Please choose ONE of the following prompts and respond in one paragraph (please see discussions grading rubric in the syllabus for specific criteria, including length requirements). Please also respond in one paragraph each to 3 other classmates’ responses to create a class dialogue around the topics.THE RUBRIC IS ATTACHED IN THE UPLOADED FILES AREAAfter watching the online film, Don’t Panic: The Facts About Population by Prof. Hans Rosling from the Gapminder Foundation, consider the following questions. What are the general historical and contemporary trends the film describes regarding global human population growth? How does Prof. Rosling describe global human population growth predictions in the twenty-first century and what geographic regions of the world will most contribute to global population growth in this century? How do we know that global population growth will likely stabilize by the end of the twenty-first century? Why might local, regional, and national leaders and organizations be interested in understanding and predicting the geography of population growth and change and how might they apply the information and understanding that tools and data from population geography provide?After viewing the Interactive StoryMap, The Human Reach: Understanding the Global Scale of Human Activities and The Human Reach Atlas, AND the Interactive StoryMap, The Living Land: A Look at How Humans Use the Earth’s Land Space and The Living Land Atlas, consider the following questions. What are the general contemporary geographic trends of population density, what geographic factors contribute to these patterns and how? What are examples of the general geographic trends of urbanization and our expanding human networks that can be observed in the data presented by The Human Reach StoryMap? The Living Land StoryMap states, “Humans, these days, can be found in just about every corner of the world. Our cities, roads, and other connecting networks are dense enough to trace the contours of the continents themselves.” How do you describe the general geographic trends of the various ways in which humans are using the vast amount of land humans now inhabit? How much more land will humans use in the future? And what implications does this land use have for Planet Earth?Consider ways in which geography and geographic information science (GIS) tools may be used to examine various issues impacting variations in population mortality. First, we will take a look at a particular situation impacting population mortality rates in several countries in Africa. After viewing the Interactive StoryMap, On the Front Lines of Famine, consider the following questions: what is the general geography of famine within the countries discussed in the StoryMap; what are some of the common causes of the examples of famine presented in the StoryMap and what are ways in which individuals and organizations are attempting to decrease famine? How do the occurrence of these famines relate to these countries going through the demographic transition and the epidemiological transition? Select one of the specific countries presented and explain the geographic particularities of the famine in that particular country in more detail. Second, we will take a look at a particular situation impacting mortality rates in certain regions within the United States. After viewing the Interactive StoryMap, The Opioid Epidemic, which showcases how geography and geographic information science are used to better understand a particular health crisis situation and can help lead to better decision-making about how to design interventions to mitigate such a crisis, consider the following questions. What are the general regional geographic trends of the opioid epidemic in the U.S.? In what regions of the U.S. is the opioid epidemic most severe and why might this be the case? What are the particular geographic trends of drug poisoning deaths and opioid prescriptions per provider? How are local places attempting to address and mitigate the opioid epidemic?First, review the following articles and StoryMaps that relate to geography and the COVID-19 pandemic: ESRI StoryMap: Mapping the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak (July 28, 2020); ESRI StoryMap: Age and Social Vulnerability in the Context of Coronavirus (March 26, 2020); “Why Geography is a Key Part of Fighting the COVID-19 Coronavirus Outbreak” (Forbes article by Dr. Marshall Shepherd, March 5, 2020); Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (updated daily, contains global data on total confirmed cases, total deaths, and total recovered, as well as county-level data for the United States, so can zoom in on the map to view Georgia in detail). After reviewing those resources, next consider the following questions in your discussion post: how do we examine and understand the geography of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic through: The lens of geography in general? The different scales of population geographic analysis (neighborhood/community, municipal, metropolitan region, state, national, global scale)? How are geography and geographic information science (GIS) tools used to better understand the pandemic, to make predictions and projections about the pandemic, and to make and inform decisions at the different scales of geographic analysis, including local community, urban municipal, metropolitan regional, state, national, and global scale?The Interactive StoryMap, An Atlas of Electricity, describes how electricity is integral to the modern American lifestyle. But the generation and transmission of electricity is a complex, opaque process. This StoryMap describes the geography of how it all works. After reviewing this StoryMap, consider the following questions. What are the primary energy sources used to generate electricity in the United States and approximately what proportion do each of the sources contribute to overall electricity production in the U.S. and why? What are the general geographic trends of different types of both fossil fuel energy sources and renewable energy sources used for electricity production in the U.S.? What do you predict will be the future of energy production in the U.S. and why?
