People on Earth

M&R Geography-Geology

People on Earth

If there were no people on earth there would be no need to study geography.

Geographers are interested in the distribution of people and how they live in their environment. How they have adapted to the environment, and how the have adapted the enviroment to meet their needs.

With an ever increasing population on earth, discovering and arranging this information becomes more and more important.

90% of the earth's people live on 10% of the land -- why so crowded?

Wouldn't it make more sense for people to spread out? The answer to that is -- much of the earth is too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too mountainous, or too infertile to support large populations.

For many centuries, the world's population was fairly stable at around 500 million -- that began to change drastically in the early 1800's. Population went past the 1 billion mark, and since 1950 population has soared from 2 billion to over 6 billion.

The majority of the earth's people are concentrated into just 4 areas: South Asia, East Asia, Europe, and North America. And within these areas people a found in areas of plains or river valleys with their attendant fertile soil, moderate climate, and availability of water.

Human Geography studies the people of the earth -- Geographers in this branch are concerned with such things as birth and death rates, marriages, migrations, crime statistics, voting statistics, marketing and business trends and are called Demographers.

Other Human Geographers are Cultural Geographers -- they are interested in patterns societies, belief systems, behavioral attitudes, and the way of life of different peoples.

Many changes are occurring within regions concerning movement of people and increasing urbanization. Human geographers contribute information describing and explaining these changes.

Political and Economic Systems

Perhaps from the 'beginning' people have had a sense of territory and space. Today we call these divisions countries -- almost 200 of them worldwide.

A country is a territory with a population, its own sovereignty and government. Governments implement policies and provide for the needs of the population. There are but a few ways in which this is done.

There are authoritarian governments and democratic governments in the largest view. And there are comibinations of each to be found as well.

In addition to setting policy, a government also has to provide for an economic system. The government must decide what goods and services will be provided to the populace in what amounts, how these things will be produced, and how these things will be distributed.

Generally, the economic system is one of three possibilities.

Capitalism -- in which the people, in a free market decide what will be produced and in what amounts according to their purchases;

Communism -- in which all production decisions are made by the government, a 'planned economy'.

Socialism -- in which the government controls basic industries but leaves other businesses to the private sector.


				*M&R Geography-Geology* *People on Earth*



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		If there were no people on earth there would be no need to study geography. Geographers are interested in the distribution of people and how they live in their environment. How they have adapted to the environment, and how the have adapted the enviroment to meet their needs. With an ever increasing population on earth, discovering and arranging this information becomes more and more important. 90% of the earth's people live on 10% of the land -- why so crowded? Wouldn't it make more sense for people to spread out? The answer to that is -- much of the earth is too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too mountainous, or too infertile to support large populations. For many centuries, the world's population was fairly stable at around 500 million -- that began to change drastically in the early 1800's. Population went past the 1 billion mark, and since 1950 population has soared from 2 billion to over 6 billion. The majority of the earth's people are concentrated into just 4 areas: South Asia, East Asia, Europe, and North America. And within these areas people a found in areas of plains or river valleys with their attendant fertile soil, moderate climate, and availability of water. World Population Clock Population Density The Demographic Transition 6 Billion People on Earth Most Populous Cities in the World Major Religions of the World Thomas Malthus -- Population



		Human Geography studies the people of the earth -- Geographers in this branch are concerned with such things as birth and death rates, marriages, migrations, crime statistics, voting statistics, marketing and business trends and are called Demographers. Other Human Geographers are Cultural Geographers -- they are interested in patterns societies, belief systems, behavioral attitudes, and the way of life of different peoples. Many changes are occurring within regions concerning movement of people and increasing urbanization. Human geographers contribute information describing and explaining these changes.



		Political and Economic Systems Perhaps from the 'beginning' people have had a sense of territory and space. Today we call these divisions countries -- almost 200 of them worldwide. A country is a territory with a population, its own sovereignty and government. Governments implement policies and provide for the needs of the population. There are but a few ways in which this is done. There are authoritarian governments and democratic governments in the largest view. And there are comibinations of each to be found as well. In addition to setting policy, a government also has to provide for an economic system. The government must decide what goods and services will be provided to the populace in what amounts, how these things will be produced, and how these things will be distributed. Generally, the economic system is one of three possibilities. Capitalism -- in which the people, in a free market decide what will be produced and in what amounts according to their purchases; Communism -- in which all production decisions are made by the government, a 'planned economy'. Socialism -- in which the government controls basic industries but leaves other businesses to the private sector. Resources and Land Use