L37 Megacities, Biodiversity, and the Modern World PDF

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These are my lecture notes from Ball State's HIST 150 cource- The West in the World, taught by Robert Hall. These notes do not have to only apply to Ball State students and their HIST 150 course, anyone from any college or lifestyle can use them. History is important! We have to rememer these facts ...

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Miracle Townsel The West in the World December 8, 2017 Urbanization (1800-2000) ❖ Rise of supersized cities (AKA: Megacities Megacities = city with pop. of 10 million or more) Megacities ❖ 1950: There were only 3 megacities London, New York, and Tokyo-Yokohama ❖ By 2000: Around 20 megacities ❖ Indian subcontinent, Bombay Bombay, was a megacity that grew rapidly and became crowded in the Bombay 1920s ➢ 1 million people per square mile - Suketu Mehta quote ❖ Mexico City: 1900 population was 350,000; 2000 pop. 20 million ➢ High fertility rate, drop in mortality rate, andmigration  from the countryside drove the population increase ➢ Small peasant farmers left the countryside for job opportunities ➢ Better lifestyle and education system ➢ Dramatic changes in the countryside agriculture (Green Revolution favored large over small farmers, pop. growth in the countryside) Air and Water Pollution ❖ 1900: Air pollution was caused by coal burning for industrial and domestic uses ❖ 1990: Largest source of air pollution on a global scale was automobile emissions (burned gasoline for energy) ➢ J.R. McNeill: McNeill: “emissions  of local and regional air pollutants around the world were five times as great in the 1990s as in 1900.” ➢ The Great Smog: Smog: London, 4-10 December 1952; unusually cold setting + burned lots of coal for heat in houses + used automobiles = city virtually blacked out from toxic smog ■ 12,000 people died ■ Passed the Clean Clean Air Act (1956): (1956): used to fight against air pollution in London ➢ Mexico City: Breathing the air = smoking two packs of cigarettes daily ■ 42% of all manufacturing jobs were in Mexico City ■ Only enjoyed 31 days a year with safe breathing air ❖ 1868 letter protesting against unclean sewage water from a man in the city of Wakefield (he used the sewage water to write the letter) ➢ Industrial waste was dumped into the river ➢ Leakage from coal mines in the river ➢ River was the drinking water, too ❖ Open defecation: defecation: People didn’t have modern sanitation/sewage systems ➢ 2.2 billion of world’s pop. lacked access to modern sanitation systems

➢ 42% of major cities in China has sewage treatment plants Biodiversity ❖ Biodiversity: The variety of plant and animal species (there was a loss of biodiversity) ❖ Edward O. Wilson: Wrote The  Diversity of Life - quote about decreasing biodiversity ➢ Causes of population decline: pollution, habitat destruction, introduction of exotic species, and overfishing ➢ Common carp was introduced from the old war to fight against overfishing (omnivorous bottom feeder that could reproduce quickly) ■ They made it difficult for other native fish to survive ■ Affect ducks by eating all of their food (fish and vegetation) ❖ 75% of world’s bird species are in decline or are threatened to become extinct ➢ Passenger pigeon: pigeon: Only exists in museums; used to be most common bird on the planet ■ Estimated 25 billion birds in a flock someone saw one day around 1800 ■ Martha was the last member of her species ■ Over hunted and fed to pigs, reproductive biology (lived in vast flocks and colonies) ➢ Carolina parakeet: parakeet: Common in southeast of US ■ Agricultural pests (ate farmer’s crops → were hunted) ■ Died down around the same time passenger pigeons did ❖ Various wild species (like rodents) reproduced A LOT ❖ JBS Haldane in outline...