Ch 14 Today’s Issues Europe

Roots of the Balkan Conflict One conflict in the Balkans is that different groups want to control the same area. 500’s Slavic people migrated from Poland and Russia and settled in the Balkan Peninsula. South Slavs- Croats, the Slovenes, and the Serbs all formed their own kingdoms.

Foreign Rulers 1300’s Muslim Ottoman Empire tried to conquer the Balkan Peninsula Ottomans defeat Serbian Empire Ottomans also ruled Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Yugoslavia is Formed 1878 Serbia broke free of the Ottoman Empire the Kingdoms of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed the king renamed the country Yugoslavia.

Communist Rule During WWII, Germany and Italy invaded Yugoslavia. Croat leaders ordered the massacre of the Jews and Serbs. Josip Broz Tito was head of Communist Party. After the war he became dictator of Yugoslavia

Fears of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic proposed the creation of a Greater Serbia. The plan alarmed Croat and Bosnians Serbia blocked a Croat from becoming president. June 1991 Slovenia and Croatia declared independence.

War in Bosnia March 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence. Bosnia’s Muslim and Croats back the move, but the Serbs launched a war to stop it. Ethnic Cleansing- policy of trying to eliminate an ethnic group through violence. 200,000 people died

SUUnohttp:// SUUno

War in Kosovo 1990 Kosovo was inhabited mostly by Albanians. Milosevic tried to wipe out Albanian culture. KLA- Kosovo Liberation Army began to carry out attacks against Serbian Officials NATO started bombing Serbia to force it to stop the violence.

MMZ3Ehttp:// MMZ3E

Uncertain Future 2000 Yugoslavia elected Vojislav Kostunica as president. Ethnic Loyalties still create tension.

Cleaning Up Europe 2000 a gold mine in Romania released cyanide in local streams. Cyanide- deadly poison. Before the incident the rivers held some of Europe's rarest fish. The poison killed 80% of fish in the rivers. QbJ7Jc QbJ7Jc

Causes of Water Pollution Mines and Factories create much of Europe's water pollution. Acid Rain changes the chemistry of lakes and rivers often killing fish. Most countries want to develop industry, and some accept environmental damage as the price they must pay for progress.

Causes of Water Pollution Sewage- cities should have treatment plants that remove harmful substances from sewage before it is released into bodies of water % of the cities had no sewage plants. Chemical Fertilizers- rain washes fertilizers from fields into bodies of water, where they cause algae and plants to grow faster then fish can eat them.

Causes of Water Pollution Oil Spills-in December 1999, a tanker sank of the west coast of France and spilled 10,000 tons of oils that spread along 250 miles of coastline.

Cleaning Up The Water Pollution levels in the Rhine river rose sharply in the mid 1900’s. France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland formed the International Commission of the Protection of the Rhine. Y3Vohttp:// Y3Vo

Causes of Air Pollution Air pollution is made up of harmful gases and particulates, very small particles of liquid or solid matter. Using Fossil Fuels- burning of petroleum, gas, and coal causes much air pollution. Smog- brown haze that occurs when gases released by burning fossil fuels react with sunlight to create harmful chemicals.

Causes of Air Pollution Fires- Forest fires caused by carless human behavior and the burning of garbage release smoke particulates into the atmosphere. Chemical Use- Dry cleaning, refrigeration, air conditioning, and the spraying of pesticides are among the human activities that release harmful chemicals into the air.

Causes of Air Pollution Industry- Factories discharge chemicals such as sulfur into the air. Factories of the former Communist countries have been especially heavy polluters.