CHAPTER 7.1 & 7.2 REVIEW
Jan 17, 2016
CHAPTER 7.1 & 7.2 REVIEW
FREE MARKET ECONOMY
Free Market: allows people the freedom to own, operate, and profit from their own business
Pros: Businesses can hire employees & pay them Laws protect private property rights, employment
opportunities & the health and safety of workers USA & Canada are both post-industrial societies,
which places an emphasis on service & high tech businesses rather than industry & manufacturing DTM: Stage 4 Overall trend: agriculture industry services
UNITED STATES VS. CANADA
USA Mostly, the
government does not interfere
Private organizations handle services Broadcasting regulated
by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) but companies like ABC, CBS are privately owned
People choose health care plans---but are now required to have it
Canada SOME government
interference! Government owns
and administers more services than the USA
Health care is publicly funded, not privately CBC: Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation—owned by the government
USE OF AGRICULTURE
Overall trend: Focus on businesses & services!
Still, use of agriculture is seen in both countries
Characteristics: Commercial Farming, but usually with family-
owned businesses Use of co-ops Largely used as cropland & for livestock to graze
Canada has less arable (fertile) land to use for farming than the USA, but both countries still dedicate many acres for farming
WHY ARE THE NUMBER OF FARMERS DECREASING???
High cost of farming Have to use expensive machinery, fertilizers, and
chemical pesticides Unpredictable consumer demand
We don’t know what people want, and our ENTIRE economy depends on supply & demand.
If people don’t want a product, farmers could lose money
Risk of natural disasters Time-consuming VERY hard, physical work
KEY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
The US & Canada lead in the production of… Beef Eggs Milk Corn Wheat
All of these products are shipped within the country and around the world!
THE WHEAT BELT Wheat Belt = prairie
provinces of Canada & Great Plains of the USA
Type of wheat grown depends on climate Northern plains: shorter
growing season & cooler climate spring wheat (planted in the spring, harvested in the fall)
Southern areas: winter wheat (early summer harvest)
TECHNOLOGY HELPS BREAK GEOGRAPHIC BARRIERS!
Cattle ranching was restricted to wide-open spaces
Dairy farms were mainly in “America’s Dairyland” (NY state to Minnesota)
Development of new breeds of cattle that need less room to moove
expansion of dairy farms and cattle ranches
Before Technology After Technology
MANUFACTURING & SERVICES
Manufacturing makes up 20% of the economies of the US & Canada and employs 20% of the workforce
Technology has allowed greater quantities of goods with less workers than in the past
Exports: Transportation equipment & machinery are large
exports for both the US & Canada Other major exports:
Aerospace and aircraft equipment (USA) Automobiles (USA mainly, but also Canada) Food processing (USA) Wood-based products (Canada—Quebec in particular)
MANUFACTURING & SERVICES
75% of workers are employed in the service (TERTIARY!!) industry! Government workers Education Health care Tourism Real Estate Banking Entertainment
Both countries are considered to be post-industrial!
MANUFACTURING & SERVICE
High-tech industry is VERY important to the economies of the US & Canada Used for computer science &
telecommunications USA Leaders
California: Silicon Valley is home to 100 of the largest high-tech companies (including Apple & Facebook!)
Seattle, Washington: leads the high-tech business in Washington state, which has the sixth-highest concentration of high-tech businesses in the USA
Texas: 1,000+ software companies in AUSTIN! (including Dell in Round Rock, TX). Also, some fast-growing technology businesses are found in Dallas
“RETOOLING” THE RUST BELT
Rust Belt: older, industrial areas around the Great Lakes whose mills were abandoned when companies moved south towards the Sunbelt Example cities—Buffalo, Pittsburgh. Happened in the last third of the 1900s (around
1969-1999)
Now, these cities are being turned from abandoned mills into tourist areas and public spaces in an effort to bring some new life to the cities
TRANSPORTATION
Both US & Canada has had a heavy reliance on automobiles since WWII
Challenges: Building &
maintenance of highways, roads & bridges $$$$$$$$$
Increased pollution from the use of cars, especially in urban areas
Traffic jams!
TRANSPORTATION
Cities have tried or are making plans to come up with new modes of transportation: Subway systems in NYC, San Francisco, Montreal Seattle, Dallas, Houston use monorail systems Chicago, Washington, DC have commuter trains Atlanta & Chicago also are two of the busiest
airports in the world—Atlanta Hartsfield & Chicago O’Hare
Also applies to the movement of GOODS! Pipelines--long networks of underground or
aboveground pipes—are used to carry ¼ of the region’s freight in oil & gas
COMMUNICATION
Telephone & Internet services are the primary means of communication …I know what your textbook says, but it was written in 2002,
before social media like Facebook and Twitter (even MySpace) Computers are available for MOST people in the US & Canada,
but there is still concern over the affordability of these services.
Canada’s broadcasting & phone services are owned by the government (public service—TAXE$)
USA: services are owned by private businesses Government makes sure there is no monopoly, or
the total control of industry by ONE person or company
TRADE & INTERDEPENDENCE: US & CANADA ARE POWERFUL!
The US is #2 in all world exports, provides 10%+ of all world exports chemicals, agricultural & manufactured goods, and
raw materials (metals, iron ore) are exported—also software!
TRADE & INTERDEPENDENCE the US has a trade DEFICIT
because we rely more on imports (what we buy) than exports (what we sell)
Why?? US has a large population
(#3 in the world!) Growing industries more
energy sources, mainly oil/petroleum from the Middle East!
Other countries charge tariffs on imports, which raises the prices of our products and reducing our sales
Canada has a trade SURPLUS & earns more from exports than it spends Why??
Canada has a much smaller population because of it’s harsh climate
Energy costs are less BECAUSE of this smaller population
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement Created in 1994 US, Canada & Mexico can trade goods freely—no
restrictions! Is different from the EU because PEOPLE are
still not allowed to flow freely you still need a passport to get into Canada &
Mexico! One effect: OUTSOURCING!
US businesses are building factories in Mexico cheaper labor, cheaper goods for Americans, saves $$
PEOPLE AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT (7.2)
HUMAN IMPACT
The US & Canada has abundant natural resources, but not always used responsibly Clear-cutting: taking out whole forests while
harvesting timber endangers wildlife Leaves land subject to flooding & erosion
Overfishing Control burns used to clear dry brush before
it becomes too dense Too much brush = soil and vegetation dry out
POLLUTION RATES HIGHER WITH INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
Acid rainfall: pollution (CO2) mixes with rainfall (H2O) corrosion of stone and metal buildings Weathering or Erosion?? Chemical or Physical? Chemicals are picked up and moved away; mixes
with rainfall & acid rain is found in the Adirondack Mountains (NY) and in the eastern provinces of Quebec
POLLUTION RATES HIGHER WITH INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
Smog Sun’s rays + automobile exhaust gases &
industrial emissions = haze How to reduce?
Health officials monitor air quality, urge people with respiratory problems to stay indoors
Restrictions on driving, other uses of gas-based tools prohibited and/or restricted
Fuel pumps also have special nozzles to reduce the amount of vapors leaking from gas pumps
New cars that run on electricity, not gas Encourage the use of walking, biking, or using public
transportation to get to destinations
WATER SYSTEMS = POLLUTED AS WELL
How? Acid rainfall Introduction of sewage, industrial, and
agricultural wastes into the water supplies Effects
Can endanger wildlife and humans if water is infected with bacteria
Speeds up eutrophication (the process of a lake or body of water becoming rich
in dissolved nutrients, encouraging overgrowth of plants and basically making it unusable
GLOBAL WARMING…? People in the US & Canada worry over the
unexplained rise in overall global temperatures Effects:
Inuit Communities Thinning sea ice hunted animals (caribou, polar bears &
seals) to move further north hunting lifestyle challenged Permafrost is beginning to thaw, making the land more
unsteady for the foundations of building houses New Orleans
Below sea level Fear that the area could be completely submerged
underwater because of rising ocean levels & more frequent flooding of the Mississippi River
Climate Patterns Warmer, higher seas more frequent, severe weather
events (El Nino, major hurricanes)