...Antonio Vesselinov Professor Phillip Larson Intro to Geography 101 (Section 1) 11/5/14 Hydrology and Water Supply Issues It’s used to drink, shower, clean, grow food, wash cars, and cook food, but it’s are running out. Northern states do not have the same water supply issues that the southwestern states have, but that does not mean they do not exist. Water is a precious resource that is vital for an organism to survive and creates an habitable environment compared to other planets. However, though earth possesses water there isn’t enough to fulfill the needs of everyone. A large percentage of water on earth is salt water and cannot be used the same way as fresh water. In the southwest region of America there are 30 million people...
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...economic standing of the United States, specifically California, had fluctuated due to many unforeseen factors. One huge factor that cannot be anticipated, and often causes drastic effects on the economy, are geologic disasters. The state of California is notorious for having earthquakes that shake up the state quite often and leave the affected area with a substantial amount of damage. The 1906 earthquake of San Francisco was the largest geologic disaster known to the nation at the time it occured. Destroying about 80% of the city, this earthquake also caused an enormous amount of fires to break out throughout the city. Not only did the state of California have to build up funds to reconstruct the city, but also other states and nations provided economic relief to help rebuild the ninth largest city in the United States. As one of the most metropolitan areas in the West Coast of the US, San Francisco had a humongous task at hand to make this once financial, trade, and cultural center flourish once again. The magnitude of the earthquake caused widespread destruction due to the geologic setting of San Francisco, but also the destruction of buildings was due to the makeshift quality of the construction of the city. If there were to be a repeat of the quake today, it could possibly be more devastating than the first one. Therefore, the economic affect that an earthquake the same size as the one in 1906 would have on California would be far more disastrous and far more expensive due...
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...Many immigrant groups have suffered and gone through struggles when coming to California in the United States. All have faced discrimination and prejudice. However, one immigrant group had the worst of all, and they were the Chinese. The Chinese immigrant group received the harshest treatment here in California compared to other immigrant groups. This is very visible through the instances that the Chinese were transported in poor conditions, offered little protection, were receiving anti-Asian prejudice, discriminated, and finally had an immigration ban towards them based on their ethnicity. One of the things that were harsher for the Chinese than any other immigrant group was that they were transported to the lowest deck of the ships. The...
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...to create more negative effects than positive effects. This author appears to be more credible, as he gives a wider view of the situation than merely who approves of the idea. He gives details of how the restoration idea would ruin what little river remains, and become a drowning waste of money. McEwen worked with the Fresno Bee for over 35 years, writing multiple articles and having a heavy understanding of politics that other writers do not. The Fresno Bee pulls in an average of 264,603 daily readers, and publishing occurs in the California city of Fresno. Fresno itself...
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...Robert Hoefer Professor Arenson English 101 17 July 2012 Common Ground Essay The first commercial coal mine in America was started in the 1748. ("History of US Coal Use.") The first commercial oil well in the United States was drilled in 1859. (Yergin, 7) These two fossil fuels were the power behind the American Industrial Revolution, and wealth behind Edward Berwind and John Rockefeller(Brinkley, 435), respectively, that continue to provide power and fuel in present day society. Natural gas is another fossil fuel that helps to provide for the needs of today. Oil, coal, and gas companies tout new technologies that make their products cleaner and safer for the environment. Opponents of fossil fuels say there is no way to burn them cleanly. Proponents for fossil fuels believe there are plenty of reserves to keep America running on fossil fuels for years to come. Advocates for newer technologies, “green” technologies, such as solar power, geothermal energy, and biofuels claim that the time to move on from these fossil fuels has arrived. The new energy sources claim to be renewable so as to never run out. (E.g., the sun would have to supernova for solar power to run out.) They believe the point of “Peak Oil”- the point at which worldwide oil production begins to decline, has already passed and the country will need their new technologies to keep pace during the changing of the energy guard. There are many lenses through which to look at the use of all these energy sources...
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...Three Effects of Climate Change By: Nehanda Spencer Contents Introduction 2-4 Public Health 4-5 Water Crisis 6-7 Human Migration 7-8 Summary 9 Works Cited 10 Work Cited Pages 11-30 Introduction Well before the term climate change was used to describe the weather effects on the earth, I was informed about global warming. During high school when I was instructed to learn about global warming it was just a mere discussion based on the potential effects humans had on the climate. Approximately eight years later the suspected effects, of careless exertion of the earths resources among other influences, have drastically impacted the world and scientist have agreed that it is the cause of climate change. I was aware of climate change and I’ve witness many natural disasters over the years due to news broadcastings; such as hurricane Katrina, Washington’s mudslide and most recently Arkansas deadly tornado. However, I never truly grasp the importance of the earth’s current situation until I furthered my research in college. According to the ShowTime docu-series “Years of living dangerously” climate change is inevitable due to the amount of earth’s resources used verses those that are replenished. The documentary opened my eyes to the high tempatures that are spreading across the country and one of the biggest causes of climate change, which are green house gases. The tragic causes of these gases develop from the burning of fossil fuels...
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... various countries in the world are faced with many serious issues, and these problems can make countries collapse. According to Jared Diamond (2011), who is a professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, “There are four frameworks that cause societies to collapse, consisting of human impacts on the environment and climate change, declining relations with friendly neighbors, relations with hostile societies, and society’s responses to their problems”. Ethiopia is one of the East African countries that is now facing with various national problems, which can be clearly explained by all of Jared Diamond’s frameworks. Ethiopia has a significantly high risk of collapsing in the very near future. One of the most critical factors that Ethiopia faces is the various environmental catastrophes, which deals with the first framework that Jared Diamond has pointed out. According to the Embassy of The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (2012), most of the land in Ethiopia is highlands, grasslands, deserts with only a few rivers, and Ethiopia is a landlocked country. Therefore, Ethiopia has lacked adequate of water resources. Moreover, Ethiopia is faced with human impacts on the environment such as deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, and water shortages in some areas (“CIA The World Factbook,” 2012). Another major crisis is the economy, which can be explained by Diamond’s fourth framework. “Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world and approximately 29...
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...AS GEOGRAPHY UNIT 1 WORLD AT RISK WORLD AT RISK GLOBAL HAZARDS Hazard – Potential threat to human life or property Natural Hazards – Caused by natural processes e.g. lava flow from volcanic eruption Hydro-meteorological Hazards – Caused by climatic processes (droughts, floods, tropical cyclones and storms Geophysical Hazards – Caused by land processes (volcanic eruptions, earthquakes) Disaster – When a hazard seriously affects humans Risk – Likelihood that humans will be seriously affected by a hazard Vulnerability – How susceptible a population is to the damage caused by a hazard. Disaster Risk Equation Risk (R) – Hazards (H) * Vulnerability (V) / Capacity to Cope (C) Risk increases if: * Frequency or severity of hazards increase * People vulnerability increase * Capacity to cope decreases (Capacity to cope is the ability to deal with the consequences of a hazard) e.g. people in remote areas are further from help in central areas, so have lower capacity to cope) * Global Warming – greatest global hazard * Recent increase in average global temp – climate change * Causes other types of climate change * Context hazard – global in scale (affects all parts of environment) – potential to trigger other hazards or make them worse * Chronic Hazard (Long term) * People who aren’t causing the problem are mostly affected * Difficult to find solutions * Hydro-meteorological hazards becoming more frequent ...
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...The U.S. –Mexican War Article Reviews Chicano Studies 141 Paula Riddell March 22, 2013 This pre-war article talks about the Anglo-Saxon expansion of the west. The U.S. wanted to expand their civilization and fulfill what they saw as their “manifest destiny”(Edmunds). They intended to expand their colonies and settle into unknown territory and bring it to life. There was only one problem. The west already had life and that was the Indians, so they had to move. Was this fair? No but the way they justified their thinking was the Indians had a different way of life and it didn’t fit the mold of the U.S. They thought the Indians were uneducated, unclean, savages who didn’t know how to make the most of the modern civilization. The rest of the unknown territory needed railroads, manufacturing, and agricultural growth. They also thought the Indians would be better off with their own kind and in a place of their own, meaning further west. But the Indians were educated people. They could read and write, some spoke three languages and they were the original expansionists. They helped tame the west and shape it way before the settlers. They were already “farmers and entrepreneurs”(Edmunds). Also, the Indians didn’t believe anyone owned the land, it was for everyone to share. So this land that was founded on the rights of others (U.S.), decided to take their land (the Indians) and basically told them you don’t belong here. This land is ours now. But ...
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...surface temperature has to be just right for humans, not too cold and not too hot. Thanks to the natural greenhouse effect, which has kept the Earth warm. It’s a phenomenon where the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through but absorb heat radiated back from the earth's surface. As there are naturally occurring greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that help keep the Earth warm, added amounts of these gases leads to extra heat being trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere. These gases (carbon dioxide, methane etc.) are being added by human activities and are enhancing the greenhouse effect as shown in figure 1. The global climate change is causing many environmental consequences and will cause more. There are five gases that contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect. These five gases are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, oxides of nitrogen and chlorofluorocarbons. The human activities have increased the concentrations of these five gases into the atmosphere. Water Vapour Scientists say water vapour is the most dominant greenhouse gas. Water vapour is also the dominant positive feedback in our climate system and increases any warming caused by changes in...
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...My name is Dermot Vibert. I work with Rio Tinto Japan. On March 11, 2011 I was in our office when we were hit by an extremely strong earthquake. Among the many issues we faced immediately after the earthquake was what would we do on the Monday morning when we had to supposedly return to the office and recommence business. What caused this issue to arise and why is it important? B) Causes Identify the importance of the Causes to the organisation concerned. What Caused these Issues to arise? The reasons underlying the Issues will be explicit in the Causes identified. The earthquake in the afternoon of March 11 was, although it struck 520 kilometers from Tokyo, it was an extremely strong one for us in Tokyo. The buildings shook severely two or three times, and then many, many times thereafter because of the aftershocks. On at least two occasions we had to go under our desks with our helmets on and literally hold on to the legs of the tables. It was that strong. The earthquake knocked out a lot of the power system, and as a result the trains were not able to function normally, and because there was not enough power as well, things like traffic lights, lights in buildings, etc., all these things were affected. There were many unknowns such as what damage there really was in the Tokyo area, for how long would trains not be running, would there be adequate food in two or three days time, what was going to happen with fuel supply, because when we were watching on television,...
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...One of the most comprehensive surveys of abuse in foster care was conducted in conjunction with a Baltimore lawsuit. Trudy Festinger, head of the Department of Research at the New York University School of Social Work, determined that over 28 per cent of the children in state care had been abused while in the system. Reviewed cases depicted "a pattern of physical, sexual and emotional abuses" inflicted upon children in the custody of the Baltimore Department. Cases reviewed as the trial progressed revealed children who had suffered continuous sexual and physical abuse or neglect in foster homes known to be inadequate by the Department. Cases included that of sexual abuse of young girls by their foster fathers, and that of a young girl who contracted gonorrhea of the throat as a result of sexual abuse in an unlicenced foster home.[1] In Louisiana, a study conducted in conjunction with a civil suit found that 21 percent of abuse or neglect cases involved foster homes.[2] In another Louisiana case, one in which thousands of pages of evidence were reviewed, and extensive testimony and depositions were taken, it was discovered that hundreds of foster children had been shipped out of the state to Texas. Stephen Berzon of the Children's Defense Fund explained the shocking findings of the court before a Congressional subcommitte, saying: "children were physically abused, handcuffed, beaten, chained, and tied up, kept in cages, and overdrugged with psychotropic medication for institutional...
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...Global Warming And Its Effects On The Coastal Areas of Bangladesh [pic] [pic][pic] GLOBAL WARMING: Global Warming is the rise in the average temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere, including the surface air and oceans. In simple words global warming is when the Earth heats up. It is caused mainly due to increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. The greenhouse gases, include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, water vapor, traps heat and light in the Earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. Today global warming is considered as one of the major environmental issues, which threatens to disrupt the basic balance of the environment and cause large scale destruction. The Greenhouse Effect: [pic] There are certain gases that raise the temperature by trapping the sun’s heat and energy. The Earth’s average temperature would have been about 60Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. colder if it weren’t for these gases. These gases are referred to as “greenhouse effect” because of the way they help to keep the Earth warm. The greenhouse effect makes the Earth suitable for all living things. The Earth might have been freezing or it might also have been burning hot if the greenhouse effect did not occur. However, the presence of too many such gases can cause the Earth to get unusually warmer. The plants would not be able to take such heat and eventually they would have died. The scarcity of plants would cause animals to die...
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...“We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.” – Mother Teresa (Mother Teresa, 2001). Many people have difficulties in their lives that make them more susceptible to becoming homeless. When these complications become reinforced they can initiate a downward spiral that almost seems impossible to get out of. Approximately 3.5 million people are likely to experience homelessness in a given year (National Coalition for the Homeless, 2007). Not receiving the help needed in time can result in living on the streets. Some of these complications include mental illness, lack of affordable healthcare, drug addiction, domestic violence, decreasing work opportunities and housing, decline in public assistance, and poverty. It has become so common to see a homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk. 43% of the homeless population are women, 36% are families with children, and 7% are unaccompanied minors. 50% are African-American, 35% white, 12% Hispanic, 2% Native American, and 1% Asian. 66% of the homeless have problems with alcohol, drug abuse, or mental illness and veterans constitute 40% of the homeless population (GrabStats, 2008). Having insufficient money does not help to cover the expenses of a home, a family, and bills. The typical lower class citizen has to deal with all types of financial issues. ...
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...Funding the Rising Cost of U.S. Health Care. BY Vilando. HSA500 November 15, 2015 Funding the Rising Cost of U.S. Health Care. The United States continues to spend significantly more on health care than any country in the world, however, even though with this statistics the U.S has a lot of uninsured and does not have the healthiest citizens. In this paper, opinions will be given on the rising cost of overall’s health care’s impact in the U.S economy, followed by a comparising and contrasting factors impacted by the new health care act, pros and cons of using the private insurance rather than using the new health care reforms and the cost associated with its implementation and access to different groups will also be discussed. Rising Cost of Health Care The cost of the U.S health care system is higher than any country in the world. Its efficiency is also under serious scrutiny. If it was not an emergency, most physicians would require insurance verification. Therefore patients will be delayed of treatment. Moreover, the health care system in the U.S should be redesigned in terms of prevention rather than treatment with people who are already sick. Insurance should not go higher for people that have pre-existing conditions or with more health risk. Also the emergence and new discoveries in the field of...
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