...Distribution of world population and location of mega-cities In 1800 only 3 percent of the worlds total population lived in cities, this figure now stands at 47 percent an increase of 44 percent over 200 years. In 1950, there were 83 cities with populations exceeding one million; New York was recognised as becoming the world’s first megacity. By the year 2007 83 millionaire cities had risen to 468. If this trend continues however the worlds urban population will double every 38 years. This is due to the propelled high rates of natural increase and very high rates of rural to urban migration. A few of the largest cities have grown to merge with others to form city regions, or agglomerations, such as Tokyo whose region now includes the population of Yokohama. The term megacity is now used to describe these city regions. A few current megacities according to that of the world gazetteer are that of Cairo in Egypt with a population of 16,794,464, Beijing in China with a population of 13,294,474 and Buenos Aires in Argentina with a population of 14,723,625. A few countries that have the potential to become megacities within the next 5 years are that of Chicago in the USA with a population of 9,506,302, and Xianggang in China with a current population of 9,565,291. This image shows the urban population (millions). As the image clearly show there are around 6 mega-city areas in the western hemisphere. The more obvious one being that of the world cities such as New York....
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...A glimpse of the future can be seen in Monwa, the most majestic city in the world. Monwa is a lotus-like urban establishment located off the coast of Bel Air, Haiti, where our engineers have incorporated nature and technology together to create this thriving city. In 2010, Bel Air, Haiti suffered a terrible earthquake that devastated the entire population. After hundreds of years, engineers explored the wreckage and decided that they could create a prodigious city with it, and thus, the city of Monwa was born! In the year, 2254 and with a growing population of about 50,000 citizens each year, Monwa was ameliorating every single day. However, as the population grew, problems also began to grow and soon, Haiti was in grave danger. Jobs for farming were almost unbearable, and people were becoming quite miserable. Today, the problem with agriculture is growing like wildfire, never burning out, forever ruining the lives of cities throughout the world, and Haiti is one of the victims. There is less farmable land, more water pollution and scarcity, increased fuel costs, pesticide resistance, and in Haiti, recent hurricanes and earthquakes make our agriculture issues even worse than in other cities. Solutions to this problem were very limited. There were so many factors that we couldn’t control, such as a natural disaster and these are so unpredictable, making a solution to Haiti’s agricultural problem almost impossible to find. However, our mayor knew that we had to try. She...
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...Alistair Hall Discuss the causes of urbanisation around the world Urbanisation is the growth of in the proportion of a country’s population that lives in urban as opposed to the rural area. We can see how urbanisation is increasing globally by the switch over of the majority of the global population living in rural areas to urban areas in 2007, and how the percentage of the global population living in urban areas is now 53% as well as their being 28 megacities around the world as of 2015. The primary reason for the increase in urbanisation around the world is the process of rural-urban migration (mainly in developing countries/NICs). This can be seen in the mega city of Delhi, where its total population is over 17million and has since increased by 285,000 due to migration alone. The reasons for these migrants to move from the rural to urban areas can be due to centrifugal or centripetal forces. A Centrifugal force is something that pushes people away from the rural areas and into the urban areas for example rural poverty and environmental degradation, while Centripetal forces is something that attracts people into cities which are usually the perceived benefits and opportunities of education, employment, shelter, electricity, food and water. These forces are demonstrated by migration of people into the city of Delhi. The Centrifugal forces include the pressure on the land in rural areas, such as parts of the state of Uttah Pradesh, and the farms being fragmented making farming...
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...The name Minneapolis is a combination of mni, a Dakota Sioux word for water, and polis, the Ancient Greek word for city. The name is fitting, considering water is the city's defining physical characteristic, which the history and economic growth of Minneapolis heavily relied on. During the last ice age, glaciers created the many bodies of water in Minneapolis, including the Mississippi riverbed and created the river's only waterfall, Saint Anthony Falls, a great source of power for its early industry, important to the settlers of Minneapolis. Now these bodies of water have shaped the very lifestyle the citizens who live here. The Minneapolis park system has repeatedly been named the best-designed, best-financed, and best-maintained in America within it’s thriving urban setting. Of it’s 180 park bodies, 22 are along lakes, others along creeks and rivers. Runner's World ranks the Twin Cities as America's sixth best city for runners, the American College of Sports Medicine ranked Minneapolis the "fittest city". Another study by Walk Score ranked Minneapolis the ninth most walkable city in the United States. Minneapolis ranked 27th in the nation for the highest percentage of commuters by bicycle, and was editorialized as the top bicycling city in the country. Citing the city's bicycle lanes and buses Forbes identified Minneapolis the world's fifth cleanest city. Minneapolis has also been cited as one of the most environmentally responsible cities in America, and the fourth easiest...
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...1 In memory of Skip and Mary Dickinson For Quintin and Griffin And for Louise Dennys, with thanks ‘Most of you, I am sure, remember the tragic circumstances of the death of Geoffrey Clifton at Gilf Kebir, followed later by the disappearance of his wife, Katharine Clifton, which took place during the 1939 desert expedition in search of Zerzura. “I cannot begin this meeting tonight without referring very sympathetically to those tragic occurrences. “The lecture this evening ...” From the minutes of the Geographical Society meeting of November 194-, London I The Villa SHE STANDS UP in the garden where she has been working and looks into the distance. She has sensed a shift in the weather. There is another gust of wind, a buckle of noise in the air, and the tall cypresses sway. She turns and moves uphill towards the house, climbing over a low wall, feeling the first drops of rain on her bare arms. She crosses the loggia and quickly enters the house. In the kitchen she doesn’t pause but goes through it and climbs the stairs which are in darkness and then continues along the long hall, at the end of which is a wedge of light from an open door. She turns into the room which is another garden—this one made up of trees and bowers painted over its walls and ceiling. The man lies on the bed, his body exposed to the breeze, and he turns his head slowly towards her as she enters. Every four days she washes his black body, beginning at the destroyed feet. She wets a washcloth...
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...Deserts, Glaciers, and Climate: Landscapes and Changes Deserts, Glaciers, and Climate: Landscapes and Changes It is no great mystery that the Earth is always changing. Talk of global warming is inescapable, making it a moral imperative to become educated about the Earth’s climate cycles and watch for changes and signs in Earth’s diverse landscapes. The following is a brief sketch of desert and glacial landscapes, as well as a look at historical and future climate changes. Deserts VS Glacial Landscapes Desert and glacial landscapes are very much on opposite sides of the landscape spectrum; however in terms of adjective depiction they are related: “abstract, beautiful, immense, remote ... and vulnerable” (Murck, Skinner, & Mackenzie, 2008, p. 376). Deserts The desert landscapes are primarily fashioned by wind and sand, however they are truly defined by the region’s annual rainfall. The landscapes in the desert are full of sand, alluvial fans, playas, oases, arroyos as well as deposits of salt. Eolian, better known as wind erosion, is the type of erosion seen in the desert. Desert is constantly altered and changing based on the direction of the wind. A highly noticeable example of a changing geological feature in a desert landscape would be the dunes. Dunes are hills or ridges of sand that are produced when the wind blows. These mounds of sand are irregular, yet they come in five common types, barchan, transverse, star...
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...Sand... I could almost tell you exactly how many grains lay in this desert. The days are long and hot, and the nights are longer and cold. It’s not a mistake that I am here, I chose to live this way. My name is Gabriel, I am twenty-eight years old. The Wahiba Sands became my home five weeks ago.... I used to be wealthy, with a family, I even owned the largest law firm in the united states. I used to be happy, and filled to the breaking points with love, and life. Until my company that I spent every penny, and every ounce of me on, fell under. My deep black hair began to turn a grey color. We started losing cases, and with a rising rate of failure came the rising debt. The company was going to crash, and I knew. A few months later, the bank came around to take the firm out of my hands. I made a horrible decision, I went to the bank that all of the pension money was stored. I emptied all of the accounts, and carried the money out of the bank in bags. As I was leaving I called my wife, and told her and my son Adrian to pack their things and get ready to leave the country, and that I would explain when I got home. I pull into the driveway, and see my wife standing outside the house. Frantically I told her what just happened. “Gabriel what on earth are you trying to do?!” she exclaimed. “Please just get in the car, I don’t have time. I need to leave, if you wait any longer I’ll have to leave without you and Adrian.” I proposed. She stood, unmoved, and with an unchanged mind...
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...shepherd boy, who is indeed, a dreamer. He dreams of finding great treasures and becoming rich, but he just doesn’t know where to start achieving his “personal legend.” Then, just when he was about to give up, Santiago met a very wise man that told him to listen to the omens, and he realized that these omens, good or bad, were all around him. He now knew that on your pursuit of your dreams, the universe and everything that surrounds it would do everything to help you accomplish your “personal legend.” We all believe that the universe is against us in our quest to make our dreams come true, but this novel tells us that if we just strive hard towards our goals, everything will work out in the very end. As Santiago started heading towards the desert, where he was destined to be, he faced eminent challenges and obstacles that he was yet to overcome. That is another thing that Coelho was trying to explicate, as we strive towards our dreams, we will surely face tough challenges and temptations to try and stray us away off course. These temptations and desires are there to test us if we are really determined and ordained to fulfill our “personal legends.” That is why Coelho created the character of Santiago, who conquered all obstacles and fought away his temptations. For example, Santiago had...
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... Their job was to help save Major-General Charles Gordon who was besieged at the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, sited on the Nile south of Cairo, Egypt. For that journey, a great number of voyageurs were hired to aid with the transportation of Wolseley’s force. The tricky part of the expedition began on the shores of Lake Superior. It finished 13 weeks later at Fort Garry. The men travelled in boats, and along the way they encountered chains of raging rivers. Major-General Gordon, sent to evacuate Egyptian soldiers and officials, only removed a few hundred to security before being besieged at Khartoum in March 1884. Wolseley was sent to rescue to him. Wolseley’s army had to move up the Nile and around its cataracts, through unwelcoming desert. The contingent sailed from Montreal on Sept. 14, 1884, clear for Alexandria in far away Egypt. The contingent arrived at Alexandria, Egypt, on Oct. 7, 1884. Preceding to its arrival, the contingent recorded its first loss. From Alexandria, the forces journeyed south up the Nile to Wadi Halfa. On Oct. 26, the Canadians joined Wolseley. After Wadi Halfa, the real rough work began. It was gruelling labour 13 to 14 hours a day. But with the entrance of the Canadians, the pace picked up. The first obstacle, the second cataract on the journey south was overcome within 10 days of the voyageurs’ appearance by a mixture of rowing, sailing and towing. As the expedition gradually worked its way upriver through November. When strong currents were...
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...Dana Smith January 28, 2016 STUDIO 1 “A Guerilla Gardener in South Central LA” Response Watching A Guerilla Gardener in South Central LA has truly opened my eyes to what It is like to live in a food desert. I have never heard of that phrase before watching this Ted Talk. That is a luxury that I take for granted as a girl who was raised in a farm town with an abundance of supermarkets and farmer’s markets. I never realized how hard fresh food is to come by in low-income areas like South Central, LA. Ron Finley was seeing his neighbors’ health declining more and more, wheelchairs being purchased and sold like used cars, and dialysis stores “popping up like Starbucks”. He made a statement that made the reality of this situation even more real. He says, “drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys”. Can you even imagine that? The burger we eat is killing more people than bullets flying from a moving car. All it really takes is one person to step up and make a change. Finley saw that people his age were near their deathbeds and the generation coming up following in the footsteps placed before them. He realized that these fast foods were an issue and did something about it. His organization ‘LA Green Grounds’ consist of everyday people who want to see a change in their community. They plant orange trees, apple trees, potatoes, kale, aad things of the like all of South Central. This organization is improving their community by simply planting fruits and vegetables...
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...Today was another average day. I heard that it was hot and dry today, but that didn’t effect me, because I was in the soil, where it was damp and cool. I’m never really affected by the weather and climate, so I am fine with being in many biomes. Of course, I wouldn’t last long in a desert, but to this Mediterranean climate, I can surely survive. A few days ago, I’ve hooked onto Bob’s roots. We have become such good friends! Our relationship is mutualistic, because I receive the nutrients that Bob makes, and I help give him mineral nutrients from the soil such as phosphorus! I was told by Bob that 95% of the plants need people like me to survive! That sounded so cool. Thanks to me, Bob is growing very fast, and that makes me very happy. My neighbouring Mycorrhiza friend Joe told me that plants were getting attacked by aphids! Hence, I quickly started producing chemicals that repelled aphids and attracted aphid-eating wasps! This is a great friend to have, because being able to communicate like that will protect our plants. When I help Bob, he gives me 20 percent of the glucose and sucrose produced by him! I can use these sugars to extend my hyphae deeper into the ground. There’s another use for it. I produce fruiting bodies with it! Some are mushrooms, which go above the ground, and some are truffles, which are below the ground. Rain isn’t the...
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...Eagle agreed and joined Peter and Lion. The mountains were tall and craggy. Lion slipped but Peter was swift enough to give him a hand and pull him up. Eagle with his sharp vision watched every step they took. Soon, they reached the valley below where they met Sheep. “Will you join us in our search for treasure?” Peter asked Sheep, “and keep us warm when it’s cold?” Sheep agreed and joined Peter, Lion and Eagle. A cold wind swept across the endless meadow. They all huddled against Sheep who kept them warm and cozy. The four finally reached the desert where they met Camel. " You are called the ship of the desert,” said Peter to Camel, “will you help us get across and join the treasure hunt too?” Camel agreed. All exclaimed in surprise. Peter, Lion and Sheep mounted the camel and happily set off across the vast desert with Eagle enjoying the spectacle from above. Camel began galloping and everybody cheered with excitement. Traversing the desert on Camel’s back was quite thrilling! The five finally reached the ocean where they met Turtle. “Can you help us cross the water?” Peter asked Turtle. “We are on a treasure hunt.” Turtle agreed and joined Peter, Lion, Eagle, Sheep, and Camel. The rough waves almost drowned the party, but Turtle skillfully steered them across. They met Owl on the...
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...Today I will teach you how to make a Kool-Aid pie. This is one of my favorite desserts. There are three main steps that you need to complete to create this dessert. Step one is having the utensils you will need, step two is the ingredients the desserts contains, and step three is the process of adding the final touches. Step one is to get all the supplies you will need. First you will need a bowl. It’s very important you use a medium size bowl. Secondly you will need a spoon or a spatula. A spoon or a spatula will basically help you mix the ingredients. Last but not least you will a can opener. Step two is the ingredients. To make the desert there are a few things you will need to start making the pie. First you will need the wet ingredient. Which includes: Condense milk and whipped topping. Secondly is the dry mix which is the Kool-Aid. It doesn’t matter what flavor of Kool-Aid that you choose to use. What matters is that you use it. Lastly is the solid ingredient which is the gramham crackers pie crust. Once you have all the ingredients you are ready for the last step. Step three is the last and final step. The first thing you will need to do is open the whipped topping and Kool-Aid packet. Then pour it into a bowl. I prefer that you use the spatula so you can use the folding method to mix the ingredient. Next you open the condensed milk and pour it into the bowl. After you have all the ingredients poured and mixed together. You will pour it into the crust. Last thing you...
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...Characters: Santiago Shepherd boy, the protagonist of The Alchemist. He travels from Andalusia in southern Spain to the Egyptian pyramids in search of hidden treasure, learning life lessons along the way. Santiago is a dreamer and a seeker, and he stands for the dreamer and seeker in all of us. Old Woman A fortune teller, and possibly a gypsy, she interprets Santiago's recurring dream, but in a manner so straightforward that he finds it suspect and disappointing. Melchizedek/King of Salem An anonymous old man who is in fact a powerful figure from the Old Testament, he explains to Santiago what a Personal Legend is and urges the shepherd boy to follow his dream. Aside from Santiago himself, Melchizedek is the most important character in The Alchemist. Crystal Merchant A middle-aged resident of Tangier, he hires Santiago to work in his shop. The crystal merchant's Personal Legend is to make a pilgrimage (or haj) to Mecca, but he knows he will never fulfill this dream. He is Santiago's foil, a character who characterizes another by contrast. Englishman A bookish pedant obsessed with alchemy who hopes to learn the fabled craft from a famous alchemist rumored to live at the Al-Fayoum oasis that lies between Tangier and the pyramids. In The Alchemist, the Englishman stands for the limits of book learning. Camel Herder Once a prosperous farmer, his valuable orchards were wiped out by a flood, forcing him into a new line of work. He teaches Santiago the importance of living in the...
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...The picture below shows a flash flood in your housing area. Based on the picture given, write an article of the flood.When writing the article, you should: * Give details of the flood * Suggest ways to help the flood victims * Make sure it is between 120 and 150 words | Friday, 22 August2014 Flash Flood in Taman Rosa By Vanu Last Saturday, there was a terrible downpour in Taman Ros. It was raining cats and dogs. The residents did not leave their homes because the sky was dark and they did not to get caught in the rain. It was raining for almost six hours. The drains were clogged and the water started to overflow. The water level rose and lead to a flash flood in just a few more hours. The water started to go into the residents houses. The victims tried to move their important belongings to higher grounds and those with children tried to get them on top of their roofs. They were trying to get out of their homes and save important documents. A few of them climbed on top of the roofs of their hoses to prevent from drowning. It was a complete chaos in the neighbourhood. There were cars and carcasses floating all around the neighbourhood. Not long after, the flood relief volunteers came to help them victims in their boats. They tried to save the children and the women first. The saved victims were brought to a school flood relief centre nearby. Flash floods regularly happen in my housing areas. There are a few ways to help the flood victims. Most importantly the...
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