Notes from class today-11/16/09

The North America region is The United Stated and Canada.

335 million people live in this region.

It is economically diverse, climate diverse, and culturally diverse.

This region is rich in natural resources.

We are Ultra -globalized.

We are the last remaining global superpower. (U. S.)

North Americans have transformed the land of this region. This is the first theme of geography (Environmental Geography).
Wheat, cattle, horses are not native, but introduced.

The US is the third largest consumer of water.
China is #1 and India is #2.
US city dwellers consume 175 gallons of water daily.
We use water for many different purposes.
Water quality, scarcity is becoming a problem.

Air modification other known as pollution.
The sources that cause air modification are industries, utilities, and automobiles.
Types are carbon monoxide, sulfur, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons.

Acid rain:
Formed when sulfur dioxide and nitroen oxide get into the water system.
Damaged forests, poisons lakes, kills fish, erodes stonework

Population and Settlement:

in 1492 Columus sailed the ocean blue.
Before that, native people live in the Americas.
3.2 million people in US and 1.2 million in Canada.
In 1491, New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus says 90 to 112 million people.
95% of the people died after Europeans arrived. They died becuase of warfare and disease, and especially smallpox.

Stage one- the Europeans settled on the ciast of Noeth america.

Stage two- settlers surged across the Appalachian Mountains.

Stage three- the move continues to the Great Plins, Utah, Oregon, and California.

This is one of the largest and most rapid human transformations of the landscape in history.

The megalopolis stretches from boston to NYC to Philly to Baltimore to Washington DC.
There are well over40 people living there which includes us.

There is a Westard movement in migration.
Texas, Arizona, Nevada offer high-tech jons, cool recreation, great scenary.

Expansions mean that there needs to be more himes, subdivisions, malls, retirement complexes, and schools. This shows that when there are more people there needs to be more things for people to do and live in. This also causes increased demand on rapidly decreasing water supplies.

After the Civil War, the freed slaves still worked as sharecroppers.
Fewer farming jobs sent blacks north to the cities.

Another migration pattern is Rural to- Urban Migration.
People in the country move to the city because of better job oppurtunities.
200 years ago the population was 5% urban.

The growth of the sun belt was another reason why people migrated.
These people migrated south.
After 1970, southern states grew quickly.
They moved here becuse of job oppurtunities and retirement possibilities.

Another migration pattern is leaaving large cities for small towns or rural areas.

Cultural Coherence and Diversity:

North America has a huge range of different people.
Immigrants from other countries have been arriving for 400 years.
From 1880-1930, there was a huge wave of immigrants that came here mostly from Europe.
In 1910, 14% of the US was foreign born.
Since the year 1970 more big numbers of people migrated here, mostly from Latin America and Asia.

The US is currently the fifth largest Spanish specaking nation.
Mexico is 1, spain 2, Columbia 3, Argentina 4, America5.

Geopolitical Framework:

The US and Canada have a really unique relationship.
We share a border that is 5,525 miles long.

The US was formed by breaking violently from Great Britain.

Some of the conflicts About Geoplotical Frameowrk are.

How many immigrants should be allowed into the country.
How do we tighten up on the illegal flow of Mexican Immigrants?

Some of Canada's conflicts are conflicts between Anglo and French populations, especially in Quebec.

There are tensions between the US and Canada about who gets the salmon there.
These disagreements are not extreme.

Economic and Social Developements:

This region is the world's most powerful economy and the most affluent population.
we have tons on goods such as corn and other goods.

We also have a large ammount of poor people in this region. In the US the poverty rate is 13% and in Canada 18%

Most poor people live in Central city locations.