Students will examine the physical and human geographic factors associated with examples of how humans interact with the environment, such as, deforestation, natural hazards, and the spread of diseases, and the regional and global consequences of these interactions.
Use maps to identify regions in the world where particular natural disasters occur frequently. Analyze how the physical and human environments in these regions have been modified over time in response to environmental threats. Give examples of how international efforts bring aid to these regions and assess the success of these efforts. [Human Environment Interactions, Origins, Change Over Time, Physical Systems, Cultural Landscape, Spatial Interaction, Spatial Organization]
EXAMPLES: Japan (earthquakes): building reinforced skyscrapers, training for emergency in a disciplined society; United States (hurricanes): compare and contrast the response between Florida and Louisiana, government aid, flood-prone areas in urban environment; Indian Ocean (earthquakes-tsunamis) lack of warning system in the third world countries, world-wide relief efforts, foreign-aid; Colombia (volcanoes) mud-flows, government response in remote areas of the world; Pakistan (earthquakes) remote areas, lack of building codes, terrorist activity, China (floods) deadly floods on the Hwang Ho River.
Identify regional resource issues that may impair sustainability*, economic expansion, and/or diversification**. Assess the impact of these issues on the physical and human environments of specific regions. Propose strategies for dealing with regional resources issues. [Human Environment Interactions, Spatial Distribution, Spatial Interaction, Change Over Time, Spatial Organization, Physical Systems, Spatial Variation, Human Livelihoods]
EXAMPLES: United States: distribution of fresh water in western states – California vs. neighboring states; African Sahel: overgrazing vegetation, compounding effects of drought and consequent desertification; Europe: dependence on the Persian Gulf for fossil energy; Russia: significant resource potential, but slow development of infrastructure and residuals of command economy within the market economy since the 1990s
Identify ways in which humans have used technology to modify the physical environment in order to settle areas in different world regions. Evaluate the impact of these technologies on the physical and human environments affected. [Human Environment Interactions, Spatial Interaction, Change Over Time, Physical Systems]
EXAMPLES: Netherlands: use of dams and dikes to claim polderlands from the North Sea; United States (New Orleans): levees and dams used for urban growth and development; China: Three Gorges Dam on Yangtze River causing displacement of population, changing the land features, but also providing great potential for modernization; Southwest Asia (Qatar and United Arab Emirates): changing the desert into areas of agriculture productivity and developing urban centers
Distinguish and assess the human and physical factors associated with the spread of selected epidemics over time and describe the impact of this diffusion on countries and regions. Propose strategies for limiting the spread of diseases. [Change Over Time, Diffusion]
EXAMPLES: Europe (Black Death, Bubonic Plague): spread from Central Asia, dramatic decrease in population (14th century); North America (Native Americans): Europeans bringing smallpox and measles to New World (1500s); World: the cholera pandemic (1700–1800s); Influenza Pandemic (1918–1919); World: the worldwide AIDS epidemic (1900s); Asia and United States: the potential for a bird flu pandemic and the response by the United States with the help of the Centers for Disease Control
* Sustainability—Meeting the needs of the present population without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
** Diversification—Methods of farming, other forms of land use, industrial production, and economic systems that involve more than one product, following the old maxim, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”