C Block Human Geography - Human Geography looks at the relationships between people and the built and natural environments in which they live across the planet. It will prepare and challenge you about the multiple aspects, issues, and problems of the physical and human geography of our world. We'll look at: Population and Migration; Cultural Patterns & Processes Folk & Popular Culture, Language, Ethnicity, & Religion; the Political Organization of Space; Agriculture, Food Production and Rural Land Use; Industrialization and Development; and Urbanization, global cities and Urban Patterns. Through the study of geography, you can develop an understanding of how local, regional, and global environments affect you and what role you play in the world around you.
Today we will go through the course outline package and become familiar with the routines and structures of room 115. We will take the class to orient ourselves to the curriculum and the course outline. Human geographers ask two simple questions:
- Where are people and activities found on Earth? and
- Why are they found there?
Bananas are among the most produced, traded and consumed fruits globally. More than 1 000 varieties of bananas exist in the world, which provide vital nutrients to populations in producing and importing countries alike. The most traded variety is the Cavendish banana, which accounts for just under half of global production at an estimated annual production volume of 50 million tonnes. Bananas are particularly significant in some of the least developed and low-income, food-deficit countries, where they can contribute not only to household food security as a staple but also to income generation as a cash crop.World banana trade has expanded to unprecedented heights in recent years, with an estimated export volume of 21 million tonnes in 2019. On average, more than 90 percent of bananas for export originate from Central and South America, and the Philippines. The largest importers are the EU, the United States of America, China, the Russian Federation, and Japan. Banana export earnings help to finance food import bills, supporting the economies of major banana-producing countries
So let's take a look at where and why bananas are found and are important in terms of Geography:
So here in Canada? The average Canadian will consume more than 15 kilograms of bananas a year; Bananas account for 20% of all the Fruit import volume into Canada by commodity; The top countries we import Bananas from are in descending order Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, and Honduras; Bananas form the largest share of the worlds fruit commodity produced annually by volume (metric tons) and Canada is the 8th largest net importer of fruit (in terms of dollar value) in the world (from Statistical Overview of the Canadian Fruit Industry 2022) and HERE are the 19 largest banana importers into Canada (wholesale)
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| Volume of fresh bananas imported in Canada from 2008 to 2022 (in 1,000 metric tons) |
From the FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
There are five big multinational trading companies, which engage in the production, purchase, transport and marketing of bananas. These are Chiquita, which recently moved its headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland, Fresh Del Monte, Dole, Fyffes and Noboa. Fyffes, which is based in Ireland, primarily supplies bananas to Europe.How are you connected to Bananas?
D Block Physical Geography - Welcome to Geography, the most important class you'll ever take in your life...no, really!
So, what is Geography and why is it the most important class you'll take? Let's go back in time...all the way back to 2023...you know last year. 2023 was the warmest year on record in more than 150 years and, if reconstructing past climates using geological and biological evidence, likely the warmest in history dating back to when human beings began appearing 120,000 years ago. The extremes we saw in 2023 were devastating in many ways, but this is what climate change looks and feels like. What we saw this year only serves as a preview of what the future could bring if emissions of greenhouse gases are not rapidly curtailed. As the climate continues to warm, one can expect increasing wildfires, more intense droughts and hurricanes, and more intense heat waves.
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| From City News Vancouver |
2023 was the worst wildfire year on record - at least twice the previous worst year and seven times the 10-year average of forests consumed by fires. The area burned by wildfires stretched over 18 million hectares. Based on preliminary estimates compiled by Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc. (CatIQ), there were 27 major weather events from December 2022 to November 2023, each with insured cost losses of at least $30 million and with an aggregate loss approaching $3.5 billion.
Dr. David Phillips (former senior climatologist at Environment Canada) once said of weather and climate..."the new normal is that there is no normal". Meteorologist Brett Soderholm (forecaster for the B.C. Wildfire Service in Prince George) said, "Normal is going to be an increasingly difficult concept for us to wrap our heads around. Looking ahead to the future, I think we're just going to be able to use normal as a reference point for how extreme we are from one side to the next."
We use geographic thinking to make sense of these issues. Geography is not a liner subject nor is it a linear mindset. Geography is inherently holistic or spatial in nature. Geographic thinking is akin to spatial complexity. From THE NEW FACTS OF LIFE, by Fritjof Capra, Systems thinking includes a shift of emphasis from structure to process...
Understanding life requires a shift of focus from objects to relationships. Understanding relationships is not easy for us, because it is something that goes counter to the traditional scientific enterprise in Western culture. In science, we have been told, things need to be measured and weighed. But relationships cannot be measured and weighed; relationships need to be mapped. So there is another shift: from measuring to mapping. Now, when you map relationships, you will find certain configurations that occur repeatedly. This is what we call a pattern. Networks, cycles, feedback loops, are examples of patterns of organization that are characteristic of life. Systems’ thinking involves a shift of perspective from contents to patterns. I also want to emphasize that mapping relationships and studying patterns is not a quantitative but a qualitative approach. Systems’ thinking implies a shift from quantity to quality. A pattern is not a list of numbers but a visual image.
How extreme is extreme weather? Here's a closer look also Stunning photos of climate change
A Block Criminology - Today, to start, we will go through the course outline package. In this course we look at crime theories and crime typology. The first week and a half sees us look at a general history of crime, big ideas about why people commit crime and thoughts on why people become victims of crime. The rest of the first term then focuses on crime typologies: violent crimes; property crimes; white collar / enterprise / business crimes; organized / gang crimes; and crimes of a social nature (gambling, drug use, sex trade). Starting next week (maybe), we spend the first part of Monday in the library / learning commons working on an on-line crime blog while each Thursday or Friday we'll watch an online video about our topic for the week. Sometimes it will be an episode of a crime television program (but there's always a question about what you watch). Today, I'm hoping you'll let me know what you want to focus on this semester in Criminology. Then we'll start with one question that I'd like you to brainstorm:
Why do people commit crime?
After some time, I'd like you to partner up and get your ideas on a large sheet of paper. After you collect all of your ideas on large sheets of paper with smelly felts, I'd like you to cluster (group) your reasons why people commit crime into categories (emotions, poverty, culture, etc...) and see what biological factors and sociological factors may contribute to crime. We'll then share your ideas together as a class and see if there are any common ideas that we may have and we'll try to see where your clusters fit in terms of Choice, Trait, Social Structure, Social Learning, and Conflict theories.
B Block Legal Studies - Legal Studies is a course that deals with the foundation, the structure, and the key principles and concepts of the Canadian legal system. Our topics will include the foundations of Canadian Law, Indigenous principles of Law, Criminal Law, Civil Law, and Family Law. In this course you will need to use critical thinking skills, in order to interpret and analyze legal, social, and ethical issues to become active, informed, and productive citizens. You will be better equipped to participate effectively in a democratic society and recognize what conduct is regulated by law. We will try, as much as possible, to cut through the “Legal speak” so that you can simply become a legally literate person. In February we'll look at the foundations of the Canadian legal justice system along with civil and human rights. The rest of the third term sees us look at criminal law in Canada while in term four we'll focus on civil and family law in Canada. Today, I'll have you partner up in groups of three and discuss:
- Why do we have laws? (Hint - there are five big reasons),
- What are rights, what kinds are there and why do we have them?
- Give 10 examples of Canadian Laws - What are Canadians not allowed to do?
- Give 5 examples of Rights Canadians have - what are guaranteed to us?
- What is the difference between what is legal what is moral and what is ethical?
We'll partner up and get our ideas on big sheets of paper with some smelly felts so that we can have a discussion on the topic...
It's nearly as old as me (so needless to say that's really old) but let's check in on Shiver, Gobble, and Snore...
And although it is from Michigan in the United States of America, Mr. Carpenter makes a pretty decent summation
Today's Fit...
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