Friday, November 10, 2006

Chapter 7's notes for you slow writers

Since 1st and 2nd block Geo has a new student teacher, and some of us (myself included) are incredibly slow writers. So, for your educational enjoyment, I give to you the first set of Chapter 7's notes.

Chapter 7: Southwest Asia & North Africa
(Fig. 7.1)
Introduction
– SW Asia and N Africa extend 4,000 miles
– This region is a culture hearth – a region that witnesses many cultural innovations that subsequently diffuse to other parts of world
– Development of petroleum industry has had large impact on the region
 OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) – member countries profoundly influence global prices and production targets for petroleum
– Islamic fundamentalism – this aspect of Islam that advocates return to more traditional practices, calls for merger of civil and religious authority, and challenges encroachment of global popular culture
Environmental Geography: Life in a Fragile World
– A long history of human settlement in SW Asia and N Africa has left its mark on the environment
 Regional Landforms
– SW Asia is more mountainous than N Africa
– North Africa
– Maghreb (“West Island”) –includes Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia; dominated by the Atlas Mountains
– Southwest Asia
– Levant – eastern Mediterranean region of Southwest Asia has mountains and highlands
– Anatolia – peninsula of Turkey (“Asia Minor”) is a geologically active plateau
– Mesopotamia – in Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Physical Geography of Southwest Asia & North Africa (Fig. 7.4)
 Patterns of Climate
– Complex climate region because of altitude and latitude
– Large portions of the region are arid
 Deserts stretch from the Atlantic coast across Africa, through the Arabian Peninsula, and into central and eastern Iran
– Mediterranean climates in Atlas Mountains and the Levant coastline caused by altitude and latitude
 Legacies of a Vulnerable Landscape
– Lengthy human settlement has led to environmental problems
– Deforestation and Overgrazing
– Human activities and natural conditions have reduced most of the forests to grass and scrub
– Caused by overgrazing, fires; vulnerable to fire
Climate Map of Southwest Asia & N Africa (Fig. 7.7)
 Legacies of a Vulnerable Landscape (cont.)
– Salinization
– Buildup of toxic salts in the soil from centuries of irrigation
– Hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland degraded
– Managing Water
– Availability of water a problem throughout the region
– Qanat system – Iranian process of tapping into groundwater through a series of gently sloping tunnels
– Egypt built Aswan High Dam to store water, generate energy, but it has created environmental problems
– Libya’s “Great Man-made River” draws underground fossil water 600 miles to irrigate crops in the north of the country
– Hydropolitics – interplay of water resource issues and politics
Environmental Issues in SW Asia & N Africa (Fig. 7.10)
Population and Settlement: Patterns in an Arid Land
– Dry areas are scarcely settled, while moist lands may be overpopulated
 The Geography of Population
– More than 400 million people in the region
– Physiological densities are among the highest on Earth
 Physiological densities – a statistic that relates the number of people to the amount of arable land
– Two dominant population clusters:
 Maghreb: moister areas of Atlas Mountains and coastal regions
 Egypt’s Nile River valley: 70 million live within 10 miles of the river
Population Map of SW Asia & N Africa (Fig. 7.13)
 Water and Life: Rural Settlement Patterns
– This region is an early hearth of agricultural domestication
 Domestication – process in which plants and animals were purposefully selected and bred for their desirable characteristics; it began in this region 10,000 years ago
 Fertile Crescent – ecologically diverse zone that stretches from Levant inland through the fertile hill country of northern Syria into Iraq
– Pastoral Nomadism
– Traditional form of subsistence agriculture in which practitioners depend on seasonal movement of livestock
 Transhumance – seasonal movement of livestock from winter to summer pastures
– Oasis Life
– Areas where high groundwater or deep-water wells provide reliable moisture
 Small agricultural settlements
 Serve as trading centers as well
– Exotic rivers – a river that comes from a humid area and flows into a dry area that otherwise lacks streams, can support irrigation
 Kibbutzes – collectively worked settlements that produce grain, vegetable, and orchard crops irrigated by the Jordan River and feeder canals
– The Challenge of Dryland Agriculture
– Depends on seasonal moisture (associated with Mediterranean regions)
– Includes tree crops, livestock, grains, and illegal hashish
Agricultural Regions of SW Asia & N Africa (Fig. 7.14)
 Water and Life: Rural Settlement Patterns
– Many-Layered Landscapes: The Urban Imprint
– Some of the world’s oldest urban areas are in this region
– A Long Urban Legacy
– City life began in Mesopotamia (Eridu & Ur 3500 B.C.), and Egypt (Memphis & Thebes 3000 B.C.)
– Rise of trade centers around 2000 B.C.
– Centers of Islamic religious administration and education
 Examples: Baghdad, Cairo
 The original urban core of a traditional Islamic city is called a medina, has central mosque, bazaar
– Colonialism left European influence
 Water and Life: Rural Settlement Patterns
– Signatures of Globalization
– Urban centers have become focal points of economic growth (Ex: Cairo, Algiers, Istanbul)
– Oil wealth has added modern element to traditional cities
– A Region on the Move
– Migration streams
 Rural-to-urban migration
 Migration of low-wage workers from other regions to SW Asia and N Africa
 Migration of workers from the regions to other places (ex.: Turkish guestworkers to Germany)
 Shifting Demographic Patterns
– Population growth rates vary within the region
– Women in Tunisia, Iran, and Turkey are having fewer children
 Causes include delayed marriage, family planning initiatives, greater urbanization
– High rates of natural increase in West Bank, Gaza, and Libya
– Increasing population will strain cities, water supplies, public services
– Jobs will be needed for the people added to the population

Hey, Mrs. Hartman...

What's the turnitin code for 2nd block Geo? I know the password, but I lost the code.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

today in class

Today in class, we gathered into groups of 3 or 4 and picked words for each letter of the alphabete that represented something in either North Africa or West Asia. After that, we got our maps and started to work on them. Towards the end of class, we began chapter 7. We learned that the typical climate of this region of the world is usually arid and dry which is depended on the altitude and the latitude. We also learned that there are different parts of this region which are classified as there landforms. The Levant is highlands and Mountains in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Southwest Asia. The Antolia is the peninsula of Turkey and is an active plateau. The Mesopotomia is between the tigris and the Eupratees river. The Maghreb includes Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, which is dominated by the Atlas Mt. We learned about OPEC, which is the organization of Poroleum Exporting Countries. Hmmmmm....... Deforestation is caused by Human Activities and natural conditioning that reduced most of forests to grass and scrub. Hydro politics is interplay of water resource issues and politics. The Quanet System is the iranian process of tapping into groundwater through a series of gently slopping tunnels. Well then, I am done taking notes for the day. Im out, Peace! Have a nice day my friends.

What Happened to All the Fish?



I recently read an article in the USA Today Newspaper that talks about many of the ocean's edible species could be gone by 2048. Currently about 29 % of the ocean's edible fish are extinct,and that analysts say that about 90% will be gone if drastic meausers aren't put in place soon. They also say that this trend can be reversed, and that we need to "implement sustainable fishing methods, create marine sanctuaries where species can replenish themselves, and limit pollution from coastal areas". Overfishing isn't the only problem though, destruction of coastal areas, estuaries, and reefs are also major problems.


I never thought that I might see the day where fish start to run out. There are trillions of fish living in our oceans, and yet we still have managed to reduce their numbers dramatically. I'm not a big fan of fish, but I think that something needs to be done to reverse the effects that we are creating today. If this trend continues most of the fish will be gone, I know that I may not like fish, but others in countries such as Japan and China sure do. If 90% of this fish go extinct, I think that this will only increase poverty dramatically in many parts of the world, but mostly the coastal countries. I wonder if anything will actually be done to prevent this, instead of following the trend that global warming is following: People say they will reduce their gas emissions but nothing dramatic has been done. Hopefully this will not be the case for the fish problem and that something will be done quickly and have a good effect on the ocean and its inhabitants.

What do you guys think of this?

Monday, November 06, 2006

Whoo End of Quarter 1!

On Friday November 3rd, 2006, All of the College Geography students took a end of quarter 1 final. It was worth 150 points and it is put on quater 1 grades sheets. It was a relativly long test which took most students the whole class period. Blogs were also not due this week but if you have chosen to do them early, they will accounted for next week. Also, remember that the first essay for College Geography PSEO is coming up soon. Be sure to have it ready and possibly have it proof read by an English teacher. We have Monday off because of teachers in service and we begin second quarter on November 7, 2006.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Saddam Sentenced to Death



Today Saddam Hussein received his sentence in the trial of the 1982 Crimes Against Humanity. His sentence was the death penalty, he is to receive death by hanging. Their is also another trial that has not started yet on genocide of thousands of people. Thousands of people reacted publicly to his sentence, the people in his hometown of Tikrit reacted in protest; they still believe that the belated president was a great person and does not deserve what he is going to get. While people in Baghdad celebrated by driving threw town honking and shooting off guns into the air. In the court room Saddam Hussein had outbursts during the reading of his sentence, he was talking about how "God is great." and when the judge ordered him to be removed from the courtroom he said, "Damn you and the court." and when one of the guards was walking him out he said," Don't push me, boy."

I think he will also get the death penalty for the genocide trial that is going to begin shortly, however I don't think he will stay alive long enough to be hanged. For one he is in his seventies and usually people wait on death row for twenty plus years. He will either die from old age, or he will be killed in prison which I don't think anyone will care if it happens and whoever does it should be given an award.