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Published byJahiem Mund Modified over 9 years ago
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What is Geography? “Geo-” and “-graphy” = –“earth description” or describing the earth “Spatial variations” across the earth Why do we find “that” there? What, where, and why?
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Cultural Geography People: Where are they What are they doing …..and…. WHY?
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Cultural Geography Settlement patterns (Why settle Phoenix?)
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Cultural Geography Political geography –Why do we care about…. –Why do the Israelis and Muslims hate each other?
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Cultural Geography Transportation systems and routes –Why do buses run on that street and not this one? –What about light rail? –Why should we care about the docks in L.A.?
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Physical Geography Natural / Physical earth – processes, systems, landforms –cannot ignore the human aspect
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Physical Geography Weather and climate….. hurricanes… Sandy, 2012
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Physical Geography Weather and climate….. tornadoes…
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Physical Geography … volcanoes…. Can a volcano in Indonesia affect the weather in Arizona?
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Physical Geography … volcanoes…. How could a volcano in Iceland affect you here in Arizona?
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Physical Geography : Earthquakes 2010 Chile: (8.8) China (6.9) & Haiti (7.0) : quakes not as strong… but far deadlier??
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Physical Geography : Tsunamis 2011 Japan
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Physical Geography Biosphere: Flora and Fauna –interconnecting linkages –Native? Does it matter? –oil spills, air pollution, etc. –animal attacks
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Physical Geography Think Phoenix is immune from the problems? Think again!
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Physical Geography Recognize This scene?
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Geography……. The “Jack of All Trades” degree Assoc. of American Geographers listing Bureau of Labor Statistics: Geography
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Science and the Scientific Method Everything must have an explanation Science must explain it all Everything is theory Must have data / evidence to support your theory! Is the goal to seek truth?
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Science and the Scientific Method Beware of the “expert” opinion Beware of the concrete statement –“We know……” –“This is how it works….” –“This is how it happened….” ex. How was the universe formed?
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Scientific Method: Global Warming The theory: 1. Global temperatures have warmed over past 120 years. 2. Warming caused by human released CO 2 into the atmosphere. 3. Assumed theory: increased CO 2 leads to increasing temperatures
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Scientific Method: evidence “We have conclusive proof of global warming….” Consensus is not science! It is a logical fallacy: “appeal to popularity”
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Evidence: data vs. interpretation
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Same data; so, what does it prove?
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What if we extend further back in time? Tells a different story, doesn’t it!
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Notice the amount of temperature increase
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Theory: Rising CO 2 is causing warming So, what happened here?
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Evidence: Data We can at least agree on the data, right?
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Quality of the data collected??
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Quality control??
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Science? Scientific Method? Put forward theory Test theory If theory fails even one test... It fails! You must discard theory! Theory: Global temperatures have warmed. Assumed theory: increased CO2 = increasing temperatures (The “Greenhouse Gas” concept) Warming caused by human CO2. CORRECT! FAIL!
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Scientific Consensus “It does not matter who you are, or how smart you are, or what title you have, or how many of you there are, and certainly not how many papers your side has published, if your prediction is wrong then your hypothesis is wrong. Period.” Richard Feynman -- Nobel prize in physics -- Manhattan Project
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Science? Scientific Method? “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.” -- Albert Einstein
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Science? Scientific Method? “Any physical theory is always provisional, in the sense that it is only a hypothesis: you can never prove it. No matter how many times the results of experiments agree with some theory, you can never be sure that the next time the result will not contradict the theory. On the other hand, you can disprove a theory by finding even a single observation that disagrees with the predictions of the theory.” - Stephen Hawking, physicist
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The REAL reason for global warming!
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Other Examples? 1.Vaccinations 2012 = highest number of Pertussis cases since 1955! 20 deaths, nearly all children under 3 yrs old 2014 = 30% increase over 2013 (through Aug 16) Mumps outbreak in NHL 2.Health claims Saturated fat High fructose corn syrup Artificial sweetners 3.Environmental Claims 4.Etc……..
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"... The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary." H.L. Mencken, In Defense of Women, II.13.
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