchings were terroristic, and were meant to keep blacks down. Crowds of people came to see lynchings and people talked about them as if they were educational. States began passing laws to keep blacks from voting: poll tax (Mississippi), grandfather clause (Louisiana), literacy test (Arkansas), and test of "good character" (Alabama). Jim Crow laws began to be passed, first in 1888 in Tennessee, to segregate blacks from whites. President Wilson was racist. D. W. Griffith's movie "Birth of a Nation" glorified the KKK (in 1920, the KKK marched down Pennsylvania Avenue). Sadly, the film ends by saying that our civil war is celebrated and remembered fondly as one that nobody lost.

After the film, I mentioned the October 18, 2004 Washington Post article entitled "Wealth Gap Widens for Blacks, Hispanics." Part of the text reads, "The net worth of Hispanic and black households fell 27% from 1999 through 2001, while white household wealth rose 2% during the same period, the survey found. The losses erased many of the gains blacks and Hispanics had made during the boom of the late 1990s, and they left them less of a chusion to ride out future downturns, according to the report. 'The recession and jobless recovery had enormous costs,' said Roberto Suro, director of the non-partisan Pew Hispanic Center. 'They wiped out a lot of gains.'" In groups, students then discussed whether a system that perpetuates inequity still exists. If so, what is it? If not, what accounts for the inequity in our society?

October 21: Political Geography

State = political unit, established government, control over internal/external affairs, occupies defined territory, has a permanent population. Today there are nearly 200 states, but even 50 years ago, the number was much lower. The reasons? Most of Africa and Asia were colonies, not states. In 1991, the USSR collaped and divided into 15 countries. Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia also divided.

States have boundaries (most are invisible). The boundaries can be:
•    Compact = distance from center to boundary does not vary significantly
•    Prorupted = compact state with a large projecting extension (to provide resource, such as water … and to divide states) (Congo)
•    Elongated = long, narrow shape (Chile)
•    Fragmented = some pieces of territory separated (separated by water … or separated by an intervening state) (Indonesia)
•    Perforated state = state that completely surrounds another (South Africa, b/c is surrounds Lesotho)
•    Landlocked = state lacks a direct outlet to the sea
Boundaries may be drawn to coincide with mountains, deserts, water … or they may be drawn to be straight lines (geometric) or religious (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) or by language (European countries)

Look on page 250; list of sovereign states that are members of the United Nations
The United Nations System includes many entities. In terms of world governance, the General Assembly and Security Council are of importance. The Security Council has five permanent members (Britain, China, France, Russia, and the US) - each of which has veto power - and ten temporary, rotating members, none of which has veto power. The Security Council can take direct action if political resolution of conflict has failed by invoking the principle of collective security. If they can agree among themselves, the five permanent powers can enforce their will on the rest of the world. Agreement is not all that common. The General Assembly, the UN's second quasi-legislative body, is open to all members and numerically dominated by the non-western countries. Decisions are by majority vote, but there is no authority to enforce these decisions. Basically, the General Assembly is a forum for voicing world opinion, and that's about all.

On the list of countries, Western Sahara isn't listed (but it is shown on the map in our classroom). It was supposed to be country and was added, in 1963, to the list of countries to be decolonized. For 13 centuries, the Sahrawis were nomadic. In 1885, the Spanish came in to colonize. A 50-year resistance was crushed in 1934. In the 1950s, droughts forced the Sahrawis to settle in Spanish-built cities where they provided cheap labor for the Spanish. In 1973, the Polisario Front was established and within two years had gained massive popular support. At the end of 1975, the Moroccans invaded. Many Sahrawis fled to the Polisario Front strongholds and then fled to refugee camps in Algeria. A berm was built by the Moroccans to keep the Sahrawis in/out. The berm is longer than the Great Wall of China. In 1991, the UN brokered a ceasefire, but resolution is not forthcoming. Today, there are 178,000 refugees (2/3 of the Sahrawi population) in four large camps in Algeria. Women make up 80% of the camp population. The women have focused on preparing themselves (and their children) to be participants in an independent country. Their focus has included. (1) public health: teaching healthy habts to the children, preventing flies and other disease vectors, and creating a medical system. (2) education: under Spanish rule, less than 1% of the women could read, today over 90% are literate; the women are very dedicated to educating themselves and their children (the Koran says that those who know and who don't know are not truly equal); daycare is provided; a universal education system is often augmented by study abroad. The goal is to obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to run a modern state after independence. (3) mutual aid: the women help each other, in a tradition of interdependence and mutual obligation. (4) food: until recently, the Algerian government provided food, but this has become increasingly difficult. Today, the people carefully plan the distribution of the food aid, have invested in small agricultural projects, and grow vegetables. The Sahrawis are culturally distinct from the Moroccans (this underlies the claim to independence). The Moroccans have invaded the privacy of Sahrawi homes on the west side of the berm. Tent villages of Moroccans has been created in the Western Saharan capital of El Aaiun. People have been imprisoned, tortured and killed. Many have disappeared. In 1989, many of the Moroccan prisoners were released by the Polisario Front, but they are unable to go home. The king of Morocco is afraid that their stories will differ from the official line. One hundred miles west of the refugee camps, the UN Peacekeepers keep watch. A referendum was supposed to take place in January 1992, but it has never occurred. The problem is that Morocco has moved in many Moroccans, who are claiming that they should get to vote. The Polisario Front still exists. Its Congress was held recently. The latest UN plan is for Western Sahara to accept being part of Morocco for five years; after that, the Western Saharans (the Sahrawis) get to vote about whether to become independent or not. The reason for Morocco's interest in Western Sahara: potential petroleum deposits, good fishery, and the world's largest phosphate deposits.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is also not listed. The USSR was the largest multinational state – in fact, the largest state period – in the world. This communist country lasted from 1924 until 1991 and then collapse. From the one country came 15, as follows:
3 Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
3 European countries – Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine
5 Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
3 Caucasus countries – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia
and Russia.

Review: (1) What type of state is each of the following?
Afghanistan _   Chile _   South Africa _   Paraguay _   Cambodia _   Indonesia _
a. compact   b. prorupted   c. elongated   d. fragmented   e. perforated   f. landlocked
(2) In the U.N., what is the Security Council? What is the General Assembly?
(3) The country of Western Sahara is still colonized by the country of _. A resistance movement is led by a group called the _. What is so valuable in Western Sahara that the occupiers will not leave?_
(4) The largest multinational state was the _. It collapsed in December 1991. Now, there are 15 countries instead of just one. These countries are in the Baltic (name one of the Baltic states: _), in Europe (name one of the European states: _), in Central Asia (name one of the Central Asian states: _), in the Caucasus (name one of the Caucasus states: _), and Russia.

Homework: Read Key Issue 5 – why has terrorism increased? It begins on page 275 through the end of chapter. Then, write down the five issues that you think are most important in the U.S. right now; explain why.

October 26:

I have two GEO 172 classes. The two classes were very different on Tuesday, because of a bomb scare during one and divergent discussions about Monday's teach-in. Following is the information that I'd like for students in both classes to be similar with:

Dr. Jeffrey Freyman, Political Science Professor at Transylvania, spoke at Monday's Teach-in. He talked about grand strategies engaged by various political leaders in the U.S. #1 is isolationism: cut back on military, why make enemies? economic nationalism, anti-globalization. #2 is idealism: the U.S. can make things right by working with the international community, world peace through world law, humanitarian efforts. #3: realism: this has been the mainstream view for the last 60 years (Ford, Eisenhower, Nixon, Bush Sr), U.S. should avoid morality, pursue national interest through foreign policy (globalization) and national security, the idea is balance of power rather than supremacy is optimal, advocate containment and deterrence and use strong military to scare others, can't control the world. #4: imperialism: agree that the world is a dangerous place, the U.S. can attain military supremacy (our military spending equals that of the rest of the world), we will establish the first benevolent empire, we are being selfless in defending the world against its enemies, we can remake the world with American values, remoralize American foreign policy, reject multi-laterialism. Bush Jr. falls into #4.

Netta Brooks spoke at Monday's Teach-in about the Amendment that will appear on Kentucky ballots. It reads: "Are you in favor of amending the Kentucky constitution to provide that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be a marriage in Kentucky, and that a legal status identical to or similar to marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized?" Ms. Brooks argued that there are many ramifications for unmarried women if this amendment were to pass. This is an issue that specifically targets committed gays and lesbians, but it would also negatively affect unmarried women. For example, those who work with victims and survivors of domestic violence are concerned that domestic violence orders would no longer be available to an unmarried couple whether of the same or opposite sex. It is primarily women who requests orders of protection.

Afghanistan is slightly smaller than Texas and is arid to semi-arid, with many rugged mountains. The population is 24 million, with most of the people (82%) living in rural areas. The capital is Kabul. The life expectancy is low (45 years for females and 46 years for males), the infant mortality is very high (> 150 per 1000) and the literacy is quite low. The majority of people don’t even have access to safe drinking water. Afghanistan has a long history of turbulence, going back for centuries. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Russians arrived (wanting to secure access to sea ports), as did the British (who wanted to control the Indus to keep Indian rebels from threatening Britain’s colonial empire). The Russians relied on diplomacy and bribery. The British used force. The 1839-1842 British-Afghan War ended in Britain’s defeat. In a second war, 1878-1880, Afghanistan’s ruler (the Durrani dynasty) was overthrown. Afghanistan lost much of its territory. The borders were artificially set, so the people never recognized the boundaries, crossing with their herds in search of pastures. A third British-Afghan War, in 1919, ended with Afghanistan’s independence. An independence leader (Emir Amanullah Khan) came to power and modernized the country. He was overthrown in 1929, but the government system remained stable for a number of years. In 1953, a new modernization process was initiated. Utilities were nationalized. Roads, schools, hydroelectric systems, and irrigation systems built. Obligatory use of the veil (chador) by women was abolished.The armed forces were reorganized. In 1963, there was a change of government, with a military overthrow of the government in 1973. A popular uprising occurred in 1977 after one of the party leaders was murdered. In 1978, a new leader introduced reforms: Compulsory literacy; Abolition of the dowry system and other traditional customs; Radical land reforms. The clergy and elite disagreed with the reforms and the leader was murdered in 1979. A period of great instability resulted (e.g., there were 25 different cabinets in 1978-1979). Soviet troops entered Afghanistan in late 1979 and placed Babrak Karmal in power. The Soviet presence triggered a sense of solidarity among Islamic fundamentalists, who came into Afghan territory to fight “Satan.” These expeditions were reportedly financed by Saudi Arabia. These fundamentalists came to be known as the mujahedin.About 6 million fled and over one million were killed. In excess of 10 million landmines were laid. The US got involved, siding against the Soviets and thus with the Islamic fundamentalists.In 1988, an agreement was reached whereby Soviet troops would leave. By 1992, the government was headed by 4 vice presidents. They indicated a willingness to negotiate with the rebel groups. Many were unhappy about certain rebel groups being legitimized and fighting broke out. Many civilians left Kabul because of the violence. The UN announced a $10 million aid program, for food and medication. By this point, 60% of the country’s productive structure was destroyed and Afghanistan had become the world’s largest producer of opium. The government collapsed. In January 1994, the fighting became so bad that 75% of Kabul’s 2 million people fled. In 1995, the Taliban (students, in Persian) entered southern Afghanistan. They are mostly Pathans (Pashtun). They aimed to create a united Islamic government – and were widely supported within the country. As they enjoyed victory after victory, by 1996 they were able to put in place their ideas of the Koran, which included Sharia law: women were banished from the public sphere and from the education system. They banned music and singing (except for hymns), movies, plays, alcohol. By 2001, the Taliban controlled 90% of Afghanistan, but was recognized by only 3 countries as a legitimate country. October 2001, the war against the Osama bin Laden and the Taliban began. This war came on the heels of a severe drought. Today, the Taliban is again a force outside the capital, especially in the east and southeast parts of the country. Hamid Karzai was the interim head of state; he is Pathan (Pashtun). He has apparently now been elected President.

October 28:

To begin the chapter on Development, we watched "Globalization: Winners and Losers" - this video is available in LCC Library, HF 1379 G595 2000. The film begins with footage from the November/December, 1999 protest of the WTO in Seattle, WA. About 40,000 human rights, labor, and environmental people came to protest, demanding fair trade rather than free trade. The scale of the protest was a huge surprise, and the Seattle police went a little over-the-top. A state of emergency was declared. The film then goes back to the end of WWII, when the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) were created to stabilize economies and finance the reconstruction of Europe. The World Bank and IMF are still in business and, for example, in 1998 stepped in to bail out the Asian Tiger economies. We then went to the stock exchange, which for 200 years involved face-to-face transactions. Today, this $12 trillion industry is digital. Day-traders trade directly, feeding on volatility and holding onto stock an average of 4.5 minutes. The number of transnational corporations (TNCs) has increased dramatically over the past 30 years, from 7000 to 50,000 today. The power of TNCs outstrips that of many governments. Arguably, globalization has brought 3 billion out of poverty since WWII. We then go to the Miss India beauty pageant. The creator of Hotmail, who made $400 million by selling his invention to Microsoft, was a celebrity at the event. There are now 100 million non-English users of the Internet and is a large emerging market for the Internet. Thousands of cyber-millionaires have been created. On the one hand, half of the Indians are illiterate and, on the other, one-quarter of the world's software engineers are India. In Bangalore, Infosys created their own entirely self-sufficient system (in Bangalore, the electricity goes off at least once per day). Infosys is a $1.5 billion software exporter today. The Internet sparked a rebirth of civil society; today, there are 25,000 non-governmental organizations. We then go to the issue of genetically engineered (GE) products, a $50 billion industry. This industry has been accused of putting profit over food safety. In terms of testing, Monsanto (one of the biggest GE industries) says the testing has been adequate, but a scientist says that isn't true. In February of 1999, Greenpeace delivered four tons of GE soybeans to Tony Blair's (British Prime Minister), saying that he is apparently the only one who wants to eat it. Overfishing is also a problem, from the Irish Sea to the shores of Africa. In Senegal, Spanish trawlers fish Senegal's water after paying the country for the right. About 1000 trawlers are in these waters, and now fishermen are making money from turtles. Around the world, 70% of the fish stocks are in danger. One Senegal fisherman tried to sue a Greek trawler for destroying his boat, but it came to nothing. In Australia, the large fishery is very hard to police. Foreigners are targeting the straddling stocks that cross boundaries. South African trawlers, among others, are fishing illegally. International goodwill is the only way to protect these resources, but do the IMF, WTO, etc. enforce equitable global rules or do these entities extend U.S. economic dominance? Jeffrey Sachs, from Harvard, said that we need to think about what kind of world we want. About 84% of the world's population lives in developing countries. We then learn that the U.S., on behalf of Chiquita bananas, filed a complaint with the WTO because the European Union (EU) was purchasing bananas from the windward islands of the Caribbean instead of buying Chiquita's cheaper bananas. On the island of St. Vincent, we are asked to leave their bananas alone. The WTO ruled in the U.S.'s favor. As a result, bananas coming from the Caribbean have halved. We then learn about the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). When it became effective, on January 1, 1994, we were all promised prosperity. In reality, over 100 U.S. companies have moved to Juarez, Mexico. The workers are paid 53 cents an hours, unions are virtually banned, poverty is widespread, and safety is lax. In a Juarez neighborhood called Anapra, electricity is stolen from the powerlines above. Illegal immigration from Mexico to the U.S. continues. With globalization, production can shift to countries with low environmental standards. For example, Shell Oil operates in Nigeria. Nigeria, the world's 6th largest oil producer, is still poor because of government corruption. An environmental activist notes that the land has spiritual significance, yet an oil spill spread during the rainy season and has not been cleaned up. He said that this is an example of environmental racism. Shell claims to be cleaning up its act, with a Shell manager repeatedly saying that the situation is "serious." Environmental contamination in Mexico and Nigeria point to the need to keep to Western environmental standards. We then go to China, the world's fastest growing economy. Amway (short for the American Way) products are sold door-to-door. This capitalist enterprise is possible because of former Chinese leader Deng, who said it was okay to amass wealth. By 1997, Amway had $178 million in revenues in China. The distributors get together in what looks like a revivial. In 1998, the Chinese government was concerned about this pyramid scheme and banned them. Riots occurred, and ten were killed. We meet one female distributor whose goal is to take her parents overseas to visit. Burma, Indonesia, and China are all under pressure to implement economic reforms. China's economic standards are doubling every 10 years, but in rural China, many live in poverty. Chinese don't have the right to form unions. As one said, in totalitarian regimes, the government doesn't care about the workers. We go to Hong Kong (which is part of China), and listen in on a radio program that is critical of China. A dissident, who spent 10 years in jail, says that worker unrest in China is great and that the Chinese government is very worried about the possibility of peasants and workers overthrowing the government. China now has Most Favored Trading status with the U.S. and is a member of the WTO. The country will be one of the economic giants of the 21st century. Finally, we go to South Africa. One quarter million gold miners were affected when gold prices dropped dramatically. Gold used to be the best way for governments to secure their wealth, but today FIRE (finance, insurance, and real estate) are most profitable, so countries have been getting rid of their gold. As gold floods the market, prices drop. This is very bad news for gold miners, who make about $180 per month and support families all across southern Africa. The powerful unions in South Africa protested, but 5000 men were out of a job, with no severance pay. In September of 1999, a cap on gold sales was implemented. Still, 40% of the workers in South Africa are unemployed and this didn't help. Around the world, one-quarter live in poverty and there is great inequity in terms of health, wealth, and opportunity. That's why people came to protest in Seattle: asking for fairer rules for trade.

Quiz: match the following: (1) Australia, (2) Bangalore, India (3) Burma (or Myanmar), (4) Caribbean Islands (5) China (6) Hong Kong (7) India (8) Indonesia (9) Irish Sea (10) Juarez, Mexico (11) New York, NY (12) Nigeria (13) St. Vincent (14) Seattle, WA (15) Senegal (16) South Africa (17) United Kingdom (18) Washington DC with (a) Shell Oil; 6th largest oil producer being destroyed by Shell's poor environmental management (b) world's fastest growing economy; Amway distributors netted $178 million in 1997 ("okay" since Deng praised self-enrichment) (c) under pressure to reform (d) "illegal" pro-Union broadcast; Radio Free Asia (e) 5000 goldminers out of jobs as result of British selling gold reserves (f) site of WTO protests in November, 1999 (g) in-person stock exchange (h) showed beauty pageant; dual worlds of internet, computers, high tech along side dire poverty (i) place where one finds high-tech computer company with its own power infrastructure (j) 4 tons of genetically modified soybeans dumped in front of Tony Blair's home by Greenpeace activists (k) overfishing (example in the north) (l) overfishing (example in the south) (m) trawlers fishing illegally in their waters (n) criticized for using IMF to exert power (o) former European colonies, produce bananas for former colonial masters, USA objected (p) one of the banana producing islands, the USA should "leave our bananas alone" (q) seeing some of the result of NAFTA; 53 cent per hour wages, 100 companies relocated factories from USA to this place.

Key to Test #2: If your test begins with "Which of the following," the key is: (1) a (2) d (3) b (4) b (5) e (6) c (7) a (8) b (9) a (10) a (11) b (12) b (13) d (14) b (15) d (16) ia (17) bd (18) ub (19) ta (20) mc (21) pe, pd (22) pc (23) mb (24) ib (25) se (26) la (27) aa (28) ma (29) he (30) tc (31) ra (32) dc (33) id (34) ba (35) va (36) ga (37) da (38) sc (39) sb (40) pf (41) ec (42) jb (43) na (44) sd (45) bb (46) ac (47) ic (48) fc (49) hb (50) pb

If your test begins with "The world's most spoken," the key is: (1) c (2) a (3) b (4) a (5) d (6) b (7) b (8) e (9) d (10) a (11) a (12) b (13) b (14) d (15) b (16) mb (17) ib (18) se (19) ia (20) bd (21) ub (22) ta (23) mc (24) pd, pe (25) pc (26) pf (27) ec (28) jb (29) na (30) sd (31) bb (32) la (33) aa (34) ma (35) he (36) tc (37) ra (38) dc (39) id (40) ba (41) va (42) ga (43) da (44) sc (45) sb (46) hb (47) pb (48) ac (49) ic (50) fc

November 9:
In groups, students answered the following questions: (1) What are the two most important points?
(2) Why is this map included in this chapter (i.e., what’s the relevance of the map)? about the following maps:
Figure 9-1
Figure 9-2
Figure 9-3
Figure 9-5
Figure 9-6
Figure 9-7
Figure 9-8
Figure 9-9
Figure 9-10
Figure 9-11
Figure 9-13
Figure 9-14
Figure 9-15

November 11: class cancelled due to illness

November 16: Harvest of Shame: This documentary, filmed in the US in 1960, focused on the working conditions of migrant laborers. Some of the ways in which things have changed are: while some of the 1960 migrant laborers were from Middle America, most were white or black Americans; the vegetable growing area has shifted toward California and Mexico; the picking of some fruits and vegetables is more mechanized; the issue of illegal immigrants (and INS raids) is more critical now; the big corporations can go to Mexico or South America today, if laborers strike; there are protections for children, but some children are still in the fields; union organizing of agricultural workers is now more successful. Most of these are not huge differences. In terms of what is still the same: while labor camps may not be quite so despicable, living conditions are still quite sub-standard; migrant laborers tend to be under-educated; the laborers are working with the hope that their children can have better lives; the laborers are badly exploited and underpaid for grueling work; these workers have very undesirable jobs that no one really wants, but everyone depends upon (we all must eat); workers are recruited and shipped north; this can be dangerous work, with accidents and chemical exposure always a possibility; the workers basically have no voice; migrant agricultural workers are still primarily found in fruit and vegetable harvesting; the American Farm Bureau is still a proponent of the corporate elite, not of those at the bottom; there is still debate about who is responsible, state, the feds, or the "free" marketplace; the grocery chains are able to successfully leverage bottom of the barrel prices; and finally, there are still people who care about these exploited people (those who believe that love and justice go together). As a follow-up, here's an article from Mother Jones, Nov 1999 v24 i6 p19
Harvest of Shame '99 : As agencies clash, migrant workers in Washington continue to live in squalor. (Brief Article) Bob Simmons.Full Text: COPYRIGHT 1999 Foundation for National Progress
As autumn begins to wind down, migrant workers pick the late-ripening Fuji apples in the orchards of eastern Washington. By early November, more than 150,000 workers will have ended their punishing annual tour of the state's cherry, apricot, peach, and apple orchards. An estimated 37,700--mostly from Mexico and Central America--will have lived outdoors with their children in the weeds and ditches and desert wind, without cookstoves, running water, or toilets. "So far we've been lucky," says Kevin Barry, environmental health director of
the Grant County Public Health Department. Even with hundreds camped on the banks of the Columbia River, drinking the river water and bathing in it, he says, "we haven't seen an outbreak of cholera or hepatitis." These deplorable living conditions are the norm in the great fruit basket east of the Cascades. But this year the housing issue pitted state and federal agencies against each other in a struggle that left growers angry, regulators looking confused, and workers again sleeping on the ground. Growers are not required to provide housing for workers, but if they do, it must meet standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These standards, enforced by the state, call for houses or military-style tents with seven-foot-high walls and solid floors, running water, enclosed areas for cooking and eating, and electric refrigeration and lighting. But the state health department has been licensing camps since 1995 that fall below these standards. The regulatory situation fell apart last summer. Nearly half of Washington's 16,000 migrant cherry pickers were left homeless while state and federal
agencies argued over the acceptability of state-licensed camps where workers furnished their own tents and growers provided drinking water, showers, and toilets. "We were trying to get something going," says Rich Nafziger, who advises Gov. Gary Locke on farmworker issues. "Nobody was doing anything. These don't meet federal codes, but they're better than sleeping in the weeds." The United Farm Workers of America (UFW) assailed the state-licensed camps, accusing Gov. Locke of scheming to weaken the federal rules to please growers who want workers to live nearby but don't want to provide suitable housing. "Once those rules were established, they weren't going to change," says Erik Noel Nelsen, a UFW researcher. "We couldn't allow it. These are the most exploited workers in the U.S. and they deserve protection." The union complained to OSHA, and the agency told the state it would no longer tolerate its licensing of substandard camps. "It's the most asinine thing I've ever seen," says apple and cherry grower Les Dorsing of Royal City. Dorsing spent $125,000 to provide a state-licensed camp with a shower house, flush toilets, laundry facilities, picnic tables, ice chests, and outdoor fire grates for 190 workers. But federal regulators wouldn't let them stay there."At six o'clock they had to leave the orchard and go into the sagebrush to sleep," Dorsing says. "But the feds say it's better to do that than to let them bring their own tents." Not true, says John Spear, assistant regional administrator for OSHA. "The feds have never said it's better to sleep in the sagebrush. It's incumbent on the employer to provide housing under the standards in force." The UFW's Nelsen argues that the only real solution is for growers to pay workers a living wage, so they can rent decent housing. "They could double the [apple] pickers' wages and you'd pay one more penny a pound. Not a big deal." Also not likely to happen. Spear hopes for some improvement next year as the state launches a $40 million, 10-year housing program. But next year's harvest tour could prove worse than ever. Many growers are switching from apples to cherries, a riskier but more profitable crop. Because the entire crop must be picked in a matter of days, there's little incentive for growers to build standard housing. The number of migrant cherry workers is expected to grow from 16,000 to nearly 21,000 over the next five years. And unless some consensus is
reached, most will arrive at the orchards without the slightest idea where they and their children are to eat, bathe, or sleep.

November 18: class cancelled due to illness

November 23:
Students watched a film entitled Green Blood, Red Tears. The film was dedicated to John Gray Goodman, 1952-1995, a farmer in Bowling Green, Kentucky who took his own life. This is a pretty heart-wrenching film that begins with his funeral. Another farmer says that "pride will kill you." Farmer suicide is problematic throughout the world. In 1998, there were 300 farmer suicides just in one province in India. In Oklahoma, farmer deaths are often the result of farm trucks stopping on railroad tracks or "hunting accidents." Farmers are 3-4 times as likely to kill themselves, as are people in the population as a whole. One expert who talked about the stresses that farmers face was William Heffernan, a rural sociologist, who talked about concentration in agriculture. The system is like an hour-glass. There are a bunch of producers (the farmers), but very, very few who purchase the agricultural products (giant corporations like ConAgra, Cargill, and Arthur-Daniels-Midland), and then a bunch of consumers (people like us) of the products. Since 1935, corn production has increased 400%, the cost of chemicals has risen sharply, and labor costs have gone down. The machinery that replaced the labor is extraordinarily expensive. Because individual farmers must pay on their loans, they produce as much as possible. The result is a surplus of just about all agricultural products, which brings down the market prices. The financial pressures on farmers are almost incomprehensible to non-farming families. In some places, farmer crisis lines have been set up to help farmers through the suicidal feelings. So why do they keep farming? The green blood of farming flows in their veins. Jim Hightower, a social critic and past Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, says that farmily farmers are essentially being murdered. The famous economist John Kenneth Galbraith talks about the "justification" for farm conditions. He says that these farmers are attached to the land, that there's a certain moral virtue from being on the land, and that that intrinsic value makes it okay to pay the farmers little for their efforts. In our country, we can go back to Thomas Jefferson for the idea that the chosen people of God are those who work the land. Thus, the yeoman farmer was elevated to a position of "natural nobility." But then we're back to today's reality: every farmer has to have credit. Those who rent land are the first who are winnowed out. A University of South Carolina professor who specializes in suicide said that, for some Christians, suicide is the way to atone for their own sins. Going back to Kentucky, in 1980, farmer suicide was four times the national average. Farm chemicals, particularly organophosphates, may play a role. It is known that organophosphates are associated with central nervous system (CNS) disorders. John Gray Goodman's widow talked about his experience with chemicals, that sometimes he would feel bad after spraying all day. Dr. Bernard Weiss, an MD who specializes in toxicology at the University of Rochester, said that pesticide exposure often results in vague symptoms that may be attributed to something else, or overlooked altogether. He said that most physicians don't think in terms of toxic exposures. At the University of North Carolina, Dr. Overstreet bred rats to be low in serotonin (low levels of serotonin are associated with depression). When a rat, bred for depression, was stressed, the poor little thing cried red tears (thus the other part of the film's title). When a farmer is actually feeling better, perhaps he has been prescribed anti-depressants, he is probably at a greater risk of taking his own life. The film then moved to Scotland, where high suicide rates are experienced in sheep farming areas. The sheep are dipped in organophosphates twice a year. Fifty percent of these farmers acknowledge having suicidal feelings. It has also been found that more organophosphate is absorbed under stressful conditions. This film brought together two very different aspects to farmer suicide: the economic stresses of farming and exposure to pesticides.

November 30:

We had a little follow-up discussion on the two films on agriculture. I asked students to consider where their food comes from and to support their local farmers' market.

We used the short discussion on agriculture to segue into the next chapter, on Industry. The Industrial Revolution began in England, associated with (1) the agricultural revolution (during which the "enclosure laws" forced serfs off the land and into towns, building an impoverished labor force) and (2) the fact that England was the most powerful country on the planet. As it was said, the sun never sets on the British empire. For example, the sophisticated textile industry in South Asia was destroyed and the Indians were reduced to producing raw cotton for export to the United Kingdom, for manufacture into textile. Industrial revolution spread to western Europe and then to the U.S.

Early on, in the American colonies, the Puritans faced a crisis. The iron goods necessary for farming and living were either extremely expensive or not available; they were dependent upon imports. As immigration dropped, the imports also dropped. In 1641, John Winthrop the Younger became working on the idea of making iron. He located sources of water, timber (for charcoal), and iron ore in a rural area of Massachusetts. In 1645, the first commercial iron products were manufactured in the colonies. Sightseers came to see the blast furnace that turned mineral into metal at 3000 degrees. The slag (impurities) was skimmed off the metal. The remaining molten iron was poured into forms; this was called pig iron. By 1650, indentured servants were working round the clock making iron. It was dangerous work, with heat, dust, and sulfur fumes. By the 1700s, there were a dozen iron works in the colonies. This manufacturing challenged the British products and they tried to restrict them; this was one of the reasons for the Revolutionary War. The little mills had to produce munitions to defeat the British. By independence day, the U.S. produced 1/7 of the world's iron. Pennsylvania was the most active state, with communities developing around the Cornwell and Hopewell plants. These places were like industrial plantations. The iron works ate up 300 acres per year of timber and so, in 1839, David Thomas experimented with the idea of using hot air to ignite coal. When he succeeded, the age of the rural iron works ended. By the 1850s, Pittsburgh was becoming the iron capital of the country. Prior to the Civil War, iron was used to build the railroad. During the Civil War, iron output was increased, producing munitions. Andrew Carnegie entered the scene at this point; by the end of the war, he was moderately wealthy. He formed a company in the late 1860s, to produce and buy iron. In 1856, Henry Bessemer had developed a process for manufacturing steel. At first Carnegie wasn't interested, but then he saw the possibilities. In 1872, he announced his plan to build a steel mill: the J. Edgar Thompson Steel Works. His was the first million dollar mill; it turned out 10,000 tons of steel per month. The steel was used to build Brooklyn Bridge, Washington Monument, railroad tracks, skyscrapers, etc. In fact, the city of Chicago became a virtual laboratory for steel construction between 1875 and 1900. In 1875, the US was in a depression. The work week for the steel laborers was 84 hours and their pay was often less than $10 per week. Carnegie was a ruthless cost cutter. As Carnegie, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and the other tycoons were amassing fortunes, many were living on the margins. The rich justified their own wealth with ideas of Social Darwinism and religion. The poor didn't buy these ideas and strikes, in the 1880s, for better wages became common. In 1891, Carnegie took over the Homestead Mill (a union mill) and made a violently anti-union man named Frick the head of Carnegie Steel. A new contract was up for negotiation in 1892. The workers went out on strike. Frick hired Pinkerton agents and they tried to sneak in the factory. The workers saw them and before it was over, three Pinkertons and seven workers were dead. Most of the Pinkertons were injured as they tried to retreat. A few days later, an anarchic tried to kill Frick; this shooting turned the momentum against the workers. The strike was broken. It would be decades before the unions again gained power. By the 1890s, Carnegie was producing more steel than all of the plants in the United Kingdom combined. In 1895, he replaced Frick with Charles Schwab. Schwab was affable, and thus helped smooth the way for Carnegie to acquire his competitors. He threatened to begin producing specialty products. This scared the other elite. J. P. Morgan asked Schwab to find out if Carnegie would sell. Carnegie sold for $492 million, making him the wealthiest man in the world. J. P. Morgan combined Carnegie Steel with eleven others and named it U. S. Steel; it was the largest company in U. S. history. Schwab was replaced by Elbert H. Gary, a cautious man who sought to protect the company against anti-trust suits. U. S. Steel became vertically integrated (owning everything from the coal mines to the ships to transport the finished product). This vertically integrated operation was created in Gary (named after Elbert), Indiana. It became the new steel capital, furnishing steel to the emerging automobile industry. By 1918, as railroad expansion ended, 40% of steel was going to Henry Ford and the other auto plants in Detroit. When the Depression hit, $150 million of steel mill capacity closed. The steel industry was revitalized during WWII, producing $186 million work of supplies for the war (including 297,000 planes and 71,000 ships). In 1951, more steel was produced in the U.S. than in all the rest of the world combined. American steel workers earned very good wages. Japan and countries in Europe began to build steel mills with new technologies. Meanwhile, the U.S. plants didn't modernize. By the early 1970s, foreign mills flooded the market with low priced steel. Foreign governments subsidized the cost; this is an example of "dumping." While once producing 2/3 of the world's steel, by the end of the 1980s, the U.S. produced 11%.

In US, the Northeast and Mid-west was our industrial belt. During WWI and continuing in WWII, many migrated to these areas for jobs. Many left eastern Kentucky to go to Cleveland, etc. for industrial jobs. Since the early 1970s, our country has been bleeding industrial jobs (see the film “Roger and Me” about the deindustrialization of Flint, MI for an example). Several things have happened:
(1) the U.S. has been out-competed in a number of areas
(2) the rise and expanded power of the transnational corporation, which has led to cost-cutting and jobs moving to places with much lower wages and laxer environmental standards (Wal-Mart is a prime example of a corporation that has led to loss of good-paying jobs in the U.S.)
(3) the implementation of trade agreements (such as NAFTA, WTO)
Interestingly, we "increased" the number of industrial jobs in this country recently by designating burger-flipping jobs as industrial (manufacture a product)

Students studied the key terms at the end of the chapter on Industry. Review:
(1) Aluminum cans, from Reynolds or Kaiser, are shipped to Coca-Cola bottling where the cans are filled. The product gains weight. This is an example of a (bulk-gaining industry).
(2) Oshkosh B’gosh children’s clothes used to be made in Kentucky. Then the plant closed and was moved to a developing country with low wages. This phenomenon is called the (new international division of labor).
(3) In Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, one finds many assembly plants. These plants are collectively known as (maquiladoras).
(4) The (Industrial Revolution) began in England in the 1700s. Products began to be manufactured in factories, using labor-saving machines. During the Industrial Revolution, the (textile) industry was the first to be industrialized; this industry manufactures woven fabric.
(5) In the American colonies prior to the Industrial Revolution, artisans, blacksmiths and others made products at home. These home-based manufacturers are known as (cottage industry).
(6) NAFTA is an example of a regional (trading bloc). These countries cooperate in many ways to facilitate trade.
(7) Unless I’m mistaken, if you go to the Toyota plant in Georgetown, the workers are highly skilled and work in teams. They know how to do many tasks. Their work assignments might be termed (Post-Fordist).
(8) The Ohio River at Louisville is an example of a (break-of-bulk point). This is a location where transfer among transportation modes is possible.
(9) In selecting the location for a new factory, the owner will be interested in the attributes of the land, the availability of labor, and so on. These characteristics have to do with the (site).
(10) The owner is also interested in the ease with which he/she will be able to transport the finished goods, the availability of inputs, and so. These characteristics have to do with the (situation).
(11) Steel is an example of a (bulk-reducing industry). The finished product weighs considerably less than the inputs.
(12) When work tasks are broken into small tasks and workers each perform a specific task over and over again, it is called (Fordist).
(13) If you visited a plant where the clothes you buy are made, you’d see that wages are a high percentage of the factory’s costs. This is an example of a (labor-intensive industry).
(14) States in which one is not required to join a union as a precondition of getting a job are called (right-to-work states).

GEO 172: Articles for Critical Thinking Essay #3
Please select FIVE (or more) of the following articles. See your syllabus for instructions on writing the two-page essay. Due the last day of classes (although you may certainly turn it in sooner).
From the BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk):
US Maize ‘threat’ to Mexico farms (11-13-04)
Arctic heads into warmer future (11-02-04)
Salmon at risk in Pacific Russia (10-30-04)
Kenyan media jubilant at Nobel win (10-09-04)
China’s dirty energy takes its toll (11-09-04)
4X4s ‘should carry health warning’ (11-26-04)
Peru mine threat to water supply (11-22-04)
Pollution link to heart disease (11-08-04)
Cracking down on energy waste (11-26-04)

December 2:

We briefly discussed the chapter on Services.
When your parents graduated from high school, what kind of jobs did they get? Many of the jobs in the 1970s and before were industry, but few are today. How have jobs in the US changed over the last 30 years or so?  Is government employment up? The answer is NO, only 10% of jobs are government: 1/6 by fed govt, 1/6 by state govt, 2/3 by local govt (includes teachers, etc). The number of federal jobs has declined over the past few years, and state has increased. Look on page 387, at figure 12-2. Because of increasing population, we need an increasing number of jobs, for the rate to stay the same, but that hasn’t happened in anything except services. So today what kinds of jobs do you have: service jobs. Some service jobs are well-paying, e.g., law, engineers, R&D, but many are poorly paid, e.g., restaurant (1/2 meals eaten out of the home)

We moved on to the chapter on Urbanization. Students watched a film entitled Subdivide and Conquer. In the 19th century, North America's indigenous people were conquered. Today, it is the land that is being conquered. Sprawl has covered 50,000 square miles in half a lifetime. We first hear from a cattle rancher, Lynn Sherrod, whose property lies near Steamboat Springs. The ranch has been in the family for several generations. She says that it is very important that we take care of the land. She noted that many of her neighbors have put their properties up for sale. In fact, up to 1/3 of private ranch land in the west is for sale. The area from Montana is growing faster than any other. Outside Denver, there's a gigantic subdivision called Highlands Ranch; it has 35,000 housing units. Today, national builders build the same type of house everywhere; the houses all look the same. And, people come in from all over to live in those new houses that look just like the new houses built back home. One new resident said that, in many ways, these are very lonely places. They are designed for the car. The average American spends 4 years of her/his life in a car. The air pollution generated from all this driving is taking its toll on our health. In the US as a whole, 1/6 of emergency room visits are because of asthma (the number of asthma sufferers has risen sharply over the past couple of decades). In Phoenix, one can easily see the brown cloud that hangs over the city. Some of it is auto exhaust, but some is asphalt, rubber, and other airborne particles. We must reduce the amount of driving that we do, but in fact, the number of miles driven is increasing. From 1983-1995, national commuting times increased 30%. As people and jobs move to the suburbs, the downtowns and older towns decline. The tax base declines and the city becomes like a donut (nothing going on in the inner city, with a ring of prosperity). In Denver from 1980 to 1995, there were 25 suburban jobs for every 1 downtown job created. It is expensive to own and operate a vehicle ($6000/year US and $7000/year Canadian). If someone has low wages, they really can't afford a car. About 80 million Americans don't have a car. For the car-less, the result are often very long days commuting via public transportation. Today, we are also seeing rural sprawl. It also consumes a lot of space and is often where the wealthy have their second, third, or fourth home. The old mining towns became tourist meccas, with the coming of ski resorts. Today, tourism on public lands (half of the west belongs to the American people - it is public land) is worth $400 billion per year. With new communication technologies, it is easier now for people to live in the mountains and other out-of-the-way places. When rural sprawl occurs, habitat - and even entire ecosystem - can be lost. Yellowstone National Park is one of the places where shrinking areas for native animals and plants is taking its toll. You can still drive down a country road and see "wild" land. The narrator says that these are mirage landscapes, that much of this land has already been sold to private developers. Sprawl began after WWII. Home ownership (federal loans for new homes), cars, and 18 million returning veterans spawned huge subdivisions, patterned after Levittown (the first mass-produced subdivision after WWII). Then in 1956, Eisenhower signed legislation to build the Interstate Highway System, the biggest public works expenditure in our country's history. Sprawl now has tremendous momentum behind it: the banks, local codes and zoning, builders, hidden government subsidies for cars, etc. - there is a veritable sprawl machine. The infrastructure (electricity, sewer, water, telephone, etc) is necessary and expensive. Denver now covers 550 square miles but with an anticipated 850,000 new residents that area could almost double, to 1000 square miles. A more compact footprint would save $3 billion in infrastructure costs. But, can cities grow without sprawl? Some argue for "smart growth." One man, who was obviously able to afford an expensive place, moved from the suburbs to a loft in downtown Denver. Coffee shops, pubs, parks, community gardens, and other amenities are nearby. He and his wife save time and money - and they found a community. One planner takes photographs of existing streets and then, using digital imaging, shows what the street could look like. When citizens get together and decide what they want, they seem to want neighborhoods that look like those of the 1930s, where people could walk, feel safe, and connected to a community. The New Urbanists have tried to incorporate these ideas, building homes with front porches, sidewalks, cars in the alleys. You can also repair and revitalize what you already have (what Jane Jacobs suggests). In Phoenix, the new stadium was built downtown and, as a result, all benefitted. Growth was attracted to the center, rather than the city edges. There are 4000 empty malls around the country; not using them is throwing away resources. These discards are opportunities. Zoning codes need to be changed as innovative designs are often prevented. In the age of heavy industry, zoning was used to keep polluting industries away from homes, but the situation is now changed: only 25% of households are now comprised of mom, dad, and children; 78 million baby boomers are becoming empty nesters. Suburbanites make an average of 12 trips per day. Investment in light rail, buses, bike lanes, and park and rides is needed. A challenge of the 21st century will be to maintain nature and rebuild areas that are already built up. In the mythos of the west, that of the rugged individualist is most enduring. Thirty years ago in Boulder, the decision was made to have a ring of open space around the city. The city bought land for this use. The open space protects flood plains, agriculture, and nature. Over 25 years, 26,000 acres were purchased. What happens on the other side of the open space is more problematic. Twenty five years ago, the Oregon legislature mandated planning. Every city was required to have an urban growth boundary. In this way, 25 million acres of land have been protected. New, revised zoning requirements supported mixed use. In Portland, 27 municipalities plan together. This is a way to preserve the beauty of the west, but it is hard to get westerners together. Once stakeholders get beyond the "it's a communist plot" they see that planning helps them all: the mountain resort towns need to plan downtown pedestrian malls, farmers and ranchers need to have an alternative to selling their properties. The land trust conservation easement allow farmers to keep their land, by capping property taxes. The rancher we saw at the beginning of the film says that government needs to focus on incentives rather than on regulatory fixes. People don't like to be told what to do. The film ends with an old westerner telling us that we'll be the last generation to be able to make choices on land use in the west - we better do it wisely.

GEO 172: Films
If you haven’t completed all your critical thinking essays, you may watch one (or up to two) of the following films. Write your last critical thinking essay (see syllabus for instructions) on the film watched.
The New Rulers of the World (mostly Indonesia)
Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq
Andrew Carnegie: Age of Steel
Small Happiness (China)
Environment: A Historical Perspective
Affluenza
Regret to Inform (Vietnam; FYI: I’ll have this checked out December 6 & 8)
Dreams of Tibet
Bowling for Columbine
Roger and Me
The Corporation
Outfoxed
Green Medicine
What the Bleep Do you Know?

December 7: Urbanization

Scientists think that people first settled down, probably to be near the places where they buried the dead. Later, with urban places, defense (e.g., defensive walls) was a prime motive. Rural settlements are often clustered (e.g., the circular settlements found in Africa and Germany). In New England, the settlements were clustered around the city square. The French long lots are an example of linear clustered (long lots abut water, are narrow, and stretch far back from the shore). In the rest of the U.S., rural settlements were dispersed (e.g., plantations and the Township and Range surveying system that yielded the 160 acre plots). In terms of true urban places, the earliest we know of were in Mesopotamia (today's Iraq), with the city of Ur as a prime example. Mohenjo-Daro, another quite ancient city, in today's Pakistan (along the Indus River), was part of the Harappa civilization; this city was quite sophisticated for the time period and also appears to have been very egalitarian. City-states were later built in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Sea area: e.g., Crete (associated with the Minoan civilization and the Minotaur), Athens, Troy, and so on. After the Romans defeated the Greeks, they created an empire known for advanced administration, military, and engineering. The cities built were very similar, and were associated with conquest. The Roman Empire fell in the 5th century AD. From the time of the fall of the Roman Empire until the Industrial Revolution, the biggest and most sophisticated cities were outside Europe: e.g., Baghdad, Constantinople, Kyoto, Beijing.

The cities of the Industrial Revolution had elite housing that was healthful and well-aired, but the slums were horrid. The River Thames was a disaster carrying cholera and typhoid. The coal soot led to early death. Even today, cities are associated with housing problems, economic decline, poverty, social polarization, traffic congestion, and environmental pollution. From the time of Sir Thomas More to the present, visionaries have tried to create city utopias. A present-day "utopia" is Brasilia, built in the 1960s as the capital of Brazil. It was built in 5 years, with 40,000 laborers. The city was designed in the shape of a jet plane. It is a purist, minimalist city with no neighborhood or street names. It is an extreme example of form over function. It is expected that all travel will be by car. There are hardly any traffic lights or sidewalks. People get killed trying to cross the street. Many of the lower-waged workers can't even afford to live in Brasilia (even if they wanted to), so they live in satellite towns that circle the city. Sun Rise Valley is one of these towns. Its founders believe that Brasilia is the "chosen city" and that when they die, they will go to the universal bus station.

There are other ideas as well. The new town ideas include those of Le Corbusier, who envisioned everybody living in skyscrapers, with plazas in the middle (doesn't work very well). Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect, dreamed up Broadacre City. In his vision, he saw Americans spread across the landscape in single-story (prairie) homes. Only the city architect would occupy a higher building. The third one is the idea of the Garden City. Ebenezer Howard wrote a book in 1898 entitled Garden Cities of Tomorrow. He envisioned a round city, with parks and people of all social classes living next door to one another. Around the city would be a large farmbelt, on which the city's food would be grown. No one would own property. All would pay the government and the money would be reinvested into the city. This idea was adopted by the Franklin Roosevelt administration as one of the New Deal programs. Rexford Tugwell hoped to put people to work and provide healthy new homes/communities. He wanted to build about 3000 of these new "greenbelt" cities. Three were actually built: Greenbelt, MD (the first); Greenhills, Ohio (outside Cincinnati); and Greendale, Wisconsin. Greenbelt, MD is one of the loveliest little cities I have ever visited. No additional greenbelt cities were built because of the charge that they were a communist enterprise.

December 9:

Students reviewed the last chapter of the text for important points. The world's biggest reserves of petroleum are in Saudi Arabia; the US imports 52% of our petroleum. For coal, the biggest reserves are in Russia and the U.S. For natural gas, Russia has the largest reserves. On an annual basis, the US consumes 25% of the energy used on the planet (and we have less than 5% of the population). As you see, there's a big problem here.

The first international environmental conference was June 5-16, 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden. Four
treaties were negotiated (two on ocean dumping and 2 on biodiversity -- including CITES, the treaty to protect
endangered and threatened species). Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, was an articulate advocate for the poorer countries of the world. June 3-14, 1992, the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was held. This UN-sponsored environmental conference, during which Agenda 21 was finalized and two agreements (one on climate change and one on biodiversity) were negotiated, was the largest environmental meeting ever. The UN Program on Sustainable Development was created at this conference. Since this conference, a number of COP (Conference of the Parties) meetings have been held to hash out the details of the climate change (global warming) framework. The most famous of these meetings was held in Kyoto, Japan, in December of 1997. Al Gore represented the US, and subsequently, we signed the agreement. Basically, the agreement allowed each country to commit to a specific reduction of global warming gases, below 1990 levels. The US is the world's largest emitter of global warming gases (25% of the total). When George Bush took office in 2001, he unsigned the agreement. He believed (and still does apparently) that doing something real about global warming would hamper the American lifestyle. Business reigns. The Kyoto Agreement is going into effect anyway, without the US. Russia just ratified the agreement, and so now countries that together generate 55% of the world's global warming gases have signed on (55% was the trigger for becoming effective). Another meeting is currently being held in Buenos Aires; the US is there, apparently lobbying against implementation.

In transporting petroleum, accidents sometimes occur. An oil slick marks the route of tankers across the oceans. The Exxon Valdez accident, with a spill of 11 million gallons, was quite serious but there have been larger
ones, including the 69 million gallon spill of the Amoco Cadiz (off the French coast in 1978) and the 79 million gallons spilled by the Castillo de Beliver (in 1983, off the coast of South Africa). Oil was discovered in 1967 in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Congress okayed the building of the Alaskan pipeline (sometimes called TAPS) in 1974; it opened in 1977. The grounding of the Exxon Valdez occurred on March 24, 1989, when the drunk captain (Joseph Hazelwood) ran into a rock outcropping in Prince William Sound, about 25 miles south of the Valdez oil port. For 13 hours the oil spilled out, high winds and slow action made the impacts worse. High pressure hoses sprayed rocks with hot steam jet, removing oil and everything else. Tens of thousands of sea animals died soon thereafter; others died from starvation later as their food sources has been sprayed away. Exxon has spent $36 billion, Hazelwood paid a fine and did community service. The ecosystem has still not completely recovered. All US oil tankers are now required to have double hulls; this measure has been effective in reducing the number and severity of spills. To give you a sense of the magnitudes, while about 37 million gallons of oil get into the oceans each year from big oil spills, 15 million gallons come from offshore drilling accidents, 62 million gallons from natural seeps, 92 million gallons from hydrocarbons emitted from factories and cars, 137 million gallons from cleaning the bilges of ships (and other ship operations), and 363 million gallons (10 times that from big spills!) from the little piddly amounts improperly discarded by average people.

In 1970, the U.S. Clean Air Act established "criteria pollutants" - pollutants that are ubiquitous throughout the US and adversely impact human health and welfare. CO: colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It is generated
by the incomplete burning of carbon in fuel. About 2/3 of US emissions come from transportation and the rest
comes from industrial processes, boilers, and the like. CO can kill, as it replaces the oxygen in the bloodstream. At sub-lethal levels, it causes CNS (central nervous system) disorder, such as impairment of visual perception, manual dexterity, learning ability, and performance of complex tasks. It is most serious for people who suffer from cardiovascular disease. Pb: The primary use today is in the manufacture of batteries, but it is also used in sheet lead, solder, and ammunition. The airborne sources include: lead-base paint; lead in water from certain pipes, solder, and fixtures; lead smelters; tobacco smoke; battery manfacture; iron/steel production; solid waste; coal and oil. Acute effects include brain damage and kidney damage. Chronic effects include: CNS disorders, problems with vitamin D metabolism, reduced sperm count, spontaneous abortion, and may be a factor in high blood pressure and heart disease. Chronic effects in children include slowed cognitive growth, reduced physical growth, and (if the mother is exposed) low birth weight and slowed neurobehavioral development. Particulates: This category includes all sorts of things: dust, dirt, soot, smoke, aerosols, VOCs (volatile organic compounds). In addition to premature death, effects include cancer, breathing and respiratory symptoms, aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease, alteration of the body's defense system, and damage to lung tissue. SO2: When sulfur-containing fuel is burned, SO2 is emitted. Sources include coal and oil combustion, steel mills, refineries, pulp and paper mills, and non-ferrous smelters, but the largest and most consistent source is the coal-fired power plant. The health effects include runny nose, problems breathing, and aggravation of existing respiratory and cardiovascular disease. NOx: This highly reactive gas is yellowish brown and has a smell. It is produced by burning fossil fuels at high temperatures. It irritates the lungs, causes bronchitis and pneumonia, and lowers resistance to respiratory infections. O3: Ozone is the most difficult to control (in fact, the levels have risen) because it is not directly emitted. It is created by a combination of VOCs + NOx + sunlight. Acid rain: Rain, snow, hail, fog, and dry deposition can all be acidic. A 7 on the pH scale is neutral and normal rainwater is a bit acidic, because of the presence of carbonic acid (formed from carbon dioxide plus water). Acid rain is generated primarily by NOx (95% from human sources, primarily vehicles) and SO2 (90% from human sources, primarily from coal-fired power plants); they combine with water to form nitric acid and sulfuric acid. Problematic areas include northeastern US and Canada, western Europe, eastern China. Global warming: I think that global warming is the greatest ecological problem currently faced by humanity. Gases build up in the atmosphere, holding in extra heat. Global temperatures are gradually rising, but the fluctuation in temperatures varies from place to place (the poles are experiencing the biggest temperature changes). Rainfall patterns are changing as well. Erratic weather (huge snowstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, drought, etc.) is associated with the climate changes we're experiencing. The major global warming gases are: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (from anaerobic decomposition - rice paddy, landfill, cattle), nitrogen oxides (NOx), CFC, and others (to lesser extents). Ozone depletion: Ozone molecules, in the stratosphere 15-25 miles above the earth, act as the planet's sunscreen (ultraviolent rays). UV-A is the least damaging; it passes right through the ozone layer and reaches the earth. UV-B is potentially very harmful; most is absorbed by ozone. UV-C is extremely dangerous; it is absorbed by both ozone (O3) and oxygen (O2). There is a natural cycle of ozone production and destruction, but chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs (80% of the problem; uses as solvents, foam blowers, propellant, coolant), carbon tetrachloride (solvent), methyl chloroform (solvent), halons (fire extinguishers), and methyl bromide (fumigant used on Kentucky's tobacco, California's strawberries, etc.) are very efficient at destroying the ozone molecules. Exposure to UV-B is associated with increased incidence of skin cancers (basal, squamous, melanoma - the most deadly), skin aging, eye problems (including cataracts), and immune system depression. The Montreal Protocol of 1987, under which 95 ozone depleting chemicals are being phased out, is often touted as the most successful international environmental treaty ever. Of course, there is still smuggling of lucrative CFCs (four US citizens were just convicted of involvement in a multi-million dollar CFC-smuggling operation).

End of material for Test 3.

Upcoming Presentations: * Nov. 30: 5-6:15 pm (LCC Auditorium), Lynne Shelton,  "Reflections on Brazil and Its Pursuit of Social Justice" * Dec. 2: 7 pm (Henry Clay High School Theater, 2100 Fontaine Road, Lexington), State Senator Ernesto Scorsone and State Rep. Kathy Stein, "What can Civil Libertarians Expect from the 2005 Kentucky Legislature?" Past presentations: * Sept. 8: Social Policy Then and Now and the Legacy of Robert F. Kennedy, 7:30 p.m., Room 230 of the UK Student Center Annex, Peter Edelman (former Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services) * Sept. 10: Indigenous People and the Expansion of Civil Society in Mexico, 5 p.m., William T. Young Library         Auditorium, free and open to the public. Professor Emerita June C. Nash (City University of New York) * Sept. 11: A Conversation about American Power and Global Security, 10-11:30 am, Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church (3534 Tates Creek Road), John D. Stempel (Patterson School) and Hossein Motamedi (LCC), sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Lexington * Sept. 14: 5-6:30 pm in OB 230 (LCC Auditorium), a documentary entitled Outfoxed * Sept. 16: Defending Against Catastrophic Terrorism, 8-9 pm, WT Young Library Auditorium, a panel discussion organized by Patterson School of Diplomacy * Sept. 21: 5-7 pm in OB 230 (LCC Auditorium), a documentary entitled Truth, War and Consequences * Sept. 22: 1:30-3 pm (Radisson Plaza Hotel, Lexington), a panel discussion entitled "The Next City" (part of the Idea Conference) * Sept. 23: 7:30 pm (EKU, Student Services Building Auditorium), Peter Alegi, "Ten Years of Democracy: The Global Branding of South African Diversity" * Sept. 24: 5-6:30 pm (UK Student Center, Worsham Theater), Akbar Abbas (University of Hong Kong) to speak on "East Asia: Experiments in Architecture and Urbanism" * Sept. 28: 5-7 pm (LCC Auditorium), a film entitled Whale Rider about the Maori of New Zealand * Sept. 29: 7 pm (UK Gaines Center's Bingham-Davis House, 218 E. Maxwell St.), a film entitled GI Jane, for the Woman and War, History and Memory series * Sept. 29: 7 pm (Lexington Theological Seminary, Fellowship Hall), panel discussion entitled "Genocide in the Sudan, How Should the International Community Respond," sponsored by Bluegrass Chapter of the United Nations Association * Oct. 4: 7-8:30 pm (Court Room, College of Law, UK), presentation entitled "The First Monday in October: A Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Review of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003-2004 Term and Preview of the 2004-2005 Term," sponsored by the Central Kentucky Civil Liberties Union * Oct. 5: 5-7 pm (LCC Auditorium), a documentary entitled Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land * Oct. 7: 8 pm (Center Theater, Student Center, UK), James M. Lindsay, Council on Foreign Relations, "Globalization and the Bush Foreign Policy," sponsored by The Patterson School * Oct. 11: 7:00 pm (Gaines Center's Bingham-Davis House, UK), film entitled Battle of Algiers * Oct. 12: 7:30 pm (Young Library Auditorium), a documentary entitled Kilowatt Ours * Oct. 12: 5-7 pm in OB 230 (LCC Auditorium), a documentary entitled Ghost of Rwanda * Oct. 13: 11 am (Young Library Auditorium), Global HIV/AIDS, by Molly Lyons * Oct. 13: 12 noon (Young Library Auditorium), Global HIV/AIDS, by Molly Lyons * Oct. 14: 7 pm in Haggin Auditorium (Transylvania University), a public lecture by Christopher Hitchens entitled "The Trial of Henry Kissinger" * Oct. 16: Bluegrass Energy Expo film series (held at the Lexington Convention Center, admission is free): 1 pm (Thoughts in the Presence of Fear, Wendell Berry's poem); 2 pm (Kilowatt Ours, about electricity production in the SE US); 4 pm (Sludge, documentary about the Martin County  KY slurry spill of October 11, 2000) * Oct. 18: 7-8 pm (AT Lobby, LCC), Afro-Colombian with translator to speak about Plan Colombia: Gender and Race * Oct. 19: 5-7 pm (LCC Auditorium), a documentary entitled Heart and Minds about the Vietnam War * Oct. 25: 10-3:15 pm (AT Lobby), various speakers on election issues, as follows:     10:00 Ryan Kelly, Iraq     11:00 Hossein Motamedi, Israel and Iran     12:00 Craig Williams, War from a Vietnam Veteran's Perspective     1:00 Jeffrey Freyman, Internal Debates/Infighting Within the Bush Administration     2:00 Presentation on the Gay Marriage Amendment     2:35 Ernesto Scorsone, Domestic Issues * Oct. 25: 7:00 pm (Singletary Center, UK) AIDS in Africa Today: Reflection and Interpretation, a panel discussion including Stephen Kramer, Gillian Nur Samuels, Pat Francis, Rev. Malcolm Damon, Rev. Lonnie Turner, Fran Turner, Karen Krigger, and Paul D. Simmons * Oct. 26: 5:30-7:00 pm (Student Center - Small Ballroom, UK), Spirit of Ramadan, with speakers (Dr. and Mrs. Bagby) and free Middle Eastern food * Oct. 26: 7:00 pm (Gaines Center's Bingham-Davis House, UK), Afghanistan Unveiled, with discussion following. * Nov. 4: Panel discussion featuring members of the Madison County Chemical Weapons Working Group, 5:30-7:00 pm, 230 Student Center, UK * Nov. 8: 7:00 pm (Gaines Center's Bingham-Davis House, UK), LA Cueca Sola (about Chile in the years following the 9/11/73 military coup), with discussion following. * Nov. 9: 5-6:15 pm (LCC Auditorium), Lynn Phillips, presentation entitled "Sustainable Development in New Zealand: Globalization and Traditional Lifestyles" * Nov. 23: 5-6:15 pm (LCC Auditorium), Dave Cooper, presentation on Mountaintop Removal