4.10 GEOGRAPHIC INSIGHTS

Europe: Review and Self-Test

1. Environment: The European Union (EU) is a world leader in responding to climate change. Its goals for cutting greenhouse gas emissions are complemented by its many other strategies for saving energy and resources. However, much of Europe’s air and many of its seas and rivers are very polluted, and consumption patterns in the region impact environments across the globe.

2. Globalization and Development: In order to better compete in the global economy, the EU has shifted labor-intensive industries from western Europe, where wages are high, to the relatively poorer, lower-wage member states of Central Europe. Growth in services has made up for some of the loss of industrial jobs in western Europe, though the unemployment rate is high in some countries. The EU continues to struggle to integrate the economies of its member states, especially those that use the EU’s common currency, the euro.

3. Power and Politics: Following World War II, political freedoms have grown and strong welfare states have been established in this region. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, international politics within Europe have centered on the expansion of the EU into Central Europe and the development of EU political institutions. Having grown so much in the past several decades, the European Union, which is already a global economic power, could become a global counterforce to the United States in political and military affairs.

4. Urbanization: Europe’s cities are both ancient and modern, with old town centers now surrounded by modern high-rise suburbs and supported by world-class urban infrastructures. Cities are the heart of Europe’s economy, politics, and culture, with more than 70 percent of the EU population living in urban areas.

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5. Population and Gender: Europe’s population is aging as fertility rates decline for a number of reasons, including the fact that career-oriented working women are choosing to have only one or two children. Fearing that aging populations could slow economic growth, European countries have tried to boost their fertility rates with a variety of policies, the most successful of which have addressed the needs of working mothers.