Homework #2

So let's talk about water...

71% of the earth's surface is covered in ocean. The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on earth that covers 46% of the earth's water surface and 1/3 total surface area. The Atlantic Ocean follows in 2nd with 20% of the earth's surface and 24% of the water surface area. The Indian is in 3rd place covering 20% of the water on the earth's surface. Last but not least, the Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the earth's oceans. It is partly covered by ice throughout the year.

http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/oceans.htm

"Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink."
Those were the words written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was right, because 97% of all water on earth is salt water, leaving only 2.5% freshwater.

mapsofworld.com/world-freshwater-resources.htm

Of the freshwater, almost 70% is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland. Most of the remainder is soil moisture, or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater that is not accessible for     human use.

<1% of the world's fresh water, which is ~0.007% of all the water on earth, is accessible for direct human uses. This water is found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and those underground sources that are shallow enough to be tapped an an affordable cost.

Agriculture is responsible for 87% of the total water used worldwide. Most of the water is not able to be consumed, and thus the water is returned to surface runoff.

1/3 of the world's population lives in countries that are experiencing water stress. Algeria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and Jordan have fresh water resources per capita that are less than 1,000 cubic meters. In parts of South America, Russia, Australia, and some parts of Africa there are fresh water resources per capita are at the maximum 10,000 cubic meters or more.

1.1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water per year and 1.8 million people die because of contaminated water each year. It has been estimated that 80% of all diseases in the world are associated with contaminated water. China, Mexico, Aral Sea Basin area, Haiti, Central America, and parts of the Caribbean all have problems with contaminated water. In Haiti, 42% of the population lives without clean water. In the United States, the water has been more and more contaminated with pharmaceuticals.

What about that soil?

Only 11% of the earth's soils have no inherent limitations for agriculture. Canada, some parts of the United States, Europe, and a few parts of China are among the places that have good soil for agriculture. 

Industries?

There are traditional industries in China, India, Japan (rural), Morocco, and Egypt to name a few. The high-tech industries are in the United States, Singapore, Canada, many countries in Europe, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, India (Mumbai), and China (Shanghai, Bejing).

Where in the world are the people?

The top 10 most populated cities in the world:
1. Mumbai, India
2. Shanghai, China
3. Karachi, Pakistan
4. Delhi, India
5. Istanbul, Turkey
6. Sao Paulo, Brazil
7. Moscow, Russia
8. Seoul, South Korea
9. Mexico City, Mexico
10. Jakarta, Indonesia



The top 10 most populated cities in the United States:
1. New York City, New York
2. Los Angeles, California
3. Chicago, Illinois
4. Houston, Texas
5. Phoenix, Arizona
6. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
7. San Antonio, Texas
8. San Diego, California
9. Dallas, Texas
10. San Jose, California

There are many tribes around the world that have little or no contact with modern society. There are many uncontacted tribes in Brazil and Peru. All of these tribes live in densely forested areas in South America. Also, the Sentinelese people that live on the North Sentinel Island, the Jarawa tribe of the Andaman Islands, and tribes in the Phillipines have all been without modern society contact.

Diversity makes the world go round...

There is diversity all over the world. We can see in our society that every individual comes from all walks of life. Who are the most diverse? Malaysia, Peru, Brazil, United States, India, Australia, and China.

Not everyone is the same...
There are, however, some societies that have very minimal ethnic diversity. Poland, Somalia, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea are some of the countries with very little ethnic diversity.

It is no surprise that the majority of the world's population live in big cities. In developed countries, the quality of life is better than that of the developing countries. The first world countries have advantages such as better healthcare, easy access to food and water, technology, etc that those in the third world do not have easy access to. Almost half the world live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day. Access to piped water into the household averages 85% for the wealthiest 20% of the population, compared to 25% for the poorest 20%. 1.8 billion people have access to a water source within 1 km but not in their house or yard, consume around 20 liters per day. Millions of women around the world spend several hours a day collecting water.