industrial geography - part ii

8/8/2019 Industrial Geography - Part II

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/industrial-geography-part-ii 1/79



Renewable resource crises

Primary industries can be particularlydestructive Gouge huge open-pit mines

Endanger renewable resources such as forestand fisheries

Deforestation is an ongoing process thatbegan at least 3000 years ago In the last half-century, a third of the world¶s forest

cover has been lost

Lumber use tripled between 1950 and 1998




Loss of the tropical rain forest

Occurring in both Eastern and Western

Hemispheres




Loss of the tropical rain forest

Most intensive clearing is in the East Indies and Brazil, and

commercial lumber interests are largely responsible)

Canadians and Americans can only hypocritically chastiseother countries since their own west coast mid-latitude rain

forests continue to suffer severe damage because of

lumbering

F oreign rather than Brazilian interests now hold logging

right to nearly 30 million acres of Amazonian rain forest Even forests converted to scientifically managed ³tree

farms´ destroys natural ecosystems




Overfishing

A problem compounded by pollution

Total fish catch of all countries combined rose from 84

million metric tons in 1984 to 110 million a decade later causing some species to decline

Salmon in Pacific coastal North America

Cod in Maritime Provinces of Canada have reached a

biological crisis

Caused a catastrophic recession in the Newfoundland codindustry

Some experts forecast a collapse of the world fisheries in

the near future



Acid rain

In today¶s world, 84 percent of energy is generatedby burning fossil fuels

Acid rain is capable of poisoning fish, damaging

plants, and diminishing soil fertility This problem has been intensively studied in

Germany, one of the world¶s most completelyindustrialized nations In 1982 only 8 percent of forests in western Germany

showed damage By 1990 over half the forests showed damage

Only a crash program of pollution control and energyconservation can now save Germany¶s woodlands



Acid rain

The Czech Republic faces a comparable problem

In North America the effects of acid rain areaccumulating Over 90 lakes in the Adirondack Mountains of New York

were devoid of fish life by 1980 In eastern Canada, 50,000 lakes face a similar fate

Recent studies suggest acid rain now causes mass killingsof marine life along the northeastern coast of the UnitedStates and forests in the Appalachians

Oxides of nitrogen seem to be the principal culprit incoastal waters Impact has been noted in Chesapeake, Delaware, and

Narragansett bays

Long Island Sound is also feeling the effects



Industrial Pollution:

British Columbia, Canada




British Columbia, Canada While emissions from

pulp and paper mills

are degradable, the

foul-smelling sulfur compounds will be

broken down only very

slowly by plants and

microorganisms.Meanwhile they pollute

both air and water.




British Columbia, Canada Lumbering contributes to

deforestation, and since

sulfur oxides contribute to

acid rain, this forestry-

related manufacturingprocess also contributes to

deforestation.

Mid-latitude coasts are

especially vulnerable since

acid rain has severe effects

on the windward slopes

covered with clouds and

fogs.



Acid rain

Much of the pollution in Canada is caused by

American pollution

Canadian government has asked the United

States to take action in stopping pollution

United States government has not confronted the

problem



The Greenhouse effect and ozone

depletion Greenhouse effect is also produced by the

burning of fossil fuels

Brings possibility of catastrophic change to Earth¶s

climate

Every year billions of tons of carbon dioxide (C02)

are produced worldwide, 50 times that produced

in 1860

Destruction of rain forests adds huge additional

amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere

Chemical composition of the air is being altered




depletion Greenhouse effect is also produced by the

burning of fossil fuels Carbon dioxide is only one of the absorbing gases

involved in the greenhouse effect Permits solar shortwave heat radiation to reach Earth¶s

surface

Acts to block or trap long-wave outgoing radiation

Causes a thermal imbalance and global heating

The result at worst, could be a runaway buildup of solar heat that would evaporate all water andmake any form of life impossible




depletion Greenhouse effect is also produced by the burning

of fossil fuels

A lesser result could warm the global climate only enough

to melt or partially melt the polar icecaps Cause sea levels to rise as much as hundreds of feet

Inundate the world¶s coastlines

Worst-case scenario for the year 2030 seems to include a

climatic warming to the level known 4 million years ago

The year 1997 was the warmest year ever recorded

The decade of the 1987 to 1997 also experienced the

highest average temperatures in history for a 10-year span




depletion Some researchers deny we are experiencing global

warming We lack good weather records for all but the recent past

If the climate is becoming warmer, the causes cannot

conclusively be determined at this time Many experts believe the greenhouse effect will be

accompanied by major changes in precipitation Some climatic models predict global warming would make

the tropics drier

Also predict the middle and higher latitudes would bewetter

Violent weather may also increase, and evidence suggeststhis may already be occurring




depletion Potentially more serious is the depletion of

the upper-atmosphere ozone layer

Acts to shield all forms of life from the most

harmful types of solar radiation

Freon used in refrigeration and air conditioning is

a major culprit

Most industrialized countries contribute large

amounts of chemicals contributing to the problem




depletion Potentially more serious is the depletion of the

upper-atmosphere ozone layer Recent research suggests the problem may be worse than

believed

In 1995, ozone levels in the Arctic high latitudes fell by one-third

Ozone hole was first detected over the Antarctic during the1980s

Greenpeace, and other organizations, warn ozonedepletion now threatens the future of all forms of life on

Earth Our modern industrial way of life may prove a

maladaptive strategy in terms of cultural ecology



Radioactive pollution

Potentially the most serious, though invisible

Catastrophe at Chenobyl in Ukraine on April

26, 1986

All lands within a 18-mile radius of destroyed

reactor were evacuated and remain uninhabited

today

Sizable swaths across Europe were bombardedwith different kinds of radioactive isotopes

Cesium-137 has a half-life of 30 years attacks entire

human body




Sizable swaths across Europe were bombarded

with different kinds of radioactive isotopes

Iodine-131 with a half-life of 8.1 days collects in the

thyroid gland Some estimates place amounts of cesium-137 released

as equivalent to at least 750 Hiroshima atomic bombs

Ultimately, a sizable part of both Ukraine and Belarus

may be declared unfit for human habitation

Tens of thousands of people could die from exposure toradiation caused by this single catastrophe




The term ³national sacrifice area´ is now

heard in governmental circles as a potential

euphemism for districts rendered

permanently uninhabitable by radiationpollution

Mark Corson speaks of ³hazardcapes´ to

describe such places



The ´Greensµ

Pollution crises such as oil spills have led

people to political activism

People who have become so distressed by

industrially caused environmental problems

they have become activists, or Greens

In Europe, ³green´ political parties now exist

in countries such as Germany



The ´Greensµ

Publication of the Green Index is one

reflection of increased concern in North

America

Organizations such as the Sierra Club and

Greenpeace operate as political lobbyists for

environmental causes



Culture Regions

Industrial Regions

Diffusion of the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Ecology Industrial Cultural Integration

Industrial Landscapes



Labor supply

Labor-intensive industries ² those for whichlabor costs form a large part of totalproduction costs

Include industries depending on skilled workersproducing small objects of high value ²computers, cameras, and watches

Manufacturers consider several characteristics of labor in deciding where to locate Availability of workers with necessary skills

Average wages

Worker productivity



Labor supply

Labor-intensive industries ² those for which labor

costs form a large part of total production costs

In recent decades, increasing mobility of labor throughout

the Western world has lessened locational influence of labor

Migration of labor increased after 1950, in Europe and U.S.

In Europe, large numbers of workers migrated south to north

Workers left homes in Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and

Balkan states for employment in European manufacturing belt



Labor supply

Labor-intensive industries ² those for which

labor costs form a large part of total

production costs

High-tech and ³information industries´ often locate

near major researchuniversities

Offer a source of skilled innovative laborers

Offer an attractive intellectual setting in which to live



Labor supply



production costs

Industries dependent on largely unskilled labor

tend to relocate to economically depressed rural

areas

Labor can be trained quickly and cheaply

Can result in higher profits

Large supply of cheap labor



Labor supply



production costs

Much industry went to ³Norma Rae-Ville´ in

American South for above reasons

Today, principal relocations go to less-developed

countries such as northern Mexico, along its

border with the United States



Labor supply

A new global division of labor seems to be in the

works

Behind these changes lies strategic thinking by directors of

global corporations

As early as the mid-1970s, 298 American-based global

corporations employed up to 25 percent of their workers

outside the United States

Such factories quickly drive up corporate profit margins

Shift of production to faraway lands has a weakening effecton organized labor inside the United States



Markets

Type of market being served can affect location of

industries

Makers of farm machinery cater to a more dispersed body

of consumers, giving them a greater freedom of choice in

location

Specialized high-tech manufacturers often have one or two

principal customers and tend to locate near this market

Clustering in cities pulls manufacturers to urban centers



Markets

Greatest market potential exists where thelargest numbers of people live

Once an industry locates in a particular place,

it provides additional jobs and attractslaborers to the area

Additional population in turn creates a larger localmarket

Other industries are then attracted to the area An agglomeration is then created as the end

result



Markets

Industrial districts develop through

agglomeration

Creates a snowballing effect

Difficult to control in free-enterprise systems

Can produce serious overcrowding and an

excessively clustered population

Intense concentration of industries andpopulation is characteristic of most

industrialized nations



The political element

Governments often intervene directly in

decisions concerning industrial location

Desire to establish strategic, militarily important

industries that would otherwise not develop

Decrease vulnerability to attack by scattering

industry

Place vital strategic industries in remote locations,

removed from possible war zones

Diversifying industries to create self-sufficiency




Governments often intervene directly in

decisions concerning industrial location

Bring industrial development and higher standard

of living to poverty- stricken provinces

Halt agglomeration effect in existing industrial

areas

Most Often governments intervene in certain

socialist countries, such as China

Some intervention can be found in most every

industrial nation




Examples of industry being scattered by

governments

Major industrial complex in the Ural Mountains

deep inside Russia was in response to Germanmilitary advance in 1941

For strategic reasons, the U.S. government during

WW II encouraged development of an iron and

steel industry in Utah American aircraft similarly became dispersed by

government policy




Local and state governments often directly

influence industrial location

Grant tax concessions to persuade industries to

locate in their areas

Also can act to prevent industries viewed as

undesirable

Brewery ² where influential local church leaders hold

prohibitionist views Development of pollution-prone industries




Another type of government influence comes

in the form of tariffs

Import-export quotas

Political obstacles to free movement of labor and

capital

Various types of hindrance to transportation

across borders

Reduce size of a market area proportional to

amount of tariff imposed




Free-trade blocs ² groups of nations that

have banded together economically and

abolished most tariffs

European Union (EU)

Composed of 15 nations

Succeeded in abolishing tariffs within its area

North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA), joined the U.S., Canada, and

Mexico



Industrialization and cultural change

Industrialization is the most potent and

effective agent of cultural change in modern

times

Entire cultures have been reshaped

Traditions thousands of years old have been

discarded almost overnight

Has caused much of the replacement of folk

culture by popular culture




Perhaps the principal cultural change and

subsequent cornerstone of Western civilization was

the concept of technology-based progress

By-product of continual invention and change Many people discarded notions of heaven and afterlife to

accept the belief in a better future on Earth

Industrial society became more secularized

Optimism bred of faith in progress allowed industrial

cultures to discard, perhaps unwisely, ³the ageless fear of the greater power and potency of nature´




On a more prosaic level, changes wrought by

industrialization include:

Increased interregional trade and intercultural

contact Basic alterations in employment patterns

A shift from rural to urban residence for vast

numbers of people

Release of women from the home

Ultimate disappearance of child labor




On a more prosaic level, changes wrought by

industrialization include:

Initial increase in rate of population growth followed by a

drop to unprecedented low birth rates

Increased individual mobility and mass migrations of

people

Decline of the multigeneration family

Greatly increased educational opportunities for the

nonwealthy Increase of government influence and functions

Most basic change is the way people make their living



Culture Regions

Industrial Regions

Diffusion of the Industrial Revolution

Industrial Ecology

Industrial Cultural Integration

Industrial Landscapes



Industry creates a landscape, not for

beauty, but for profit and utility

Primary industries exert perhaps the most

drastic impact on the land

May contain slag heaps

Strip-cut commercial forests

Massive strip-mining scars

Gaping open-pit mines





Primary industries exert perhaps the most

drastic impact on the land

Open ³forests´ of oil derricks

Geographer Richard Francaviglia calls these³hard places´

He feels they accurately reflect much of what we

in the Western world value-competition, risk

taking, and dominion over nature





Other primary industries please the eye andcomplement nature Fishing villages of Portugal or Newfoundland even attract

tourists

In other cases, efforts are made to restore the landscape Establishment of grasslands in old strip-mine areas

Recreational ponds in old borrow pits along interstates

Artificial grasslands are inexpensive for mining companiesto establish

Poor and potentially toxic for cattle grazing Dominated by exotic Eurasian grasses

Concentrated in areas that bore a forest cover before mining





The most obvious factory building landscapesare found in secondary industry or

manufacturing

Some are imaginatively designed and welllandscaped

Others are surrounded by gray seas of parkinglots

Range from the futuristic to stark ³brick-pilefactories to award-winning structure designed byfamous architects





The most obvious factory building landscapes

are found in secondary industry or

manufacturing

Some are imaginatively designed and welllandscaped

Others are surrounded by gray seas of parking

lots

Range from the futuristic to stark ³brick-pile

factories to award-winning structure designed by

famous architects



Industrial Landsape, Lanzhou, China




In 1949, as part of adecentralization effort,Lanzhou was designated for industrialization.

A former Silk Road oasis, itfunctioned as a caravanstop and garrison.

Now it is northwest China¶sprincipal industrial base withrefineries, coal and

petrochemical complexes,metal processing andmachine-making factories,and textile mills.




An important military base,it is also a key center for China¶s atomic energyindustry.

Lanzhou¶s population hasswelled to more than 2million.

Air pollution is worse inmost Western cities withsulfur-dioxide emissions

from the combustion of low-quality coal in factories andhousehold stoves a major contributor.



Manufacturing landscapes initially

appeared in Britain

Poets and artists of the eighteenth and nineteenthcenturies reacted strongly to the emerginglandscape Geographers Peters and Anderson studied their works

After an early period of optimism, some poets and artistsquickly sensed something amiss in the landscape

Their warning, in the form of paintings and poems, beganappearing in the 1775 to 1800 period

Some artists left paintings that convey a sinister, forbidding,

unpleasant landscape

Much of the British industrial region was alreadyknown as the ³Black Country´



Manufacturing landscapes initially

appeared in Britain

Douglas Porteous from Yorkshire, England, coined

the word to pocide, meaning the deliberate, planned

killing of a place for benefits of industry

Geographer Shane Davies, son of the Welsh coalfields, had a nostalgic view

He lamented the deliberate government-supported

obliteration of the defunct mining landscape after 1930

He felt there would soon be nothing left of the mining

landscape

He felt that Britain seeks ³to sanitize landscapes pillaged

while forging an industrial empire´



Service industries produce a landscape

Includes visual elements as diverse as high-risebank buildings, hamburger stands, ³siliconlandscapes,´ and concrete and steel webs of highways and railroads

Some highway interchanges can be described asmodern art forms

Perhaps the high point of the tertiary landscape isfound in bridges

Many are often graceful and beautiful structures Few sights of the industrial age can match a well-designed

rail or highway bridge



Age of the automobile

Early in the twentieth century vehicles began

to displace walking

Los Angeles is the ultimate automobile city

The freeway system allows motorists to observe

their surroundings at nonstop speeds

Allows drivers to look down on the world

In some areas, streets actually have no sidewalksat all



Age of the automobile

Los Angeles is the ultimate automobile city

In other areas, the layout of main avenues has

been planned with the car in mind

Pedestrians feel ill at ease amid the noise, traffic jams, drive-in banks, and parking lots

Shopping streets are no longer scaled to

pedestrians ² Los Angeles¶s Ventura Boulevard

extends for 15 miles



Reading the Landscape:

Vancouver, Canada




Vancouver, Canada Vancouver is a major port

on the west coast of North America. Canadian wheatis transported by rail to theVancouver Wheat Pool¶s

storage elevators fromwhere it is shipped aroundthe Pacific Rim. Therailway cars are designed tocarry wheat.

Note how rail lines, truckroutes, warehouses andshipping facilitiesagglomerate here.




Vancouver, Canada

There are container ships,

loading cranes and a variety

of containers, some of

which are refrigerated to

carry products such as fish. Fishing boats and seafood

packing plant are in the

foreground.

There is a sugar refinery in

front of the grain elevators.




Vancouver, Canada

The large white ship reflects

that Vancouver is a key

stop on Alaska cruise

routes.

Which industrial sectors arerepresented in this picture?

What kinds of spatial

interaction between

Vancouver and other parts

of the world are evidenthere?

industrial geography - part ii

Documents