Geography is not just about...

Memorizing place names and boundaries. (though you need to learn context through maps) Where things and people are located (though you need basic descriptive background)

Geography is about...

Why things and people are where they are. How people, things and places interact with each other.

Geography breaksdown boundaries

Can cross nature-human border. Can compare different places/regions. Can compare different scales (local, national, global) Can study reality on the ground, over time. Can study anything related to place(s).

Human Geography studies…

How human beings organize our activity spatially, and interact with our environment. How and why places are made and remade, and how our home places shape who we are. How different places interact spatially.

What Human Geographers Do

Human Geography involves the investigation of the relationship between people and place. “The Earth as the home of human beings.” (Yi-Fu Tuan) “Writing the earth”: ‘to write” (graphien) the earth (geo)”.

Physical geography

deals with Earth’s natural processes and its outcomes.

Human geography

deals with the spatial organization of human activities, and with people’s relationship with their environments.

Regional geography

combines elements of both physical and human geography.

Applied geography:

fieldwork, laboratory work, archival searches, remote sensing, and GIS (input, manipulation, analysis, etc.)

Geography is a bridge between the natural and social sciences. Geography is a holistic or synthesizing science.

The Five Themes of Geography

Place, Region, Interaction, Location, Movement

Spatial Levels

Levels or scales of spatial organization represent a tangible partitioning of space. World regions Asia, Europe, or Latin America Supranational organizations NAFTA, European Union, ASEAN, World Trade Organization De Jure States Legally recognized political entities Body and Self Physical appearance and socially acceptable norms

Human Geography Today

Studying the relationship of place to people as… Social beings Consumers Producers

The Human “Footprint”

A map that shows areas of greater inhabitance

Regionalization

The geographer’s equivalent of scientific classification is regionalization, with the individual places or areal units being the objects of classification. Logical division— “classification from above” Grouping—“classification from below”

REGION

an area that shares common characteristics

Formal region

all members legally share a characteristic (U.S.A.)

Functional region

defined by a node of activity and distance decay from center (i.e. cell phone coverage)

Vernacular region

– common perception of cultural identity (“Deep South”)

Spacial distribution

the regular arrangment of phenomenon across earth's surface includes: concentration, density, pattern

3 kinds of distribution:

relocation, hierarchical, contagious

distance decay:

the diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin

spacial interaction

the movement of people, goods, and ideas within and among regions

Tobler’s 1st Law of Geography

All things are related. However, all other things being equal, those things that are closest together are more related. People will seek to: Maximize the overall utility of places at minimum cost, and Maximize connections between places at minimum cost, and Locate related activities as close together as possible

Space

Latitude and Longitude - a reference system designed to provide “absolute” location (as opposed to relative locations). Like distance, space can be measured in absolute, relative, and cognitive terms. Topological space are the connections between, or connectivity of, particular points in space.

time-space convergence

the world seems like a smaller place as more time passes with increases in technology and whatnot the rate at which places move closer together in travel or communication time or costs

Making Space into Place

Space is abstract, geometric, empty, like an impersonal location on a grid Place is constructed by human beings, and given meaning through social interaction/memories.

The Influence and Meaning of Places

Places are settings for social interaction that, among other things, structure the daily routines of people’s economic and social lives; provide both opportunities and constraints in terms of people’s long-term social well-being; provide a context in which everyday, common sense knowledge and experience are gathered; provide a setting for processes of socialization; and provide an arena for contesting social norms.

Place and Sense of Place

Every place is unique. Imagine where you lived as a child. What made that special? Sensory Architecture Symbolic Humanistic Geography - values the individual perspective. Place and Placelessness (Relph, 1978)

What is a Place?

LOCALE (physical attributes of place) LOCATION (relationship to other places) SENSE OF PLACE (feelings evoked by place)

Why Place Matters

All social activity is embedded in place Places therefore provide the settings for people’s daily lives . Social interaction in turn shapes the place.

Hunter-Gatherers

Humanity’s only “economic” activity for at least 90% of our existence. Low population densities (small groups of 40-60; 1 person/ mi2) Largely egalitarian - every person performs essential functions.

radiation theory

people originated in the "cradle lands" of africa and gradually spread throughout the world

Pleistocene Overkill Hypothesis

Large, slow, or tame animals become extinct shortly after hunter-gatherer arrival in New World, Polynesia, Australia / New Guinea. Flightless birds, giant cave bear, ground sloth.

Agricultural and Industrial Societies Accelerate Extinctions

Flightless birds, whales, otters U.S. Passenger Pigeon

Agricultural Revolution

Domestication of Plants and Animals Seed Agriculture - Fertile Crescent, western India, northern China, Ethiopia, southern Mexico (10,000 b.p.) Rice, wheat, and corn account for more than 50% of world population's food calories and were among the first plants domesticated (along with millet, sorghum wheat, rye, barley).

Neolithic Revolution

Domestication of Animals Dog was probably first. Early domesticated animals: cattle, oxen, pigs, sheep, goats, guinea pigs, llama role in agricultural production and success Relationship to success of particular cultures: Indo-European Horsemen

Neolithic Revolution effects

Primary effects: Urbanization Social Stratification Occupational Specialization Increased population densities

minisystems

societies with a single cultural base and a reciprocal social economy. A transition to food-producing minisystems had several implications for the long-term evolution of the world’s geographies: It allowed much higher population densities. It brought about a change in social organization. It allowed some specialization in non-agricultural crafts. Specialization led to the beginnings of barter and trade between communities, sometimes over substantial distances.

Carl O. Sauer

noted that agricultural breakthroughs could only occur in certain geographical settings: plentiful natural food supplies, diversified terrain, and rich/moist soils.

Urbanization and increased efficiency lead to population growth and increased density, which leads to need for more space.

Ancient Examples: Aztecs, Maya Chinese Warlords / Dynasties Polynesians Roman Empire Muslim / Ottoman Empire Human and environmental costs are inevitable.

world-empire

a group of minisystems that have been absorbed into a common political system while retaining their fundamental cultural differences

Urbanization

Towns and cities became essential as centers of administration, military garrisons, and as theological centers for ruling classes

Colonization:

The physical settlement in a new territory of people from a colonizing state; an indirect consequence of the operation of the law of diminishing returns

Age of European Discovery, Exploration, and Colonization

1492 - 1771: Bartholomew Dias (Portugal), 1488 - rounds Cape of Good Hope Columbus, 1492 (Spanish/Italian) - first of four voyages to “New World” Vasco De Gama (Portugal), 1498 - reaches India Magellan (Portugal), 1519 - First Circumnavigation James Cook (England), 1768-1771 - voyages in Pacific / Polynesia; end of era of Discovery The geographical knowledge acquired was crucial to the expansion of European political and economic power in the 16th Century.

World-System

An interdependent system of countries linked by economic and political competition

World-system processes

CORE Industrialized capitalist countries or regions. PERIPHERY Exploited countries and regions (“poor”) SEMI-PERIPHERY Countries or regions with mixed processes. Both exploited and exploiters.

Results of World-System

The growth and strength of the Core is made possible by the exploitation of the rest of the world. The “poverty” in the Periphery is made possible by the exploitation by the rest of the world. Recent globalization has widened, not narrowed, the gap between Core and Periphery countries.

globalization is nothing new

(Flows of goods, capital, information)

World-System History

European colonialism/ slave trade, 1500s-1800s Industrial Revolution/ wage labor, 1800s/ early 1900s World War II/ Cold War/ decolonization, mid-1900s Neocolonialism/ multinational corporations, late 1900s

Why Europe?

Early technical innovations Armor, gunnery from wars among many small states Shipbuilding and navigation Evangelical zeal Crusades in Middle East Missionaries in Americas Law of Diminishing Returns Drive for gold/ money reached limits at home —Land divided by inheritance

Law of diminishing returns

the tendancy for productivity to decline, after a certain point, with the continued application of capital and/or labor to a given resource base

Hegemony

Domination over a region or the world Not just political or military control Most pervasive is economic and cultural control

Leadership cycles (competitive struggles)

Netherlands and Portugal, 1400s-1500s Spain and Portugal, 1500s-1600s England and France, 1600s-early 1900s Germany and Japan, 1937-45 United States and Soviet Union, 1945-1980s United States and ……? 1990s-2000s European Union and East Asian bloc, 2010s ?

Europe: Three Waves of Industrialization

1790–1850: based on the initial cluster of industrial technologies (steam engines, cotton textiles, and ironworking); was very localized 1858–1870: involved the diffusion of industrialization to most of the rest of Britain and to parts of northwest Europe, particularly the coalfields of northern France, Belgium, and Germany 1870–1914: a further industrialization of the geography of Europe as yet another cluster of technologies imposed different needs and created new opportunities

Industrial Revolution

1733, First Cotton Mill opens in England 1793, Eli Whitney invents cotton ‘gin 1800, steam engines become common (steamboats, locomotives) 1837, Morse and two Brits, independent of Morse ) invent telegraph 1877, Bell invents telephone 1878, Thomas Edison patents incandescent light bulb 1908, Henry Ford delivers first Model T 1913, Wright Brothers first flight

International Division of Labor

Core (colonial powers) need resources, labor Periphery (colonies) has labor, resources Colonies had “comparative advantages” in natural resources The Core “underdeveloped” the Periphery, which was not “poor” of its own accord

Imperialism: "former colonialism"

extension of the power of a nation through direct or indirect control of the economic and political life of other territories.

Colonialism:

the establishment and maintenance of political and legal domination by a state over a separate and alien society.

Colonization:

the physical settlement of a new territory of people from a colonizing state

World War II Begins contemporary globalization

Sudden shifts in economic hegemony, political power Sudden technological innovations Sudden growth of transportation, communications networks

Late 1940s: U.S. dominant

Sole possession of atomic bomb to 1949 War destroyed industries of Europe, Russia and Japan U.S. finances reconstruction

Anti-colonial revolts

Colonial flags come down Asia, 1940s-1950s, Africa 1960s-1970s “Neocolonialism” continues Ex-colonial powers still dominate economies, resources, cultures

Cold War, 1949-1989

US-USSR “hot wars” fought in Periphery Periphery states competed for aid Arms race depleted global social resources

Multinational corporations

Investments, activities transcend borders Subsidiaries in many Periphery/S-P countries Core domination, centralization outside state structure

World divisions, late 20th century

First World - Industrialized capitalist countries of Western Europe, North America. Second World - Centrally-planned “socialist” countries such as former Soviet Union. Third World - Ex-colonial nations such as India, Malaysia, Iran, Brazil, etc. Fourth World - Poorest nations (and indigenous communities)

“North/South” Divisions

Poor countries tend to be located in Southern Hemisphere. World Bank estimates more than 1.3 billion people (1/5 world population) live in acute poverty of < $1 (U.S.) per day. 70% women and children Self-Sustaining

Regions of the “World Village”

In a world village of 1,000: 333 East Asians 274 South Asians 132 Africans 120 Europeans 86 Latin Americans 50 North Americans 5 from Oceania Average annual income $4,890 600 poor 300 marginal 100 well-off 200 richest villagers own and consume 80% of goods Other villagers own and consume remaining 20%

The Core

Industrialized capitalist countries, led by former colonial powers Centers of trade, technology, productivity. Examples: Western Europe, North America, Japan, Australia Exploit the Periphery and Semi-periphery.

The Periphery

Poor, ex-colonial nations. Tend to export resources and labor. Examples: Kenya, Bolivia, Pakistan, etc. Exploited by Core and by Semi-periphery

The Semi-periphery

Partially industrialized ex-colonial countries. Both exporters and importers of goods. Examples: China, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, etc. (parts of India?) Exploited by Core, but also exploit Periphery.

New International Division of Labor

Industrial growth of Europe and Japan Internationalization of economic networks New global consumer markets New global technologies

Industrial growth of Europe, Japan

European economic bloc Expanding to east, will it include western Russia? Japan, other East Asian states Four Tigers (Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong) China as partner new economic bloc Relative decline of U.S. in “Tripolar Economy”

Internationalization of economics. What led to it?

TRADE “Free trade” agreements Standards “race to bottom” FINANCES 24/7 stock markets Mobile investments PRODUCTION Overseas “sweatshops” Core automating, losing industrial jobs

New consumer markets

World products Core luxury goods Media diffusion CNN, MTV, Hollywood Semi-periphery consumers Four Tigers, Oil states

New technological innovations

Microelectronics Personal computers Internet Satellites Aircraft Robotics (automation) Biotechnology Container ships/rail

Digital Divide

Unequal access to telecommunications and information technology 80% of websites in North America 20% of population has 74% of phone lines

“Fast” vs. “Slow” worlds

“Fast” (20%) has access to telecommunications, consumer goods, arts & entertainment. “Slow” (80%) has limited access, more resentment of elites. Search for “sense of place” in both areas to lessen alientation.

Watershed moment in human history

Dramatic changes in social, cultural, political, economic relations at the… Global scale State (national) scale Regional scale Local scale Scales interrelate, affect each other

Changes since 1990

Collapse of Soviet Union, end of Cold War. Rise of local ethnic/religious nationalism. New forms and locations of warfare. Communications revolution (Internet). Massive increase in economic globalization.

Collapse of Soviet bloc

Changes in former Soviet Union and allies. Changes in the developing world. Changes in the U.S., now without a powerful enemy.

Rise of ethnic nationalism

Soviet, Yugoslav breakups. Minority ethnic groups looking to end majority “oppression.” Increased local/ethnic identity as reaction to impersonal globalization. Increased ability to survive as smaller country.

Communications revolution

Only 50 websites in 1992; 250 million + today. Internet makes world more connected, yet in more specialized niches. Can be used for globalization from above, or from below.

New forms andlocations of warfare

Smaller, more brutal wars. Military technologies more efficient, usually not made by combatants. Freelancers can wage war Physical distance or borders no longer protect

What is Globalization?

The increasing interdependence and interconnectedness of places globally.

Globalization from above

Globalization from the top down Increasing power of corporations through internationalizing of production and marketing. Financial markets transcend national boundaries. Telecommunications spreads ideas, cultures

Players in globalization from above

Governments and elites in every country Multinational corporations International agencies (UN) Global trade/finance agencies World Bank,IMF, WTO

Globalization from below

Globalization from the bottom up. Greater economic interdependence eroding governments? Increasing influence of local scale to affect global policies: “Think Globally, Act Locally.” Easier communications among those at the bottom?

Players in globalization from below

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) —Greenpeace, Amnesty Int’l, etc. Alliances of communities with a common concern, linked through Internet. Seattle WTO protests, 1999 Some international agencies

Globalization Debate

Meaning: Process vs. Project Interpretation: New Era vs. Nothing New Evaluation: Good vs. Bad Explanation: "Hard" vs. "Soft" Political: End vs. Revival of Nation-State Cultural: Sameness vs. Difference

Meaning: Process vs. Project

globalization is the integration of markets, nation-states and technologies to a degree never witnessed before-in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach round the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before globalization is not an inexorable process but is a deliberate, ideological project of economic liberalization that subjects states and individuals to more intense market forces

Interpretation: New Era vs. Nothing New

globalization often conveys a sense that something new is happening to the world: it is becoming a "single place" and experienced as such, global practices, values, and technologies now shape people's lives to the point that we are entering a "global age” – a new world order. there is nothing new under the sun since globalization is age-old capitalism writ large across the globe, or that governments and regions retain distinct strengths in a supposedly integrated world

Evaluation: Good vs. Bad

Globalization is celebrated as a new birth of freedom: better connections in a more open world would improve people's lives by making new products and ideas universally available, breaking down barriers to trade and democratic institutions, resolve tensions between old adversaries, and empower more and more people. Politicians opposed to America's global influence and activists opposed to the inequities of oppressive global capitalism now portray globalization as dangerous. Concerns about the consequences of globalization for the well-being of various groups, the sovereignty and identity of countries, the disparities among peoples, and the health of the environment.

Explanation: "Hard" vs. "Soft"

Many authors attribute the dynamics of globalization to the pursuit of material interests by dominant states and multinational companies that exploit new technologies to shape a world in which they can flourish according to rules they set. An alternative view suggests that globalization is rooted in an expanding consciousness of living together on one planet, a consciousness that takes the concrete form of models for global interaction and institutional development that constrain the interests of even powerful players and relate any particular place to a larger global whole.

Political: End vs. Revival of Nation-State

globalization constrains states: free trade limits the ability of states to set policy and protect domestic companies; capital mobility makes generous welfare states less competitive; global problems exceed the grasp of any individual state; and global norms and institutions become more powerful. a more integrated world of nation-states may even become more important: they have a special role in creating conditions for growth and compensating for the effects of economic competition; they are key players in organizations and treaties that address global problems.

Cultural: Sameness vs. Difference

Globalization leads to cultural homogeneity: interaction and integration diminish difference; global norms, ideas or practices overtake local mores; many cultural flows, such as the provision of news, reflect exclusively Western interests and control; and the cultural imperialism of the United States leads to the global spread of American symbols and popular culture. Globalization leads to new heterogeneity: interaction is likely to lead to new mixtures of cultures and integration is likely to provoke a defense of tradition; global norms or practices are necessarily interpreted differently according to local tradition; cultural flows now originate in many places; and America has no hegemonic grasp on a world that must passively accept whatever it has to sell

Implications of Globalization

The stretching of global connections, relations and networks Making them faster and more intense. Increasing awareness about the world. Haiti good example with how much help they've received already

Interdependence of Places

Place have become increasingly interdependent. Caused by a set of interrelated forces or processes that we call globalization. Globalization helps to extend and deepen linkages between sets of places (and peoples)

population cartogram

Visual representation of population distribution. For example, the US is huge compared to canada in it

population density

persons/mi^2 examples: Lower 48 states 94.7 NJ 1171 Alaska 1.2 Lincoln Co., NV 0.4 Manhattan 66,940 North Carolina 186 Chapel Hill 2,752 Durham Co. 769 Orange Co. 295 Egypt 192 people/mi2 3% of area inhabited Nile River 6000 people/mi2

Ascribed characteristics

given: Gender Race Age

Achieved characteristics

gained: Education Income Occupation Employment Etc.

Census:

Count of population and its characteristics

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI)

Births - Deaths = RNI

Population growth

Births - Deaths + Immigration (in) Emigration (out) = Population growth

Doubling time

Number of years it will take for population to double, at current rate United States: 117 years Nicaragua: 21 years

Birth rate is greater than death rate almost everywhere in the world

infant death rates much greater in south america asia and africa than the rest of the world

life expectancy lowest in africa

dependency ratio

Dependents are under 15 & over 65 How many are supported by 15-65 group

“Graying of the Core”

Low birth and death rates in Core Low population growth (except immigration) Steadily older population

Baby Boom impacts yet to come

Strain on Social Security Growing health care costs Challenge to youth identity (Gen. X)

Population Pyramid

tracks age-sex groups (cohorts)

Demographic Transition

Move from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates Took centuries of development for Core to make transition More difficult for Periphery to make transition without its own capital, skills, education

Population growth in Periphery: Cause or symptom of poverty and environmental degradation?

symptom

Jean Antoine Condorcet

(1743 – 1794) predicted that innovation, resulting increased wealth, and choice would provide food and resources in the future and lead to fewer children per family believed that society was perfectable

Thomas Malthus on Population

Malthus, responding to Condorcet, predicted population would outrun food supply, leading to a decrease in food per person. Assumptions Populations grow exponentially. Food supply grows arithmetically. Food shortages and chaos inevitable. not confirmed in reality

Core responsibility for Periphery growth

Core consumes far more resources Demands cheap, unskilled young labor Population growth is a symptom of poverty

Why parents in Periphery have kids

Better chance for one kid to survive Bring in the crops and income Help parents in old age Women often lack power to not have kids

Policies to lower birth rate

Forced One-child policy (China) Coercive “population control” Voluntary Availability of birth control Incentives for small families Social Empowerment of women Better health care and education End to child labor Social security

Types of migration

Types of migration Voluntary or involuntary (forced) International (between countries) or internal (within a country). Documented or undocumented

Push factors

Violence (war or high crime) Poor economy Ethnic or religious persecution Degraded resources or poor weather

Pull factors

Peace (or more security) Economic opportunities/ good services Freedom of expression Better sense of place or weather

Intervening obstacles

Restrictions on immigration Bias against immigrants Distance and lack of money Cultural unfamiliarity

VOLUNTARY MIGRATION

Gross migration Total number of migrants Net migration Gain or loss as result of migration

Chain migration

Family/friends write home, attract new immigrants Family reunifications “Secondary migration” to new home in adopted country

circular migration

A type of temporary migration. Associated with agricultural work. The migrant follows the harvest of various crops, moving from one place to another each time. Very common in the US Southwest (Mexican farm workers) and in Western Europe (Eastern European farm workers).

“Guest workers”

Temporary employment Send money home Kids become citizens?

“Brain Drain”

Educated, skilled migrate for better jobs Wealthy, educated country gains Poor country loses skilled people

REFUGEES(involuntary)

Flee war or persecution International or internal Many move to temporary camps Apply for “asylum” (safe haven)

“Ethnic cleansing”

Forced removal of an ethnic group

Diaspora

A group scattered globally by large- scale migration Holocaust led jewish diaspora

migration (internal and international examples)

trail of tears: slave trade

Anti-immigrant arguments

Immigrants “take jobs” and drain services Yet mainly “low-end” jobs Immigrants “threaten” culture/language Argument sees diversity as negative Anti-immigrant movements affect elections Austria, France, Denmark, California, etc.

Undocumented immigrants more likely than U.S. citizens to…

Be employed Work longer hours Be free from assistance Contribute to federal taxes through payroll Drain state social services Federal gov’t should compensate states?

Who came to whom?

U.S. annexed northern Mexico in 1848

Interregional Migrations

Shifting Center of U.S. population- moving Westward and Southward (1790-1990) Gold Rush (1849) and Donner Party (group that got stuck on way to california and had to result to cannibalism) just the most dramatic examples of hardship. Wells, Pumps, Aqueducts, Mosquito Control and Air Conditioning have allowed this move which otherwise would be impossible. Loss of Industrial Jobs in east compliments increase in Sunbelt service sector (biotech, communications).

The Great Migration

African Americans moving from South to North to work in war industries

Internal (interregional) Migrations in U.S.

U.S. population has been moving out of the city centers to the suburbs: suburbanization and counterurbanization Developed Countries: suburbanization automobiles and roads ‘American Dream’ better services counterurbanization idyllic settings cost of land for retirement slow pace, yet high tech connections to services and markets

Internal Migrations in LDCs (less developed countries)

Populations in the less developed world are rushing to cities in search of work and income. Urbanization migration from rural areas lack of jobs in countryside lack of services in cities Tokyo, Los Angeles, and New York only MDC cities on top 10 list

History of Agriculture

Hunter-Gatherers Neolithic Revolution Domestication of Plants and Animals Diffusion of Agriculture Agricultural Industrialization The “Green Revolution” Hybrids, scientific application of fertilizer, pesticide, and water Modern Agribusiness Genetic Engineering of Crops

Neolithic Revolution

Primary effects: Urbanization Social stratification Occupational specialization Increased population densities Secondary effects: Endemic diseases Famine Expansionism

Subsistence agriculture

replaced hunting and gathering activities in many parts of the globe when people understood the advantages of a secure food source. Human civilization, writing, economics, and government developed.

Agricultural Revolution and Industrialization

The First Agricultural Revolution Founded on the development of seed agriculture and the use of the plow and draft animals Domestication of plants and animals allowed for the rise of settled ways of life The Second Agricultural Revolution Important elements include: Dramatic improvements in outputs, such as crop and livestock yields Such innovations as the improved yoke for oxen and the replacement of the ox with the horse New inputs to agricultural production, such as the application of fertilizers and field drainage systems The Third Agricultural Revolution Three important phases originated in North America: Mechanization: replaced human farm labor with machines Chemical farming with synthetic fertilizers: application of herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides to crops to enhance yields Globally widespread food manufacturing: adding economic value to agricultural products (i.e., processing food between farms and markets) The first two phases involve inputs, while the third involves a complication of farms to firms in the manufacturing sector.

The Industrialization of Agriculture

Advances in science and technology—including mechanical as well as chemical and biological innovations—have determined the industrialization of agriculture over time. Three important developments: Changes in rural labor activities as machines replace and/or enhance human labor The introduction of innovative inputs to supplement, alter, or replace biological outputs The development of industrial substitutes for agricultural products (like Nutrasweet)

agriculture is a global economy

Developed Countries Undercut Free Markets in Agriculture

Farmers in the developed world are paid an average of 2/3 more than the free market would provide. These subsidies to the world’s richest farmers directly damage the agricultural economies of the poorest nations. Despite this, the U.S. Congress and President Bush actually increased farm subsidies in 2002.

Agricultural Revolutions

Technology allows much greater production (surplus) with much less human labor, but often has high social and environmental costs. Metal plows, reapers, cotton gins Tractors (internal combustion engines) Combines Chemical pesticides/fertilizers Hybrid crops Genetically modified crops (GMOs)

Agribusiness:The industrialization of agriculture

Modern commercial farming is very dependent on inputs of chemical fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides. Oil is required to make fertilizer and pesticides. It takes 10 calories of energy to create 1 calorie of food in modern agriculture. Small farmer can’t buy needed equipment and supplies. Fewer than 2% of U.S. population works in agriculture -a set of economic and political relationships that organizes agro-food production from the development of seeds to the retailing and consumption of the agricultural product.

Classifying Agricultural Regions

Subsistence Agriculture Shifting Cultivation Pastoral Nomadism Intensive Subsistence Agriculture Commercial Agriculture Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming Dairy Farming Grain Farming Livestock Ranching Mediterranean Agriculture Truck Farming

Shifting Cultivation

China: slash-and-burn South America: processed field A form of agriculture usually found in tropical forests where farmers aim to maintain soil fertility by rotating fields. Shifting cultivation is different from crop rotation, whereby fields are continually used but with complimentary crops that balance nutrient usage of the soil.

Pastoral Nomadism

The breeding and herding of domesticated animals for subsistence. where: arid and semi-arid areas of N. Africa, Middle East, Central Asia animals: Camel, Goats, Sheep, Cattle transhumance: seasonal migrations from highlands to lowlands Most nomads are being pressured into sedentary life as land is used for agriculture or mining.

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

-practice that involves the effective and efficient use- usually through a considerable expenditure of human labor and application of fertilizer- of a small parcel of land in order to maximize crop yield Wet Rice Dominant where: S.E. Asia, E. India, S.E. China very labor intensive production of rice, including transfer to sawah, or paddies most important source of food in Asia grown on flat, or terraced land Double cropping is used in warm winter areas of S. China and Taiwan

Commercial Agriculture

Value-Added Very little of the value of most commercial products comes from the raw materials “adding value” is the key to high profit margins

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming Where: Ohio to Dakotas, centered on Iowa; much of Europe from France to Russia crops: corn (most common), soybeans In U.S. 80% of product fed to pigs and cattle Highly inefficient use of natural resources Pounds of grain to make 1 lb. beef: 10 Gallons of water to make 1 1b wheat: 25 Gallons of water to make 1 1b. beef: 2500

Dairy Farming

Where: near urban areas in N.E. United States, Southeast Canada, N.W. Europe - Over 90% of cow’s milk is produced in developed countries. Value is added as cheese, yogurt, etc. Von Thunen’s theories are the beginning of location economics and analysis (1826)Locational Theory : butter and cheese more common than milk with increasing distance from cities and in West. Milkshed : historically defined by spoilage threat; refrigerated trucks changed this.

Grain Farming

Where: worldwide, but U.S. and Russia predominant Crops: wheat winter wheat: Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma spring wheat: Dakotas, Montana, southern Canada Highly mechanized: combines, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, migrate northward in U.S., following the harvest.

Livestock Ranching

Where: arid or semi-arid areas of western U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Spain and Portugal. History: initially open range, now sedentary with transportation changes. Environmental effects: 1.) Overgrazing has damaged much of the world’s grasslands (<1% of US remains) 2.) Much of the destruction of Brazilian rainforest motivated by the desire for fashionable cattle

Mediterranean Agriculture

Where: areas surrounding the Mediterranean, California, Oregon, Chile, South Africa, Australia Climate has summer dry season. Landscape is mountainous. Highly valuable crops: olives, grapes, nuts, fruits and vegetables; winter wheat California: high quality land is being lost to suburbanization; initially offset by irrigation

Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming

Where: U.S. Southeast, New England, near cities around the world crops: high profit vegetables and fruits demanded by wealthy urban populations: apples, asparagus, cherries, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. mechanization: such truck farming is highly mechanized and labor costs are further reduced by the use of cheap immigrant (and illegal) labor. distribution: situated near urban markets.

Plantation Farming

large scale mono-cropping of profitable products not able to be grown in Europe or U.S. where: tropical lowland Periphery crops: cotton, sugar cane, coffee, rubber, cocoa, bananas, tea, coconuts, palm oil. What are potential problems with this type of agriculture? Environmental? Social? Proceeds go oversees; does not build local economy; needs much labor; not good for environment

The Green Revolution in Agriculture

The term green revolution refers to the development and adoption of high yielding cereal grains in the less developed world during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Very large short term gains in grain output have allowed food supplies to grow faster than populations, until very recently. grain yield per hectare has steadily increased since 1950

History of Green Revolution

1943 Rockefeller Foundation begins work on short stature hybrid corn in Mexico 1960s Hybrid strains of rice, wheat, and corn show great success in S.E. Asia, and Latin America. 1970 Head of Mexican corn program, Borlaug, wins Nobel Peace Prize 1990s Growth in food supply continues, but slows to below the rate of population growth, as the results of unsustainable farming practices take effect. Better sanitation lowered the mortality in the 50’s and onward

Acreage and Yield Trends

Gains were made by: Dwarf varieties: plants are bred to allocate more of their photosynthetic output to grain and less to vegetative parts. Planting in closer rows, allowed by herbicides, increases yields. Bred to be less sensitive to day length, thus double-cropping is more plausible. Very sensitive to inputs of fertilizer and water.

world per capita grain production

slowly went up from 1950-1980 but has leveled off and even fallen a bit since then

Technical and Resource Limitation Problems

Heavy Use of Fresh Water High Dependence on Technology and Machinery Provided/Sold by Core Countries Heavy Use of Pesticides and Fertilizer Reduced Genetic Diversity / Increased Blight Vulnerability Questionable Overall Sustainability

ethical issues with greater food production

Starvation of many prevented, but extra food may lead to higher birth rates. Life expectancy in less developed countries increased by 10 years in less than two decades (43 in 1950’s to 53 in 1970’s). Dependency on core countries increased; rich-poor gap increased. Wealthy farmers and multinational companies do well, small farmers become wage laborers or unemployed – dependent. More at risk? More people malnourished/starving today than in 1950 (but lower as a percentage). U.S. spends $10,000,000,000 year on farm subsidies, damaging farmers and markets in LDCs.

Agricultural ‘success’?

“Our incredible successes as a species are largely derived from this choice, but the biggest threats to our existence stem from the same decision.” Jared Diamond 1999 Emergence of new human diseases from animal diseases (small pox, measles) Dense urban population allow the spread/persistence of disease Lower standard of living for many people. Many modern impoverished and malnourished farmers. Famine virtually non-existent among hunter-gathers. Increased susceptibility of plant blights and increased dependence on complex economic systems. Environmental degradation Topsoil loss (75% in US) U.S.), desertification, eutrophication, PCBs in fish, DDT and other pesticides

Biotechnology in Agriculture

Cloning Recombinant DNA BT Corn Debate (transgenic maize)‏

Black gold movie:

think about what it means about agriculture. What kind of power do farmers have? They control the product but get so little for it.

exam

Look at end of chapters and terms in chapters. If you don’t understand something from powerpoints use book, internet. Look at essays from end of chapters. Chapters 1-3,8, and globalization article.

economies of scale

cost advantages to manufacturers that accrue from high volume production, since the average cost of production falls with increasing output.

friction of distance

the deterrent or inhibiting effect of distance on human activity

Irredentism

the assertion by the government of a country that has a minority living outside its formal borders belongs to it historically and culturally.

Neoliberalism

A reduction in the role and budget of government, including reduced subsidies and the privatization of formerly publicly owned and operated concerns, such as utilities. assumes free marked as ideal condition

regionalism

a feeling of collective identity based on a population's politico-territorial identification within a state or across state bounaries.

sectionalism

extreme devotion to local interests and customs.

Site

the physical attributes of a location- its terrain, its soil, vegetation, and water sources for example

Situation

the location of a place relative to other places and human activities

spatial diffusion

the way things spread through space and over time

comparative advantage

principle whereby places and regions specialize in activities for which they have the greatest advantage in productivity relative to other regions- or for which they have the least disadvantage

environmental determinism

a doctrine holding that human activities are controlled by the environment

Ethnocentrism

the attitude that one's own race and culture are superior to others'

Hearth areas

geographic settings where new practices have developed, and from which they have subsequently spread.

Neocolonialism

economic and political strategies by which powerful states in core economies indirectly maintain or extend their influence over other areas or people.

agricultural density

ratio between the number of agriculturists per unit of arable land in a specific area.

Baby boom

population of individuals born between 1946 and 1964

cohort

group of individuals that share a common temporal demographic experience.

Demography

Study of the characteristics of human populations

dependency ration

measure of the economic impact of the young and the old on the more economically productive members of society.

emigration

move from a particular location

immigration

move to a specific location

internally displaced people

individuals who are uprooted within the boundaries of their own country because of conflict or human rights abuse.

total fertility rate

average number of children a woman will have throughout her childbearing years.

transnational migrant

migrants who set homes and/or work in more than one nation-state.

agrarian

referring to the culture of agricultural communities and the type of tenure system that determines access to land and the kind of cultivation practices employed there -of or related to cultivated land or the cultivation of land

Borlaug hypothesis

increasing the productivity of agriculture on the best farmland can help control deforestation by reducing the demand for new farmland

Undernutrition

inadequate intake of one or more nutrients and/or calories.

famine

acute starvation associated with a sharp increase in fatality

food chain

five central and connected sectors (inputs, production, product processing, distribution and consumption) with four contextual elements acting as external mediating forces (the state, international trade, the physical environment, and credit and finance.)

food regime

a specific set of links that exists among food production and consumption and capital investment and accumulation opportunities.

food security

a person, household, or even a country has assured access to enough food at all times to ensure active and healthy lives

food sovereignty

a policy framework advocated by a number of farmers, peasants, pastoralists, fisherfolk, indigenous peoples, women, rural youth and environmental organizations, namely the claimed "right" of peoples to define their own food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries systems, in contrast to having food largely subject to international market forces.

Genetically modified organism

any organism that has had its DNA modified in a lab rather than through cross-pollination or other forms of evolution

Swidden

land that is cleared using slash and burn process and is ready for cultivation

intertillage

practice of mixing different seeds and seedlings in the same swidden

mechanization

the replacement of human farm labor with machines

pastoralism

subsistence activity that involves the breeding and herding of animals to satisfy the human needs of food, shelter, and clothing

slash-and-burn

system of cultivation in which plants are cropped close to the ground, left to dry for a certain period, then burned

transhumance

the movements of herds according to seasonal rhythms: warmer, lowlands areas in the winter; cooler, highland areas in the summer