Collectively, the journal entry is a measure of the following three course objectives:
Describe the spatial variation in different components of economic development and activities and the factors that contribute to the pattern we observe on the landscape.
Evaluate how the spatial distribution of economic activities and development changes over time and space and be able to discuss potential causes for that change.
Research topics related to economic geography and draw connections between the material presented in the course to events and happenings that take place in the world as well as personal and life experiences.
The Assignment
For the journal entry, you will select a topic based on a current article (or articles; written within the past 24 months) from a credible source that relates to one of the general thematic areas covered in the course, which we will provide. Then you will write a journal entry that
1) introduces the article and provides a brief summary of its content,
2) explains details presented in the article in the context of the entry topic,
3) connects the article to concepts presented in the course, and
4) concludes with personal observations about the topic and article in the context of economic geography
Below are a few things to keep in mind.
Be sure for each journal entry you include a title, the location you are writing about, and a full citation for the article you selected, in addition to a list of any other references used. If you reference course materials, you should include an in-text citation that says (Lesson X, page X) or (Textbook, page X), where X indicates the lesson or page number being referenced. Outside references must include in-text citations as well.
Your journal entry should be interesting, creative, and conversational, while still being academic in nature. In other words, use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation and avoid making claims/statements that are unsupported opinions. Personal reflections and insights should come from a place of thoughtfulness and knowledge, not assumption and conjecture.
Environmental Sustainability & Environmental Justice
Your article must relate to environmental sustainability and/or environmental justice. In this entry, your focus must be on environmental sustainability and/or environmental justice in the production and consumption of goods and services.
Course objective:
Describe the negative impacts of economic development and activities can have on the physical and cultural environment at various scales and the role of producers and consumers in mitigating these negative impacts.
Example Article:
Harvey, Fiona and Dom Phillips. 16 July 2020. “A fifth of Brazilian soy in Europe is [sic] result of deforestation.” The Guardian. Accessed online at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/16/a-fifth-of-brazilian-soy-in-europe-is-result-of-deforestation-amazon-jair-bolsonaro
This article could have easily been used for all entries save the one on personal finance. It touches on uneven development (resource mining in newly industrialized and developing countries), world trade, the global economy, and, of course, environmental sustainability and environmental justice. The world’s appetite for beef is growing and has been quite large in more affluent countries for some time now. Competing land uses and the search for expanses of cheap, available land, have resulted in large cattle ranches and commercial soybean farms (for feed) across countries of South America, Brazil in particular. However, the land is not always farm-ready when developers show up, that is when clearing of the dense tropical forests there begins. How sustainable is this practice in the face of global climate change? Is the tradeoff between the last of the earth’s tropical rainforests, rich with species of flora and fauna that could be lost forever and even people groups that have called the forest home for millenia, for a steak or hamburger worth it? And, how much thought do the consumers of beef give to the global commodity chain?
Rubric:
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