EUROPE REVIEW

EUROPE REVIEW

Environmental Issues

– Acid rain in Germany• Damages forests, buildings, statues, rivers, wildlife• from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) in

factories/cars• Problem – polluted air blows in from other countries

like U.K.• solution: burn less fossil fuel – use wind and solar

power


– Air pollution in England (smog – air mixed with smoke particles from coal fire)• Asthma, pneumonia, blackens buildings, harms wildlife• From burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) • Great Smog of 1952 – 4 days when people couldn’t see

– crime and deaths increased • Solution: smokeless zones, cleaner coal, increased use

of electricity and gas, government limits, laws, and air quality checks


– Nuclear disaster in Ukraine• 1986 in town called Chernobyl – nuclear reactor

exploded• Radioactive fallout polluted air, soil, and water for

1000s of miles• Radiation sickness killed many – area is still not safe• Debate – nuclear power does not use fossil fuel but

radiation can be very dangerous – should we stop using it?

Location, Climate, and Natural Resources of the U.K.

– Location has helped U.K. become international banking and insurance center

– Climate is mild because of warm Gulf Stream water; rainfall throughout year – ports are ice free for trade – good climate and land for farming

– Natural resources – many - good for industry BUT resources are being used up and there’s competition from other countries

– U.K. produces 60% of its food

Location, Climate, and Natural Resources of the U.K. Compared with Russia

U.K.

• small island with mild climate and open ports

• has fossil fuels which are dwindling

• London (capital) is center for trade

Russia• large country with cold

climate and ports ice-locked most of year

• has fossil fuels which are mostly untouched

• Moscow (capital) is center of transportation but St. Petersburg is center for trade

Location, Climate, and Natural Resources of Germany

– Location in center of Europe – crossroads of travel and trade; Rhine River important for trade; excellent highways good for transportation; 8 major seaports, 14 major airports; 85% of people live in urban (city) areas

– Climate – marine – good crops in western part; cold in Alps Mts.; cold winters and hot, dry summers in eastern part

– Natural resources: iron ore, potash, coal, uranium, nickel, natural gas, copper, timber, arable farmland

Location, Climate, and Natural Resources of Russia

– Location – spans 2 continents; borders many countries; most open port is Murmansk

– Climate – 2 seasons (winter & summer); very cold much of year; most people live in warmer section of European Russia.

– Natural resources: timber, oil, gas, gold, aluminum ore, coal, iron, rivers – large size & cold climate make it difficult to use resources

Location, Climate, and Natural Resources of Italy

– Location – peninsula with mountains in north – most people live cities in northern part; mountains are like backbone in Italy & affect travel and where people live. Because it sticks into the Mediterranean Sea, it is in an ideal spot for trade

– Climate: mostly Mediterranean climate – mild winters & warm summers – colder in mountains & drier in south

– Natural resources: few mineral resources; has natural gas, marble, granite, coal, mercury, zinc, potash, arable land – 1 of top wine making countries in world, sea – lots of fishing ports

Culture:Languages of Europe

– 3 main categories:• Germanic – English & German – largest language group• Romance – Italian, French, Spanish – from Latin• Slavic – Russian – different alphabet called Cyrillic


– Problems• hard to communicate with each other• documents only written in official languages• students may learn language in school that their

parents don’t speak


– Solutions • kids learn more than 1 language• many official languages so laws can be understood by

all• special laws to protect languages

English is considered the worldwide language of business

Culture:Religions of Europe

Judaism, Christianity, Islam

– Judaism: • founder is Abraham• holy book is Torah• monotheistic (1 God)• believe in laws of God and words of prophets • 3 types

– Orthodox (most traditional)– Conservative– Reform (least traditional)

Culture:Religions of Europe


– Christianity: • founder is Jesus• holy book is Bible • monotheistic• believe in teachings of Jesus • 3 major groups

– Eastern Orthodox– Roman Catholic– Protestant

Culture: Religions of Europe


– Islam• Founder is Muhammad• Holy book is Koran (Quran)• Monotheistic• Believe in teachings of Muhammad – last of the

prophets• 2 largest groups

– Sunni– Shia

Culture:Literacy Rate and Standard of Living: Usually the higher the

literacy rate, the higher the standard of living

• – Industrialized countries (more manufacturing

than farming) – higher standard of living

– Third world countries (more farming than manufacturing) – lower standard of living

– Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – value of goods and services produced by a country in a year

Government:3 Ways Governments Share Power

– Unitary – central gov’t has all the power

– Confederation – local gov’ts have all the power

– Federal – power is shared by local and central gov’t – central has more power

Government:3 Types of Citizen Participation

– Autocratic – 1 ruler; no citizen participation

– Oligarchic – small group of rulers; no citizen participation

– Democratic – citizens of country rule; all citizens participate

Government: 2 Types of Government

–Parliamentary – people vote for legislature (parliament); parliament votes for chief executive (prime minister); head of state is separate – like queen or king

–Presidential – people vote separately for legislature and for president; president is both chief executive and head of state

U. K.’s Government: Parliamentary, Constitutional Monarchy, Unitary

– Parliament• House of Lords• House of Commons (more powerful)

– Prime minister is chief executive – elected by political party with most members in House of Commons

– Monarch (Queen Elizabeth) – head of state – role is mostly ceremonial

– Citizens have personal freedoms

Germany’s Government: Federal; Parliamentary (representative democracy)

– Parliament• Bundestag (more powerful)• Budesrat

– Chancellor is chief executive – elected by Bundestag

– President – head of state – mostly ceremonial– Constitution is called Basic Law- operates Welfare

State (benefits for those who cannot work)– Citizens have personal freedoms

Russian Federation’s Government: Federation; Presidential

– Federal Assembly• Federation Council – approves president’s choices• State Duma – controls budget and makes laws

– President is head of state – elected by people – chooses prime minister

– Citizens have personal freedoms

Purpose of European Union (EU) & Relation of its Members

– 27 countries– Work together for advantages they couldn’t get

individually– Euro is currency (money)– Each country makes its own laws, has its own

military, and elects its own leaders– No tariffs among EU countries, citizens can move

from one EU country to another, work in another EU country, and vote in another EU country (FREE TRADE ZONE)

Economics

• 3 questions all systems answer:– What goods & services will be produced?– How will goods & services be produced?– Who will consume goods & services?

3 Economic Systems• Traditional –custom & habit determine what, how, & who;

no country today has this;

• Command - government planning group determines what, how, & who; Russia is somewhat command

• Market – changes in prices between buyers & sellers determine what, how, & who…also called free enterprise, capitalism, and laissez-faire– Most of Europe is market economy (U.K. is most

market)

All modern economies are mixed economies

Economics:3 Types of Trade Barriers

– tariff (tax)

– quota (limit on amount)

– embargo (government order stopping trade)

Economics– Currency = money; most of EU has euro as currency

– GDP (total value of goods produced in a country in 1 year) – higher GDP can = higher standard of living

– Natural resources – help countries produce goods

– Entrepreneurs (people who risk personal money to start business) help GDP by • opening businesses• giving people jobs• making products to sell• providing tax money to government

Economics: Investment in human (training & education) and physical (buildings, equipment,

technology)capital raises GDP

Invest in capital (human & physical)

GDP goes up

Economics– Supply: goods– Demand: buyers’ desire for goods– Scarcity = limited supply

– Law of supply & demand determines price people pay

Prices go up

When supply goes

down

Documents

EUROPE REVIEW