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.

Topic #5

This is a racial map from 1790. It shows the % white population. The white population is concentrated more in the northern states than in the southern states. Most of the immigrants that came to America in the 1700s were from European countries, such as Germany, Ireland and Switzerland.This accounts for the vast majority of the population being racially white.




This second map is a racial map from 1840 that depicts the nonwhite population. Most of the northern states have a 0-10% nonwhite population. The southern states, however, have an extremely high nonwhite population. During this time period, slavery was still legal in the states. Slaves could no longer be imported from Africa, but the existing slaves could still be owned. Thankfully, in 1863 President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, giving freedom to all slaves. However, there is still a larger percentage of nonwhites that resides in the southern states.




This map shows the African American population in 1960. The states shown are Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina.This was the era of the civil rights movement. Toward the top of the map is Atlanta, GA, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was born. As mentioned in the previous map, a large percentage of the African American population still resides in the southern states.




The map above shows the percent of biracial individuals in the United States. Nebraska has a very low biracial percentage (<1%), but most states have 1-10%. Biracial families are still not accepted by many people. However, I find it amazing to see just how far we have come. In 1860, African Americans were still considered property. During World War II, Japanese families were moved to internment camps because they were thought to be dangerous. Racial tensions have continued to exist among certain people, but biracial families do exist and are becoming more accepted every day.

Topic #4 ~ Language

1. The map above shows the concentration of Navajo speaking individuals in the lower 48 states of the United States. Only 0.07% of the nation speaks the Navajo language. That is equivalent to 178,014 persons. Navajo speaking individuals appear mainly in Navajo nation, which includes Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. Many Native Americans reside in these states where they sell their native trades along the highways. If you travel through one of these states, there is a high possibility that you will see these trade shops and hear the Navajo language spoken.


2. Nebraska is filled with German Lutherans, but it is very interesting to see exactly how many of those German descendants actually speak the German language. In the United States, 1,383,442 individuals speak German. Lancaster county, including Lincoln, NE, accounts for 1,000-4,999 of those individuals.


3. This map indicates the number of Spanish speaking individuals per county in the state of Texas. Over 1/4 of the population of Texas, 26%, speaks Spanish or Spanish-Creole. Texas has 5,195,182 Spanish speaking individuals. The largest concentration of these individuals is along the lower Texas-Mexico border. They also occur in large cities, including Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, and El Paso. These individuals most likely immigrated from Mexico to Texas is search of work. After getting across the border, many stay close and search for jobs right inside the Texas territory.



4. The state of New York is home to 374,627 Chinese speaking persons. A large percentage of this population appears in the areas of lower Manhattan and Queens. The map of Chinese speaking individuals overlaps the area in lower Manhattan known as Chinatown. In Chinatown, there are several authentic Chinese art and craft shops, restaurants, and knock-off designer shops. Chinese Americans run these shops and communicate with each other with their native Chinese Language.

Topic #3

http://www.prb.org/ This is the official website for the Population Reference Bureau

The map pictured below is from http://www.worldmapper.org/. It depics how many people in the world are infected with HIV or human immunodeficiency syndrome. I find it very interesting that Africa, on average, has the highest Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and the highest percentage of HIV infected individuals. Consequently, Africa also has a high mortality rate for children ages 1-4. The infected individuals pass on the virus to their offspring. This accounts for the increase of HIV and child mortality along with an increase in the TFR.

Decreasing Population - Austria:

Increasing Population -Yemen:

Topic #2-Regions and how they define the world

The picture represents the harvested acres of corn for grain in 2002. Corn for grain is the only common characteristic of the depicted region. This is what defines it as a formal region, an area inhabited by people who have one or more traits in common. The region where corn is used for grain is largely concentrated in the northern part of the Midwest. The states mainly include Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. It is interesting that the entire Midwest and Texas are heavily agricultural regions, yet only a few select states are involved in the production of corn for grain. The number in the bottom right hand corner shows the total acres of land in the United States used in the production of corn for grain total 68,230,523.

The McDonald's industry stretches from the east coast to west coast and from north to south in the United States. The map indicates that the McDonald's restaurant is highly concentrated on the east coast and slowly disperses as you move west. I find it intriguing that McDonald's does not appear very much in Nebraska, as compared to surrounding states. A functional region is an area that functions as a unit. The McDonald's industry functions as one unit and is considered a functional region.

The Midwest is a vernacular region. The region is not technically defined, but is perceived to exist by those that inhabit it. I found it interesting that when I searched for a map of the Midwest, several maps included different states in the region. There was not a clear cut region defined by the 'Midwest'. I had to look up on an official site what is commonly accepted as the Midwest. The map on the bottom is the correct states included in the Midwest, except for Ohio. Yet, the map on top groups North and South Dakota with the Midwestern Region. This is a great example of a vernacular region because it is not well defined by strict borders. The borders depend on who is perceiving the region and how they perceive it.

Topic #1- My Hometown

Norfolk, Nebraska

I was born and raised in Norfolk, NE, which is about two hours north of Seward. Norfolk is a small town in the national sense, but a large town in relation to those surrounding it. The town is located on the north fork of the Elkhorn Valley River. The old tale states that in 1881 the settlers of the town were going to name the town North Fork but decided on a simpler version, Norfork. A postal man thought the name had accidentally been mixed up and changed it to Norfolk. Native Norfolkans, including myself, will still pronounce the town name as Nor-fork. 

The town was settled in 1866 by a small caravan from Wisconsin. The caravan carried 44 German families a mere 529 miles from Ixonia to Norfolk. Consequently, Norfolk is still a strong Germanic Lutheran community. In 1881 the village of Norfolk was founded. The community continued to grow and became deeply rooted in the agricultural and health care community.

Norfolk has small rolling hills and a beautiful man-made lake towards the center of town. As stated before, the town sits right off the north fork of the Elkhorn Valley River. Because of this, the town is located on a flood plane. The town officials had the river rerouted and put up a dam and flood control to avoid future flooding. Additionally, the town offers the Eldorado Golf Course, Taha Zouka Park, and the Cowboy Trail bike path. Several people enjoy the fact that the town is within an hour drive from the Yankton Dam, Missouri River, and excellent shopping in Sioux City. Norfolk also proudly boasts that it is the childhood home of T.V. star Johnny Carson.   

The economy of Norfolk is dependent on a select group of employers. Many people are employed by Faith Regional Hospital and its extensions. My father would be one who is dependent on the hospital for part of his employment. The other large employers include Nucor Steel, Affiliated Foods Store, Tyco Health care, and Goodyear. The local community college supports programs that lead into internships at these employers, mainly Nucor Steel. This is one way that Norfolk can build up and sustain its economy.

Norfolk is surrounded by a large farming community. In the summer, farmers set up their melon and corn stands throughout the town. Beef production is also extremely prevalent in the area. This is well reflected in the typical food choices in Norfolk. A delicious steak and potatoes dinner is commonly preferred. However, Norfolk also offers a small, unique collection of cultural food providers. There are three well established Mexican restaurants in town. There is also a Chinese and Italian restaurant. At our home, we traditionally make our food at home, and on a special occasion we will get to go out to eat at one of these culturally unique restaurants.