Topic #12 ~ Globalization

http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/05/29/high-oil-prices-will-fracture-the-world-and-end-globalization.html

The link above is an article entitled "High Oil Prices Will Fracture the World and End Globalization". It is based off of the ideas of economist Jeff Rubin. He believes that the high oil prices will cause the U.S. to turn to national labor forces, instead of foreign workers. The cost of exporting goods to foreign countries for cheap labor and then importing them back to the United States will save no money. This is because businesses will be spending more money on transportation to and from countries because of the higher cost of oil.

This idea is coupled with the idea that more jobs will be made available to U.S. citizens. The jobs that are deserted overseas will be created in the U.S. Wal-Mart imports from China but may not be able to support their labor overseas and will relocate to the U.S. Jeff Rubin also believes that oil prices will stay high because of high demand and low supply. This will cause the de-globalization to be long lived and he predicts that globalization will be ended permanently.

Topic #11 ~ Urban Geography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ox1Tore9nw

This is a song by Elvis Presley entitled "In the Ghetto". Today the term ghetto often refers to a low income section of a heavily populated city. Ghettos were first created to house members of the Jewish nationality. The Ghettos were walled areas that did not allow for expansion. Members had to live in closer quarters as their population expanded. The slums or ghettos that exist today are dense and compact, resembling those of the historic Jewish ghettos. However, many nationalities can be represented in present day ghettos.

The song suggests that children in the ghetto do not have the basil necessities needed to survive, such as food. The man in the song turns to stealing and fighting in order to eat. In desperation, he takes a gun to steal a car. He loses his life as another child is born in the ghetto. This child will have to face the same challenges and difficulties that the other young man faced.

"In the ghetto" gives a description of what life in the ghetto would be like. I cannot really relate to this song because I do not live in or near a ghetto. However, it is good to realize what conditions other people have to live in and what makes them the way they are. The song suggests that the conditions in the ghetto almost forced the young man to steal in order to eat. However, stealing is against the law and caused the young man to die, even though not eating would have left him the same fate. It is hard to judge what actions we should take to help those in poverty conditions. Our government has done a lot to help low income families with programs such as WIC and food stamps. However, the ghettos still exist. I don't think we can ever get away from having low income areas, as hard as we might try.

Topic #10- My Life :)

I love to travel around the country and learn about different places! Between youth group trips, school related activities and family vacations I have traveled through most of the United States. I loved the arches in Utah, toadstool park in Nebraska and Cape Hatteras in North Carolina.


I am traveling a few times this summer. Just yesterday my younger sister Faith and I drove 14 hours from Norfolk, NE to Temple, TX. We are visiting my grandma and cousins for three days and then heading on to visit my friend in New Braunfels, TX. We had a tour of the biotechnology research institute in Temple today and I absolutely loved it. I'm in the biology program and I've thought about doing clinical lab science so it related to my major and was also very interesting. On Monday we will be back in Norfolk for three days and then we're heading out on family vacation! On vacation we are going to the Blackhills, Yellowstone and Toadstool Park. I'm so excited because it is absolutely beautiful at all those places. In August my family is going to Indiana and Michigan for a family reunion, but I don't know if I'm going with them yet.




Even though I feel like I've been all over the place, there are still so many places I'd love to see! I have never been out of the country, except across the Canadian border to see Niagara Falls. I would love to go to the rain forest or the coral reef. I would also love to visit Europe, especially Germany. I hope that my travels continue throughout my life and that I get to experience life all around the globe!

Topic #9

The Human Development Index (HDI) shows the uneven distribution of goods or wealth around the world. The HDI is a number based on a composite of life expectancy, gross domestic product, educational achievement, and adult literacy of individuals within a country. Countries with low HDI are developing countries and are considered poor, third world countries. On the other hand, the United States has a high HDI and is considered a developed country.

Many developed countries with high HDI are located in North America (Canada and United States), Australia and Europe. These countries tend to be the economic centers of the world. The countries surrounding them typically have a HDI that is just slightly lower than the developed country (Mexico and Russia). The developing countries with low HDI are highly concentrated in Africa.

Africa has been faced with many challenges throughout recent history; warfare, AIDS, and poor hygiene knowledge. Several countries in Africa have been in or are still in civil wars. This has caused a decrease in population and has also shifted the focus away from education and prosperity to basic survival. Most of the population does not have the knowledge or skills for good hygiene. They struggle with prevalent parasites and fatal diseases. Additionally, the AIDS epidemic is highly concentrated in Africa and has taken the lives of millions of people. All of these factors have lowered the HDI of many Sub-Saharan countries and has made it a place of great need.

Topic #8

I watched Bizarre foods on youtube. The episode that I watched was set in South Korea. He made a very interesting comment that in Asian cuisine it is best to eat the food when it is as close to fresh as possible. The Korean lady brought out live mud fish and added them to the steaming soup right before serving. He said that they were very slimy. I don't think that I could eat the soup after watching the squirming fish be added to it right in front of me. I am a very typical eater. I tend to be very picky and don't travel outside of my comfort zone very easily. I love to cook with spices and herbs but not with weird meats or foreign cuisine. The most outrageous thing I ever ate was barbecue beetle shells in 6th grade and that was only because I was dared by the boys. It is very neat to see so many different cultures represented in America. Any day of the week I could decide to eat out at a Mexican, Italian, American, Greek or German restaurant. I wish I had a pallet to appreciate other unique culture's cuisines but I don't. Instead, I would rather watch someone else try it on youtube!

Topic # 7

The map above shows the spatial distribution of Catholics in the United States. The scale is based on percent Catholic per county and rages from 0-over 50%. Many Catholic immigrants came to the United States during the Irish potato famine. Before the potato famine, there was very few Catholics in the United States. A lot of the immigrants would have landed in the New England states. However, land in the west was just being developed and many probably took advantage of the land and moved west. Also, the spatial distribution can be attributed to other denominations being dominate in the sparsely populated Catholic regions. This includes the southern state were the Baptist denomination is dominant.

This map shows the Baptist denomination and where it is concentrated. The spatial scale ranges from 0-over 50% of the county population. Baptist are mainly concentrated in the southern states. The Baptists denomination is the most prevalent religious denominations amongst African Americans. Many African Americans reside in the southern states, along with the Baptist faith. Also, the Baptist denomination is not very concentrated in the northern and western states because other denominations, such as LCMS Lutherans and Catholics, are concentrated here so the denominations stay separated and concentrated in different regions of the United States.

Topic #6 ~ Boundaries

Lesotho is an enclave country, or a district surrounded by a country but not ruled by it. Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa, but is its own independent country. The country is landlocked and is formed by natural boundaries. The northern border is formed from the Caledon River. Lesotho is also a federal government represented by the legislative, executive and judicial branches.



Belize is a compact country with a longer height than width, giving it a rectangular shape. Belize has a unique border, formed by both geometric and natural boundaries. The northern border is formed by the Rio Hondo and the southern part of the country is bordered by the Sarstoon River. The eastern border is formed by multiple bodies of water. The western border is a geometric border, forming an almost straight line.




The interior boundaries of Egypt are geometric boundaries. The northern and eastern borders are natural. Egypt is not landlocked, but instead has great access to the Mediterranean and Red Seas. This opens up opportunities for trade between the African country of Egypt and European/ Asian countries.