Economic Geography unit 2

How many times more resources middle class goods require to

produce as opposed to basic or essential goods like food

6x

define carrying capacity

the max number of individuals of a species that an environment can safely sustain

differentiate between proven resources and projected resources

proven resources are known, measured, and can be extracted well
Projected resources are believed to exist, but have not been confirmed

Under the category of renewable resources, what are the examples of flow resources and

example of stock resources

Flow resources: Water and sunlight
stock resources: soil, vegetation, animals

explain how the renewal of renewable resources is not automatic

renewable sources can be damaged, depleted, or permanently reduced by misuse

define maximum sustainable yield

yield that can maintain consistent future productivity

explain why an examination of only daily caloric intake is not sufficient when looking at human food consumption

because its different between rich and poor people

what is the concept known as The Tragedy of the Commons (preferably in the context of an example)

It refers to public resources ruined by the actions of individuals
Occurs when costs of actions are not captured by maret prices, a market failure

which continent has NOT seen food production outpace population growth

Africa

explain how urbanization has contributed to the food problem (think about what rural-to-urban migration means in terms of agricultural production and demand)

people don’t make their own food anymore, farmers grow for everyone, and only people who pay can eat. What happens during famines? What happens when political corruption and conflict halt the transportation of this food?

explain why price fixes for agricultural products rarely work as solutions to food problems

Farmers can’t make money if price is set too low, leading to shortages. If set too high, the farmers might produce more than what people can buy and only the rich can eat

explain what the Green Revolution was, and some of the problems or flaws it had

the 1960s initiative to solve world hunger
Introduction of grain seeds specifically bred to increase yields, grow quicker, be more resistant to pests, and have higher protein
however, it required tons of money, benefits mostly went to wealthy farmers, machinery led to unemployment, ecologically problematic single crop cultivation

explain why we consume far more nonmetallic mineral resources than metallic ones

non metalic minerals like sand, gravel, limestone, and clay are used in huge quantities for construction, roads, buildings, and agriculture

what are the issues with having to go to lower-grade ores for extraction of mineral resources

we get less mineral per ore than we used to, it increases environmental degredation because we need to use more to get the same results, we need more so we have to mine more

what are the four major problems associated with coal as a fuel source

Coal is bulky, expensive to transport
coal burning releases pollution that causes acid rain
Coal is not a great fuel source for cars
Coal is not as easily mined, it’s dangerous and environmentally devastating

what are the major issues or problems associated with nuclear energy

radioactive waste
chernobyl
expensive
Uranium is nonrenewable
nuclear energy facilities can be used to develop nuclear weapons

issues and controversies with wind power

wind energy is only produced when wind is blowing
Turbines kill birds

noise pollution
visual pollution
high initial costs

land use

what energy source accounts for 13-14% of global energy use, particularly in the developing world

biomass energy

what are the issues with air pollution at the local, regional, and global scales

Know what the leading cause (generally speaking) of species endangerment and

extinction is

Be able to generally describe the difference between preservation and conservation

Know the two forms of agricultural settlement that the Europeans brought with

them to the New World

Be able to generally explain how the percentage of a country’s workforce engaged in

agriculture relates to that country’s level of development

Be able to define land degradation

Be able to explain the general progression of Boserup’s Stage Model of Agriculture,

especially the nature of cultivation and fallow at each stage; know the other changes

that coincide with progression through the stages of this model

Know the major distinction between the peasant (preindustrial) systems of

agriculture and the capitalist (commodified) systems of agriculture

Know the 3 characteristics of regions where subsistence or preindustrial agriculture

dominates

Know the regions of the world where shifting cultivation (slash-and-burn)

agriculture dominates; be able to explain the nature of this type of agriculture

Be able to provide the main reason why shifting cultivation is fading away

Know the MAIN reason why pastoral nomadism takes place in the particular areas

of the world that it dominates

Know the major modern complication for nomadic herders as they still attempt to

practice traditional pastoral nomadism

Know the characteristics of intensive subsistence agriculture; know what crop is

dominant for this type of agriculture

Be able to define physiological density

Know the two main reasons why subsistence agriculture yields have not risen much

Know the term that we used to describe the “seeding to supermarket” model of

production typical of commercial agriculture

Be able to explain the relationship between crops and livestock in terms of amount

of land needed for each and the amount of profit generated by each on mixed farms

Know which two crops are most significant for U.S. mixed farms

Be able to explain why most fluid-milk-producing dairy farms are located near

major population clusters

Be able to briefly explain why there are large concentrations of dairy farms in

places like Wisconsin and Vermont in the U.S., as well as northwestern Europe

(hint: think about the milk productivity of cows

Know which crop is the dominant one in global cash grain farming operations; be

able to briefly describe the level of mechanization and energy use of these operations

compared to many other types of commercial farming

Know the major climate factor influencing the development of cattle ranching in

particular areas (same as pastoral nomadism above); know the action taken by

farmers that resulted in stationary ranching

Know the major threat to Mediterranean agriculture operations, and why it is a

major threat

Be able to briefly explain why many horticulture and fruit farming operations are

so labor-intensive; know the foreign regions that provide this inexpensive migrant

labor to U.S. horticulture/fruit farming region

Be able to explain what we mean when we say demand for food products is price-

inelastic

Be able to explain the concept of the technological treadmill

Be able to define parity price, price floor, and target pricing (all three are types of

subsidies, so you should know the specific differences between these terms)

Be able to explain why it is unlikely that agricultural subsidies in the U.S. will ever

be eliminated

Know the general qualities of goods for which water transportation is still ideal

Be able to define agglomeration economies and explain them in the context of why

factories concentrated in large cities like New York and Chicago

Know the MAJOR reason why the textile industry was attracted to the American

South; know what needed to be developed in the American South before the textile

industry could begin relocating there

Know what event kickstarted the process of deindustrialization in the developed

countries

Be able to list the four reasons why deindustrialization occurred in the developed

world and explain briefly how each contributed to deindustrialization

Be able to describe the nature of Fordism by listing and describing several (3-4) of

the aspects associated with that type of manufacturing, including knowing the

nature of the vertical integration at some of Henry Ford’s automobile plants,

specifically

Be able to define economies of scale, particularly in terms of how it relates to

Fordism’s approach to manufacturing

Be able to identify the most important characteristic of the Post-Fordism

manufacturing process

Be able to explain just-in-time inventory systems/just-in-time manufacturing

(Toyotaism

In terms of the “make or buy” decision firms face, be able to explain which option

Post-Fordist firms choose, and the MAIN reason why they choose that option