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Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Unit 1 Introduction, page 1

Table of Contents

Unit 1: World Issues: An Overview

Lesson 1: Understanding World Issues

Lesson 2: World Population: Change and Challenge

Lesson 3: Population Analysis

Lesson 4: Rich World, Poor World

Lesson 5: Global Migration

Unit 2: Resource Issues

Lesson 6: Global Resources: Reality and Crisis

Lesson 7: Feeding the World

Lesson 8: Fresh Water: A Thirsty World

Lesson 9: The Fragile Forests

Lesson 10: Global Energy: The World’s Needs and Future

Unit 3: Political and Environmental Issues

Lesson 11: A Geopolitical World

Lesson 12: Global Warming

Lesson 13: Oceans Around the World

Lesson 14: Urbanization and Global Cities

Lesson 15: Economic Globalization

Unit 4: Social Issues

Lesson 16: Gender Issues in Different Parts of the World

Lesson 17: Global Infectious Diseases

Lesson 18: The State of the World’s Youth

Lesson 19: Global Tourism Issues

Lesson 20: Global Issues: My Final Report

You are here

Unit 1 Introduction, page 2 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

Introduction This unit will introduce you to many of the complex challenges and changes humans currently face, no matter where they live on this planet. By asking questions and applying a process of geographic inquiry, you will be able to study important global questions, gain an overview of some of the challenges facing people in all parts of the world, and at the same time get an idea of where you fit in this global picture.

In Lesson 1, you will follow through an issue of significant concern—poverty in Africa—and have the opportunity to apply what you have learned to another issue of your choice. Lesson 2 addresses an issue that affects many: population growth. You will look at its impact on the world, with regions of too many people in some places and yet not enough in others.

Lesson 3 considers two countries with different population problems: China has experienced massive population growth while Russia has a declining population. In Lesson 4, you will examine the widening gap between the rich and the poor, analyze why there are such differences, and look at how the world is addressing the huge problem of poverty. Lesson 5 examines global migration. Large numbers of people from all over the world are on the move. You will examine the reasons for this and the routes they take.

When you have completed Unit 1, you will have studied some fundamental world issues and the impact they have on many others.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Unit 1 Introduction, page 3

Overall Expectations

After completing this unit, you will be able to

• explain how Earth’s natural and human systems are interconnected in multiple, complex ways

• analyze the causes and effects of economic disparities around the world

• compare the cultural, economic, and political aspirations of selected groups and the effects of their actions on local, national, and global geographic issues

• analyze the impact of selected global trends on people and environments at the local, national, and global level

• analyze the influences that increase interdependence of countries around the world

• analyze instances of international co-operation and conflict and explain the factors that contributed to each

• analyze trends and predict changes in the human use of Earth and its resources

• use the methods and tools of geographic inquiry to locate, gather, evaluate, and organize information

• analyze and interpret data gathered through research and investigation, using a variety of methods and geotechnologies

• communicate the results of geographic inquiries, using appropriate terms and concepts and a variety of forms and techniques

1 CGW4U-A

Understanding World Issues

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 1

Introduction In this lesson, you will be introduced to the term “issue” and what it means when applied to today’s events and developments. You will learn that issues confronting this planet are complex and controversial, and have multiple causes and several possible solutions. You will be given a framework to study issues. This will enable you to see the whole picture, not just small, one-sided views, and gain a better insight into these complex issues. To help you understand the framework, a case study—poverty in Africa—will be analyzed. Once you have learned how to analyze a case study, you will be able to discuss other global issues with confidence and better understanding.

What You Will Learn

After completing this lesson, you will be able to

• define the term “issue” when applied to global events and developments

• identify the social, economic, cultural, political, or ecological impacts of selected geographic issues

• identify a geographic issue at both local and international levels

• explain who are stakeholders in any issue and what their different positions may be

• compare and contrast various stakeholders’ perspectives on a given issue

• distinguish between opinion, argument, and fact when researching a topic

• ask a question that will lead into research about a global issue

• identify the educational requirements, job descriptions, current opportunities, and future prospects for selected careers that require geographical knowledge and skills

Lesson 1, page 2 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

• use an accepted form of academic documentation to acknowledge all information sources, including electronic sources

Glossary of Key Terms

The following terms are in bold in the lesson.

bias: formation of an opinion based on a one-sided selection of facts.

cash crops: crops that are grown to earn export profits rather than to feed local people.

disenfranchised: people who lack political power to influence decision making.

environmental refugees: people who have been forced to flee their homeland due to environmental crises such as desertification and the resulting famines.

evidence: facts that are used to support an opinion.

fact: something that can be proven to be true.

Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC):

poor countries that have been identified as having a severe debt burden that makes development difficult. These countries are being granted debt relief under conditions established by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Horn of Africa: the eastern portion of sub-Saharan Africa that juts out like a horn. It includes the countries of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti.

land degradation or desertification:

process of erosion and drying of the land leading to desert conditions and loss of farmland.

opinion: an idea that cannot be proven and therefore is subject to argument or debate.

primary sources: first-hand records of an event, such as photographs or diaries.

Sahel: the grassland region of Africa directly south of the Sahara Desert, which is most subject to desertification.

secondary sources: summaries and interpretations of information from primary sources.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 3

sub-Saharan countries: countries of Africa that are south of the Sahara Desert; these countries are usually grouped together for statistical purposes due to common circumstances and issues.

tertiary sources: presentations of material that have used secondary sources. As the source moves away from primary sources, greater distortion and inaccuracy is possible in the interpretation.

Lesson 1, page 4 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

“Issues”: Understanding and Use When viewed from space, the Earth looks serene and beautiful. Compared to the greys of the moon, and the orange-brown of Mars, the Earth’s predominant blue colour looks bright and inviting. Its swirling clouds and oceans suggest a perfect place for life. As you will learn, however, issues and problems within the Earth’s environment threaten to harm or even destroy it as a home for human and all other species.

Canadians live in the second-largest country on this planet, and have a significant interest in the health and prosperity of a global environment shared with more than six billion other people. Massive problems such as lack of fresh water, global warming, conflict, mismanaged resources, and poverty threaten this existence, and require an understanding of what is happening. These problems are world issues. What is the definition of “issue” when it is a world issue?

An issue is generally something that causes concern. There may be concern about the number of people living in poverty around the edges of growing cities, or on the margins of deserts. There may be concern about the recent increase in the number of storms, hurricanes, and abnormal weather conditions. There may be concern about the increased amount of terrorist activity around the world.

World issues also have complex causes. It is difficult to pick an issue and simply state its cause. For example, what causes the extremes of weather occurring around the world? Some scientists suggest that the atmosphere is warming up due to the release of “greenhouse gases” such as carbon and methane into the atmosphere. Others suggest they are part of the normal fluctuations of global temperatures as the Earth moves in and out of ice ages, and that the atmosphere is now warming naturally. Who is to be believed? What causes the world’s deserts to expand in size, with devastating consequences for those living around them? Trees once covered 40 percent of Ethiopia; today they cover just 4 percent. Perhaps too many poor people live there, stripping and clearing the small trees and bush for grazing

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 5

land, or for fuel for their fires. Or are they draining these areas of precious fresh water? Or perhaps it is just another effect of climate warming? It is not easy to determine what causes these and countless other problems.

Complex world issues affect people’s lives and environments in many ways: social, economic, cultural, political, or ecological.

• Social: Having to do with people, groups, and organizations. Communities of villages or cities may be affected by decisions made by groups or by an organization of people. Social groups affected by global issues are often described as stakeholders. These can be as small as a group of concerned citizens, or as large as governments representing a country’s opinion on an international issue, such as overfishing in a shared ocean.

• Economic: All issues have financial costs or benefits. Economic impacts of any issue may range from an individual in a community having to repair a home damaged by a storm to a government having to replace large amounts of infrastructure, such as damaged rail and hydro lines. Those are examples of costs that arise from issues. An example of a benefit arising to countries, companies, or individuals from an issue is the financial gain to be made when an oil deposit is discovered. The discovery of oil is an issue when the ownership of the oil is in dispute, or when countries, companies, or individuals are in conflict about who will develop and use the resource.

• Cultural: Values, customs, and ways of living of any group of people or community are called culture. How people live, work, learn, and eat are all part of culture. What they do in their spare time, the jobs they have, the way they dress, the music they listen to are also part of that culture. Religion and language are a huge part of cultural identity. Different cultures often produce different opinions about world issues. For instance, Canadians pride themselves on the humanitarian and compassionate way in which they help the less fortunate peoples of the world.

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• Political: Politics is about power and control. Organizations such as multinational corporations or governments have tremendous influence on world issues. It is necessary to identify the causes of world issues to be able to respond to them. When there is no obvious power and control, world issues are difficult to solve. For example, who really controls the international waters of the Earth’s oceans? Who is policing the tankers and ships that clean out their holds while they are out at sea? Who should be in control?

• Ecological: The natural environment (for example, an ocean or tropical rainforest) and the environment within which people interact with nature (for example, a village or city) are affected by world issues. Environmental considerations can either be local (a water shortage in a Peruvian village) or they can be global (rising ocean levels caused by the impact of melting ice sheets at the Earth’s polar regions).

Given that world issues have complex causes, they are difficult to solve. All global issues require complex solutions. How can extremes of weather be prevented if there is no agreement on what causes climate change? What actions should be taken to protect areas that become inhospitable to humans and animals through drought and harsh winds? What actions should be taken to stop the spread of deserts? Should billions of dollars be spent on water conservation methods? Should new forests and plants that require less water be planted? Will this help people who are in dire poverty, are used to a nomadic way of life, and need grazing lands for their herds?

To some extent, local issues can be analyzed in the same way. For example, controversy about the location of a new waste disposal dump can be understood better in the context of the five kinds of impact:

• Political: local politicians make a decision on where to locate the new dump.

• Social: a group of concerned citizens organize to fight the political proposal from the local municipal council.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 7

• Cultural: attitudes will be formed in response to new ideas such as recycling, reuse, and refuse strategies. Changes of behaviour may be needed to enact new waste reduction ideas.

• Economic: the additional costs of opening a new waste facility may be borne by the local taxpayers. There may also be additional transportation costs depending on the location of the dump.

• Ecological: there will be concerns about the protection of the local environment at the proposed location of the new dump. Local ecosystems may be in danger due to contamination of soils through leakage, bird droppings from garbage scavengers, airborne contamination from waste, and so on.

You will notice in the previous paragraphs, there are a lot of questions being asked. An issue can be described as a question that does not have an obvious or simple answer. Therefore, when you identify an issue, it is a good idea to use a question rather than a statement. A well-worded question will have a variety of answers, rather than an obvious yes or no answer. Often the question can be the subject of a debate between different stakeholders. You will learn more about stakeholders in the next section.

Support Questions

(do not send in for evaluation)

1. a) Identify four characteristics of an “issue” in the context of “world issues.”

b) Give two examples of concerns that could be described as world issues. In each case, use a question to identify the issue.

There are Suggested Answers to Support Questions at the end of this unit.

Lesson 1, page 8 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

Career Choices

Studying world issues can provide valuable skills and knowledge for many career choices. The ability to see relationships between social, economic, and ecological issues is becoming increasingly important in a complex world. Recognizing the difference between facts and opinions, biases, and the perspectives of different stakeholders is important in arriving at solutions to difficult issues. The Canadian and World Issues course is excellent preparation for many university programs, such as international affairs and environmental studies. The following profile of one graduate student is just one of many career profiles available from the Web site of the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Waterloo. This site is updated monthly with new profiles. You can access it at www.fes.uwaterloo.ca. Another excellent Web site that you can consult is Career MATTERS link at www.ilc.org.

Environment and Trade in Grenada

Spending a co-op work term in the Caribbean sounds pretty good, but beneath the turquoise waters and sandy beaches lie environmental issues waiting to be addressed. As a third-year student in Environment and Business, Caustan De Riggs spent his most recent co-op term as a Research Assistant for the Government of Grenada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

What did you do on your work term?

I worked in the International Trade Department on an environment and trade proposal. I attended trade conferences and business sessions to understand the role of environment in trade. Grenada is in the process of adopting a policy regarding this because it is part of their national environmental policy and management commitment.

Aside from my official responsibilities, I have also been developing proposals on the side to address the lack of environmental awareness in Grenada.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 9

This has always been an issue, but since hurricanes Ivan and Emily devastated the island in 2004, environmental awareness has become even more important. The government is looking for more effective ways to communicate with the public on a number of environmental issues such as the increasing levels of coastal sand mining and waste reduction (there is no recycling plant on the island).

What was the best aspect of your work term?

There were a few great things about the job, including the level of responsibility I was given and the willingness of senior government officials to make time for me. I met with the Minister of Education, the Minister of the Environment, and the Prime Minister, once on the phone and once in person.

I valued the opportunity to see how hard people work there and to look at international trade while considering the environmental implications. Plus I was able to see family and to unexpectedly run into two other UW students!

How has this job inspired you?

I realized that life is what you make of it. This job was proof to me that you can make a difference and create unity in the world, even a small part of it. The job also made me want to push harder to make a difference. In the future, I want to have my own consulting firm, focusing on sustainable building practices as well as local and international development.

I also want to continue my involvement in the entertainment world. Right now, I do improv, hip hop and comedy, taking a positive approach and not making fun of anyone.

Lesson 1, page 10 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

Do you have advice for students interested in similar opportunities or in studying a co-op program?

It’s good to be involved with things other than school. Volunteering demonstrates commitment and can build your interpersonal skills. Network with people in different fields … you never know when a project is going to come up that will be of interest to both sides.

Most important, it’s good to be open to new experiences. There have been many opportunities for me to learn at UW.

Source: University of Waterloo Web site, Faculty of Environmental Studies, “Cool Job of the Month,” www.fes.uwaterloo. ca/cooljobs/caustan06.html

Support Questions

(do not send in for evaluation)

2. Read the interview about Caustan’s work experience in Grenada. What do you find attractive about this work experience? What skills and knowledge would be needed to do this job effectively?

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 11

Stakeholders

The problems of an issue affect many people, both individually and in groups as large as regional, national, and international populations, in complex ways. “Stakeholder” refers to all those people and organizations involved in or affected by an event or development. For example, at a local level, consider a municipality’s decision not to collect garbage from households. This would have an enormous impact on residents of homes who would have to take care of their own garbage, on municipal workers who collected the garbage who now may be laid off, politicians who would need to explain and defend the decision, landfill workers who relied on municipal waste. The garbage collectors may be angry because they would be put out of work. The residents would be angry at having to dispose of their own garbage. The politicians may feel satisfied that they are doing a good job in helping to cut taxes to the local residents.

Seeing that there are different stakeholders related to a given issue will help you understand it better and more thoroughly. At an international level, consider the impacts of a decision by a country’s government to stop any migration into or out of the country. Doors would be closed to people facing poverty or persecution either inside or outside the country; employers would not be able to recruit foreign workers to fill jobs; there would be no income from foreign tourists, and no one in the country would be able to travel to other countries; individuals would try to enter or leave illegally, necessitating more police surveillance of the borders; members of families would not be able to reunite with one another; international human rights organizations would fight the decision; and so on.

Support Questions

(do not send in for evaluation)

3. Define the term “stakeholder.”

4. Give examples of stakeholders in a local issue and a world issue.

Lesson 1, page 12 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

Case Study: Poverty in Africa Poverty is a worldwide problem. Despite economic prosperity in many parts of the world, more than one billion people have to survive on less that a dollar a day. It is estimated that 10.7 million children worldwide die before their fifth birthday from poverty-related illnesses. According to UNICEF, in 2005 some 400 million children did not have access to safe drinking water, 27 million have never attended a school, and 90 million children were severely malnourished.

According to the World Bank, more than 300 million of those who get by on less than a dollar a day live in sub-Saharan Africa (the countries south of the Sahara Desert), which contains 34 of the world’s 49 poorest countries. In fact, one fifth, or 60 million, of these live on less than 50 cents per day.

According to the UN estimates, these poor countries are saddled with debt. Just as you pay interest when you pay back a loan from a bank, these sub-Saharan countries pay more than $30 billion interest annually to the World Bank and other lending institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This represents money lost to their economies. It is estimated that these poor countries spend more money on paying off their debts than they spend on health care and education combined. According to the UN, in 2003 these countries were carrying a staggering $360 billion in debt.

In addition to these financial burdens, some 6300 die in the region every day from AIDS, according to UNAIDS. A total of 25 million people are infected with the HIV virus, which has a crippling effect on the workforces of many countries where one in two people are under the age of 20. Each year about a million people will die from diseases such as malaria and two million from AIDS.

The rich countries of the world get richer, as the poor countries, especially those in Africa, are left behind. In 1980, Africa accounted for 6 percent of the world’s trade (mostly in exporting its raw materials). By 2003, this figure had fallen to 2.3 percent.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 13

While the amount of poverty in Africa has doubled since the mid- 1980s, it has fallen by half in East Asia, another traditionally poor region of the world. Many would say that a major contributor to African poverty is the inability to escape from a colonial economy where these countries were used for their resources and the growing of cash crops such as cotton and cocoa to be sent to the European powers. There are significant gender differences too. Women are poorer than men. In Africa, between 70 and 80 percent of all poor are women, in a situation where they are often significant providers of basic health care and education.

Many of the poor live in countries and areas where they have no opportunity to become involved in decisions that could affect the quality of their lives. They are often victims of violence and oppression. Land rights are stripped away from them and they own no real property. To make matters worse, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. In the 1980s, Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world, was 50 times poorer than Switzerland. Today it is 550 times poorer.

Will things get better? In 2002, the richest countries of the world, through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), gave $24 billion in aid (financial and other forms of help) to African countries. The OECD pledged to reduce poverty in Africa by half by 2010. In order to do this, they will have to contribute a further $25 billion. It remains to be seen if these promises will be fulfilled. In 2000, the IMF created the Highly Indebted Poor Countries program (HIPC). This provides countries with debt relief on the condition that they show they are combatting government corruption and investing in education and health care and not military spending. If these countries (32 out of 38 of which are in Africa) complete their HIPC plans, they stand to save $56 billion in debt cancellations.

Africa is a continent with great potential. Some economists believe that if Africa could increase its world trade by just 1 percent, it would earn an extra $70 billion each year. This is three times what it receives in foreign assistance from OECD.

Lesson 1, page 14 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

Support Question

(do not send in for evaluation)

5. Describe four pieces of evidence that demonstrate that the sub-Saharan countries are experiencing large amounts of poverty compared to other global regions.

The Effects of Poverty in Africa

Whether you live in a city or in the countryside, poverty puts limits on the conditions in which you and your family live. It is also a very difficult to escape from poverty. Poor people have access only to land of marginal quality. It may have poor soil or be far up a hillside, making it difficult to farm. For example, the poor of rural areas often find themselves living on land not suited for growing food or grazing animals. Many millions of people in sub-Saharan African countries face this situation.

The majority of people in sub-Saharan Africa practise forms of agriculture for a living. Most have small amounts of land, from 0.5 to 2 hectares per family. Trees and vegetation are cut down to clear land so that crops can be grown, which has a serious effect on the soil that is exposed. Trees and vegetation may have provided natural protection for soil, offering shade and replenishing moisture and nutrients. Exposed soil dries up and often blows away as dust. Trees once covered 40 percent of Ethiopia’s land; today, they cover less than 4 percent.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 15

The process of erosion and drying of the land is called land degradation or desertification. As people are forced to live on poor land near the desert margins, this process occurs rapidly and the desert expands in size. The people are then forced to move and repeat the process in other areas. The cycle of destruction to Africa’s food lands causes major ecological problems. Much of the loose dry topsoil is deposited as sediment in local waterways, clogging downstream passages and causing rivers to overflow their banks. This results in lower-quality water for drinking, cleaning, cooking, and irrigating land.

Approximately 500 million hectares of land in Africa is degraded, and this figure grows every year, along with population growth, which is about 3 percent per year for sub-Saharan countries. Massive amounts of fertilizers are needed to replenish these exhausted soils. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) suggests that Africa requires 11 million tonnes of fertilizer to replenish the loss of nutrients in its soils, mostly in the sub-Saharan countries. Plant and animal ecosystems (systems formed by the interaction of living things) that require cooler, moister conditions are being destroyed. The results are sometimes catastrophic, with large numbers of people migrating, millions going hungry, and thousands of people starving. UNEP estimates that 30 percent of the world’s land is dry, and that one quarter of this has already been severely damaged, mostly in Africa, due to poor people desperate to grow food. About 10 million hectares worldwide are lost every year to land degradation.

Land degradation results in large numbers of environmental refugees—the New Internationalist organization estimates 10 million each year—who subsequently become dependent on relief. Environmental refugees are people who are forced to move away from their homes because the conditions of the land, climate, air, or water will no longer sustain them. Moving to other areas often results in conflict and social unrest, as the people already occupying the new lands feel that their livelihoods are threatened by the intruders, and there is severe competition for scarce resources of land and water. This conflict can perpetuate land degradation as limited resources are overused and land is destroyed.

Lesson 1, page 16 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

For example, conflicts for control of arable lands in the Sudan in Africa have affected the country’s food supplies. An estimated 2.4 million Sudanese do not receive an adequate amount of food, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Many of these are in the Darfur region of northwest Sudan, which borders Chad and the Sahara Desert. Thousands of refugees have fled into Chad and UN refugee camps, away from Sudanese government troops and tribal Arab militia. Much of the fighting has been over the region’s grazing lands and fresh water.

Land degradation, rural poverty, and conflict prompt thousands of poor people to migrate to the swelling cities in the hope of finding security, work, and education for their children. Although Africa is still the most rural continent on Earth, with only 38 percent of its population living in towns and cities, there is unprecedented urban growth. Urban populations are increasing by 4 percent per year. In this century, the majority of Africa’s population will shift from rural to urban. The UN estimates that by 2020 about 400 million more, mainly poor people, will live in African cities and that about 300 million Africans—half of the total urban population—will be living in slum conditions.

These poor often end up with bad housing and inadequate sanitation. They live in shantytowns, which lack basic services such as electricity, piped water, sewers, and refuse collection. According to the World Bank, by 2020 as many as 300 million people will be without adequate means of disposing of human waste and garbage and 225 million without potable supplies of water in sub-Saharan African cities.

The photo in Figure 1.1 shows Kibera, a shantytown seven kilometres outside Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Nairobi is a bustling city of more than two million, many of whom arrived after fleeing rural poverty. About half of Nairobi’s population is estimated to live on a fifth of its land in squatter conditions. A typical Canadian city has 1000 to 2000 people per square kilometre. In Kibera, the density is a crowded 73 000 per square kilometre!

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 17

Figure 1.1. Kibera settlement near Nairobi, Kenya.

Source: United Nations Environment Programme.

The homes in Africa’s urban slums are made from anything a family can lay its hands on: corrugated tin, cardboard, scrap wood, and glass. Streets are filled with mud and refuse. The population of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is expanding by 10 percent annually: its population will double in seven years. Most of the increase is accounted for by migrations from the poor rural surroundings, which often results in social problems, such as higher levels of crime. The situation is not likely to improve.

The poor in Africa are helpless to improve their conditions. People in poverty are disenfranchised, meaning that they lack political power and influence. A significant trend has been the increase in poverty for women. It should be easier to help the urban poor than those scattered around the countryside. Medical facilities such as health clinics can be concentrated in the urban areas that need them. Piping and freshwater-treatment facilities can also be concentrated there. Sanitation can be carefully screened and controlled. Many of these poor city areas grow so fast, however, that even the best-intentioned local governments

Lesson 1, page 18 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

cannot keep pace with change and growth. In many African cities, the social conditions for the poor are as bad as they are for their rural counterparts, including high infant mortality rates (death before the first birthday), common water-related diseases, and high crime rates. High rates of unemployment—as much as 60 percent—result in little improvement for rural migrants.

Lack of sanitation and basic health care among Africa’s poor means their children are more likely to suffer from serious disease. With chronic persistent hunger (malnutrition), otherwise minor diseases can kill thousands of children who lack the basic health to fight them off. In poor countries, children who die before the age of five do so usually because they simply do not have access to safe drinking water.

In poorer African families, basic education, if obtained at all, ends at a young age. Girls are often kept at home to help with the family chores. Without education, many children, especially girls, find it difficult to escape the cycle of poverty. According to the UN, two-thirds of the world’s 840 million illiterate people are female.

In the following reading, “Why Famine Stalks Africa,” you will learn how poverty affects everything, including living conditions, health, and even basic food and hunger.

Why Famine Stalks Africa

Note: This article was published in 2002. The content is very relevant to your course but please be aware that some of the information in the article will be dated.

Nearly 30 million Africans could be facing famine within months.

Estimates from UN agencies, African governments and relief charities put the number at risk in the Horn of Africa at about 15 million, over 14 million in southern Africa and hundreds of thousands in the Sahel region of West Africa.

The immediate cause is drought, which has ruined harvests and left people and livestock without food and water.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 19

But drought alone is not why Africa suffers regularly from famine and widespread malnutrition.

Most African countries are not self-sufficient in food and rely to varying extents on imports and on having the income to pay for them.

Other factors are at work, including: armed conflict, corruption and the mismanagement of food supplies, environmental degradation, trade policies that harm African agriculture and the long-term economic effects of AIDS.

Poor Food Security

Famine is caused by the shortage or inability of people to obtain food.

This might be caused by low food production resulting from drought or other factors or it could be a result of the inability of a country or its population to afford to buy food.

Malnutrition is widespread across Africa, even in famine-free years where food production or imports appear to meet a country’s needs.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that every year 40%-50% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa goes hungry and that the region “is worse off nutritionally today than it was 30 years ago.”

Hunger and food insecurity are most serious in rural areas, where farming and livestock rearing are the main means of livelihood.

It is hardly surprising then that in a continent where nearly half the people are always short of food that drought, war and mismanagement of food supplies so regularly lead to famine on a wide scale.

Undernourished Populations

The lack of food security and rampant poverty in Africa have left the continent with a population that is the most undernourished in the world.

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UN figures show that over the past 30 years, developing countries as a group have reduced the percentage of undernourished in the population from 37% to 18%.

East and South Asia, where there have been massive increases in agricultural production and significant economic growth, have reduced the figure from 43% to 13%.

Sub-Saharan Africa has failed to get the rate below the 1969 figure of 34% of the population.

The Nobel Prize−winning economist Amartya Sen has argued that hunger and the resulting malnutrition and famine are products chiefly of poverty rather than specifically a country’s ability to grow enough food.

Those who are malnourished are in this condition because “they are not able to buy enough food and as a consequence these people (including their family members) live with hunger.”

Those who live with hunger every day are then vulnerable in the years that food supplies fail because of drought or other factors and become the first victims of famine.

Professor Sen argues that if countries in Africa were able to generate sufficient income they would be able to make themselves free of hunger as they could afford to import food to make up any shortfall in domestic production.

Under present terms of trade, African agricultural exports command low prices and cannot compete on world markets.

War and Bad Management

In a list of 18 African countries facing food emergencies in 2001, the FAO found that eight were experiencing civil strife and three were suffering the after-effects of conflict, such as internally displaced people and returning refugees.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 21

The remaining seven had been affected by drought, flood, cyclones or food deficits that could not be made up by imports because of a lack of funds.

Those currently suffering from the threat of famine are doing so for a number of reasons.

But in countries like Angola, Ethiopia and Eritrea, recent conflict and a history of more or less constant war in previous years have played a major part in causing low food production, widespread poverty and dislocation of food distribution and trade networks.

Diversion of government finances, corruption or mismanagement have gone alongside conflict or developed from bad governance and have turned droughts and food shortages into famine.

AIDS has also taken its toll, particularly in sub- Saharan Africa.

Countries like Malawi, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe are losing a high proportion of the economically active population and gaining a large number of orphans and elderly people with no visible means of support.

It is against this bleak backdrop of chronic poverty, conflict, poor government and AIDS that Africa is proving to be perpetually vulnerable to drought and floods.

These natural phenomena strike regularly, but it is when they hit countries already reeling from the effects of other ills that famine becomes inevitable.

Source: Keith Somerville, “Why Famine Stalks Africa,” November 12, 2002. From BBC News at bbcnews.com

Lesson 1, page 22 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

Support Question

(do not send in for evaluation)

6. The following chart, “World Issues Organizer,” provides you with a structured way to look at any world issue. Using information found in “Case Study: Poverty in Africa” and in the reading “Why Famine Stalks Africa,” fill in the appropriate sections of the chart.

World Issues Organizer

Issue (Write a question)

Concern (Identify why the question is important)

Possible Causes (Identify at least two reasons why the situation exists)

Implications (What may happen if the situation continues) a) social implications

b) economic implications

c) cultural implications

d) political implications

e) ecological implications

Stakeholders (Identify at least three and how each is involved)

Possible Solutions (Identify at least two)

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 23

Fact, Opinion, and Argument

This is an information age. There has never been so much information and potential knowledge available. The Internet has revolutionized ways of researching, obtaining, and even using information. With so much out there, it is important to be careful to choose information that can be trusted. What are the differences between opinion, argument, and fact? In a world full of events and a wide variety of stakeholders, you need to be able to distinguish between these terms.

A fact is something that has been demonstrated or proven to be true. So much of what you read about the world is fact. For example, it is a fact that the most common gas in the Earth’s atmosphere is nitrogen. It is a fact that the average high temperature for Rio de Janeiro in January is 38°C.

When you are studying world issues, you must be very careful about accepting as fact information you read as you research different topics. Some “facts” are wrong. Perhaps there has been misinformation or distortion. Perhaps you are simply reading a typographical error. Many facts can be distorted by the addition of opinion.

Opinion is based upon the viewpoint of one person or organization. It is generally used to persuade others to agree with a viewpoint and is presented in an inviting way. Opinions are often mixed with facts to make them more acceptable. If an organization describes the temperatures in Rio de Janeiro as “enjoyably balmy” in January, you are reading an opinion. Perhaps it is promoting tourism to Brazil. As a student, you must be able to distinguish fact from opinion in order to make a fair judgement. Information that is full of one opinion is described as biased.

Opinions can be clearly seen when material is used for argument. An argument is a presentation or discussion in which disagreement is expressed. It can also be described as a position, or thesis. An argument will use facts, or evidence, to persuade people that it is based on the right opinion. Of course, an argument is generally very biased. For example, you may

Lesson 1, page 24 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

argue that India’s population is growing too fast and that it will eventually hurt the country’s economy. You may present data that shows how fast the population has increased over time, as well as demonstrate that there has been a slowing down in the economic well-being of the average Indian citizen. Others may argue that population growth adds strength to the workforce and to the size of the market. Perhaps the evidence can be used to show that a slowdown in the economy is due to global forces beyond India’s control.

Three Kinds of Sources

In this course, you will be asked to write paragraphs and essays on a variety of topics. You will make statements and draw conclusions based on supporting information that you find through research. How can you be sure that the information you use is sound and unbiased? If at all possible, take information from primary sources, or first-hand records of an event. They can include accounts by actual people involved, photographs, diaries, and newspaper items. A primary source for population data, for example, would be the data collected and reported on the population census. Population numbers gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau are as factual as technology and accurate counting can allow. Statistical data from government sources is generally sound. When summaries of primary data are put together, secondary sources of information are formed. For example, a piece about trends in Canadian tourism statistics by the World Tourism Organization, an agency of the UN, is an example of a secondary source. Tertiary sources of information, which are the product of writers or organizations using secondary interpretations in their presentations, may result in distortions. If you want to know about Canadian tourism, for instance, gather information from Statistics Canada, which actually collects the data. Your interpretation of the data then becomes a secondary source. If you use the World Tourism Organization’s interpretation, you may end up summarizing a summary and miss important details.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 25

Researching a Topic

When compiling research on a topic, use primary sources as often as possible. Facts are indisputable. When you consult secondary and tertiary information, such as in an article in a journal, you need to distinguish between fact and opinion. Look for as many clues as you can to determine the reliability of the source. One of the best starting points is at the end, where you can often find a brief biography of the author. Is this person a reliable source? What is the author’s experience and whom does he or she represent? Is there a profit motive behind the presentation? Is the writer an academic trying to gain a reputation by voicing a strong opinion? Is the author a man or a woman? What is the cultural background of the author?

Look out for statements of personal opinion. What is the intention of the writing? Is the author writing to present facts or present a position? Certain expressions are often clues for opinion. “We think” and “I believe,” for example, should be easy to spot. You will find classic opinion-based writing in a daily newspaper’s editorial, where the editor expresses opinion to support a position that the newspaper wants to take.

When conducting research, consult reliable Web sites and sources of print information. Government departments and the United Nations generally provide unbiased data. Journal articles or lectures published by universities are generally reliable, although they may express the specific research interest of the writer and therefore be selective in the information they present. Organizations that represent a specific group usually promote a specific set of opinions. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the International Committee for the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, and Worldwatch Institute are also generally reliable, but do represent a cause or a position. Organizations that are more political, such as Greenpeace and the National Union of Mineworkers, would have a stronger bias. The reputation of a journal or magazine is a clue to its reliability. Does it represent a fair and unbiased view of events? Does it represent significant knowledge about a topic? For example, The Lancet is the journal of the British Medical Association. You would accept information about medicine printed there as well-founded.

Lesson 1, page 26 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

In-Text Citations

Whenever you use other people’s work in your own writing, you must credit the source of that material in the actual text of your writing. These references are called “in-text citations.” They are short citations that generally include only the author’s last name and the year of publication of the article or book you are referencing.

For example, if you were writing a summary about barriers to health care, you might choose to refer to a case study from an imaginary book we’ll call Code Blue: The Crisis in Health Delivery, written by Roshan Raichura, Rose Marie Laviolette, and Sean O’Ceannabhain in 2002. When you reached the point where you actually began discussing the case study you read about in the book, you would simply place the following citation, in brackets, in your paragraph:

(Raichura et al., 2002)

Note: The phrase “et al.” means “and others,” and is used to represent the rest of the book’s authors.

Reference Page

At the end of some of your assignments, you have to include a complete reference list naming all of the sources you used in the text of your work. This list of sources is more commonly known as a bibliography, and it is placed on what is called a reference page. The reference style most commonly used by social scientists is the style of the American Psychological Association (APA). The following are some examples you can use as a model when writing references. (Note: All of the following examples fit the proper format, but do not refer to real books or articles.)

One Author

Takamura, H. (2005). Generation Eh? The Outlook for Canada’s Early-21st-Century Children. Ottawa: NuBooks.

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 27

Two or More Authors

Raichura, R., Laviolette, R.M., & O’Ceannabhain, S. (2002). Code Blue: The Crisis in Health Delivery. Toronto: Porpoise Publishing.

Newspaper or Magazine Article

Ironstar, J. (2005, August 19). “Ministers of human resources and social services to investigate low job-satisfaction rate.” Regina Post, A3.

Periodicals/Journals

Mellers, B.A. (2000). “Choice and the relative pleasure of consequences.” Psychological Bulletin, 126, 910-924.

Internet On-line Periodical

Kabila, O. (2004). “Cultural acceptance among commodity brokers.” Journal of Anthropology, 87 (2). Retrieved December 4, 2006, from http://www.apa.org/psycinfo/

For the latest information, you can visit the APA Web site at www.apa.org.

Support Questions

(do not send in for evaluation)

7. a) Choose any world issue and state two facts about it.

b) For your chosen world issue, write a sentence that is an example of opinion.

c) For your chosen world issue, write a sentence that is an example of an argument.

8. Provide one example each of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources of information, demonstrating your understanding of the differences between them.

Lesson 1, page 28 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

Key Question

Save your answers to the Key Questions. When you have completed the unit, submit them to ILC for marking.

(40 marks)

1. Select a world issue that is of interest to you. To help you choose a topic, examine the Web sites listed at the end of this lesson. They will also provide a starting point for your research. Use the World Issues Organizer to organize information about your issue.

World Issues Organizer

Issue (Write a question)

2 marks

Concern (Identify why the question is important)

3 marks

Possible Causes (Identify at least two reasons why the situation exists)

2 × 3 marks = 6 marks

Implications (What may happen if the situation continues?) a) social implications

3 marks

b) economic implications 3 marks

c) cultural implications 3 marks

d) political implications 3 marks

e) ecological implications 3 marks

Stakeholders (Identify at least three and how each is involved)

3 × 2 marks = 6 marks

Possible Solutions (Identify at least two)

2 × 4 marks = 8 marks

Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A Lesson 1, page 29

Useful Web Sites for World Issues Research

Here are some sites that teachers and students of this Grade 12 Canadian and World Issues course frequently use for research. You are welcome to look for other sources and use them, as long as you keep in mind what you learned about the trustworthiness of sources. Be sure to record the sources you use accurately, as you must list them when you write your answers to the Key Questions.

CIA World Factbook: www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ index.html

Global Issues: www.globalissues.org

Worldwatch Institute Home Page: www.worldwatch.org

Countrywatch: www.countrywatch.com

Earth Facts: forestryanswers.tamu.edu/images/earthfacts/facts. html

NASA Earth from Space: earth.jsc.nasa.gov/photoinfo. cgi?PHOTO=STS094-713-012

About Geography: geography.about.com/science/geography/ ?once=true&

Education Planet: www.educationplanet.com/articles/earthday. html

Foreign Policy Association – Educators Corner: www.fpa.org/ info-url_nocat2406/info-url_nocat.htm

UN Earthwatch: www.unep.ch/earthw/news.htm

Statistics Canada: www.statcan.ca/start.html

UN Population Information Network: www.undp.org/popin

Global Eye (for teachers): www.globaleye.org.uk/teachers/ secondary.html

New Internationalist: www.oneworld.org/ni/index4.html

World Resources Institute: www.wri.org

UN Statistics Division: www.un.org/Depts/unsd/index.html

World News Online: www.worldnews.com

Lesson 1, page 30 Canadian and World Issues CGW4U-A

BBC News: news.bbc.co.uk

CNN News: www.cnn.com/WORLD

Now go on to Lesson 2. Do not submit your coursework to ILC until you have completed Unit 1 (Lessons 1 to 5).

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