Fluent Essays

Why is it so difficult to join the European Union? Some of the countries that were later accepted were at first rejected. Some countries are still barred from membership. Alternatively, you might discuss the BREXIT issue.   Are there other potential exits from the E.U.? What is Russias biggest resource issue?  Some possible answers are: 1) human capital 2) energy 3) food productivity 4) non-energy raw materials 5) water. ^^ See PowerPoint I attached to help with questions After reading the section of chapter 15 called A New Way of Thinking: The Birth of Modern Science (pages 664-676) in the Strayer and Nelson textbook, please comment on the following questions. As always, your comments should be written in grammatically correct sentences. They should take to the time to explain your thinking and include some quotes and/or examples from the textbook as support. Here are the questions: Why did the Scientific Revolution occur in Europe rather than in China or the Islamic world? What was revolutionary about the Scientific Revolution? In what ways did the Enlightenment challenge older patterns of European thinking? In what ways was European science received in the major civilizations of Asia in the early modern era?  See PDF that I attached for the pages 664-676 MODULE 4 – EUROPE AND RUSSIA THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IN EUROPE AND RUSSIA MOST OF EUROPE IS FARTHER NORTH THAN MOST OF THE U.S. ALONG WITH RUSSIA, EUROPE REPRESENTS THE LARGEST POPULATION AT THIS LATITUDE LONDON IS THE SAME LATITUDE AS CALGARY, CANADA ITALY IS ABOUT THE LATITUDINAL RANGE OF MAINE TO S.C. MOST OF WESTERN EUROPE HAS A VERY OCEAN-INFLUENCED CLIMATE, LIKE THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST IN NORTH AMERICA MILD TEMPERATURES YEAR-ROUND, WITH MODERATE PRECIPITATION THIS CLIMATE IS CALLED “MARINE WEST COAST” MARINE WEST COAST SOUTHERN EUROPE IS THE LARGEST REGION OF MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE IN THE WORLD - JUST LIKE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA – SUMMER DROUGHT, LIGHT AUTUMN RAIN, GENERALLY MILD TEMPERATURES MEDITERRANEAN CENTRAL EUROPE, RELATIVELY REMOTE FROM THE OCEAN, HAS A MORE CONTINENTAL CLIMATE, LIKE THE NORTHERN STATES OF THE U.S. AND EASTERN CANADA - SHORT MILD SUMMERS, LONG SNOWY WINTERS HUMID CONTINENTAL SUBARCTIC THE NORTHERN-MOST REGIONS OF EUROPE HAVE A VERY COLD, DRY CLIMATE, LIKE MOST OF CANADA AND ALASKA THIS IS CALLED “SUBARCTIC” CLIMATE THIS IS A RELIEF MAP, WITH HIGHER ELEVATIONS DARKER BROWN AND LOWER ELEVATIONS DARKER GREEN EUROPE IS A REGION OF ISLANDS AND PENINSULAS THERE ARE EXTENSIVE AREAS OF PLAINS AND PLATEAUS MT. BLANC, EUROPE’S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN, 15,774 FT THE MOUNTAINS IN EUROPE ARE RELATIVELY MODEST IN ELEVATION, BUT ARE GENERALLY STEEP SLOPED – THIS IS DUE TO EITHER THE LAST ICE AGE AND GLACIAL EROSION (NORTHERN EUROPE) OR THE RELATIVE YOUTH OF THE MOUNTAINS AND RECENT UPLIFT (THE ALPS) MOST OF RUSSIA IS RELATIVELY FLAT THE RUSSIAN PLAIN IS DIVIDED FROM WESTERN SIBERIA BY THE URALS, SIMILAR TO THE APPALACHIANS RUSSIAN PLAIN URAL MTNS HEADING EAST IN SIBERIA, THE TERRAIN BECOMES INCREASINGLY MOUNTAINOUS THE KAMCHATKA PENINSULA IS GEOLOGICALLY SIMILAR TO ALASKA RUSSIA IS ABOUT 50 MILES FROM THE U.S. AT THE BERING STRAIT KAMCHATKA BERING STRAIT DEMOGRAPHICS IN EUROPE EUROPE IS 547 MILLION (U.S. AND CANADA ABOUT 370 MILLION) THE EUROPEAN UNION IS ABOUT 447 MILLION PEOPLE EUROPE, RUSSIA, BELARUS, UKRAINE TOTAL ABOUT 746 MILLION Europe in the world Europe in the land hemisphere Population distribution EUROPE IS DENSELY POPULATED (256 PER SQ MILE) WESTERN EUROPE IS OVER 432 PER SQUARE MILE RUSSIA IS 22 PER SQUARE MILE U.S. IS 79 PER SQUARE MILE Densely populated MOST EUROPEANS LIVE IN A FEW COUNTRIES GERMANY, FRANCE, U.K., ITALY: 83 TO 59 MILLION SPAIN, POLAND, ROMANIA, NETHERLANDS: 47 TO 18 MILLION REST ARE LESS THAN 12 MILLION EACH; 28\% OF EUROPEANS Dot map POPULATION GROWTH IN EUROPE HAS DECLINED SINCE 1940S THIS INCLUDES BIRTHS, DEATHS, AS WELL AS MIGRATION Declining population growth Population over 65 EUROPE IS MOST MATURE, SLOWEST GROWING WORLD REGION, DEPENDENT ON GUEST WORKERS FROM OUTSIDE EUROPE THE GUEST WORKERS ARE FROM EUROPE’S PERIPHERY AND FORMER EUROPEAN COLONIES THE EUROPEAN UNION POLICY OF OPEN BORDERS AND TRANSACTION-LESS BORDER CROSSINGS (“SCHENGEN”) IS NOW BEING RECONSIDERED AS INSECURE AND DANGEROUS IT IS UNINTENTIONALLY ALLOWING ACCESS TO DIVERSE PLACES BY BOTH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND POTENTIAL CRIMINALS THE EUROPEAN UNION FIRST STEPS TOWARD EUROPEAN UNITY CAME AFTER WW II WHEN LOW COUNTRIES FORMED BENELUX (1949) THE EUROPEAN “COMMUNITIES” SOON FOLLOWED (1951) BY 1993 THIS HAD BECOME THE EUROPEAN UNION, WITH PLANS FOR A COMMON CURRENCY AND PASSPORT ANIMATION ONLY WORKS IN FULL SCREEN VIEW EUROPEAN UNION AS OF JANUARY, 2020 NOTICE THAT THE UNITED KINGDOM IS NO LONGER A MEMBER https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2020_EU_MAP.svg COUNTRIES THAT REJECTED MEMBERSHIP IN THE E.U. SWITZERLAND NORWAY ICELAND UNITED KINGDOM (JOINED AND THEN LEFT THE UNION) NOT ALL EU MEMBERS USE THE EURO AS THEIR NATIONAL CURRENCY AVERAGE INCOME IN U.S. DOLLARS THE EUROPEAN UNION IS A TRADE UNION REDUCED BORDER TRANSACTIONS COMMON TRADE POLICY WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD PROTECTED MARKET FOR MANY GOODS, ESPECIALLY FARM PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT FUNDS FOR POORER REGIONS WITHIN EUROPE STRICT STANDARDS FOR ADMISSION (COUNTRIES HAVE BEEN REJECTED) IT IS NOT A MILITARY ALLIANCE; IT DOES NOT REPLACE NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS IN ITS MEMBERS JUNE 24, 2016 THE UNITED KINGDOM VOTED 52\% TO 48\% TO LEAVE THE EUROPEAN UNION (“BREXIT”) THIS VOTE IS TAKEN AS BINDING, DESPITE MANY EXPRESSING MISGIVINGS “BREXIT” MAY RESULT IN THE BREAK-UP OF THE UNITED KINGDOM SCOTLAND’S POLITICIANS HAVE INDICATED WILLINGNESS TO HOLD A SECOND REFERENDUM TO LEAVE THE UNITED KINGDOM THE PREVIOUS SCOTTISH REFERENDUM ON INDEPENDENCE IN 2014 WAS DEFEATED 55\% TO 45\% LANGUAGE AND RELIGION IN EUROPE LANGUAGE AND RELIGION IN WESTERN EUROPE GERMANIC LANGUAGES, PROTESTANTS IN NORTH ROMANCE LANGUAGES, CATHOLICS IN SOUTH THIS APPARENT UNIFORMITY RESULTED FROM UNIFIED NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS UNDER CENTRALIZED MONARCHS IN THE EARLY MODERN ERA IN REALITY, ETHNICITY, LANGUAGE, AND RELIGION ARE STILL DIVERSE AND SOMEWHAT GEOGRAPHICALLY CONCENTRATED IN WESTERN EUROPE TODAY GERMANY AND ITALY DID NOT FORM NATIONAL IDENTITIES UNTIL THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY – THEY WERE FRAGMENTED KINGDOMS AND DUCHIES BEFORE THAT DEVOLUTION IS TENDENCY FOR SUB-REGIONS WITHIN A COUNTRY TO SEEK INDEPENDENCE AND CREATE A SEPARATE NATIONAL IDENTITY NOTE THAT THIS AFFECTS ALMOST ALL COUNTRIES IN EUROPE, WEST AND EAST ETHNIC GEOGRAPHY IS MORE COMPLEX IN EASTERN EUROPE MOSTLY SLAVIC-CATHOLIC (NORTH) MOSTLY SLAVIC-ORTHODOX (SOUTH) MAGYAR, ROMANIAN, ALBANIAN ARE NOT SLAVIC LANGUAGES - GYPSIES SPEAK “ROMA”, A SOUTH ASIAN LANGUAGE THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF EASTERN EUROPE UP TO WW I WAS PERIODS OF FOREIGN CONTROL BY EMPIRES BASED OUTSIDE THE REGION, ALONG WITH PERIODS OF STRONG NATIONAL IDENTITY UNDER NATIVE MONARCHS BECAUSE OF HITLER’S HOLOCAUST, THERE ARE ONLY A FEW MILLION JEWS TODAY IN EASTERN EUROPE – MOST JEWS TODAY LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES OR IN ISRAEL ABOUT 1 IN 3 OF THE WORLD’S JEWS DIED IN THE HOLOCAUST AFTER HITLER’S DEFEAT, GERMANY WAS DIVIDED INTO FOUR ZONES OF FOREIGN OCCUPATION THE SOVIET ZONE BECAME A COMMUNIST SATELLITE OF THE SOVIET UNION THE TWO COUNTRIES WERE SEPARATED UNTIL 1990 BERLIN, THE FORMER CAPITAL OF HITLER’S GERMANY, WAS ALSO PARTITIONED, THE BEGINNING OF THE SIEGE OF WEST BERLIN THE NATIONAL PERCENTAGE OF MUSLIMS HAS BEEN INCREASING IN EUROPE FOR SEVERAL DECADES, DUE TO JOB SEEKERS AND REFUGEES FROM AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST HOWEVER, THE COUNTRIES IN EUROPE WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGES OF MUSLIMS HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF ISLAM, DATING BACK TO WHEN THEY WERE PART OF THE OTTOMAN TURK EMPIRE THIS IS TRUE OF ALBANIA AND KOSOVO (NATIONAL MAJORITIES OF MUSLIMS) AS WELL AS BOSNIA, MACEDONIA, AND BULGARIA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_Europe EUROPEAN COMMUNISM WW I ENDED EMPIRES IN EUROPE AND MIDDLE EAST GERMANY, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, OTTOMAN, RUSSIAN THE GERMANS LOST THEIR OVERSEAS POSSESSIONS AND TERRITORIES WITHIN EUROPE, LIKE POLAND AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE AND THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE WERE BROKEN UP AND SEPARATE NATIONAL IDENTITIES CREATED THE CIVIL WAR ENDING THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE RESULTED IN THE SOVIET UNION BY END OF WW II, ALL OF EASTERN EUROPE BECAME COMMUNIST HOW THEY BECAME COMMUNIST IN EASTERN EUROPE BULGARIA: 1944 BY ELECTION YUGOSLAVIA: 1945 AFTER ALLIED OCCUPATION, IN A REVOLUTION ALBANIA: 1945 BY ELECTION POLAND: 1945 FOLLOWING SOVIET OCCUPATION ROMANIA: 1947 BY ELECTION HUNGARY: 1948 FOLLOWING SOVIET OCCUPATION CZECHOSLOVAKIA: 1948 BY ELECTION ANIMATION ONLY WORKS IN FULL SCREEN VIEW POLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC, SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA, HUNGARY, ROMANIA, AND BULGARIA JOINED THE EUROPEAN UNION THEY ARE RELATIVELY HOMOGENOUS (MOSTLY ONE ETHNICITY AND RELIGION) THE FORMER SOVIET UNION RUSSIA IS A COUNTRY - THE SOVIET UNION WAS A COUNTRY - THE FORMER SOVIET UNION IS NOW REFERRED TO AS A REGION LIKE THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, THE SOVIET UNION (ESTABLISHED IN 1920S UNDER THE COMMUNIST PARTY) WAS UNEVEN COMPOSITE OF DIVERSE NATIONALITIES - RUSSIANS WERE ABOUT HALF OF THE SOVIET UNION - “RUSSIFICATION” WAS OFFICIAL SOVIET POLICY - RUSSIANS DOMINATED GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS - SLAVS MIGRATED IN LARGE NUMBERS TO NON-RUSSIAN REGIONS OF THE SOVIET UNION POSITIVE EFFECTS OF MARXIST GOVERNMENT POLICY GUARANTEED EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT OF REMOTE FRONTIER REGIONS FREE HEALTH CARE AND FREE EDUCATION WORK OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN AND MINORITIES NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF MARXIST GOVERNMENT POLICY INADEQUATE RENTAL HOUSING LACK OF BASIC CONSUMER SERVICES VIRTUAL LACK OF PERSONAL SAVINGS AND PROPERTY DEPENDENCE ON THE BLACK MARKET FIFTEEN SOVIET REPUBLICS (EACH IS NOW A COUNTRY) 1) THE BALTIC STATES (ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA) 2) THE EUROPEAN STATES (BELARUS, MOLDOVA, UKRAINE) 3) THE TRANS-CAUCASUS REPUBLICS (ARMENIA, GEORGIA, AZERBAIJAN) 4) CENTRAL ASIA (KAZAKHSTAN, TURKMENISTAN, UZBEKISTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, TAJIKISTAN) 5) RUSSIA ITSELF HDI IS THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX, PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED NATIONS AND USED TO CHARACTERIZE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AMONG COUNTRIES AND REGIONS. IT IS A COMPOSITE OF LIFE EXPECTANCY, YEARS OF EDUCATION, AND AVERAGE INCOME AND RANGES FROM 0 TO 1. PPP IS “PURCHASING POWER PARITY” AND CONVERTS AN INCOME INTO ITS ACTUAL MARKET VALUE (BUYING POWER). SEE THESE WEBSITES FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/human_development_index -AND- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity THE BALTIC STATES THE BALTIC STATES (ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA) SMALL; FEW RESOURCES; MILDER CLIMATE THAN RUSSIA YEAR ROUND PORTS; HIGHER STANDARD OF LIVING SLAVIC MIGRANTS DURING THE SOVIET PERIOD THE FIRST REPUBLICS TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE ALL THREE HAVE JOINED THE EUROPEAN UNION THE EUROPEAN STATES EUROPEAN STATES: BELARUS, UKRAINE, MOLDOVA BELARUS: LANDLOCKED, DEPENDENT ON RUSSIA UKRAINE HAS SEVERAL ADVANTAGES; IN THE BEST POSITION TO DEVELOP MODERN INDUSTRY MOLDOVA WAS PART OF ROMANIA UNTIL WW II, RELATIVELY LONG GROWING SEASON http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TransnistrianRegionMap.png MOLDOVA HAS A SECESSIONIST REGION, TRANSNISTRIA FEW RECOGNIZE ITS SOVEREIGNTY OTHER THAN RUSSIA BLUE IS PRO-RUSSIAN PARTIES PINK IS PRO-E.U. PARTIES RESULTS OF 2012 ELECTION IN UKRAINE IN 2018 RUSSIAN-SUPPORTED FORCES TOOK CONTROL OF THE DONETSK BASIN IN EASTERN UKRAINE AND THE CRIMEA PENINSULA ON THE BLACK SEA COAST NUMEROUS SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA’S ECONOMIC INTERESTS AND THE GLOBAL DROP IN OIL PRICES AT THE TIME CREATED A CHALLENGING SITUATION FOR PUTIN AND HIS GOVERNMENT THE CAUCASUS TRANS-CAUCASUS: GEORGIA (4 MILLION); ARMENIA (3 MILLION); AZERBAIJAN (10 MILLION) GEORGIA AND ARMENIA ARE MOSTLY CHRISTIAN, AZERBAIJAN IS MOSTLY MUSLIM TURKS THE PINK REPUBLICS ARE STILL PART OF RUSSIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Georgia_high_detail_map.png RUSSIA INVADED ABKHAZIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA IN 2008 ABKHAZIA AND SOUTH OSSETIA ARE IN EFFECT PART OF RUSSIA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh#mediaviewer/File:Location_Nagorno-Karabakh2.png FROM 1989 TO 2001 NAGORNO-KARABAKH WENT FROM 76\% TO 95\% ARMENIAN, DUE TO THE FLIGHT OF AZERI TURKS. THE CASPIAN SEA IS WORLD’S LARGEST LAKE MAIN SOURCE IS VOLGA RIVER, THE MOTHER OF RUSSIA“ LAKE REGION NOW A MAJOR PRODUCER OF OIL TO SUMMARIZE RUSSIA CONTROLS PARTS OF GEORGIA AND UKRAINE EASTERN MOLDOVA IS UNDER A SEPARATIST GOVERNMENT, SUPPORTED BY RUSSIA PARTS OF WESTERN AZERBAIJAN ARE UNDER A SEPARATIST GOVERNMENT, SUPPORTED BY ARMENIA CENTRAL ASIA CENTRAL ASIA: KAZAKHSTAN, UZBEKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, TAJIKISTAN MUSLIM TURKS, EXCEPT FOR TAJIKS (ETHNIC PERSIANS) RELATIVELY DRY REGION, NORTH IS STEPPE, SOUTH IS DESERT, EAST IS MORE MOUNTAINOUS MAIN EXPORTS ARE OIL, WHEAT, METAL ORES THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION INCLUDES SIBERIA AND THE FAR EAST ABOUT 145 MILLION PEOPLE (BUT NOT GROWING) MOST RUSSIANS LIVE IN THE WESTERN 1/5 OF RUSSIA MOST ARE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN 20\% ARE MUSLIM THIS PATTERN SUGGESTS ABUNDANCE BUT ACTUALLY ONLY SHOWS CONCENTRATIONS ALMOST EVERYWHERE IN RUSSIA AT LEAST HALF OF LOCAL POPULATIONS ARE ETHNIC SLAVS CHECHNYA IS THE BEST KNOWN OF RUSSIA’S ETHNIC ENCLAVES RUSSIA’S POTENTIAL SOVIET ERA INFRASTRUCTURE IS STILL IN PLACE, WITH DEPENDENCE ON MASS TRANSPORTATION AND LOW POTENTIAL FOR INDIVIDUALIZED VEHICLES POOR ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT OF THE SOVIET ERA 9.4\% OF RUSSIAN WORKERS ARE IN AGRICULTURE 32.4\% OF RUSSIAS GDP IS FROM INDUSTRY, THIS IMPLIES A SMALL SERVICE SECTOR (62.3\% OF GDP) RUSSIA HAS A LOW AVERAGE INCOME FOR SUCH AN INDUSTRIALIZED NATION ($27,044) IT MAY BE THAT RUSSIAS DARKEST DAYS ARE PAST 40\% OF RUSSIANS WERE BELOW POVERTY IN 2001 FOR 2020, IT WAS 13.3\% BELOW POVERTY, HOWEVER, THIS WAS BASED ON A FEW DOLLARS A DAY THE MOSCOW REGION IS ONE THIRD OF RUSSIA’S G.D.P. THE RUSSIAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN 2019 WAS 4.6\%, WHILE THIS RATE FOR THE UNITED STATES WAS 3.89\% IN 2018 HOWEVER, RUSSIANS ARE ON AVERAGE OLDER THAN AMERICANS THE LOCATION OF RUSSIA’S MANUFACTURING REGIONS IS PARTLY EXPLAINED BY THE POPULATION CONCENTRATION IN THE WEST AND THE LOCATION OF NAVIGABLE WATER, BUT ALSO THE COMMUNIST POLICY OF EQUALIZING DEVELOPMENT GEOGRAPHICALLY AND THE INTENT TO MOVE PRODUCTION INTO THE INTERIOR, AWAY FROM EUROPE THIS MAP SUGGESTS ABUNDANCE AND ALSO POSSIBLY EQUAL LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION – NOT THE CASE RUSSIA COULD CERTAINLY PRODUCE MORE FUEL, BUT LACKS INVESTMENT AND ACCESS TO MARKETS OBSTACLES TO DEVELOPING RUSSIA’S FOSSIL FUELS: EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS, LIKE THE ARCTIC AND SIBERIA POLITICAL INSTABILITY, RELATING TO ETHNIC RIVALRIES, SEPARATISTS, AND DISCONTENT WITH PUTIN’S POLICIES LABOR STRIKES IN MONOPOLISTIC PRIMARY INDUSTRIES, LIKE MINING AND TRANSPORTATION CRIME, ESPECIALLY ORGANIZED CRIME RUSSIAS HEALTH CRISIS (HIV, ALCOHOLISM, POLLUTION) HISTORY OF THIS FILE REVIEWED SEPTEMBER 5, 2021