Thinking Spatially - AP Human Geography and Current Issues

Now that Brexit has finally happened, the question must be raised.  Was it worth it?  For all those who have somehow stayed out of one of the biggest events in British politics in the 21st century, the Brexit question is the question of whether the United Kingdom should stay in the European Union or leave.  The “Leavers” believe that the UK would be both more powerful and less dependent on other nations by leaving the EU.   While the “Remainers” believe that staying in the EU would help the economy and strengthen relations with other nations.  Disclaimer: My personal views are more inline with the Remainers (I will attempt to be as neutral as possible), and as such, take whatever I say next with a grain of salt. Brexit began in June of 2016 when there was a referendum for whether the UK should stay in the EU or not. The Leavers won by a slim majority. Since then various politicians have attempted to either delay or speed up the process.  Finally, near...

It is said that Aviation affects the climate in a number of ways and because that any carbon dioxide that is emitted into the air stays there for over a hundred years, the effects last. When any type of aircraft burns fuel it is emitting short lived gases like nitrogen oxides. These nitrogen oxides can react to other gases into the air within a day. When these gases are released at altitude they can react with oxygen in the air and put more ozone in the air and remove methane. Both of these gases are greenhouse gases and contribute to warming because of the chemical reactions of this whole process. Emissions from flying are said to be tripled by the year 2050 if demand for air travel continues to grow and most likely it will. So these issues involving the climate can potentially worsen as time goes on. Many scientists have been thinking of ways they can fix this particular issue. At Imperial College London, a group of scientists did a study and have come to the conclusion that the d...

Noise pollution is a very underrated environmental problem and the impact of it is very apparent. The effects of noise pollution can include hypertension (elevated blood levels), hearing loss, sleep disturbance, loss of marine life (mainly cetaceans that use noises to communicate), and compounding the onset of dementia. The suggested decibel (dB) of sounds throughout the day should be around 40 dB and throughout the night around 35 dB to prevent against noise pollution (“Noise pollution”). These suggested numbers are easily exceeded in Mumbai, India on a daily basis, so it is time to take action. A normal traffic jam in Mumbai According to the TomTom traffic Index, Mumbai is the world’s fourth most congested city as of 2019. In addition the index estimated that drivers in this city had lost 8 days and 17 hours of time due to being stuck in traffic (Sullivan). Other largely congested areas include that of Bengaluru, Manila, Bogota, Moscow, New York and Los Angeles. This is...

It’s that time again. The time when the people across the nation who believe in the popular vote over the electoral college go out and support a similar system that they do not believe in. In a time when equality is considered the most important issue by many Americans, there has been a new debate started over the fairness of the process by which political parties in America nominate candidates for the Presidency of the United States. For a long while now, the democratic party has been largely located in urban areas- heavily populated places like Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle. These liberals feel the need and are motivated to make elections better represent the country as a whole, and they definitely do not want certain people to have an advantage over other voters. That is precisely why there has been much controversy about the process of nominating democrats. Iowa and New Hampshire, two of the most white-dominated, relatively small states in America, have been the first s...

It seems like every year, the Oscars get more controversial. This year, Chris Rock and Steve Martin started it all off. Their opening monologue included several one-liners that seemed like jabs at the Academy Awards - or more like the people in charge of them. Their first dig was about the fact that there are no hosts anymore. Rock said “Twitter. Everybody’s got an embarrassing tweet somewhere. I know I do.” This was about last year's controversy about Kevin Hart, who decided not to host the Oscars after some homophoic tweets of his emerged. They then talked about “how much the Oscars have changed in the past 92 years.” They qualified this by pointing out that in 1929, there were no black actors nominees, and now, in 2020, there was one (Dep)! Chris Rock and Steve Martin at the Oscars (Smith) This year, eight of the nine movies, excluding Parasite. Are about white people, and except for Little Women and Marriage Story, all about white men, and the Little Women was the onl...

The online retailer Amazon recently opened a convenience store named Amazon Go. So far they have opened almost 20 stores in major cities such as Seattle, Chicago, and New York. These stores have no cashiers, lots of cameras, and very advanced technology. No checkout is required. Customers enter the shop with their Amazon Go app, scan the barcode on your app, browse the store, pick up what they need, and leave. When you scan the barcode there are cameras and sensors to identify you by your Amazon account.  Amazon uses the same technology used in self-driving cars. The technology automatically knows when you pick up a product off the shelves. When you are done shopping you just walk out. The products that you leave with will be charged to your Amazon account. (Just Ask Gemalto) The employment of cashiers is predicted to decline four percent from 2018 to 2028 (BLS). Retail sales will always be increasing because people always need to buy things but the employment of cashiers ...

While we all know the threat that the coronavirus poses to our health and safety, the economic eventualities of the situation are still undeveloped. This virus is seen as a disastrous epidemic by the media. However, those that look at the facts know that this disease is mostly fatal only to the elderly, which has accounted for 80% of the current death toll. The death toll is less than 500 of the almost 25,000 infected worldwide. Although this disease is not an immediate threat to our lives, it can still affect us all in many ways. One of these ways is through the economy. It seems that China’s economy may be suffering at the hands of this virus. Currently, China’s economy takes up one-sixth of the global economy. Travel and trade are two of China’s most profitable enterprises, and in the past week, two cruise ships have been quarantined off the coast of Hong Kong and Japan. This quarantine includes 5,300 passengers, including 428 Americans. Royal Carribean has also canceled 8 cruises...

Russia is the largest country in the world. It is one of the world’s superpowers when it comes to countries. Russia is heavily reliant on natural resources like gas and oil. Then there is Africa, with the lowest GDP out of any other continent in the world. However, it does have a plethora of natural resources that countries could use. Africa has always been seen by other countries as a place to try to colonize and take from, so they can benefit from these resources. It should be easy to see why the African government might be interested in economic relations with Russia, but why would Russia be so willing and ready to begin this relationship? Is there another unseen purpose for Russia’s activity in Africa? (Russia-Africa Summit) Russia is not the first to hop on the trend of organizing and institutionalizing Africa’s summits. Countries like China, India, Japan, France, and even the United States are a few countries that have already done this. Africa has a lot to offer other cou...