Human Interest

Immigration is a major source of tension within Europe. The influx of immigrants into Europe has led to a nativist backlash in many nations. The free movement of people is a bedrock principle of the European Union. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the leaders of Europe hoped that the open borders policy would  prevent another costly war by allowing people to move to were there were jobs were located. The mixing of cultures would also prevent war. People would develop an understanding of other cultures, which would make the possibility of war more remote. The leaders did not account for the strong nativist strand that often runs through many nations. The UK is threating to withdraw from the EU over this immigration issue. While immigration on the United States gets much of the attention, a more serous crises is actually occurring in Europe.

The economic troubles in Greece have dominated the headlines in Europe and the United States over the past few years. One major consequence of the continuing economic struggle is the fleeing of talented individuals from the nation of Greece. One of the hardest hit sectors in the Greek economy, is the heath care sector. Trained medical professionals are fleeing Greece in droves for better economic opportunities  elsewhere. The consequences of this mass migration from Greece can not be overstated. A nation needs talented people in order to survive. The loss of talented professionals sends a bad message to the rest of the country. The message sent to the people is basically, our nation is no longer viable enough to keep our most talented people living here.  This trend will likely continue as the Greek government has yet to come up with a viable solution to their debt crises.

If Greece decides to no longer be a part of the United Nations (UN), this will ultimately have a significant impact on Europe’s Union economy. The impact will affect not only Greece as country but also to all members of the UN. In addition to this enormous problem, it will be hard to keep together all countries if Greece goes because as we know certain countries as a Spain, Portugal, Italy and even France are also facing economic issues. Success depends largely on UN giving consent for the members of the organization. The downfall in this disagreement will weaken the economies of the European Union as a whole. On the other hand, cheap currency will create new opportunities and be beneficial for tourists.

I support Scotland independence! Mother England should understand the current Scotland need more freedom of speech and decisions. This a good example of a peacefully claim of independence, instead of the bloody war (remember England?). The video... Is too funny to take it seriously. 

Scotland is vying for its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming free from London and its own Country. Here john Oliver analyzes the issue and provides a decent background history while stabbing lots of jokes and puns into his commentary. So basically England and Scotland got into an arranged marriage as Oliver phrased it, forming the United Kingdom some 300 years ago. Oliver goes on to say Scotland got the bad end of the philosophical relationship, setting up reasons for Scotland ambition to possibly leave. For the last 2 ½ years there has been a campaign for this independence, where Scotts feel they can better run the country they live in. Scotland is a liberal country ran by the conservative country England. These are the reasons that set up this split.   

This video is hilarious and John Oliver pokes fun at the Scottish, the little brother trying to lobby themselves for independence. Great video to watch hilarious, and also informative at the same time.

The great green wall initiative project, is a project which wants to plant tens of thousands of trees, roughly fifty thousand trees alone in Senegal. The point of this is to restore a failing  environment. Around five hundred million people are living in a desertification area. Both human and nature is at fault for this creation of a transition zone getting bigger and bigger, Humans are not necessarily taking care of the land like it should be taken care of and as for factors of nature such as climate change, drought and not enough rain. There are social impacts that may affect the area too, experts think that improvements in land and economy may help curb terrorism in Mali. 

The great green wall is a way of separating the desert from the rain forest in Africa The Sahel is the area that separates the deforestation and the desert and would be a way to keep the desert in a different climatic region of the country.

this a great i think, the only way that countries in an area with such harsh environments can survive is by helping eachother and using their own beneficial land to help other and recieve help for their own deficiencies. 

The European Union at one time seemed as though it would continue to further and further integrate European politics and economics; Many still see  great value in EU membership but critics fear that enhanced cooperation was going to head down the road to the formation of a European superstate and further entanglements.  With talk of possibly leaving the EU and a referendum on whether the UK should stay in the EU or not, the EU was offered some extra special exemptions for the UK.  This is a very interesting developing story, one that might impact many regional supranational organizations.  

Tags: Europe, supranationalism, economic, political.

This article discusses the dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the construction of a dam that would provide Ethiopia with a larger share of the Nile's water. Egypt is wholly opposed to this dam because it would mean less water for the country, which so desperately needs it. With 95% of the population of Egypt living within 20km of the Nile River, a reduction in the amount of water supplied to these tens of millions could potentially spell slow disaster. At the same time, however, Ethiopia desperately needs water from the Nile in order to provide sustainable energy for its citizens. 

The Nile has been a source of life and energy for thousands of years in an oppressively hot, dry place. The ancient Egyptians counted on the Nile to flood every year so that they would have arable land and used the large river to irrigate their farmland. It is almost ironic, therefore, that Egyptians are once again counting on the water of the Nile to help them survive in such a harsh climate. It seems that the Nile is one of those natural geographic features that is pivotal to political, economic, and social wellbeing. It represents the nexus between natural landforms and the political and economic goals of human beings and nations. Dispute over use of the Nile as a natural and life-giving resource is not the first instance of human debate over possession or use of natural geography and it likely won't be the last. 

APHG-Unit 4

Even though in past years France and Scotland have been friendly and wanted the best for each other, Scottish independence is not on the list of things to do for France.  They have good blood together, sharing foods, music and alcohol at festivals there is no need to worry about any hatred happening even if the French does not back Scotland's independence.  While some think that France would think that areas like Brittany and Corsica would want independence from France that is not the reason.  To keep checks and balances in place a strong United Kingdom is needed to keep Germany in line.  With the independence of Scotland, the UK gets a little bit weaker and France is not okay with that.

Compare and contrast Scotland's bid for independence with events leading to American independence. How does a culture decide to change its political geography?

It is interesting to see how globalization does as much to bring us together as it does to rip us apart. The exchange of ideas, goods, and people has hugely impacted the lives of everyday citizens and the nations that they call home, where divisions among people are felt more keenly as the competition in today's global economy grows stronger. Catalonia, the region that has done much to keep the economy of the Spanish nation afloat, and Catalans are eager to shed the "dead weight" they feel they are carrying; the Basque region has long since demanded its independence, and we have already seen the fracturing of the Balkans. In some instances, perhaps separation is for the best. However, I feel like these movements are the result of knee-jerk reactions to the current economic climate and deep, underlying hatreds that have no place in the current world order. Spain has been one nation for hundreds of years, as has the United Kingdom; to suddenly dissolve these unions in the name of century-long feuds seems not only unnecessary, but almost child-like. There is enough hatred in the world- why let us continue to divide amongst ourselves when history has shown that people in these regions can coexist and can consistently pull through these difficult periods. It is one thing to be proud of being Scottish- it is another to ignore the economic and political realities of what Scottish independence would bring for its people for the sake of this nationalist sentiment. I, for one, was relieved to see Scotland vote to remain a member of the UK. Separatist movements across the continent have been quieted, if only for another few years.

The Scottish vote for independence would have broken up a modern United Kingdom. Many Scottish folks feel that it is time to separate from a parent country where there are many other countries that are involved. Becoming independent is not an easy task. There has to be a vote and a strong position for those separatists to succeed in getting a victorious vote.