49th Street and Other Stories

Hi All,
In case you're bored and want a bit of entertainment tonight, you can check out the new 49th Street and Other Stories dance video starring my sister, Michelle Joy, at the following web address:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/soundingline/49th-street-and-other-stories-a-new-dance-play

Test Tomorrow

The test has been written.  It is significantly different from the last test, in that it only has five identification questions (3 points each) and two essays (30 points each).  You will be able to choose two essay topics from a list of three.

Daily Show with Mitch Daniels

Hi All,
Thanks for your hard work.  I encourage you to watch the Daily Show with Mitch Daniels, the Republican governor from Indiana.  Here's the link:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/281200/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-wed-sep-21-2011

I actually met Mr. Daniels at an Asia Society & AmCham Shanghai conference in September 2009 in Shanghai. He is conservative who isn't afraid of speaking up for his principles.  If that is something we are going to learn how to do, it is to our benefit to watch how others perform in those difficult circumstances.

The Importance of History Education

The Education Our Economy Needs

We lag in science, but students' historical illiteracy hurts our politics and our businesses.

By NORM AUGUSTINE

In the spirit of the new school year, here's a quiz for readers: In which of the following subjects is the performance of American 12th-graders the worst? a) science, b) economics, c) history, or d) math?

With all the talk of America's very real weaknesses in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math), you might be surprised to learn that the answer—according to the federal government's National Assessment of Educational Progress—is neither science nor math. And despite what might be suggested by the number of underwater home loans, high-school seniors actually fare best in economics.

Which leaves history as the answer, the subject in which students perform the most poorly. It's a result that puts American employers and America's freedoms in a worrisome spot.

But why should a C grade in history matter to the C-suite? After all, if a leader can make the numbers, does it really matter if he or she can recite the birthdates of all the presidents?

Well, it's not primarily the memorized facts that have current and former CEOs like me concerned. It's the other things that subjects like history impart: critical thinking, research skills, and the ability to communicate clearly and cogently. Such skills are certainly important for those at the top, but in today's economy they are fundamental to performance at nearly every level. A failing grade in history suggests that students are not only failing to comprehend our nation's story and that of our world, but also failing to develop skills that are crucial to employment across sectors. Having traveled in 109 countries in this global economy, I have developed a considerable appreciation for the importance of knowing a country's history and politics.

Enlarge Image

Associated Press

The good news is that a candidate who demonstrates capabilities in critical thinking, creative problem-solving and communication has a far greater chance of being employed today than his or her counterpart without those skills. The better news is these are not skills that only a graduate education or a stint at McKinsey can confer. They are competencies that our public elementary and high schools can and should be developing through subjects like history.

Far more than simply conveying the story of a country or civilization, an education in history can create critical thinkers who can digest, analyze and synthesize information and articulate their findings. These are skills needed across a broad range of subjects and disciplines.

In fact, students who are exposed to more modern methods of history education—where critical thinking and research are emphasized—tend to perform better in math and science. As a case in point, students who participate in National History Day—actually a year-long program that gets students in grades 6-12 doing historical research—consistently outperform their peers on state standardized tests, not only in social studies but in science and math as well.

In my position as CEO of a firm employing over 80,000 engineers, I can testify that most were excellent engineers—but the factor that most distinguished those who advanced in the organization was the ability to think broadly and read and write clearly.

Now is a time to re-establish history's importance in American education. We need to take this opportunity to ensure that today's history teachers are teaching in a more enlightened fashion, going beyond rote memorization and requiring students to conduct original research, develop a viewpoint and defend it.

If the American economy is to recover from the Great Recession—and I believe it can—it will be because of a ready supply of workers with the critical thinking, creative problem-solving, technological and communications skills needed to fuel productivity and growth. The subject of history is an important part of that foundation.

Mr. Augustine, a former under secretary of the Army, is the retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin.

US International Political News

Got some good news from the Brooking Institute near Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C.  It is a non-partisan thinktank where members of both political parties often go to to give and receive expert advice from scholars and former administration officials.  Thinktanks are an important part of the Washington establishment, and Brookings is one of the most respected one of them all.

Meet the Press at Brookings - 9/11 and its Impacts Ten Years On
America's Political Dysfuctionalism Impacting its Position as the World's Sole Superpower?
Happiness Economics
US Political Dysfunction and its Impact on Asia
The PLA, the Pentagon, and Chinese Military Modernization

Happy Reading!

Dynasties of China

Here is cool video that Ms. Padilla sent me.  You will find it to be extremely entertaining and well as educational.  One of the big questions scholars have continued to ask about concerns China's reunification.  Despite periods when China was divided into smaller parts, political leaders have almost always succeeded in reuniting the entire country, starting with the Qin Dynasty.  Contrast that with Europe, which has only been united for very short periods of time.  Given that, its easy to see how such a line of questioning came about.

Here is your video:

1.8 million Years

Here is an article on how early humans used advanced tools.  It is from the Earth Institute at Columbia University.  Its important to keep things like this in perspective, especially as we begin talking about the last 350 years of human history.  We have clearly been here much longer than just 350 years... Enjoy!

Humans Shaped Stone Axes 1.8 Million Years Ago, Study Says

Evidence Pushes Advanced Tool-Making Methods Back in Time

2011-09-01

A new study suggests that Homo erectus, a precursor to modern humans, was using advanced tool-making methods in East Africa 1.8 million years ago, at least 300,000 years earlier than previously thought. The study, published this week in Nature, raises new questions about where these tall and slender early humans originated and how they developed sophisticated tool-making technology.

Early humans were using stone hand axes as far back as 1.8 million years ago. Credit: Pierre-Jean Texier, National Center of Scientific Research, France.

Homo erectus appeared about 2 million years ago, and ranged across Asia and Africa before hitting a possible evolutionary dead-end, about 70,000 years ago. Some researchers thinkHomo erectus evolved in East Africa, where many of the oldest fossils have been found, but the discovery in the 1990s of equally old Homo erectus fossils in the country of Georgia has led others to suggest an Asian origin.  The study in Nature does not resolve the debate but adds new complexity. At 1.8 million years ago, Homo erectus in Dmanisi, Georgia was still using simple chopping tools while in West Turkana, Kenya, according to the study, the population had developed hand axes, picks and other innovative tools that anthropologists call “Acheulian.”

“The Acheulian tools represent a great technological leap,” said study co-authorDennis Kent, a geologist with joint appointments at Rutgers University and Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “Why didn’t Homo erectus take these tools with them to Asia?”

In the summer of 2007, a team of French and American researchers traveled to Kenya’s Lake Turkana in Africa’s Great Rift Valley, where earth’s plates are tearing apart and some of the earliest humans first appear. Anthropologist Richard Leakey’s famous find--Turkana Boy, a Homo erectus teenager who lived about 1.5 million years ago—was excavated on Lake Turkana’s western shore and is still the most complete early human skeleton found so far.

Study co-author, Craig Feibel, is among the team of researchers that returned in 2007 to West Turkana to put dates on hand axes excavated earlier. Credit: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Six miles from Turkana Boy, the researchers headed for Kokiselei, an archeological site where both Acheulian and simpler “Oldowan” tools had been found earlier. Their goal: to establish the age of the tools by dating the surrounding sediments. Past flooding in the area had left behind layers of silt and clay that hardened into mudstone, preserving the direction of Earth’s magnetic field at the time in the stone’s magnetite grains.  The researchers chiseled away chunks of the mudstone at Kokiselei to later analyze the periodic polarity reversals and come up with ages. At Lamont-Doherty’s Paleomagnetics Lab, they compared the magnetic intervals with other stratigraphic records to date the archeological site to 1.76 million years.

“We suspected that Kokiselei was a rather old site, but I was taken aback when I realized that the geological data indicated it was the oldest Acheulian site in the world,” said the study’s lead author, Christopher Lepre, a geologist who also has joint appointments at Rutgers and Lamont-Doherty. The oldest Acheulian tools previously identified appear in Konso, Ethiopia, about 1.4 million years ago, and India, between 1.5 million and 1 million years ago.

Tools made by early humans were found at Kokiselei, Kenya, in Lake Turkana's ancient shoreline sediments pictured above. Credit: Lamont-Doherty.

The Acheulian tools at Kokiselei were found just above a sediment layer associated with a polarity interval called the “Olduvai Subchron.” It is named after Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge, where pioneering work in the 1930s by Leakey’s parents, Louis and Mary, uncovered a goldmine of early human fossils. In a study in Earth and Planetary Science Letters last year, Lepre and Kent found that a well-preserved Homo erectusskull found on east side of Lake Turkana, at Koobi Fora Ridge, also sat above the Olduvai Subchron interval, making the skull and Acheulian tools in West Turkana about the same age.

Anthropologists have yet to find an Acheulian hand axe gripped in a Homo erectus fist but most credit Homo erectus with developing the technology. Acheulian tools were larger and heavier than the pebble-choppers used previously and also had chiseled edges that would have helped Homo erectus butcher elephants and other scavenged game left behind by larger predators or even have allowed the early humans to hunt such prey themselves. “You could whack away at a joint and dislodge the shoulder from the arm, leg or hip,” said Eric Delson, a paleoanthropologist at CUNY’s Lehman College who was not involved in the study. “The tools allowed you to cut open and dismember an animal to eat it.”

The skill involved in manufacturing such a tool suggests that Homo erectus was dexterous and able to think ahead. At Kokiselei, the presence of both tool-making methods—Oldowan and Acheulian-- could mean that Homo erectus and its more primitive cousin Homo habilis lived at the same time, with Homo erectus carrying the Acheulian technology to the Mediterranean region about a million years ago, the study authors hypothesize.  Delson wonders if Homo erectus may have migrated to Dmanisi, Georgia, but “lost” the Acheulian technology on the way.

The East African landscape that Homo erectus walked from about 2 million to 1.5 million years ago was becoming progressively drier, with savanna grasslands spreading in response to changes in the monsoon rains. “We need to understand also the ancient environment because this gives us an insight into how processes of evolution work—how shifts in early human biology and behavior are potentially caused by changes in the climate, vegetation or animal life that is particular to a habitat,” said Lepre. The team is currently excavating a more than 2 million year old site in Kenya to learn more about the early Oldowan period.

The study’s other authors are: Helen Roche, Sonia Harmand, Jean-Philippe Brugal, Pierre-Jean Texier and Arnaud Lenoble at France’s National Center of Scientific Research; Rhonda Quinn, Seton Hall University; and Craig Feibel, Rutgers University.

Development Lessons from Japan and Mexico

By TOM ORLIK

Is China the next Japan or the next Mexico?

One worry for investors is that China will go the same way as Japan. Like Japan once did, China is playing a game of rapid catch-up with the U.S., with growth in output driven by high levels of investment and exports. As also happened in Japan, that growth model has led to the buildup of stress points in the domestic economy: a bubble in the real-estate sector and bad loans in the banks.

The crucial difference is the level of development. Taking 1990 as the date when Japan's growth faltered, gross domestic product per capita, measured in purchasing-power-parity terms, had already reached more than 90% of the level in the U.S. Capacity to grow by catching up was all but exhausted. The real-estate bubble burst when Japan's urbanization rate was above 60%. In an already predominantly urban society, fundamental demand wasn't strong enough to pick up the pieces.

In 2009, China's GDP per capita was 18% of that in the U.S., and the urbanization rate had just touched 50%. The contrast is clear.

Significant scope to grow by catching up to the world economic leader remains. If the ghosts towns that loom large in the bear case against China are a genuine problem, continued urbanization means fundamental demand should remain strong enough for China to grow through it at some point. A Japan-style lost decade doesn't appear to be in China's immediate future.

A more realistic threat is that China is the next Mexico. Mexico grew through exporting low-value-added goods to the U.S, without paying too much attention to niceties like improving human capital and developing an efficient financial system. But as lower-cost competitors entered the world economy, a weak education system and inefficient allocation of capital started to act as constraints on growth. China took export market share and growth stalled. Mexico's GDP per capita languishes at 28% of that of the U.S., a lower level than in the early 1980s.

Bloomberg News

Reform of the financial system has fallen by the wayside in China. Above, Chinese flags fly on boats in the Bohai New Area port zone of Cangzhou, Hebei Province, China.

Here, China might have more to worry about. Wages in the low-skill manufacturing sector are rising fast. On their current trajectory, they will double in the next five years. Low-skill jobs have already started to migrate elsewhere and will continue to do so. Public spending on education, at 3% of GDP in 2009, compares unfavorably to an average of 5% in the grouping of upper-middle-income countries to which China aspires. Reform of the financial system has fallen by the wayside as banks continue to funnel savings to low-yielding state-sponsored projects. (see Red Capitalism by Carl Walter)

To be sure, China's record of economic management is much stronger than Mexico's. And the government talks a good game about the importance of reform. But words have so far not been matched by action. In August this year, a move to bulldoze schools that provided education to the children of migrant workers in Beijing seemed emblematic of policy makers' priorities. With education part of the key to avoiding the middle-income trap, it is bulldozed schools, rather than ghost towns of empty apartments, that are the bigger threat to China's development.

Write to Tom Orlik at Thomas.orlik@wsj.com

Revolution & Enlightenment - Chapter 2

Hello,
I only received a few copies of the Chapter 1 review today before the test.  For those of you that didn't turn it in, each day it is late it will be marked down.

Furthermore, if you need to take the exam, I will be available after school tomorrow or during lunch on Thursday.

Here is the outline for Chapter 2, which I will pass out tomorrow in-class.  It includes homework questions

Revolution and Enlightenment – Chapter 2 Review

Section 1: The Glorious Revolution

Big Question: What does religious freedom mean to you?  How do you take advantage of this freedom?

Main Ideas

§       Absolutist rulers in Europe asserted that their power came from God, but in England Parliament expanded its power

§       Civil war broke out in England I 1642 and in 1649 Parliament proved victorious over the king

§       England’s Glorious Revolution created a constitutional, or limited, monarchy.

Chapter Standards

§       Define absolutism and explain the basis for the power of absolutist monarchs.

§       Identify the causes of the Glorious Revolution in England

§       Explain the effect of the Glorious Revolution on the principle of representative government

HW: pg. 182 (1, 2, 3, 5) – due 9/16

Section 2: The Enlightenment

Big Question: How does a belief in the equality of all people logically lead to certain forms of government?  Is democracy the only logical outcome of universal equality? 

Main Ideas

§       The philosophers believed that the methods of scientists could eliminate unjust laws and created a better society.

§       The philosophers’’ belief in reason promoted the early social sciences of economic and political science

§       Enlightenment ideas spread through salons and an expansion of the reading public

Chapter Standards

§       Explain how the ideas of the Scientific Revolution led to the Enlightenment

§       Describe the tenets of Enlightenment thought

§       Give details about how scientific methods were applied to the social sciences

§       Recount the reasons for the spread of Enlightenment thought

HW: pg. 189 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7) – due 9/20

Section 3: The American Revolution

Big Question: What is the relationship between the struggle for individual rights and the struggle for self-government?  Is it a cause-effect relationship or some other kind of relationship?

Main Ideas

§       In theory the British governed the colonies but colonial legislatures often acted independently

§       After the French and Indian War, new taxes angered colonists

§       Drawing on the ideas of John Locke, the Declaration of Independence severed the colonies’ ties with the British Crown

§       Americans won their independence from Britain in 1783 and later ratified a constitution that spelled out the limits of government

§       Americans worked to balance individual freedom with a united central government.

Chapter Standards

§       Identify the economic causes of the American Revolution

§       Link Enlightenment ideals to the philosophical basis of the American Revolution

§       Describe how the Constitution of the United States was created

HW: pg. 197 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) – due 9/22

Chapter Review pg. 200-201 (1-10, 23-30, 32-39) – due 9/27 (TEST DAY)

Test is Written!

Hi All,
Your test has been written.  For those of you looking for some hints, this is not the place nor the time.  But I sincerely hope that you use the questions on pg. 162 and 163 as a guide for what to expect.

There is no multiple choice, just the three sections that I talked about.  Looking forward to having a calm and quiet 7th period tomorrow.  If you finish your exam early, bring a book to read to the end of the period.

Mr. Joy

Consolidated World History - the 1400s

The Fourteen Hundreds – A Historical Overview

The year 1453 produced a host of important developments.  It marked the collapse of the Byzantine Empire.  This successor to the ancient Roman Empire fell with the success of Islamic Ottoman Turkey in taking control of Constantinople.  For many historians, the end of the Byzantine Empire also marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern era.  The argument that 1453 ends the Middle Ages is closely tied to the economic consequences of the fall of Constantinople and, incidentally, the implications of those economic consequences for Columbus’s later voyages of discovery.  The victory by the Turks meant that they were able to cut European traders off from directly exploiting land routes to the spice trade with India and beyond.  The increased costs and risks of the overland routes to Asia contributed to the search by European powers for a sea route to India, China, and Japan.  Thus, Spain’s decision to back Columbus in his quest for such a path to Asian trade followed directly from the heightened costs of overland trade brought about by the defeat of overland trade brought about the defeat of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Turks.  Spain was motivated by Ferdinand and Isabella’s interest in securing their personal hold on power and by their desire to enrich and strengthen themselves by enriching and strengthening their kingdom.  Indeed, one of the characteristics of monarch that sets it apart from modern autocracy is the closer link between the monarch’s personal welfare and the welfare of the ‘the state,’ a link that is largely absent in rigged-election autocracies. 

Other events in Europe at the time set the stage for future developments and conflicts over the next several centuries and even into our own time.  Germany – then a loose confederation of princely states – had been ruled by the Habsburg dynasty since 1273.  Habsburg rule, however, took a great leap forward in power when Frederick III became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1452.  The Holy Roman Empire was probably the most powerful secular authority in Europe at the time, with only the Catholic Church being at least as powerful.  The Habsburgs maintained their control over the Holy Roman Empire until 1806, when it ceased to exist.  Still, in the intervening centuries, German political, cultural, and military influence waned and waxed, helping to set the stage for Germany ambitions in the First and Second World Wars and perhaps even contemporary Germany’s great influence within the European Union. 

The years 1452-1453, then, witnessed the emergence of critical new powers in northern Europe and the development of southeastern Europe’s ties to Asia through Turkey.  Still other events were unfolding that helped redefine the political map and interest of Europe’s leading powers.  In the west, England and France finally resolved the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453).  At the war’s onset, England held vast territories in what today is called France.  English kings claimed the French throne just as French kings – harking back to France’s William, Duke of Normandy, who as William the Conqueror took control of England in 1066 and became its ruler – made claims on the English crown.  The French emerged victorious from the Hundred Years’ War, expelling England from almost all of its continental territories and helping to solidify France’s borders along lines close to those of modern France.  The French victory also helped define the French nationality and nationalism, a process that was already underway by 1302, when the French king, Philip the Fair, launched a war against Pope Boniface VIII and called upon the people of France to die for their country (pro patria mori).  Similar consequences for England emerged from the Hundred Years’ War.  In the process of losing the war, modern England began to take form. 

None expressed better the profound change in national self-awareness in England than did William Shakespeare in writing two centuries later about Henry V and the English success in the Battle of Agincourt (1415):

                                This day is called the feast of Crispian:

                                He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,

                                Will stand a-tiptoe when this day is named,

                                And rouse him at the name of Crispian….

                                And gentlemen in England now a-bed

                                Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

                                And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

                                That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

The Hundred Years’ War secured English national consciousness and the gradual development of an English ‘culture’ that is distinctly different from that of France.  Although England was already well on the way to establishing its common law and parliamentary government, 1453 and its aftermath mark a crucial turning point in English and French history.  The merging political institutions in England served to strengthen the Crown both at the expense of external interests – especially the Catholic Church – and internal rivals, most notably the wealthiest earls and dukes.  These institutional developments were, in other words, the product not of chance ideas but of strategic maneuvers by England’s king (and France’s as well) to make secure is own political position. 

In the northeastern part of Europe equally momentous events unfolded a quarter of a century later.  Modern Russia was born in 1480, when Ivan III, having defeated Asia’s Mongols – the heirs of Genghis Khan, created an independent Russian state.  His successor, Ivan the Terrible, then set about building a Russian empire that would make the country a major competitor for political influence throughout Europe, a position Russian maintains to this day. 

Halfway across the world other pivotal events were taking place.  Developments in modern-day Mexico in 1430 helped set the stage for some of the most significant events in the sixteenth century.  During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the then nomadic Aztecs encountered and eventually overtook the Toltec civilization in the Valley of Mexico.  The Aztecs elected their first king, Tenoch, in 1349.  He ruled for more than forty years.  During this time, control of Mexico was divided among numerous competing tribes, but in 1430 a league of three Aztec cities formed (Tenochtitlan, Texcuco, and Tlacopen) to build an empire.  The three-city league fought wars with its political rivals and fairly quickly established Aztec controls over an empire that ranged from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.  In less than a century, this empire and the imperial pursuits of Spain would clash, leading to the conquest of Mexico by Hernan Cortes in 1518 and, together with the destruction of Peru’s Inca Empire, the beginning of the European colonization of the Western Hemisphere.  

Chapter Review Questions

Also, as announced on Friday in class, your chapter review should be completed before the test on Tuesday.  It is page 162-163 (42-49, 51, 53, 56, 57, and 58).

Furthermore, for extra credit, you can read the passage on pg. 770 between Luther and Zwngli and answer the question, "Was a conclusion reached in the debate?  Why or why not?"

Finally, for students that were not in class on Friday, we did a short 15-minute essay on the human population.  Students were asked to look at the chart on pg. 764 and were asked the question, "Explain why the human population dramatically increased beginning in 1850 from a little over 1 billion to almost 7 billion today."  There is no correct answer to this prompt, but the purpose of the question is to demonstrate to the students the extreme urbanization and population density of the current global society compared to the periods we are now studying.

Chapter 1 Review

Hi All,
It has been a bit too long since I posted on here.  I sincerely hope people are checking this site, as I'm going to post some things pertinent to Tuesday's exam and to Chapter 2.

Below is a review of Chapter 1 with some expectations to what you need to know to do well on the first test.  Furthermore, because of the nature of the class, I'm going to cut back on the amount of group work we are going to do.  Before the start of every chapter expectations will be announced and review questions will be published as well, so as to reduce confusion over which book problems to complete.

The Legacy of the Ancient World – Chapter 1 Review

Section 1 – The First Civilizations

Big Question: What sparked ancient peoples’ desire to create laws that applied to everyone in their community?  What was the basis for those laws? 

Main Ideas

§       Mesopotamians adopted a law code

§       The divinity of the pharaoh contributed to the long life of Egyptian civilization

§       Judaic beliefs developed in ancient times

§       Hinduism was a conservative force in India

§       Confucius influenced basic Chinese attitudes of deference and loyalty to family

Chapter Standards

§       Define civilization and identify the characteristics of a civilization

§       Identify the codes of law that developed in ancient civilizations

§       Explain how religious beliefs developed in ancient civilizations

§       Discuss details about the caste system’s influence in ancient India.

Section 2 – The Civilization of the Greeks

Big Question: Why are some political ideas, such as democracy, live on while others are discarded? 

Main Ideas

§       The Athenian polis created a model for active citizenship and democracy

§       Greek thinkers’ legacy was a commitment to rational inquiry

Chapter Standards

§       Understand the civilization of the ancient Greeks. 

§       Describe the influence of ancient Greek political and ethical systems on modern-day systems.

§       Name important Greek philosophers who contributed to the development of Western political ideas.

Section 3 – Rome and the Rise of Christianity

Big Question: What are the pros and cons of having one religion, or one moral code, for a nation? 

Main Ideas

§       Roman standards of justice were an important contribution to the West.

§       The extend of the Roman Empire increased Roman influence in the West

§       Christianity spread rapidly through the Roman imperial network

Chapter Standards

§       Understand the contributions the Romans made to the West with their universal standards of justice

§       Discuss the expansion of the Roman Empire and the influence of Roman culture.

§       Describe how Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and became the state religion

Section 4 – New Patterns of Civilization

Big Question: Does questioning established authorities strengthen one’s own development? 

Main Ideas

§       Muhammad spread a new faith to compete the Judeo-Christian promise

§       Charlemagne united the areas where European civilization took shape

§       The Magna Carta won rights for nobles that later were extended to commoners

§       The Middle Ages reached highs and lows in European commerce, religion, and politics.

§       The Renaissance encouraged worldly pursuits and new ways of thinking

Chapter Standards

§       Define the origin and beliefs of Islam

§       Explain the effect of the Magna Cara on Western European nations

§       Describe the course of the Middle Ages in Europe.

§       Identify the causes and features of the Renaissance and the Reformation

What's Next for Libya

Given that we just did an assignment focusing on Libya, I thought it would be good to share with you something on what a couple of experts are now saying about the situation.  You can both listen to this program or you can read the transcript below.

NPR (Nation Public Radio) can be found on your radio through KHSU (90.5 FM).

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/05/140196609/whats-next-in-libya

Homework for Tomorrow (09072011)

Today, the five questions on Libya were due.  They were based on the article from the Economist.  For tomorrow, from Chapter 1 Section 3, you are to do all the reading checks as well as the section review (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8).

Section Four is entitled "New Patterns of Civilization."  For this section, please do the reading checks (pg. 154, 155, 156, 157, and 159).  Also, please complete the section review (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

I will announce which questions we will complete on the Chapter Review (pg. 162-163) in class tomorrow.

Urban Security in China - Case Study of Dalian

Dalian is a city in NE China with extensive business ties to Japan and Korea.  It was previously called Port Arthur, and has been controlled in the past by Russia and Japan.

Much of what we are talking about in the class now focuses is focused on a population that was predominately rural.  Today half the world is living in cities, with the largest cities projected to grow significantly in the next twenty years (McKinsey has a great study on this).  As such, it is important for us to examine different aspects of urban security.  The following piece was written by a man named Wen Bo.  He works in San Francisco for a Non-Governmental Organization called Pacific Environment.  I don't expect all of you to read all of this, but here it is for you to peruse if you like.

Urban Security in China - A Case Study of Dalian

By Wen Bo
September 6, 2011
This paper was commissioned as part of the Nautilus Institute 2010 Interconnections of Global Problems in East Asia Workshop in Seoul, South Korea. Participants from China, Japan, and South Korea presented on green economic growth, urban security, and energy security in each country and explored the complex relationships between these security issues.  The workshop was funded by the Korea Foundation.
Read this report online at:
http://nautilus.org/publications/essays/napsnet/reports/WenBo_Dalian_Case_Study
Nautilus invites your contributions to this forum, including any responses to this report.
--------------------
CONTENTS
I. Introduction
II. Article by Wen Bo
III. Nautilus invites your responses

I. Introduction

 

Wen Bo, Senior Fellow at the Pacific Environment China Program, examines urban security issues in China and their connection to environmental sustainability. He writes, “By encouraging civil society and promoting cooperation and exchanges with other countries Dalian can address the environmental and urban security challenge that it faces and promote peace and stability in North-East Asia.”

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Nautilus Institute.  Readers should note that Nautilus seeks a diversity of views and opinions on contentious topics in order to identify common ground.

II. Article by Wen Bo

 

-“Urban Security in China - A Case Study of Dalian”
By Wen Bo

Rapid urbanization, resource depletion, misguided urban planning, and a troubled view of economic development have created new security challenges for cities in China. Overall, the public sense of security has been reduced in the country. In the context of globalization, urban and human security are increasingly shaped by international and ecological factors. A regional, collaborative response is needed to address these security challenges. For the realization of national and regional security goals in Chinese cities, civil society is indispensable as civil society organizations actively promote public participation, international exchanges, and community solidarity. This paper will use the city of Dalian as a case study to explore the interaction between environmental and urban security issues and to discuss the potential of civil society and regional cooperation to address these security threats.

Nuclear Security & Safety

 

Nuclear security has both traditional and non-traditional security implications for China, as nuclear weapons pose both a security and environmental threat. In East Asia, the North Korean nuclear crisis is the main nuclear proliferation issue. North Korea’s nuclear program raises concerns that there is not an enforceable mechanism that can stop a state from developing nuclear weapons. North Korea's nuclear weapons also provide a convenient excuse for U.S. and Russian military deployments in the Far East. Environmentally, North Korea's nuclear tests are an immediate environmental threat to its closest neighbors, China and South Korea. The possibility of contamination from nuclear radiation should not be underestimated.

The security and environmental threats posed by the North Korean nuclear program mean that Chinese cities located adjacent to North Korea, such as Dalian, have an urgent need to support the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. International constraints have proven to be ineffective against North Korea and nuclear proliferation risks remain, including a high risk of nuclear technology and/or fissile material falling into the hands of extreme militants. Since Dalian also shares a maritime boundary with North Korea, the region’s maritime police and navy should investigate and deter the trafficking of nuclear materials. Environmentally, further North Korean nuclear tests could cause pollution and radiation that would negatively affect cities in Northeast China.

China and neighboring countries also use nuclear technology to meet energy demands. Both South Korea and Japan have had safety incidents at their nuclear powers plants, most notably the recent nuclear meltdown at Fukushima in Japan. The first nuclear power project to be completed in northeast China, the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant, is located in Dalian's Wafangdian area. While nuclear technology has become relatively more mature since Chernobyl and safety management has greatly improved, the Fukushima nuclear accident demonstrates that nuclear security is a very real threat in the region. Radioactive waste, on-site storage, and transport to remote storage sites in Northwest China pose great dangers for present and future generations. Dalian, located on the Liaodong Peninsula, has geographical limitations that would make it very difficult for any large-scale evacuation in the event of a serious nuclear accident.

In addition to the nuclear security issues related to a meltdown at a nuclear power plant, nuclear facilities have other environmental consequences. There are concerns that the Hongyanhe Nuclear Power Plant, once operational, would increase the water temperature in the surrounding sea water. The change of water temperature could have negative impacts on local marine life. For example, China's spotted seal only breeds in Liaodong Bay, near the under-construction nuclear power plant. An increase in temperature could lead to loss of ice shelf, which is important to seals and cubs that use floating ice as a "boat" during migration. Spotted seals in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Seas are keystone species in the food chain and are an indicator of the overall health of the marine ecosystem. Threats to the seals reveal the impact the nuclear power station would have on the marine environment, and will determine if human activity in the region has exceeded the carrying capacity of the marine ecosystem.

Urban Resources & Energy Security

 

The future of resource dependent cities is closely tied to their supply of natural resources. In the past, over exploitation of fossil fuels has not only wasted huge quantities of valuable, non-renewable resources, but has also created serious pollution problems.

Dalian's own natural advantage is its busy seaport. For over a century, Dalian prospered on its trade, maritime transportation, shipbuilding, and other industries. However, that changed in 2005, when Dalian positioned itself as the new world-class center for the petrochemical industry, turning Dalian into an environmental time-bomb. In July 2010, Dalian Port experienced one of the most severe marine oil spills in Chinese history, a serious wake-up call for the city. This forced the city’s government to reexamine its policy of having the petrochemical industry as a strategic pillar of industry in Dalian. Furthermore, the ecological loss caused by petrochemical pollution is hard to reverse. Dalian, a honeymoon and holiday destination for Chinese tourists, will pay a high price in economic and social consequences for this pollution. The gain from developing the petrochemical industry sector was not worth the costs.

Surrounded by the sea on three sides, Dalian's fisheries should be another important natural resource. Once very rich, the Bohai and Yellow Seas are now facing the collapse of their fisheries. Red tide and land-based pollution have compounded the ocean crisis. Aquatic pollution has also demonstrated the inadequacy of food safety and the impact of pollution on human health. At the same time, over-fishing, aquaculture, and excessive coastal development have made the ecosystem unable and unfit to sustain the survival of Dalian.

The environmental security threats have moved in-land from the port and now threaten rural areas near Dalian. The Dalian sea cucumber industry which developed in recent years has also brought on a number of environmental security concerns. Some coastal areas that are for the development of sea cucumber farming have raised coastal dams and pumped sea water inland along the coasts. These practices have caused salt water to intrude into local ground water. This has led to the contamination of well water used for drinking in many rural villages in the region. In addition, most of sea cucumber aquaculture owners do not have the capacity for sewage treatment, further polluting coastal waters.

In addition to environmental security risks, pollution and over-fishing have led to conflict with China’s neighbors and risk to those who work in the fishing industry. Due to the collapse of fishery stocks in the Yellow Sea, fishermen sometimes cross the boundaries of neighboring country's exclusive economic zones to poach illegally, leading to confrontations with foreign maritime police and international disputes. Meanwhile, the lack of fishery resources has pushed Dalian’s offshore fishing fleets into dangerous high seas, leading to additional hardship.

In February 2011, the media reported that some Dalian sea cucumber aquaculture enterprises had reached an agreement with Russia to develop the Kuril Islands, which are under Russian control but have been claimed as Japanese territory. The deal created an uproar in the Japanese government and led to public discontent in Japan. These incidents demonstrate that the Dalian government needs to more carefully navigate regional disputes and avoid becoming entangled in, or otherwise to contribute to, regional conflicts or political issues between states.

Environmental Security

 

Dalian is pushing the limits of its ecological carrying capacity. Water is Dalian's number one security concern. Dalian's drinking water mainly comes from the Biliu and Yingna Rivers. In recent years, due to climate change and frequent droughts, rainfall has decreased. The total amount of freshwater resources in Dalian is 3.786 billion cubic meters per year. The maximum population this amount of water can support, urban and rural, is ten million people, a number that Dalian will soon pass. In the case of Dalian’s city proper, water resources have already reached the level of scarcity experienced during the severe droughts of the early 1990s. With the current urban expansion combined with the inflow of population from outside Dalian, this area will soon reach its population limits and inevitably force some people to live without basic natural resources such as water, a situation often referred to as ecological poverty. Lack of water has become one of the most serious bottlenecks for the survival and development of Dalian.

Water PollutionWater pollution is also a major health threat to local residents. The majority of the freshwater bodies near Dalian suffer from the stress of pollution. As a source of drinking water, the Biliu River has not been well protected. Scores of gold mines are located along the river. These mines use highly toxic cyanide in their operations and the random tailing piles of waste from the mines often run directly into the Biliu River. Not only have the fish disappeared, the water quality has deteriorated and frequent cases of cancer and other diseases have been found in local villages. The Anshan Xiuyan Tire Factory operates upstream of Dalian on the Yingna River. Industrial and household wastes are being dumped directly into the river, but the upstream regions of both the Biliu and the Yingna rivers are outside the administrative jurisdiction of Dalian, so it is beyond the reach of the city government to legislate. Environmental remediation is in need of public support and strong intervention from the provincial and central governments.

Air PollutionAir Pollution is becoming the new killer in the city of Dalian. Time magazine once wrote an article describing the air of Dalian as "so clean that you cannot see it", but, with a growing number of family cars the air quality in Dalian has dropped. According to Dalian Environmental Protection Agency, during the first half of 2011, respirable particles in the air increased significantly, with an average 40% higher than last year. As of early 2011, Dalian has 0.9 million vehicles, of which 60 percent are private cars, with the annual growth rate of car ownership as high as 15%.

Climate ChangeDalian’s major vulnerability to the impacts of climate change will be agricultural output. Climate change will lead to uneven distribution of rainfall, reduction of forest coverage, and deterioration of the wetland ecosystem. This will result in drought conditions in a growing area of farmland, which will affect food security in Dalian. In addition, increased pests, agricultural diseases caused by climate change, and a reduction of natural predators to control pests will force farmers to use pesticides more regularly and widely. Hence, food safety cannot be guaranteed.

BiodiversitySpecies extinction is another challenge Dalian has to face. Dalian is located in the Siberia - Australia flyway, a migration route which serves as an important stopover for millions of birds. The city itself is known for hosting the most bird species in China. However, with the Dalian government now embracing a strategy of urbanizing entire territories and expanding new industrial zones, large numbers of mountainous areas, natural forests, wetlands, and coastal areas will be destroyed, threatening birds and wildlife habitats. "Today birds, tomorrow men" is a bird conservation motto based on sound scientific evidence. Birds are irreplaceable creatures for maintaining the balance of nature and helping with ecological restoration such as seeding plants and trees as well as controlling pests. The loss of habitat for migratory birds will inevitably lead to a sharp decline in bird population and could even drive them to extinction.

As noted earlier in this article, Dalian is home to the spotted seal. However, the spotted seal sanctuaries are now being destroyed by industrial and petrochemical development on Changxing Island. Other threats to seal habitats include the aforementioned Hongheyan Nuclear Power Plant, oil pollution and over-fishing. Species extinction has consequences not only for the ecological balance, but also for the health of the planet and human survival.

Urban Development Security

 

China's urban population is rapidly growing. This process is the largest urbanization movement in human history. However, urban problems are becoming more and more pronounced as a part of this process. Epidemic diseases, waste disposal, traffic congestion, and lack of available housing add to the stress of rapid urbanization. The development of a city is not without limits. Cities are subject to the availability of resources such as water, land and food as well as economic realities, environmental carrying capacity, and many other factors. Dalian's economic policies are now being influenced by private interest groups such as real estate developers. The investment and construction of new industrial parks will lead to unpredictable environmental damage that will result in economic losses in the future. First of all, the increased urban population is concentrated in Dalian city proper. Little effort has been made to spread out the concentrated population. New residential buildings in Dalian city are mostly high-rises, which increase the city’s population density. Urban expansion from Dalian to Lushun, a scenic port district, has severely damaged the beautiful surrounding mountains and forests.

In addition to the damage to the natural beauty of Dalian, this development has also negatively impacted some of the historic areas of the city. Little attention has been given to preservation of significant or notable buildings and districts. Many places of historical interest, such as the century-old Fengming Street, have been torn down, diminishing not only historical relics, but also the value of the city. Dalian is a popular tourist destination and was named as the most livable Chinese city, but as it has had its cultural and natural heritage destroyed, it is losing a resource that supports the city's economic security and ability to seek international investment.

Exploring Possible Responses to Urban Security

 

To respond to urban security problems, it is essential to establish the rule of law and promote adequate law enforcement. At the same time, according to China's own conditions and cultural traditions, efforts must also focus on improving community education. General educational improvements will expand the capacity of social services and could also reduce unemployment, promote workers' skills, and thereby increase employment and social harmony and reduce social instability.

Public participation and civil society groups are also crucial in the promotion of urban security. Urban security issues face all citizens regardless of their origins. It has deeper and broader implications. Protecting the environment, preventing epidemic diseases, and supporting disaster relief need contributions and participation from the general public. The value of civil society in these activities is undeniable. Public institutions and NGOs have assisted governments and the international community in numerous ways to address security threats. Their contributions are positive and profound. The governments of Chinese cities and agencies at all levels should be more tolerant to the existence of civil society organizations and accept the goodwill of international NGOs.

Regional and international cooperation at the local level is critical in coping with urban security issues. Many of the threats one city faces are the same threats confronting other urban areas, both in developed and developing countries. As China Foreign Affairs University scholar Wang Fan pointed out, "non-traditional security is transnational. Its universality determines that not a single country can solve it, nor can one's security can be achieved at the expense of other country's security."

If we take the city of Dalian as an example of the ways a city is impacted by and can help address urban security issues, we can see that the city could benefit from strengthened cooperation with cities in Japan and South Korea, and learn from the experiences in urban management and development in these and other developed countries. By encouraging civil society and promoting cooperation and exchanges with other countries Dalian can address the environmental and urban security challenge that it faces and promote peace and stability in North-East Asia.

III. Nautilus invites your responses

 

The Northeast Asia Peace and Security Network invites your responses to this essay. Please send responses to: bscott@nautilus.org. Responses will be considered for redistribution to the network only if they include the author's name, affiliation, and explicit consent.
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