NOVA part 4

Today in class, we talked about the article that Mr. Schick showed us about how in China, the government is allowing more than 1 child per family. In my opinion, I think it is ridiculous that a family can only have 1 child. I think that they should be able to have as many children as they want because it is their family. We also watched more of the NOVA video. In that, I learned that in the Sub-Saharan nations, a woman averages 6 children. Compared to China, that is so much more. I also learned that if the ecosystems go down, the people are at a huge risk. Also, the death rates are rising. In Kenya, 6-9% of people are infected with HIV AIDS. That's actually a big number of people, and it's really sad.

NOVA 3

Today in class we watched more of the NOVA video. I learned that the TFR is dropping in Japan. In the video, it was 1.3%. But now, it is 1.4%. Japan's population of 126,000,000 will shrink in half by the end of the century. In some work forces, women with children are considered a burden. The Japanese women have to work to keep their family considered 'middle-class'. They work for long hours at a time. By the year 2050, 1 in 3 Japanese women will be alive over the age of 60. Japanese people live the longest. The men average 78 years and the women average 84 years old.

NOVA 2

Today we watched more of the NOVA video on youtube. There were some gruesome images that showed on screen, and it actually made me sick to my stomach that such terrible things happen to innocent women. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that if a woman doesn't have a boy child, there is a chance for them to be burned and either killed or badly burned. What's even crazier is that it's okay for men to do that. I don't think that is right at all. I'm not sure what I would do if I had to go through that. I wish there was something I could do to stop it from happening, but there isn't. Also, I think it's crazy how tons of women are aborted. What is so wrong with girls? We are smart, talented, and most of us can do everything guys can do, if not more. Women take great care of themselves and others so why do they need guys to take care of the parents when they get old? Women are capable of getting a good job if a good education is provided. I feel awful for every woman in India/ Uttar Pradesh/ any country that is like this.

NOVA video

Today in class, we watched a video called NOVA- World in Balance- The People Paradox. There were some interesting facts in this video that I did not know. For instance, I did not know that Japan's population will most likely decrease by half by the end of this century. Also, the elders over 60 in Japan out number the kids under the age of 4. More children in developing countries are surviving than ever before. The largest youth in history are entering their reproductive years. This is around the age of 14, and there have been an explosion of births. We also learned about demographic divide.
     In the video, we saw the Taj Mahal, a famous building in India. Taj Mahal was built to honor a queen who died while giving birth to her 14th child. I also learned that India is going to pass China for biggest population. Uttar Pradesh would be the fifth biggest nation in the world if it was considered a nation. It has 177,000,000 people in it. In the video, there was a woman named Goody. She is 30 years old and almost died while giving birth to her 8th child. She went through 3 days of obstructed labor. Goody does not want to have another baby, but that isn't her decision. I know it sounds crazy, and I think it is, but Goody is the least involved in the decision of having more kids. The reproductive decisions are made by men. Boys are the preferred gender for children. If a woman is to have a girl and not a boy, it is considered her fault. In Uttar Pradesh, 1 out of 10 kids die before they reach age 5, and that is extremely sad. Also, 95% of marriages are arranged by the parents. I would hate to have my parents arrange who I am going to marry without any word from me. I don't think I could get married to a stranger at the age of 15 or 16. The things that go on in India is way different from in the United States, and I am so lucky that I live here and not there.

Extra Credit

      I am beyond fortunate for all that I own, and I feel like I should give some of what I have to those less fortunate. On kiva.com, I found a women who is trying to raise $700 to build a toilet in their house so they can have a clean, and healthy environment to do what they need to do.
    
     Sisula is a 25-year old women who is married with two children. Her children are enrolled in a local public school. Sisula only makes 300 INR per day to help and support her family. Sisula and her family live in the rural area of Nayagarh District, Odisha, India. Where they live, it is hard for everyone to find a toilet. Sisula and her other group members are working to raise 45,000 INR to supply a toilet for everyone to use. Sisula will use her portion of the loan to provide a toilet for her and her family. The article says that she is very happy with her loan, and she hopes to get this toilet to, "promote her health, environment, and living standards."
    
     I think kiva.com is a great way to help the less fortunate in other countries. I really want to help this woman and her group to provide a clean toilet for their families to use. I still have yet to talk it over with my parents, but I really hope they allow me to loan $25. Helping others makes me feel good, and it warms my heart to know that I have helped a person get one step closer to his or her goal.

     The second person I researched is Teresita from the Philippines. Teresita is trying to raise $225 to buy bananas for her business. Once Teresita gets the bananas, she resells them to make money for her and her family. She has been in this business for 2 years, and she is hoping to provide a future for her family.

     After a typhoon hit the Philippines, a lot of businesses lost everything they worked for. Loans have been offered to those who lost their stuff from the typhoon. I want to be able to help these who lost their stuff by loaning $25 to this organization. Both topics that I researched go towards great causes, and I really want to help. If I could, I would donate to everyone on this website because I have so much and they have so little.

Test Review

Today in class, we reviewed the tests that we got back. I was disappointed with my grade, but that only makes me want to try harder on the next one. I think this test was a lot harder than the first one. The problems were based off of total memorization from the powerpoint. I think the easiest part of the test was when we could use the world fact book, but that part was also stressful because there was a certain time we had to find the answers. After the outcome of that test, I am now going to study a lot harder than I did, and my goal is to get an A on the next test. We also talked about the extra credit opportunity which I think is a great idea, and I am going to participate in the donating money, but I still have to check with my parents. It helps a great cause, and it can help my grade, and I need it.

Comparing Countries

Today in class, we visited a website called www.ifitweremyhome.com, and we compared three different countries to the Unites States.
Jamaica:
1. Jamaica has 2,930,050 people, and it is ranked the 139th largest country in the world.
2. Jamaica was discovered by Christopher Columbus is 1494, and it was settled in the early 16th century.
3. Jamaica gained full independence in 1962 when it withdrew from the Federation.

France:
1. France has 66,259,012 people, and it is ranked the 21st largest country in the world by population.
2. It is one of the most modern countries in the world today, and it is a leader among European nations.
3. If I lived in France, I would make about 32.39% less money than I would in the United States.

Spain:
1. Spain has 47,737,941 people, and it is ranked the 28th largest country in the world by population.
2. If I lived in Spain, I would be 79.8% less likely to be in prison than I would living in the United States.
3. People in Spain live 1.91 years longer than the people in the United States.

Absent

Today I was not in class because I was home sick.

Test Prep

Today in class we talked about our test that is on Thursday. Mr. Shick said that this test will be a lot harder than the last one, so that means I have to study harder. I'm nervous for the test because I want to do well on it. As a review, we went back onto the World Fact Book and looked for more answers to the questions that Mr. Schick asked. I think the most difficult part of the test is going to be the 10 questions about the World Fact Book because we only have 10 minutes to do it, and sometimes it takes me awhile to find the answer. I think that if I study a lot, I'll do well on the test.

CIA.GOV

Today we looked at cia.gov again and answered more questions. We also looked at a powerpoint about what you need to not be considered impoverished. You need to have safe drinking water less than 15 minutes away from your house. You need to be able to eat food, the lowest BMI you can have before you're considered emaciated is 16. Every person must have a shelter with no clay, mud, or dirt floors, and there must be a bathroom near by. Everyone is to have access to newspapers, the radio, televisions, or phones. Each person is to be educated whether it is at an actual school or homeschooled. (There are more requirements but I forgot my notebook and this was all I could remember.) I think that all these are necessities, and if you don't have them, then you are considered impoverished.

The World Fact Book

Today in class, we spent the whole time finding the answers to Mr. Schick's questions in the website. The CIA website was actually pretty cool and had a lot of interesting facts. One thing that I learned from the website is that the U.S was ranked second in the crude oil rate. It amazes me that we can produce that much oil everyday. Another interesting thing that we learned was that our population was 321,368,864 people. I won't even meet a quarter of these people. The World Fact Book is such an interesting sight, and I think we should continue to use it in Human Geography.

Migration

Today in class we looked at a powerpoint about the net immigration rate and the total fertility rate. Net immigration is the difference between the number of persons leaving and entering a country during a year. Immigration is an excess of persons entering the country. Emigration is an excess of persons leaving the country. Emigration is written in negative numbers, but immigration is written in positive numbers. The total fertility rate is the average number of children born per women. For a population to remain the same, the TFR must be 2.1 If it's higher than 2.1, then the population rises. But it it's lower than 2.1, the population falls. The world TFR is 2.42. The U.S TFR is 2.01, and it was 2.06 last year.

Powerpoint

In class, we looked at the power point from last week. I learned that life expectancy is the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year. The highest in the world is Monaco with 89.52 total. That's 85.63 men and 93.58 women. I honestly would not want to live to be that old. U.S is the 42nd country in the world. It has a total of 79.68 years. For men, the expectancy is 77.32 years and for women the expectancy is 81.97 years. The lowest in the world is Chad, Africa. The total is 49.81. For men, it's 48.64 years and for women, it's 51.03 years. I wouldn't want to die that young either. We also had a little discussion about the shooting in Oregon last week. Like I said in my last blog, that's extremely sad and people are sick. I think it's crazy that there are a lot of mass shootings going on because you never know, it could be your school that it happens to.

Gun Control

Today, we talked about the school shooting in Oregon. I think its extremely sad that 10 people lost their life, and 20 people were injured because of one crazy person. We talked about whether there should be a longer process to buy a gun, such as a physciatric tests. We also discovered that you can buy guns on Amazon. I think that is crazy because anyone could buy one on there, even kids. Mr. Schick showed us a graph about the death by firearms including a bunch of countries, and U.S was 20 times higher than any other country. Personally, I don't think that mass shooting always have to do with being mentally ill. I think they could result from being bullied or harassed. People might not realize it, but if you bully someone, who knows, maybe they'll come in to school the next day with a weapon intending to hurt someone. I always see this question and it really makes me think. What is more deadly: a gun or a thought? A gun gives you the chance to kill someone, but a thought makes you pull the trigger.  

Pros and Cons of Globalization

Today in class, we discussed the pros and cons of globalization. One pro is that globalization is the logical "natural" expression of modern international capitalism. The con is the globalization is a policy promotes by core counties; it results in equities between "haves" and "have nots". Another pro is that new wealth will "trickle down" from rich to poor (countries and individuals). The con is that it is not just working; in the last 20 years, rich countries have grown richer, while poor countries have become more impoverished. A pro is that globalization will spread benefits of new ides and technologies. A con is that it promotes free-market, export-oriented economies at the expense of localized, sustainable economies. A fourth pro is that the world's poor countries will catch up to the rich ones. A fourth con is that it's not fair: the richest 20% of world's people consume 86% of the world's resources. The final pro is that each country can produce the goods for which it is best suited. The last con is that the whole economic system is very unstable, too easy for a crisis to escalate. We also looked at a powerpoint on population and settlement. I learned that there are over 7 billion people on the planet right now. It increases by over 73 million per year. (0% of this population growth takes place in the developing countries of Africa, South America, East Asia, and Latin America. It amazes me that there are that many people on this earth and I will not even meet 1/16 of them.