Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Australia and the Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement signed by over 170 countries in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases and ultimately, reduce the danger of global warming. Australia was late in ratifying the Protocol because it would affect Australian lives. Australia argued that signing the Portocol would cost the jobs of Australian people and claimed that it was already taking measures to stop greenhouse gas emission. The United States didn't ratify the Protocol because it would causes many changes to our country. The US is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide (along with China) because it burns lots of fossil fuels. If the US signed the Protocol, it would have t cut back on fossil fuels, therefore cutting back on transportation for its people. The Kyoto Protocol is a good effort to stop global warming.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Ch.30 Homework

Section 1

1.Definitions:Urbanization: process of moving from the countryside to a city. (rural to urban)Primate City: a big city that has all the services that people need.

2. People migrated to the South-East Asia region because of trade. Non-native people from Europe and the Middle East came to the region to trade. As they were there, cultures were adopted, and Europeans and Arabs brought back South-Eastern Asia cultures to their homes.

3. Indonesia and other countries have slowed population growth to:
1) avoid depleting resources and
2) create more opportunities for the future generation. I think that China should join this movement because they have way too many people.

Section 2

4.Definitions:Maritime: a kingdom that got power through sea trade.Sphere of Influence: Areas that two countries must agree on before one country controls it.Buffer State: an area between two countries that is deemed neutral.

5. This region's first three empires are: Funan, Khmer and Srivijaya Empires. The Funan and Srivijaya Empires were alike because they were maritimes. The Khmer and Funan are alike because they had amazing agricultural systems. The empire that's different from the others is the Khmer, because it has the Angkor Wat.

6. The Sunda and Malacca Straits were important because they linked South-East Asia to Africa. Four cities that benefitted from this were: Malaaca, Penang, the Funan Empire, and the Srivijaya Empire.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Ch. 29 Homework

Section 1

1. Definitions:Cordillera: two mountain ranges that are parallel to each other.Archipelago: a chain of closely packed islands.Insular: a name for the island countries in South-East Asia.

2. In South Asia, people rely on rivers and waterways for transportation. If goods and materials can be transported, so can culture and people.

3. Most of South Asia's economy depends on the ocean. Since Laos has no access to the water, they are at a greater economical disadvantage. To solve this problem, Laos can develop a new source of economy, like timber or mining.

Section 2

4. Definitions:Endemic: a term for an organism that comes originally from a specific area.Deciduous: a type of tree that has broad leaves and loses its leaves in a certain season.

5. Areas with monsoons, take the Indochina Peninsula for example, have wet and dry cycles. The dry cycle, a period of arid weather, extends for about half the year and then the wet cycle, a period of massive rainfall, continues for the latter half. The people that live in this area constantly have to be prepared for the shift in weather.

6. During the Vietnam war, the VietCong would use guerilla warfare. They would hide in the dense tropical jungle and fire at the American soldiers passing by. Also, the VietCong would use the jungle itself as a trap.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Ch. 27 Homeork

Section 1

1.Definitions:Aborigine: people from the Pacific region that were the first to live inside Taiwan.Homogenous: a word used to describe a group of people in the same ethnic group.

2. High speed transportation affects Japan's daily life in a positive way. Due to Japan's high population density, it's almost impossible to move around by cars. Because of this, Japan decided to make the bullet train, which transports people overlooking the overcrowding factor.

3. When people in East Asia move from rural areas to urban, there won't be enough people to grow crops, therefore hurting the regions agricultural future.

Section 2

4.Definitions:Ideogram: words that are represented by a picture.Shamanism: belief that a human leader can have healing powers and can talk to the dead.Acupuncture: a medical practice where a person inserts needles into the patient, removing sickness and pain.

5. In East Asia, health care is provided for everyone. The communist governments pay for it. In the US, you have to buy your own health care, so this can prove a problem for poorer people. I think that the health care in East Asia is better because everyone is supplied health care.

6. In East Asia, art and architecture is inspired by religions such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism and Shintoism.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Ch. 26 Homework

Section 1
1. Archipelago: a group or chain of islands.
tsunami: Japanese term used for a huge sea wave caused by an undersea earthquake.
2. East Asia's coastal, island, and peninsula areas are the same because they all lay in the same general spot; the ring of fire. The areas inland are different from those on the coast because they have more mountains and rugged land.
3. I think that if they keep on using their resources the way that they are then eventually they will run out and when a major source is fish and they eat that alot it will cause starvation.

Section 2
4. Monsoon: in Asia, seasonal wind that brings warm, moist air in summer and cold, dry air from inland in winter.
Japan Current: a warm-water ocean current that adds moisture to the winter monsoons.
typhoon: a violent tropical storm that forms in the Pacific Ocean, usually in late summer.
5. Mongolia is better suited for herding because it has lush grassland to feed its herds.
6. Warm ocean currents flow around East Asia causing typhoons which cause it ti have the climate that it does.Global Warming could cause more severe natural disasters such as typhoons and tsunamis.

Ch. 24 Homework

Section 1
1. Megalopolis: A "super city" that is made up of several large and small cities as the area between Boston and Washington D.C.
jati: in traditional Hindu society, a social group that defines a family's occupation and social standing.
2. I think that the diversity has been a problem in south Asia. It has been a problem because even in with the groups that get along they still don't prosper and those that don't get along obviously don't so it can't be a good thing.
3. Life in south Asia would be very difficult if the population growth and the urbanization trends stay the same. Some problems would be there would be mass overcrowding, not enough food, not enough medical attention for people, and diseases.

Section 2
4. Dharma: in Hinduism, a person's moral duty, based on class distinction, which guides his or her life.
karma: in Hindu belief, the sum of good and bad actions in one's present and past lives.
reincarnation: in Hindu belief, being reborn repeatedly in different forms, until one has overcome earthly desires.
5. Both Hinduism and Buddhism are religions, but Hinduism is a way of life were as Buddhism is just a way to get to happiness.
6. Some countries used to be the same but because of ethnic diversity the are now two different countries. One example is Bangladesh and Pakistan and how it used to be East and West Pakistan but is now Pakistan and Bangladesh because of Muslims and Hindus.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

HWG Ch. 23 Homework

Section 1
Definitions
Subcontinent - large landmass that is part of a continent but still distinct from it, such as India.
alluvial plain - floodplain, such as the Indo-Gangetic Plain in South Asia, on which flooding rivers have deposited rich soil.
mica - silicate mineral that readily splits into thn, shiny sheets.

2. Both the Himalayas and the Deccan Plateau have rich soil, but the Deccan Plateau is left dry because the Western Ghats block all of the rain that it would normaly get. Because of the good soil that the Himalayas have about 1/10 of the world's population lives there. Since it is dry on the Deccan Plateau not very many people live there.

3. I would allow some trees to be cut down if it was needed and leave the rest alone. This would greatly affect the timber industry it is something that needs to be done.

Section 2
Definitions
Monsoon - in Asia, seasonal wind that brings warm, moist air from the oceans in summer and cold, dry air from inland in winter.
cyclone - storm with heavy rains and high winds that blow in a circular pattern aound an area of low atmospheric pressure.

5. People celebrate the monsoons because after the wind leaves the monsoon rains come.

6. The high temperatures are a negative because even though they allow farmers to collect crop if the soil loses its nutrients then the crop won't be very good.