CGW4U World Issues

An Introduction to World Issues

• Imagine you are a first-class passenger on a spaceship hurling through space at 100,000 km/h

• Poisonous gases are leaking into certain sections of the craft and several passengers are dying from the fumes.

• The water supply has been contaminated due to a breakdown in the ship's waste expulsion system.

• Food supplies are running out.

An Introduction to World Issues

• Many passengers crowded into the economy section of the craft are seriously ill, and only a few of them are getting proper medical attention.

• The spaceship has an overall destruct system and increasing numbers of technologists - some mentally unstable - have gained access to the controls of the destruct system.

• What would you do?

An Introduction to World Issues

• List your 5 top priorities in order of importance1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Why Study Geography?

• You need to study more geography to offset those who think…– Andes is an after- dinner mint.– The Balkans are an alien people on Star Trek.– The English Channel is a TV sitcom about Charles

and Camilla.– The United Kingdom is a cultural theme park.– The Tropic of Cancer is a sunscreen lotion.– The $100 000 pyramid is in Egypt.

Why Study Geography?

• You need to study more geography to offset those who think…– The Gaza Strip is a Middle Eastern folk dance.– The Ring of Fire is the centre ring of Barnum and

Bailey’s Circus.– The Bermuda Triangle is a percussion instrument

in a reggae band.– The Cumberland Gap gives out a pair of clogs

with every pair of jeans sold.– The International Dateline is a new digital TV

channel.

Why Study Geography?

• You need to study more geography to offset those who think…– The Continental Shelf is a specialty section in the

supermarket.– A fault is what you find in other people.– A fjord is a type of car.– A mantle is what goes over your fireplace.– Tide is a laundry detergent.– You can do a research project to find out who

killed the Dead Sea.

Why Study Geography?

• “Nature is not only more complex than we think, it is more complex than we can think.”

Dr. David Suzuki

Topics To Open With

• Media and Globalization• Conflict and Terrorism• Population Issues• Poverty• Biodiversity• Climate Change

ECONOMIC CENTER OF GRAVITY IN THE WORLD

Issues .vs. Problems

• Problems are often statements, require further action, and has a high degree of consensus as to its nature and need for action.

• Issues are often questions, with multiple viewpoints, and require further investigation rather than a clear-cut immediate response.

Difference

Global Village and Globalization

• Marshal McLuhan coined the phrase (the ‘Global Village’) prior to his death in 1980. It referred to the fact the world would seem smaller as the amount of technology increased.

• Globalization simply refers to making an issue a worldwide challenge. It usually has long-term consequences for the future.

Sample Issue: Food?

• “Problem”: – Many people in the world do not have access to

adequate food supplies (approx. 2,000 Cal/day)

• “Issue(s)”: – How do we guarantee everyone in the world has

access to food?– What is hindering the ability for everyone to gain

food security?

Food Security?

Cost

Quantity

Political

Multi-National?

National?

Local?

Access

Economic Environmental

W.T.O (1990s)

G.A.T.T (Post WWII)

What’s Next? (aka The “Issue”)

- Seed Saving- Marketing- ‘Trump’ Local Laws