About 97% of the Earth's water is in the oceans. It is salty and cannot be used for drinking or irrigation unless it is desalinated first. Desalination is an expensive process. The other 3 % is fresh water. Two thirds of that is locked up in the polar icecaps and icebergs. Of the remaining 1%, much of it is in deep aquifers deep within Earth's crust. In fact, groundwater accounts for about 98% of all the world's freshwater. Despite this fact, only about 20% of the water used on the planet comes from aquifers. The rest is drawn from surface sources. Ground water and surface water are both susceptible to pollution. They are constantly under attack from the byproducts of human civilization. Storm water runoff washes petroleum residue from parking lots. Waste and spills from industry contaminate water. Agricultural runoff carries phosphates and chemicals into waterways and groundwater. In some parts of the world, raw sewage runs directly into rivers.
II. The Planet's Soil
The best agricultural land in the world is located in the U. S., South America (Brazil and Argentina), and eastern Europe. Of course the best agricultural land on the planet is, in my opinion, down in southwest Georgia in Early County about 15 miles south of the city of Blakley. (Disclaimer: I did not arrive at that conclusion scientifically.)
III. Global Industry
Traditional industry can be found everywhere. We might expect to find them only in developing nations but western "cottage industries" can be found in the U. S. and all other developed countries.
IV. Population
The ten most populated cities in the world are:
1. Shanghai, China
2. Mumbai, India
3. Karachi, Pakistan
4. Delhi, India
5. Istanbul, Turkey
6. Sao Paulo, Brazil
7. Moscow, Russia
8. Seoul, South Korea
9. Mexico City, Mexico
10. Jakarta, Indonesia
 |
| The Korowai people of Papua New Guinea |
1. New York City, New York
2. Los Angeles, California
3. Chicago, Illinois
4. Houston, Texas
5. Phoenix, Arizona
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7. San Antonio, Texas
8. San Diego, California
9. Dallas, Texas
10. San Jose, California
There are many small populations of people in various parts of the world that have had little contact with modern civilization and live in what we consider primitive ways. As recently as the 60s, there was a documented case of head-hunting in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Anthropologist know of at least three such tribes in that PNG. More recently, they have located a previously unknown tribe, the Envira, living in the upper reaches of Amazonian Brazil. There are at least 8 other tribes in Brazil that have had little contact with westerners. There are also some primitive tribes living in the Philippines although the Tasaday, most well-publicized, turned out to be a hoax.
PNG is probably the most diverse nation of the planet linguistically and culturally. Linguists say there are 820 different languages in this country of 5.5 million. Religious views are divided primarily between Protestant Christianity and tribal religions but Islam is also seeking to gain influence as well.
Judging from languages, the least diverse nations are Albania and many of the islands of the Caribbean where only one language is spoken.
V. People
China has the highest population in the world with 1.2 billion. India is second with 1 billion. The population density record belongs to the two city-sized nations of Monaco and Macau with around 18 thousand people per square kilometer. Singapore is third with about 6.5 thousand per square kilometer. Of larger nations, Indonesia is the most densely populated with 940 people per square kilometer. I think the most significant fact about the world's population is that half of us live within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of the coast and 15 of the world's largest cities are on the coast.
No comments:
Post a Comment