Thursday, December 4, 2014

Egypt: The 5 Themes Of Geography


The 5 Themes of Geography Applied to Egypt


Environmental Geography: Egypt has many environmental and geographical benefits. It is easily to see how society have existed, and thrived, in Egypt for thousands of years. The most significant of these features is the Nile River. The Nile provides water and life to an area that was ultimately be a barren desert without it. The Nile empties out into the Mediterranean Sea at the Nile Delta. Due to the Nile’s odd characteristic of flowing North, Egypt has the advantageous situation of being the gateway for trade into Europe from Africa. The Nile Delta provides Egypt with agricultural lands, which amounts to a significant portion of their economy. Almost all of Egypt’s population lives in cities that touch the Nile. Most of the rest of the country is inhospitable desert. Nile floods and desert-causing dust storms are the two primary threats from Mother Nature.

Population and Settlement: Egypt has a population of 83,000,000 people. That is a little less than one third of the population of the U.S. Water accessibility is the most important factor in the settlement of the country’s population, with virtually every significant population center bordering the Nile. This results in most of the population being confined to a small area, leading to significant population density. The capitol city Cairo has a greater population density than every U.S. west of New York.


Cultural Coherence: Cultural unity is interestingly complex in Egypt due to its incredibly long history as a society. Over time, Egypt has been controlled by several different nations and several very different cultures. Alexander conquered Egypt and made an Egyptian city the center of Greek intellectual life. Later, the Romans controlled Egypt, and used it as a base to trade with other African cultures such as the Askum. It was later taken by Arab peoples, and Islam became the dominant cultural theme. The Ottoman Empire and Napoleon’s France would both control Egypt for some time and the British held authority from the late 1800s to the early 1950s. As a result, Egypt has been a melting pot of culture for thousands of years, with values both western and eastern, ancient and modern.
            Since Egypt’s independent in 1952, it has wrestled with its identity almost non-stop. The two main themes in the conflict are Secularism versus Religious interpretation of government. For many decades, Egypt has been the secular minority of middle-eastern (or Arab) politics, but has also created the radical Jihadist movement and inspired many of the radical Islamic terrorist organizations. As seen by the 2011 Revolution and the 2013 Coup, Egypt still has not yet established a symbiotic relationship between the two dominant political and cultural themes.

Geography of Economics: Egypt is positioned in a very advantageous position on the top of Africa. With the north-flowing Nile, Egypt has controlled the most efficient way to move goods from East, Central and South Africa to the Mediterranean. The country also borders the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, making it and attractive trading destination for the early Arab world to access Africa. Eventually, Egypt was the gate way for Islam to enter northern Africa, where the culture utilized trade to stretch all the way to Morocco on the other side of the continent. Egypt owns the Suez Canal, which giving the Mediterranean access to the Red Sea (instead of having to sail all the way around Africa), is one of the most economically important canals in the world.

             Geopolitics: Egypt has a long history with major international cultures. Its long history of being a major international trade center, as well as either a powerful nation, or extremely profitable resource to an empire, has resulted in interesting relationships with the international community. Egypt is an Arab nation, and is devoutly Islamic, which fits in politically with much of the area around it (with the exception of Israel). Somewhat unique though is the country’s long insistence on separating religion from politics. Despite Egypt’s secular tendencies, it almost always sides with the general feeling of other Arab countries and is often considered the leader of Arab unity. This is mainly due to Presidents Nasser and Sadat, who fought to create a powerful Arab bloc in order to resist the control of imperial powers. In a small section in north-east Egypt, the country borders Israel, an enemy with whom Egypt has fought several wars against. Egypt’s Suez Canal is an extremely powerful asset to Egypt, which it nationalized in 1952. Any one that wants to ship from Europe to Asia or vice-versa over water almost certainly must be on good enough terms with Egypt to use the canal. Egypt has had a critical influence on the Muslim world (specifically the Sunnis), and is one of the most prominent Islamic powers. Despite overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s influence on the religious culture in the area will not change for a long time

Egypt: Agriculture

Ben Smith
Egyptian Agriculture



Industrial Agriculture is essentially the mass production of chemically induced crops to maximize total agriculture output. It utilizes monoculture as it uses massive crops of the same plant to maximize the efficiency of growing as many plants as possible. It relies on chemical fertilizers to replace nutrients in the soil, since nutrient deprivation is the significant flaw to monoculture.
Traditional Agriculture mixes crops within a garden and rotates crops over time in order to non-chemically maintain healthy soil. It typically requires intensive experience with or knowledge of the plants, and potentially the local ecosystem. It is not as efficient as Industrial Agriculture, but is arguably significantly healthy for both the consumer and the land.
Intensive farming focuses on creating the highest outputs possible with the lowest labor possible (Princeton.edu). Industrial Agriculture is a version of Intensive Farming. Extensive farming produces lower yields, but strives to be sustainable, so that the land can be farmed for longer periods of time.
According to Egypt’s State Information Services, Egypt has been modernizing (industrializing) its agriculture heavily since 2007. It has begun works on mega-agricultural projects, and currently accounts for 30% of its labor and over 14% of its GPD (SIS.gov.eg). Egypt is testing new irrigation techniques to mitigate environmental restrictions on where food can be grown, since currently all agriculture must be along the Nile, specifically in the Nile Delta.
Egypt grows food, textile and lumber crops primarily. The country has been known for generations for its cotton, but Egyptian cotton is becoming less profitable, and therefore less popular to grow.  Egypt faces sustenance challenges with such a high population and such little farmland, and is making large investments in making unusable land usable enough to farm on.

 Works Cited
"Agriculture." State Information Services of Egypt. SIS.gov.eg, 20 July 2009. Web. 2 July 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sis.gov.eg%2FEn%2FTemplates%2FArticles%2FtmpArticles.aspx%3FCatID%3D342%23.VIAkWfldUuc>.

"Intensive Farming." Princeton University. Princeton.edu, n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. <https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Intensive_farming.html>.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Egypt: Population Indicators

Madison Fisher

Egypt: Population Indicators
Population Indicator for Egypt
Figure 1

Population Indicator for United States 
Figure 2

            Population is a very important part of each country. It is one of the most important aspects when trying to understand the different statistics and measurements used to figure out the population geography.
            One of the most common ways to measure change population is through the rate of natural increase or RNI. This measurement provides the annual growth rate for a country as a percentage (Rowntree). The way to find this number is by subtracting the deaths to the number of births in a given year. Some demographics use the crude birth or death rate for larger populations. This calculation is produced by dividing the gross number of births and deaths by the total population, giving you a certain number per 1000 of the population (Rowntree). Egypt’s RNI is at a 2.0 while the United State’s RNI is 0.5.
            The next indicator is the Total Fertility Rate or the TFR. This number measures the fertility of a statistically, average group of women in their childbearing years (Rowntree). The TFR will be higher if women marry at an early age and then have multiple children over a span of years. If women marry later and have few children though, the TFR will be lower. The TFR in Egypt is 2.9 and in the United States it is 1.9. Egypt is shown to have a higher TFR than the US showing that women have kids earlier and over longer periods of time.
            The best indicator of population measurements is through the younger and older populations. These statistics are shown through the percentage of the population under 15 and the percentage of population over age 65. In Egypt there are 32 kids under the age of 15 and only 4 that are above the age of 65. In the United States there are 20 kids under the age of 15 and 13 above the age of 65. This is showing that Egypt has a greater number of kids and the older generations are dying off, while in the US there is almost an equal balance of kids and older people.
            Net Migration Rates are an important statistic because is shows the amount of immigration and emigration is occurring. When the figure is positive, it means more people are entering the country, immigration, rather than leaving, emigration. When the number is negative, more people are leaving than entering. This demographic indicates the number of migrants per 1000 of the base population (Rowntree). The countries where they depend on migrants to work in their labor force will have the highest migration rate. The Net Migration Rate for Egypt is -0.5 and in the US it is 3.1. This shows that the US is having more people immigrate into their country while Egypt is having more that are emigrating.
            The last indicator of a population would be a population pyramid. This is the best because it measures the population’s age as well as the gender structure. If the country has a higher number of young people compared to the old, then it shows population growth. When there is no- growth or slow- growth, then there will be a larger number of older people then there will be of the young. This indicator can capture the structural changes in time if it transitions from fast to slow growth (Rowntree). These also indicate if there is a lack of males or females in a country and also cultural preferences for one sex. As shown in the figures, Egypt’s population pyramid shows rapid growth while the Untied States is showing slower growth.

      
                    






 


Figure 3 







                                                                            

   





Figure 4 









Works Cited
Rowntree, Lester. Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.
All Figures found in
Rowntree, Lester. Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print. 
Figure 1
Pg. 23
Figure 2
Pg. 226
Figure 3
Pg. 24
Figure 4
Pg. 231


Egypt: Globalization and Trade Agreements

Madison Fisher 
Globalization and Trade Agreements

Figure 1: Map of environmental Issues in Egypt 

         Globalization is defined as the increasing interconnectedness of people and places through converging economic, political and cultural activities (Rowntree). The economic advantage to globalization is the increase in trade agreements, but many people do not see globalization as having a negative impact on the environment. For example, in Cairo, Egypt there is a demand for housing since globalization has increased tourism, creating more demand for products and services. This in time causes stress on the environment due to the rapid increase in transportation of goods to and from the region. Another example of the negative effects of globalization on the environment is Egyptian cotton. If that is in demand, it has to be shipped and causes pollution for whatever means of travel.  Since it is in high demand, more cotton will need to be grown using natural resources to make the materials needed but if there are not enough natural resources that the environment is providing, then it will become much more difficult to produce what is needed.
            Another issue is the negative impacts on trade agreements for the environment. While most might see trading as a positive thing, there are many negative impacts that can occur. Since Egypt exports petroleum, for example, it is considered one of the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Because petroleum makes up some of the exports, foreign corporations want to form partnerships to get what resources they can. When this happens, recessions occur because of the constant need for that product or resource (Rowntree).
            Many of the issues currently in Egypt dealing with globalization and trade agreements have to do with salinization, water management, oil pollution and desertification (Egypt). First, salinization is the buildup of toxic salts in the soil and is prevalent in arid regions (Rowntree). This is dangerous to Egypt’s environment because it makes it difficult to grow or produce different resources with land quality being so poor. Next is the Egyptian water supply being polluted especially along the Aswan High Dam. This dam has caused issues because irrigation has increased the salinization and water cannot be “flushed” from the fields. Another issue surrounding the water deals with more costly fertilizers to protect the soil, collapse of a fishing industry in the Mediterranean and the filling of sediments in a Lake behind the dam (Rowntree). Lastly, Oil pollution is affecting the reefs, beaches and habitats of animals that the country may attempt to catch and sell or eat as their food source.

Works Cited

Rowntree, Lester. Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.


"Egypt." Egypt. Ed. Peter Saundry. N.p., 8 May 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

Figure 1 
Pg:219-Rowntree, Lester. Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

Egypt: Gross National Product

Madison Fisher

Gross National Product
Figure 1 
 Figure 2 

        To first understand Gross National Product (GNP), one must first know Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and how the two are connected but not the same. GDP is the value of all final goods and services produced within its borders. This is used as the traditional way of measuring a country's economy (Rowntree). GNP or Gross National Income (GNI) as it is now referred to as, is the GDP plus trade and other forms of income. This way of measuring a country's economy is not the best because it does not account for all the non-market activity, such as household work, and changes of natural resources, such as trees in forests. The fault that many people make is assuming that the GNI is consistent from year to year, but it is just a glance at how an economy is doing at a certain time. Therefore one can conclude that it is not an acceptable indicator for how the well-being or vitality of a country will have.
       All countries have different GNI, so to better help make comparisons between countries, there is a Gross National Income per Capita. This is where you divide the GNI by the country's population (Rowntree). The last term that is used in the understanding of GNI is the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) that accounts for the strengths and weaknesses for currency. When this adjustment is not accounted for, the GNI is just based on the market exchange rate and it might be inflated or deflated primarily depending on the strength or weakness of a country( Rowntree). There are shortcomings mentioned in social well-being and some of the categories in that section are Human Development Index (HDI), Poverty and Mortality, Adult Literacy and Gender Inequality.
            Egypt's GNI in 2013 was 890,333,119,901, so there has been an increase since 2010(GNI, PPP). In the Human Development Index, Egypt is one of the few countries that has a medium HDI ranking as shown in Figure 1.47 on page 38. This means that Egypt has medium life expectancy, literacy, and educational attainment, gender equality and income (Rowntree). The next category is Poverty and Mortality, which Egypt shows a 22.41/ 1000 infant mortality rate (Africa). When dealing with reading and writing, the literacy rate is at 73.9%, with females being at 65.8% and males being at 81.7% (Africa). Gender Inequality, being one of the most prevalent things in foreign countries is crazy in Egypt. The rate of unemployment for women is at 54.1%, while it is only at a measly 14.7% for males (Africa). This is due to the fact that many countries want to know the position of women to men to prove that gender inequality is in fact a common thing that occurs. 
       As shown, GNP is proven to have many shortcomings to measuring a country at one point in time. Other measures are needed to make economic development and the well-being of citizens. 


Works Cited 

"Africa:Egypt." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, 22 June 2014. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.

"GNI, PPP (current International $)." Data. World Bank Group, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2014.

Rowntree, Lester. "Chapter 1: Concepts of World Geography." Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008. 37-40. Print.

Figure 1 and 2

Egypt: Problems With Food Production

Garrett Dempsey

Problems With Food Production



Figure 1
Limited Global food production is a significant issue many countries face today. A large contributor to limited food production was The Green Revolution which turned farming into a battle to keep up with the rising population. As the population has continued to grow four main issues associated with limited global food production have become clear.
1) The first of these being local and regional problems. Due to wide spread poverty the demand for food has increased, but the lower class cannot afford it. With the poverty level of some regions people are unable to afford to produce or consume the food that is in the area.
 2) Secondly there are political problems associated with natural disasters. When a natural disaster occurs and food aid is sent to the area of need the food is not actually going to the people, but in turn the food is being distributed to allies for political reasons.
3) The next problem is globalization which occurs when more people are turning to globalized fast food other than their local and cultural foods. From this farmers are unable to sell their crops or animals to local business because the demand for them has declined.  
4) Lastly there are regions of the world that suffer the most with food shortages such as sub-Saharan Africa. Out of the 856 million of sub-Saharan Africa’s people more than one in four are undernourished making it the world’s most impacted area with food shortages (the guardian).  


Egyptian agricultural land is being lost to urbanization and weather torn lands. They face natural occurrences such as droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, and sandstorms. In 2011 Egypt lost more 11,736 hectares of agricultural land from these natural disasters (irinnews).Egypt also faces problem with supplying fresh water to its farmers which make up 32 percent of the labor force. This has forced people to center around the Nile which is the only source of fresh water in the area. The Nile has become very densely populated and is causing a strain on the resources it provides (Mongabay).
Works cited
"EGYPT: Desertification Threat to Local Food Production." IRINnews. IRIN News, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
"Egypt." Forest Data: Deforestation Rates and Related Forestry Figures. Mongabay, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.

Smith, David. "Sub-Saharan Africa Can Only Grow If It Solves Hunger Crisis – UNDP." Theguardian. The Guardian, 15 May 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.
Figure 1- http://egyptianstreets.com/2014/05/08/apocalyptic-like-sandstorm-engulfs-egypts-aswan/