Exploring World Geography Unit 1.pdf

Himalayas, Nepal 1 Seeing What You Have Never Seen Before H ave you ever heard the mountains singing...

Himalayas, Nepal 1 Seeing What You Have Never Seen Before H ave you ever heard the mountains singing Human geography examines the activities of human for joy? Have you been listening? beings, especially how physical geography impacts The psalmist wrote: human activity and how human activity impacts Let the sea roar and all it contains, physical geography. The world and those who dwell in it. In other words, we’ll be talking about YOU and Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy the nearly eight billion other people who share the Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth; earth with you, and the impact that geography has He will judge the world with righteousness on all of us. Where people live and the geographic And the peoples with equity. realities of those places influence who those people —Psalm 98:7-9 are, what they do, and how they live. Geographic places and features influence culture, language, The Goal of This Curriculum economics, rural and urban life, politics, and To hear the rivers clapping their hands and the international relations. Our goal is to help you better mountains singing for joy requires thinking about understand the world in which we live, and human geography and perceiving the earth in a way you geography is a big part of that picture. might never have before. Through this course, we In addition, we want to help you see how the want to help you do just that. earth and all Creation praise God and how they Merriam-Webster defines geography as “a reveal to us the power, love, and wisdom of the science that deals with the description, distribution, Creator. You might not have thought about the and interaction of the diverse physical, biological, world in these terms, but this is the worldview we and cultural features of the earth’s surface.” But we want to take the study of geography beyond the want to help you adopt. In other words, we want to description of the physical features of the earth and help you hear the rivers clapping their hands and the consider what geographers call human geography. mountains singing for joy. 3 4 Unit 1: Welcome to Your World Seeing the Earth in a New Way the careful process that the American space program NASA followed to achieve this goal was sending For many years, people have been able to see unmanned spacecraft to orbit the moon. In 1966, large parts of the earth from mountaintops, balloons, Lunar Orbiter 1 took the above picture of the earth and airplanes. One such person was Katharine Lee as the orbiter came around the moon’s surface. Bates. In 1893 she pondered the inspiring view from Two years later, NASA launched a manned the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado. As a result of that spacecraft, Apollo 8, again to orbit the moon but not experience, she wrote a poem that became the song, to land on it. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on “America the Beautiful.” However, throughout the history of mankind, no one was able to see the entire Christmas Eve. That evening, the crew transmitted earth until the 1960s. a live television broadcast back to the earth that In that decade, the American and Russian space included the view of our planet shown below. The programs were in full swing. The American goal, to broadcast ended with the three astronauts taking fulfill President John F. Kennedy’s challenge that he turns reading from Genesis 1. It was a thrilling, issued in 1961, was to land men on the moon and dramatic moment in American history and in the return them to the earth within the decade. Part of history of space travel. Lesson 1 - Seeing What You Have Never Seen Before 5 In July of 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz all photos had shown only a portion of the earth’s Aldrin met Kennedy’s challenge and became the surface. first men to walk on the moon. People all over In 1972 the crew of Apollo 17 was able to the world watched Armstrong take his historic capture this image soon after they left the earth’s “small step.” However, despite all of these amazing orbit and headed for the moon. The picture has accomplishments, people had still not seen the entire come to be called the “Blue Marble.” It is one of the planet in sunlight. Because of the angle of the sun, most widely published pictures in history. 6 Unit 1: Welcome to Your World Apollo 17 was the last manned mission to the Now that you have begun seeing the earth in a moon. No human has been far enough away from way that you might not have ever seen it before, let’s the earth since then to take a picture of the whole get the big picture of this planet we share. planet, although unmanned spacecraft have done so. Earth’s Setting in the Universe The Overview Effect The sun is a star of moderate size in the Milky Every astronaut who has traveled into space, Way galaxy. It is nearer the outer edge of the galaxy whether around the earth or to the moon, has than the middle of it. reported being deeply affected by looking back at Around the sun orbit eight planets, the dwarf the earth beneath them. This has been called the planet Pluto, a band of asteroids, several comets, overview effect. As a result of this effect, astronauts and other objects. Around the eight planets revolve a total of 173 moons, some of which are very small. have realized many different truths. The earth is one of those planets. It has one moon, Some have perceived the fragility of the earth while Jupiter has eight round moons and about 55 as it hangs in the darkness of space. Others have smaller, irregular-shaped moons. pondered how the entire human population— The earth is the third planet from the sun. It which is divided by nations, languages, and cultures orbits the sun at an average distance of 93 million which are often at war with each other—in reality miles. Mercury and Venus orbit closer to the sun, shares a unity of life on this single planet that we while Mars and the other planets are farther away. inhabit together. Another astronaut recalled his thoughts about the millions of people who live each The Goldilocks Planet: Just Right day without enough food or water, of the injustice and conflicts that humans inflict on each other, and We can see God’s wise and loving design of the how this larger perspective on the place we all live earth as the dwelling place for humans in many might help the people of our planet accomplish more ways. The earth has the attributes required to sustain good for each other. life. Some scientists call it the Goldilocks planet. This illustration shows the relative size of the planets but not their relative distance from the sun. Moving from the sun on the left, you can see Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the dwarf planet Pluto. The sun’s diameter is about ten times that of Jupiter. Lesson 1 - Seeing What You Have Never Seen Before 7 An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this photo of the earth’s atmosphere with the moon in the background. It is not too big, not too small, not too cold, and also cannot sustain life. The larger planets farther not too hot, but just right. For instance, its distance away from the Sun do not have the atmosphere or from the Sun is just right. If it were much closer, it the surface makeup that would sustain life. would be too hot; if it were much farther away, it The moon orbits the earth around 240,000 miles would be too cold. away, which is just the right distance. It influences Most of the earth’s atmosphere is within ten the tides on the earth and helps to stabilize the earth’s miles of the surface. This is another aspect of the rotation. If the moon were a different size or orbited overview effect: the realization that the earth’s entire at a different distance, it would not have the same population lives in this narrow band of atmosphere effect on the earth. that covers the planet. The earth is large enough for The earth’s polar axis is tilted about 23 degrees its gravity to hold the atmosphere, but it is not so from vertical. This tilt is just right. It enables the earth large that its gravity would make the atmosphere too to have seasons as it orbits the sun. The tilt also gives dense for life. This breathable blanket has just the us differing lengths of days and enables temperatures right elements, primarily carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, on the planet to be moderate enough for human life. and nitrogen, to sustain life. In sum, the atmosphere If it were not tilted, water vapor would flow to the has the content and density necessary for humans poles and create ice mountains, and the rest of the and animals to be able to breathe it. planet would be too hot to sustain life. If the earth On the other hand, the atmosphere on Venus is rotated much more slowly than it does, it could not too dense and does not have the right combination sustain life because of the temperature extremes that of elements to sustain human life. Mars is barren and would result. 8 Unit 1: Welcome to Your World About 71 percent of the earth’s surface is covered has minerals such as coal and oil and other natural with water. This amount of water and the fact that resources that people have learned to use. It has dirt it is liquid make our planet’s water content just that sustains the growing of food. right to sustain life. Life as we know it could not The complex interconnected relationship exist with much more or much less of the earth’s between the various forms of life on the earth make surface covered with water. The earth’s rocky mantle intelligent, complex life possible. For instance, and hot molten core contribute to the right surface animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon temperature for life. dioxide, while plants take in carbon dioxide and give The weather patterns on the earth are just right off oxygen. In this way, plants and animals sustain to sustain life. The climate in different parts of the each other. earth—moderate, tropical, desert, and polar— This intelligent life is on a far different level combine to make large areas of the earth’s surface from mere existence. Microbes exist, but they do not inhabitable. know that they exist. Beavers build dams, but they The earth’s magnetic field protects the planet do not stand back and admire their work when they from harmful radiation from the sun. In addition, the fact that the earth’s crust and outer mantle are finish. Human beings know that they exist, they can made up of plates that move (a feature called plate admire their handiwork, and they have even used tectonics) helps to maintain a moderate surface their intelligence to travel to the moon and to send temperature and helps to regulate the carbon level in spacecraft to other planets in the solar system. the atmosphere. The huge planet Jupiter protects the earth from objects flying through space because its Benefits from Disasters strong gravitational pull attracts many objects that could otherwise strike the earth. The “just right” nature of the earth does not mean that it has no aspects that threaten human life. Not Just Simple Life Some conditions on the earth make life difficult. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, hurricanes, The makeup of the earth, then, is just right tornadoes, strong rain and snow storms, droughts, to sustain life, but not just simple forms of life. and floods threaten human life. Many people have The requirements for simple forms of life, such lost their lives in such disasters, and these calamities as microbes, are not the same as the requirements have also destroyed much property. for intelligent life. The earth is an environment Even so, some scientists believe that disasters that supports intelligent, complex life. The earth have a positive impact on the earth’s ecology, such as by redistributing resources and helping regulate the earth’s temperatures. In terms of human response, disasters give people the opportunity to help others in a time of need. This does not mean that disasters are a good thing, but it does mean that good can come even from tragedy. Goats in Morocco have a interdependent relationship with argan trees. The goats climb up into the trees to eat the trees’ fruit. They then spit out the seeds. Lesson 1 - Seeing What You Have Never Seen Before 9 What the Overview Means our being. It is obvious that God designed the earth to be a hospitable home for human beings. When This awe-inspiring overview of the planet on we consider this single inhabited planet, surrounded which we live gives rise to at least two important by a thin atmosphere, in the vast reaches of space, central truths. One, the earth has been home for it does seem fragile. On the other hand, the earth every human that has ever lived. Since we share this is strong and enduring. It gives us what we need, planet and have no other choice about where to live, and it has survived all of the natural and man-made we need to respect and understand one another and disasters that have occurred. Our responsibility is to the planet on which we live. live on the earth in such a way that we honor its The second and even more important central Maker. truth is that the one God made the one earth for The Scriptures portray God as Creator of heaven all of mankind, and He sent one Savior to redeem and earth. The psalmist heard the voice of God us all. As Paul said, in God we live, move, and have claiming ownership and control of the earth: The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken, and summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.... “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine.” Psalm 50:1, 10-11 Assignments for Lesson 1 Worldview Copy this question in your Bible notebook and write your answer: When have you seen two people have conflict because they saw a matter differently? Project Choose your project for this unit and start working on it. Plan to finish it by the end of this unit. Literature Begin reading Know Why You Believe. Plan to finish by the end of Unit 2. The book has 12 chapters, so you might want to read one chapter most days and two chapters on three days so you can finish the book by the fourth day of the next unit and answer questions and read the literary analysis on that day. Today, read the introductory material and Chapter 1. As you read each chapter in the book, write down a two-or-three sentence summary of the case Little makes in that chapter and how it helps support a Christian worldview. Student Review Answer the questions for Lesson 1 in the Student Review Book. Read “What Do You Think About What He Thinks? A Primer for Analysis of Non-Fiction” on pages 1-3.