Question Forum 4
The online news article I have chosen came from The New York Times, dated December 22, 2014. It is entitled CDC head says fight on Ebola will be long, written by Denise Grady. The geographical scope of the article includes the African region. It is a report on both the possibility and threat of the Ebola spread. The director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC Dr. Thomas R. Frieden is hopeful about preventing the epidemic. Noevertheless, he remains realistic in fighting the virus. Recently, The World Health Organization has accounted 19,340 cases with over 7,500 recorded deaths in West Africa. Meanwhile, the most number of cases is located in Sierra Leone with 8,939. Liberia and Guinea follow with 7,830 and 2,571, respectively (Grady, 2014).
In addition, it was cited that the far side of Guinea had no treatment center. Also, the health workers stopping by had experienced intense resistance. However, recently, the French Red Cross has established a center. More importantly, the community is more accepting of the care of the surviving patients. Dr. Frieden was alarmed, though, upon hearing about the updates on the Guinea’s capital in Conakry. It was reported that there were inadequate beds for the needs of the patients. With this, there is a tendency of leaving behind infected individuals. As a result, the spread of the virus in the community is still seen as exponential (Grady, 2014).
I infer that this article is a geographical concern as it is a health concern. This is because the spread of the virus depends on the proximity of the communities living in Africa. Moreover, the existence of the virus may have something to do with the geographical characteristics of the area.
Question Forum5
The article with an environment issue I have chosen is entitled the Decline and recovery of coral reefs linked to 700 years of human and environmental activities. The study dealt with the interaction between humans and the environment particularly in the Hawaiian archipelago. This is because the researchers have seen drastic changes on the reefs of island societies. Thus, this was used in the framework for socio-ecological system. In the study, it was found that the changing human activities were resulting in the destruction and recovery fluctuations of the coral reefs. The cited acts of man were pollution, overexploitation, new technologies, and changes in demographics and economics (Stony Brook University, 2011).
However, due to the fluctuations seen, it meant that some of human activities were not negatively affecting the reefs. In order to come up with solutions, the researchers found it necessary to gather archeological deposits, historical data, and contemporary ecological records in order to better understand the patterns of interactions between the coral reefs and humans (Stony Brook University, 2011).
Through the study, particularly of the historical data, it was shown that coral reefs have recovered during the Second World War. This is because marine areas were closed at the time. In this regard, there were a limited number of people living in the area. It meant that the interaction between humans and the coral reefs were also limited. In addition, there was a conservation effort. The commercial circumstances brought about by human activities were also minimized.
All of these allowed the reefs to recover.
This was the case in the main island of Hawaii, with over 150 years of reef decline. The most notable solution that authorities have come up with was the preservation of a wide range of habitat (Stony Brook University, 2011). In the northwestern part, however, the reefs were abundant since the area was more inconvenient for settlements. Consequently, the reefs were in isolation and had less human population. Nonetheless, this was altered through the European regime. The impact had almost equaled the main island. Thus, the solutions were also similar to that of the main island (Stone Brook University, 2011).
Question forum 6
Through the course, I have learned that most of the continents have experienced similar events such as trades and wars. North Africa or Southwest Asia, for example, was competing for water supplies due to limited fresh water source. Others, such as East Asia, have complicated cultural commonalities and connections. However, there were more differences than similarities found. This gives learners ideas about the cultural identity of a country. In this regard, it can be said that Sub-Saharan Africa has been struck with epidemics. North Africa or Southwest Asia, on the other hand, has contributed three religions to the world. Meanwhile, South Asia and East Asia have the socio-economic extremes of rich and poor (De Blij, Muller, & Nijman, 2012).
However, the thing in the Cultural Geography lessons I was surprised about was in the Austral and Pacific realm. I found it very unique, as it is the only continent located in the southern hemisphere. Moreover, there were no countries adjacent enough to affect its culture more dynamically. Thus, the culture has uniformity. Nonetheless, the western powers also explored this area. As a result, the countries have been experiencing Westernization. It is imaginably a clash of cultures between the ways of the natives on the islands and of Western influence (De Blij, Muller, & Nijman, 2012).
References
De Blij, H. J., Muller, P. O., & Nijman, J. (2012). Geography: Realms, regions, and concepts (15th ed.).New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Grady, D. (2014). CDC head says fight on Ebola will be long. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/23/world/africa/cdc-head-says-fight-on-ebola- will-be-long.html?ref=africa&_r=0
Stony Brook University. (2011, October 3). Decline and recovery of coral reefs linked to 700 years of human and environmental activities. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111003180425.htm
