Human Interest

Most people would agree that Opium is a devastating addiction.  But what most of us don't see is the other side of the drug trade. This video shows the vulnerability of the drug-dealers and poppy-farmers.  The Afghanistan government finds and destroys a poppy farm and the interview with a boy of the farming family is riveting.  You can't help but feel bad for these people, especially the children who are directly effected by it.

Drug trafficking is a problem all over the world, but this is really something else.  Realistically, these people are just growing flowers, but it's their intent that is the problem.  I was always aware that Afghanistan was a major producer of drugs, but I had no idea the extent. I agree that if someone has illegal drugs, that they should be punished.  But these poppies are these people's life line.  That's not to say that what they are doing is acceptable, but you can't help but feel bad.  They live in a poor region where they are doing what they need to just to feed their families. It's kind of heartbreaking, but there are laws against these drugs for a reason, and they should be penalized.  Then there is the question of how do they choose one family to punish, when this is clearly a huge problem that is not easily hidden; these people are growing these plants in plain sight.  The government has every right to punish them, and as upset as they are to have their crop destroyed, I would think it's got to be better than getting thrown into an Afghani prison.

This article is an enjoyable hodge-podge of maps, charts and graphs that collectively attempt to explain China's role the world today.  This is similar to, and complements this article which answers 7 question about China and the United States.  

Tags: economic, China, development.

This article is an enjoyable hodge-podge of maps, charts and graphs that collectively attempt to explain China's role the world today.  This is similar to, and complements this article which answers 7 question about China and the United States.  

Tags: economic, China, development.

GRANJA SOLAR TOPAZIO EN CALIFORNIA. PROVEE ELECTRICIDAD A 180.000 HOGARES. PLANTA DE ENERGÍA SOLAR

In this text you will find information about a photovoltaic power  plant. Could you find information about photovoltaic plants in Spain?
Send the report before ....

Seeing America taking steps in use solar power makes me incredibly happy. The US, in my opinion, needs to adopt multiple ways of utlizing various types of energy sources. The quote, "BHE estimates, that is enough to displace about 407,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of taking 77,000 cars off the road" is impressive. However, I do feel that the auto industry is the environmental scape goat. The textile industry produces much more waste, especially with all of the advancements the auto industry has gone through.

Very cool!

Strateies for sustainable urban development 

I enjoy stories like this, because it demonstrates people willing to fight for their home. Many interesting ideas lie behind stories such as this one, but what I find especially intriguing is the dynamics of money in relation to these small rural villages. Money and "income" drives our current economic positions, but there are some places which were left behind and have none of the jobs we in the first world would traditionally think of. They had to either subside off their own products through farming, or trade their livelyhood for a small amount of money. Put simply, money is necessary for a so called "modern" existence, but not necessary for survival. These villagers are working for their own future in their home country now though, while it may not be necessarily profitable in the short term, it will pay off for their children in the long term.

(Mexico topic 1)
"Things are not good in the United States. There is not a lot of work and Mexicans like to keep busy." I was surprised by this this comment which sums up one of the main reasons why many Mexican immigrants are returning to Mexico. This implies that as the American economy has worsened, Mexico's must be improving (at least by comparison). This completely supports the concept of Mexico evolving into a "semi-core" country.
   Additionally, I hope this quote will help to shed some truth onto the negative lazy stereotype many Americans associate with immigrating Mexicans.

With a little help from the video, it is clear now, to understand why many Mexican folks are actually not leaving their country for the US. It said in the video that there is not a lot of work in the US and Mexicans like to keep busy. Also, a lot of Mexicans are finding opportunity right in their own country where there once was no opportunity. Electricity reaches the house, they have paved roads and updated pipes. They will need to rely on us for fuel. It is also nice for them to know that they do not need to leave their families behind in Mexico while they go to the US, they can have the satisfaction of working in local fields and seeing family when they get home at the end of the day. 

Mapas ...

I find a treasure.. :D

Unit 6

Production and consumption - interconnections and consequences 

Major cities in the world should take a deeper look into controlling pollution problems in their cities.  At some point, these places will no longer attract people to live in these areas, thus lowering the impact that these industries may have.  But as long as people are still living here by the millions and there is tourism, and buisness is booming, nothing will be done about the issue.

Summer reading KQ4: pollution, smog, megacity, sustainability

Pollution is a huge issue facing both Hong Kong, and the rest of China in general. So far the government  has done little to actually combat the problem. The Chinese governments response has been to pretend that the problem does not really exist. A fake skyline can just erase the problem. In reality dealing with the pollution issue would actually help the Chinese economy. When people seek to go on a vacation, they are seeking a destination that is clean and safe. Who wants to visit a place were, you have to ware a mask to prevent the breathing in of armful chemicals. A cleaner less polluted china would lead to an expanded tourism industry.

And no, not everything has turned virtual! We still rely on concrete stuff. Cables network says a lot about the way our World works. 

This article deals with unit 1 because it has to do with maps. This map shows how underwater cables connect the internet throughout the world. The cables transmit 99% of international data instantly. On this map you can also see latency. Another map in this article shows 1912 trade routes and underwater cables today. The routes are similar and the interdependency has stayed but the methods and meanings for each of these things are different. To pass the ocean is risky by the investments, and trading. Sailors took tHess risks and now the tech companies are taking them. The cables are thin in the deep water equalling 3 inches across. In addition the cables are thicker in shallower water. The interesting thing is these cables can go as deep as Mount Everest is high. 

Because globalization.  

Tags: Time-Space Compression, development, technology, economic, globalization, industry, unit 6 industry.

Integração seletiva...

I always enjoyed TED videos. What really struck me was the opening sentence of the video, "everything is everywhere these days." This is so true in so many ways. The video uses different examples that you can find in different stores from places all over the world. How many things can you could in your bedroom that says "Made in China" or some other place other than the US? This is very common as we all know. Products and goods come from all over the world and even over seas. This is a process that we call globalization. However, the video introduces a process called containerization. This process saves an ample amount of time for the workers. The process was a success. "shrinking the world and enlarging human choice."

Globalization has connected the world in such a way that we hadn't thought possible. This idea has created rising economies all over the world and has made transport of goods and services move faster and continues to increase this rate with advances in technology. Containerization is a staple of globalization and without it, none of these products would be able to get from country to country. In essence it has developed the world of import and exports. To add to this success, globalization has also created jobs and communities which revolve heavily around the transport of goods. It saves time by using massive containers to move goods and it creates opportunities in places where it had not been possible before. 

The economies of scale that globalization depends on, relies on logistics and transportation networks that can handle this high-volume.  In a word, the container, as mundane as it may seem, facilitated the era within which we live today.  This is a very useful video.  

These vessels are specifically made to increase more profit and is a symbol of economic power for trades between Europe and Asia. They aim to increase containment of cargo so it is more efficient and time consuming of going back to fourth. However, they forced ports to become bigger to compete and keep up with these new inventions. These ships are getting too big and are only able to transit through the Suez canal and cannot go through the Panama. This lead to the Chinese expanding their reach to Nicaragua and building a larger canal to be able to pass through Central America.

These containers are symbols of global commerce that enable economies of scale to be profitable and the outsourcing of so many manufacturing jobs to developing countries.  The invention of these containers have changed the geography of global shipping and the vast majority of the world's largest ports are now in East Asia.  Today though, the biggest container ships are too big to go through the Panama Canal, encouraging China to build a larger canal through Nicaragua.      

Tags: transportation, globalization, diffusion, industry, economic.