GEOG 100: Week 4

1. GEOG 100: Week 4 Middle and South America (please read Chapter 3) Source: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/ kislak/kislak-exhibit.html

2. Housekeeping Items • We have an announcement about Chinese New Year’s… • Movie tonight at 6 p.m.: "Third World Canada” in Building 200, Room 203. In her fifth film, Gemini-nominated Ottawa director Andree Cazabon's Third World Canada explores the impact of third world conditions in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inniniwug (KI), a First Nation community in the far north of Ontario, while at the same time showcasing the courage and resilience of the people of KI. Assembly of First Nations National Chief and VIU Chancellor, Shawn A-in-Chut Atleo, will introduce the film. A reception will follow in Building 270. http://www.thirdworldcanada.ca/trailer • For more on Detroit and its rebirth, see http://www.palladiumboots.com/exploration/detroit#ooid=5qamlwMTrY0vUEPg88yBWEJWxvuRKTLoand the other two parts. • See also http://www.worldometers.info/.

3. Groups for Presentations – who’s missing? I have a question I would like some guidance on….

4. Richard Florida on ‘Geography of Gun Deaths’ (see http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/01/the-geography-of-gun-deaths/69354/#)

5. Latin America as A Centrefor Political Innovation • Uruguay- Under José Batlle y Ordóñez, Uruguayan workers received the 8-hour day in 1915, something that was not realized in the US for industrial workers until the 1950s or later. In the 1920s he instituted free health care for the poor, something that still does not exist in the US. While the poverty rate has risen dramatically in recent years, Uruguay still has a very high health status in terms of life expectancy, and maternal and infant mortality. • Cuba- The health statistics for Cubans are nearly equal to those of the United States, a much richer country, in most respects. It has one of the lowest infection rates for HIV in the world, and has the second highest doctor-patient ratio in the world (after Italy). It also exports doctors around the world to provide health care for other countries. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has been forced to rely on urban and organic agriculture to make ends meet in terms of food and has been quite successful – see The Power of Community in the library.

6. Latin America as A Centrefor Political Innovation • Costa Rica- According to the Happy Planet Index (HPI) compiled by the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica is the “happiest place on earth.” It has had no standing army since 1948 and 10% of land is protected as core wilderness, with another 17% in some form of protected areas (the highest ratio in the world). This has led to a boon in ecotourism which has pluses and minuses. Costa Rica is also close to achieving its goal of becoming ‘carbon neutral’. • Ecuador- Reflecting the beliefs and traditions of itsindigenous peoples, the constitution of that country was amended in 2008 to declare that nature “has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution.” This is the first time anywhere in the world that nature has been granted legal rights!

7. Latin America as A Centrefor Political Innovation Ecuador- Ecuador has also argued for leaving its oil wealth in the ground, given the value of the ecosystems on top in terms of providing habitat and carbon sequestration. They have asked wealthy nations to compensate them for doing so. Bolivia- Evo Morales, the president of that nation, has drawn a sharp contrast between “living better” and “living well.” He argues that “Living better is to exploit human beings. It’s plundering natural resources. It’s egoism and individualism…. There is no reciprocity…. Living better is always at someone else’s expense. Living better is at the expense of destroying the environment.” He and his party, the Movement for Socialism (MAS), have been working to redistribute wealth and gas income to poor and indigenous Bolivians, and increasing social services.

8. Latin America as A Centrefor Political Innovation • Colombia- Under the leadership of two charismatic mayors, Antanas Mockus and Enrique Peñalosa, Bogotá, one of the world's most dangerous, violent and corrupt capitals, became in less than 10 years a peaceful model city populated by caring citizens. Key changes included massive investment in poor neighbourhoods and prioritization of pedestrians and cyclists over cars, including through weekly ciclovías, where cars are banned from city streets. • Brazil- The city of Porto Alegre has developed a system whereby residents determine budget priorities for the whole city; this has also been emulated in Venezuela. The city of Curitiba has long been described as the world’s green capital for its innovations in transportation, housing, green space, and solid waste (see film).