Review and Self-
1. Environment: Humans are altering the planet at an unprecedented rate, causing sometimes drastic effects on ecosystems and climate. Multiple environmental factors often interact to influence the vulnerability of a location to the impacts of climate change. These vulnerabilities have a spatial pattern.
How is the place where you live vulnerable to climate change?
Assess your exposure, sensitivity, and resilience to water-
2. Globalization and Development: Global flows of information, goods, and people are transforming patterns of economic development. Local self-
How is globalization evident in your life—
To what extent does your circle of friends show the effects of globalization?
3. Power and Politics: There are major differences across the world in the ways that power is wielded in societies. Modes of governing that are more authoritarian are based on the power of the state or community leaders. Modes that are based on notions of political freedom and democracy give the general public greater power over themselves and more of a role in deciding how policies are developed and governments are run. There are also many other ways of managing political power.
Give several examples from recent world events of shifts from authoritarian modes of government to more democratic systems in which individuals have a greater say in the running of their governments.
Are peace, broad prosperity, education, and civil society features of life in your home country? How do the political freedoms you enjoy shape your daily life?
4. Urbanization: The development of urban manufacturing and service economies has pulled people into cities. Meanwhile, the mechanization of food production has drastically reduced the need for agricultural labor, thus pushing people out of rural areas.
How far back in your family history would you need to go to find ancestors who lived in a rural area and grew almost all their own food?
Assuming you do not live in a rural area, how has urban life affected the diet and level of physical activity of you and/or your family?
5. Population and Gender: Population growth is slowing for a number of reasons, among them the increasing numbers of women who are delaying childbearing as they pursue educational and work opportunities outside the home.
How is the shift toward more equality between the genders influencing population growth rates, patterns of economic development, and politics?
How do your plans for a career and a family compare to those of your grandparents and great-
Ask your parents who the first woman in your family was who had a career. How, if at all, did this impact the number of children she had?