Industry and Energy 11

Learning Outcomes

After reading, studying, and discussing the chapter, students should be able to:

Learning Outcome 11.1.1: Understand the causes of the Industrial Revolution.

Learning Outcome 11.2.1: Describe the locations of the three principal industrial regions.
Learning Outcome 11.2.1: Identify the two types of situation factors.
Learning Outcome 11.2.2: Explain why some industries locate near markets.
Learning Outcome 11.2.3: Describe how the optimal location for steel production has changed.
Learning Outcome 11.2.4: Explain why industries use different modes of transportation.
Learning Outcome 11.2.5: Understand the three types of site factors.
Learning Outcome 11.2.6: Explain the distribution of clothing production.
Learning Outcome 11.3.1: Describe the distribution of production of the three fossil fuels.
Learning Outcome 11.3.2: Explain the principal sources of demand for fossil fuels.
Learning Outcome 11.3.3: Understand the distinctive distributions of reserves of the three fossil fuels.
Learning Outcome 11.3.4: Understand changing patterns of oil trade and demand.
Learning Outcome 11.3.5: Describe the distribution of nuclear energy and challenges in using it.
Learning Outcome 11.3.6: Identify alternative sources of energy and challenges to using them.
Learning Outcome 11.3.7: Compare passive and active solar energy.
Learning Outcome 11.3.8: Describe causes and effects of air pollution at global, regional, and local
scales.
Learning Outcome 11.3.9: Compare and contrast point and nonpoint sources of water pollution.
Learning Outcome 11.3.10: Describe principal strategies for reducing solid waste pollution.
Learning Outcome 11.4.1: Explain reasons for the emergence of new concentration of industries.
Learning Outcome 11.4.2: Explain reasons for changing distribution of industry in developed regions.
Learning Outcome 11.4.3: Understand the attraction of locations with skilled labor and those with
unskilled labor.
Learning Outcome 11.4.4: Understand the concepts of recycling and remanufacturing.

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Chapter Outline

Key Issue 1: Where Is Industry Distributed?

Introducing Industry and Energy The hearth of modern industry – meaning the manufacturing of goods
in a factory – was in northern England and southern England during the second half of the eighteenth
century. From these two locations, industry diffused to Europe and to North America in the nineteenth
century and to other regions in the twentieth century.

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was a series of improvements in industrial technology
that transformed the process of manufacturing goods. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, people made
household tools and agricultural equipment in their own homes or obtained them in the local village.
Home-based manufacturing was known as the cottage industry system.

Several inventions transformed the way in which goods were manufactured, beginning with the steam
engine. The revolution in industrial technology created an unprecedented expansion in productivity,
resulting in substantially higher standards of living. The Industrial Revolution resulted in new social,
economic, and political inventions, not just traditional ones. The changes involved a gradual diffusion of
new ideas and techniques over decades rather than an instantaneous revolution. Among the first industries
impacted by the Industrial Revolution were iron, transportation, textiles, chemicals, and food processing.

Fossil Fuels Historically, people relied primarily on power supplied by themselves or by animals, known
as animate power. Supplementing animal power was energy flowing from water and burning biomass
fuel, which is fuel derived from plant material and animal waste. Biomass remains an important sources
of fuel in some developing countries, by during the past 200 years, developed countries have converted
primarily to energy from fossil fuels. A fossil fuel is an energy source formed from the residue of plants
and animals buried millions of years ago. As sediment accumulated over these remains, intense pressure
and chemical reactions slowly converted them into fossil fuels that are used today. Five-sixths of the
world’s energy needs are supplied by three fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas.

Industrial Regions Industry is concentrated in Europe, North America, and East Asia. European
industrial areas tend to be located in regions with abundant energy, raw materials such as iron ore, and
labor concentrations. North American industrial areas are located in a band from the Great Lakes to the
East Coast and the California Coast. East Asia’s industrial areas are in China along the coast and in Japan.

Key Issue 2: Why Are Situation and Site Factors Important?

Geographers try to explain why one location may be more profitable for a factory than others. A company
typically faces two costs centered around geography:
 Situation factors involve transporting materials to and from a factory. A firm seeks a location
that minimizes the cost of transporting inputs to the factory and finished goods to consumers.
 Site factors result from the unique characteristics of a location. These labor, capital, and land.

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Situation Factors: Proximity to Inputs Manufacturers purchase from suppliers of inputs, such as minerals,
materials, energy, machinery, and supporting services. They sell to companies and individuals who purchase
the products. The farther a product is transported, the higher the cost, so a manufacturer tries to locate its
factory as close as possible to its inputs and markets. The optimal plant location is as close as possible to
inputs if the cost of transporting raw materials to the factory is greater than the cost of transporting the
product to consumers. The optimal plant location is as close as possible to the customer if the cost of
transporting raw materials to the factory is less than the cost of transporting the product to consumers.

Mineral Resources Minerals are particularly important inputs for many industries. Minerals are either
nonmetallic or metallic. In weight, more than 90 percent of minerals that humans use are nonmetallic.
Building stones, gemstones, and fertilizers are examples of nonmetallic minerals that humans commonly
use. Metallic minerals have properties that are especially valuable for fashioning machinery, vehicles, and
other essential elements of contemporary society. Many metals are capable of combining with other
metals to form alloys with distinctive properties important for industry. A ferrous alloy contains iron and
a nonferrous one does not. Iron is extracted from iron ore, by far the world’s most widely used ore.
Important metals used to make ferrous alloys include chromium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, tin,
titanium, and tungsten. Important metals used to manufacture products that don’t contain iron and steel
include aluminum, copper, lead, lithium, magnesium, zinc, precious metals, and rare earth metals.

Proximity to Inputs: Copper Industry Copper production involves several steps. Mining copper ore is a
bulk-reducing industry because the heavy, bulky ore that is extracted from the mines is mostly waste.
The second step in copper production is the concentration mills that grind the ore into fine particles that
produce copper. Copper smelters then remove more impurities. The purified copper produced by smelters
is treated at refineries to produce copper cathodes, about 99.99 percent pure copper. Most refineries are
located near smelters. Copper that is ready for use in other products is produced in foundries. As a bulk
reducing industry, copper concentration mills and smelters are built near the mines to minimize
transportation costs. Since so much waste has already been disposed of, proximity to the mines is a less
critical factor in determining the location of the foundries.

Situation Factors: Proximity to Markets For many firms, the optimal location is close to customers.
Proximity to markets is a critical locational factor for three types of industries: bulk-gaining industries,
single-market manufacturers, and perishable-products companies.

Bulk-Gaining Industries A bulk-gaining industry makes something that gains volume or weight during
production. To minimize transport costs, a bulk-gaining industry needs to locate near where the product is
sold. A prominent example of a bulk gaining industry is the fabrication of parts and machinery from steel
and other metals. For example, steelmakers have traditionally located near raw materials; steel fabricators
have traditionally located near the markets. Beverage bottlers also locate near large markets to cut down
on the cost of shipping.

Single-Market Manufacturers A single-market manufacturer is a specialized manufacturer with only

one or two customers. The optimal location for these factories is often close proximity to the customers.
An example of a single-market manufacturer is a producer of buttons, zippers, clips, pins, or other
specialized components attached to clothing. The makers of parts for motor vehicles are another example
of specialized manufacturers with only one or two customers.

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Perishable-Products Companies To deliver their products to consumers as rapidly as possible,

perishable-product industries must be located near their markets. Because few people want stale bread or
sour milk, food producers such as bakers and milk bottlers must locate near their customers to assure
rapid delivery. The daily newspaper is an example of a product other than food that is highly perishable
because it contains dated information. Newspaper publishers must locate near the markets to minimize
transportation costs. People demand their newspaper as soon after it’s printing as possible.

Motor Vehicle Production and Sales The motor vehicle is a noted example of a fabricated metal
product that is likely to be built near its market. Around 90 million new vehicles are sold every year
worldwide. China accounts for 27 percent of those sales, other Asian countries 22 percent, North America
23 percent, and Europe 17 percent. China and the rest of Asia each have 26 percent of world production,
and Europe and North America each have 19 percent. Most of the vehicles that are produced in these
regions are sold in their respective markets.

Changing Situation Factors: Steel The two principal inputs in steel production are iron ore and coal.
The majority of steel was produced at large integrated mill complexes. They processed iron ore,
converted coal into coke, converted the iron into steel, and formed the steel into sheets, beams, rods, or
other shapes.

Changing Distribution of U.S. Steel Because of the need for large quantities of bulky, heavy iron ore
and coal, steelmaking traditionally clustered near sources of the two key raw materials. Within the United
States, the distribution of steel production has changed several times because of changing inputs. As
sources and importance of these inputs changed, so did the optimal location for steel production within
the United States. The increasing importance of proximity to markets is demonstrated by the recent
growth of steel minimills. Rather than iron ore and coal, the main input into minimill production is scrap
metal. Minimills are less expensive to operate then traditional steel mills and they can locate near their
markets because their main input—scrap metal—is widely available. World steel production is declining
in developed countries and increasing in developing countries. Overall world steel production doubled
between 1980 and 2013, with the biggest increase in production taking place in China.

Truck, Train, Ship, or Plane? Inputs and products are transported in one of four ways: via ship, rail,
truck, or air. Shipping costs are variable depending on the mode of transport used. The farther a product is
transported, the lower the cost per unit distance. Longer-distance transportation is cheaper per unit
distance in part because firms must pay workers to load goods on and off vehicles, whether the material
travels 10 kilometers or 10,000. The cost per kilometer decreases at variable rates for each of the four
modes because of the loading and unloading expenses differ for each mode:
 Trucks are primarily used for short-distance delivery because they can be loaded and unloaded
quickly and at low costs.
 Trains are often used to ship to destinations that take longer than one day to reach, such as
between the East and West coasts of the United States. Loading trains takes longer than loading
trucks, but once under way, trains aren’t required to make daily rest stops like trucks.

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 Ships are attractive for transport over very long distances because the cost per kilometer is very
low. Ships are slower than land-based transportation, but unlike trains or trucks, they can cross
oceans.
 Airplanes are most expensive for all distances, and are usually reserved for expedited delivery of
small-bulk, high-value packages.

Break-of-Bulk Points Mixed modes of transportation are often used. Industries which use a number of
different shipping modes tend to locate at break-of-bulk points, which is a location where transfer among
transportation modes is possible. Important break-of-bulk points include seaports and airports.
Containerization has facilitated transfer of packages between modes. Containers may be packed into a rail
car, transferred quickly to a container ship to cross the ocean and unloaded into trucks at the other end.
Large ships have been specially built to accommodate large numbers of rectangular boxlike containers.
Regardless of transportation mode, costs increase each time inputs or products are transferred from one
mode to another. For example, workers must unload goods from a truck and then reload them onto a plane.

Just-in-Time Delivery Proximity to market has become more relevant in recent years due to the
emergence of just-in-time delivery. Just-in-time delivery is the shipment of parts and materials to arrive
at a factory moments before they are needed in the production process. Just-in-time delivery is especially
important for delivery of inputs, such as parts and raw materials, to manufacturers of fabricated products,
such as cars and computers. Under a just-in-time system, parts and materials arrive at a factory frequently,
in many cases daily or even hourly. Just-in-time delivery minimizes the costs a manufacturer incurs in
wasteful inventory, and in storage space. However, natural disasters, traffic, and labor unrest can disrupt
just-in-time delivery systems.

Site Factors in Industry Site factors are industrial location factors related to the costs of factors of
production inside a plant. For some companies, site factors are more important than situation factors in
deciding the location of a plant. Labor, capital, and land are three production factors that vary among
locations.

Labor Minimizing labor costs is important for some industries and the variation of labor costs around the
world is large. A labor-intensive industry is an industry in which wages and other compensation paid to
employees constitutes a high percentage of expenses. The reverse case, an industry with a much lower-
than-average percentage of expenditures on labor, is considered capital intensive. A labor intensive
industry is not the same as a high-wage industry. Labor-intensive is measured as a percentage, whereas
high-wage is measured in dollars. Motor vehicle workers are paid much higher hourly wages than textile
workers, yet the textile industry is labor intensive and the auto industry is not.

Capital The U.S. motor-vehicle industry concentrated in Michigan early in the twentieth century largely
because that region’s financial institutions were more willing than eastern banks to lend money to the
industry’s pioneers. High-tech industries have been risky propositions—roughly two-thirds of them fail—
but Silicon Valley financial institutions have continued to lend money to engineers who have good ideas
so that they can buy the software, communications, and networks they need to get started. The ability to
borrow money has become a critical factor in the distribution of industry in developing countries.

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Land Contemporary factories operate most efficiently when laid out in one-story buildings. Raw
materials are typically delivered at one end and moved through the factory in conveyors or forklift trucks.
The land needed to build one-story factories is now more likely to be available in suburban and rural
locations. With trucks now responsible for transporting most inputs and products, proximity to major
highways is important for factories. Especially attractive is the proximity to the junction of a long-
distance route and the beltway, or ring road that encircles most cities.

Changing Site Factors: Clothing Production of textiles (woven fabrics) and apparel (clothing) is a
prominent example of an industry that generally requires less-skilled, low-cost workers. Textile and
apparel production involves three principal steps: spinning of fibers to make yarn; weaving or knitting of
yarn into fabric; and assembly of fabric into products. Spinning, weaving, and sewing are all labor
intensive compared to other industries, but the importance of labor varies somewhat among them. Textile
and apparel production involves three principle steps: spinning, weaving, and assembly.

Spinning Fibers can be spun from natural or synthetic elements. The primary natural fiber is cotton, and
synthetics now account for three-quarters of world thread production. Because it is a labor-intensive
industry, spinning is done primarily in low-wage countries. China produces one-quarter and India one-
fifth of the world’s cotton thread.

Weaving For thousands of years, fabric has been woven or laced together by hand on a loom, which is a
frame on which two sets of threads are place at right angles to each other. One set of threads, called the
warp, is strung lengthwise. A second set of threads, called the weft, is carried in a shuttle that is inserted
over and under the warp. For mechanized weaving, labor makes up a high percentage of the total
production cost. As a result, weaving is primarily found on low-wage countries.

Assembly Sewing by hand is a human activity with a past that stretches back tens of thousands of years.
Textiles are cut and sewn to be assembled into four main types of products: garments, carpets, home
products such as bed linens and curtains, and industrial items such as headliners for motor vehicles.
Developed countries play a larger role in assembly than in spinning and weaving because most of the
consumers of assembled products are located in developed countries.

Key Issue 3: Why Do Industries Face Resource Challenges?

Two issues are at the forefront for geographers when considering resources:
 We deplete scarce resources, especially petroleum, natural gas, and coal, for energy production.
 We destroy resources through pollution of air, water, and soil.

Energy Supply Earth’s energy resources are not distributed evenly. Coal is formed in lush, swampy
tropical areas rich in plants. Thanks to the slow movement of Earth’s drifting continents, the tropical
swamps of 250 million years ago have relocated to the mid-latitudes. Petroleum and natural gas formed
millions of years ago from residue deposited on the seafloor. Some still lies beneath such seas as the

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Persian Gulf and North Sea, but other reserves are located beneath land that was underwater millions of
years ago. The United States is highly dependent on all three fossil fuels.
Demand for Energy Industry relies on availability of abundant low-cost energy. Large quantities of
energy are required to operate factories as well as to transport inputs into factories and products from
factories to consumers. Energy is also required to produce food, keep homes comfortable, and transport
people. Demand for energy comes from four primary types of consumption in the United States:
 Industries. Factories use approximately 40 percent natural gas and 30 percent each coal and
petroleum.
 Transportation. Almost all transportation systems run on petroleum products.
 Homes. Natural gas and coal provide approximately equal shares of home needs.
 Commercial. Stores and offices have uses and sources similar to those of homes.

Developing countries comprised more energy usage than developed countries for the first time in 2006.
China is currently the world’s leader in energy demand. The highest per capita consumption of energy
remains in developed countries.

Petroleum Challenges Most of the world’s petroleum is produced in Southwest Asia and North Africa
and Central Asia, regions where religious, ethnic, and political conflicts are common. Several developing
countries possessing substantial petroleum reserves, principally in Southwest Asia and North Africa,
created the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1960. OPEC was originally
formed to enable oil-rich countries to gain more control over their resources. U.S. and European
transnational companies, which had originally explored and exploited the oil fields, were selling the
petroleum at low prices to consumers in developed countries and keeping most of the profits. Countries
possessing the oil reserves nationalized or more tightly controlled the fields, and prices were set by
governments rather than by petroleum companies. Under OPEC, world oil prices have increased sharply
on several occasions, although gas prices are currently low in the United States, especially when adjusted
for inflation.

Fossil Fuel Reserves The supply of energy remaining in deposits that have been discovered is called a
proven reserve.

Proven Reserves Developed countries have historically possessed a disproportionately high supply of the
world’s proven fossil fuel reserves:
 Coal. World reserves are approximately 1 trillion metric tons. At current demand, proven coal
reserves would last 130 years. Developed and developing regions each have about one-half of the
supply of proven reserves.
 Natural Gas. World reserves are approximately 200 trillion cubic meters. At current demand,
proven natural gas reserves would last 56 years. Less than 10 percent of proven reserves are in
developed countries, primarily the United States.
 Petroleum. World reserves are approximately 1.6 trillion barrels. At current demand, proven
petroleum reserves would last 55 years.

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Potential Reserves The supply in deposits that are undiscovered but thought to exist is a potential
reserve. When a potential reserve is actually discovered, it is reclassified as a proven reserve. Potential
reserves can be converted to proven reserves from fields that have yet to be developed, or from fields yet
to be discovered. Extraction from both types of fields is relatively (and possibly prohibitively) expensive.

Unconventional Resources Resources are considered unconventional if we lack economically feasible or

environmentally sound technology with which to extract them. As demand increases for a resource and
prices rise, exploiting an unconventional source can be profitable. Oil sands and hydraulic fracturing
(commonly known as fracking) are two current examples.

Petroleum Futures Developed countries provide a large share of the world’s fossil fuels, but they
demand more energy than they produce, so they must import fossil fuels, especially petroleum, from
developing countries.

World Oil Trade The largest flows of oil are from Russia to Europe and from Southwest Asia to Europe
and to Japan. The United States and Europe import more than half their petroleum, and Japan imports
more than 90 percent. Canada and Saudi Arabia now supply much higher shares of petroleum to the
United States than in the past. With demand increasing rapidly in developing countries, developed
countries face greater competition in obtaining the world’s remaining supplies of fossil fuels. Many of the
developing countries with low HDIs also lack energy resources, and they lack the funds to pay for
importing them

Declining Demand Demand for petroleum has been dampened in developed countries through
conservation. Factories have reduced their demand for petroleum, principally by consuming more natural
gas. Higher gas mileage standards have been enacted by regulatory bodies in many countries to help ease
demand for petroleum. While the world will not totally deplete petroleum reserves in the twenty-first
century, at some point extracting the remaining reserves will be so expensive and environmentally
damaging that use of alternative energy sources will accelerate, and dependence on petroleum will
diminish. In the future, all countries will need to pursue sustainable development strategies based on
increased reliance on renewable energy sources.

Nuclear Energy While nuclear power is not renewable, some view it as an alternative to fossil fuels. The
large amount of energy released from a small amount of material makes it an attractive alternative. One
kilogram of enriched nuclear fuel contains more than 2 million time the energy in 1 kilogram of coal.
Challenges are presented by nuclear power, though.

Distribution of Nuclear Power Nuclear power supplies 14 percent of the world’s electricity. Two-thirds
of the world’s nuclear power is generated in developed countries, with Europe and North America
responsible for generating one-third each. Only 30 of the world’s nearly 200 countries employ nuclear
power in some capacity, including 19 developed countries and only 11 developing countries.

Potential Accidents A nuclear power plant produces electricity from energy released by splitting
uranium atoms in a controlled environment in a process known as fission. One product of all nuclear
reactions is radioactive waste, certain types of which are lethal to people exposed to it. While nuclear

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power plants cannot explode, it is possible to have a runaway reaction, which overheats the reactor,
causing a meltdown, possible steam explosions, and scattering of radioactive material into the
atmosphere. The nuclear incidents in Chernobyl and Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants are
prominent examples of nuclear-related disasters.

Radioactive Waste The waste from nuclear fission is highly radioactive and lethal, and it remains so for
many years. Plutonium for making nuclear weapons can be harvested from this waste. Pipes, concrete,
and water near the fissioning fuel also become “hot” with radioactivity. No one has yet devised
permanent storage for radioactive waste.

Bomb Material Nuclear power has been used in warfare twice, in August 1945, when the United States
dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, ending World War II. No government has
dared to use these bombs in conflicts since because leaders realize that a full-scale nuclear war could
terminate human civilization. The United States and Russia each have several thousand nuclear weapons.
China, France, and the United Kingdom have several hundred nuclear weapons each, India and Pakistan
several dozen each, and North Korea a handful. Israel is suspected of possessing nuclear weapons but has
not admitted to it, and Iran is developing the capability.

Limited Reserves Like fossil fuels, uranium is a nonrenewable resource. Proven uranium reserves will
last about 124 years at current rates of use. And they are not distributed evenly around the world:
Australia has 23 percent of the world’s proven uranium reserves, Kazakhstan 15 percent, and Russia 10
percent.

High Cost Nuclear power plants cost several billion dollars to build, primarily because of the elaborate
safety measured required. Without double and triple backup systems at nuclear power plants, nuclear
energy would be too dangerous to use. Uranium is mined in one place, refined in another, and used in still
another. Mining uranium can pollute land and water and damage miners’ health. The complexities of
secure transportation add to the cost. Consequently, generating electricity from nuclear plants is much
more expensive than from coal-burning plants. Some nuclear power issues might be addressed through
nuclear fusion, which is the fusing of hydrogen atoms to form helium. Fusion can occur only at very high
temperatures (millions of degrees) that cannot be generated on a sustained basis in a power-plant reactor
with current technology.

Energy Alternatives Earth’s energy resources are divided between those that are renewable and those
that are not. Nonrenewable energy resources form so slowly that for practical purposes, they cannot be
renewed. Examples are the three fossil fuels that currently supply most of the world’s energy needs.
Renewable energy resources have an essentially unlimited supply and are not depleted when used by
people. Water, wind, and the Sun supply sources of renewable energy.

Hydroelectric Power Generating electricity from the movement of water is called hydroelectric power.
Hydroelectric is now the world’s second-most-popular source of electricity, after coal. Two-thirds of the
world’s hydroelectric power is generated in developing countries and one-third in developed countries. A
number of developing countries rely on hydroelectric power for most of their electricity.

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Biomass Biomass fuel is fuel derived from plant material and animal waste. Biomass energy sources
include wood and crops. When carefully harvested in forests, wood is a renewable resource that can be
utilized to generate electricity and heat. The waste from processing wood, such as for building
construction and demolition, is also available. And crops such as sugarcane, corn, and soybeans can be
processed into motor-vehicle fuels. The prospects for increasing the use of biomass for fuel is limited, for
several reasons:
 Burning biomass may be inefficient, as the energy required to produce the crops may be as much
as the energy supplied by the crops.
 Biomass already serves essential purposes other than energy, such as providing much of Earth’s
food, clothing, and shelter.
 When wood is burned for fuel instead of being left in the forest, the fertility of the forest may be
compromised.

Wind Power Wind power has greater potential for increased use because only a fraction of the resource,
wind, has been harnessed. Despite its perceived and actual benefits, wind power has been harnessed in
only a few places. 90 percent of total world wind energy production is concentrated in China, North
America, and Europe. A significant hurdle for developing countries in pursuing wind power is the high
cost of wind turbine construction. Some critics oppose construction of wind turbines because they can be
noisy, lethal for birds and bats, and may obscure the natural beauty of a landscape.

Geothermal Energy Energy from hot water or steam is called geothermal energy. Natural nuclear
reactions make Earth’s interior hot. Toward the surface, in volcanic areas, this heat is especially
pronounced. The hot rocks can encounter groundwater and produce heated water or steam that can be
tapped by wells. Harnessing geothermal energy is most feasible at sites along Earth’s surface where
crustal plates meet, which are also the sites of many earthquakes and volcanoes. The United States, the
Philippines, and Indonesia are the leading producers of geothermal power.

Solar Energy The ultimate renewable resource for sustainable development is solar energy supplied by
the Sun. Solar energy provides the possibility for countries at low levels of development to promote
sustainable development. Solar energy may serve as a way for developing countries to obtain electricity
needed to operate businesses, schools, and hospitals. Solar sources currently supply only 1 percent of the
electricity generated in the United States, although the potential for growth is limitless.

Passive Solar Energy Solar energy is harnessed through either passive or active methods. Passive solar
energy systems capture energy without using special devices. These systems use south-facing windows
and dark surfaces to heat and light building on sunny days. The Sun’s rays penetrate the windows and are
converted to heat. Greenhouses are a prime example of the applications of passive solar energy.

Active Solar Energy Active solar energy systems collect solar energy and convert it either to heat
energy or to electricity. The conversion can be accomplished either directly or indirectly. In direct electric
conversion, solar radiation is captured with photovoltaic cells, which convert light energy to electrical
energy. The photovoltaic cell was invented by Bell Laboratories in 1954. In indirect electric conversion,
solar radiation is first converted to heat and then to electricity.

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Solar Powered Electricity Solar power can be produced at a central station and distributed by an electric
company, as coal- and nuclear-generated electricity are now supplied. There is little incentive for public
and private utility companies to pursue solar technology, as coal remains cheap and significant
investments in nuclear power have already been made. In developing countries, the largest and fastest-
growing market for photovoltaic includes the 2 billion people who lack electricity, especially residents of
remote villages. In order for countries to justify the expense of adopting solar powered electricity
technologies, the cost of cells must drop and their efficiency must improve.

Air Pollution Pollution occurs when more waste is added than air, water, and land resources can handle.
At ground level, Earth’s average atmosphere is made up of about 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen,
and less than 1 percent argon. The remaining 0.04 percent includes several trace gases. Air pollution is a
concentration of trace substances at a greater level than occurs in average air. These high concentrations
of trace gases in the air can damage property and negatively affect the health of people, other animals,
and vegetation. Most air pollution is caused by factories and power plants, in addition to motor vehicles.
Factories and power plants produce sulfur dioxides and solid particulates, principally from burning coal.
Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere when motor
vehicles burn petroleum.

Global-Scale Air Pollution Geographers can examine air pollution at three scales: global, regional, and
local. Climate change and ozone damage are both global-scale issues.

Climate Change Between 1880 and 2014, the average temperature of Earth’s surface increased by
0.89°C (1.6°F). An international team of U.N. scientists has concluded that this temperature increase is
directly linked to human actions, particularly the burning of fossil fuels in factories and vehicles. Carbon
dioxide is released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. According to U.N. scientists, the
level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by more than one-fourth during the past 200
years. A concentration of trace gasses in the atmosphere can block or delay the return of some of the heat
leaving the surface heading for space, thereby raising Earth’s temperature. When fossil fuels are burned,
one of the trace gasses, carbon dioxide, is discharged into the atmosphere. The anticipated increase in
Earth’s temperature, caused by carbon dioxide trapping some of the radiation emitted by the surface, is
called the greenhouse effect. As a country’s per capita income increases, its per capita carbon dioxide
emissions generally increase.

Ozone Damage The stratosphere contains a concentration of ozone gas. The ozone layer absorbs
dangerous ultraviolet rays from the Sun. Were it not for the ozone in the stratosphere, ultraviolet rays
would damage plants, cause skin cancer, and disrupt food chains. Earth’s protective ozone layer is
threatened by pollutants called chlorofluorocarbons.

Regional-Scale Air Pollution Air pollution may damage a region’s vegetation and water supply through
acid deposition. Acid deposition is the accumulation of acids on Earth’s surface. Sulfur oxides and
nitrogen oxides enter Earth’s atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, combine with oxygen and
water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid, and are deposited on Earth’s surface. Acid precipitation is the
conversion of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides to acids that return to Earth as rain, snow, or fog. Acid
precipitation damages lakes, killing fish and plants. On land, concentrations of acid in the soil can injure

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plants by depriving them of nutrients and can harm worms and insects. Buildings and monuments made
of marble and limestone have suffered corrosion from acid rain. Geographers are particularly interested in
the effects of acid precipitation because the worst damage is not experienced at the same location as the
emission of the pollutants.

Local-Scale Air Pollution At the local scale, air pollution is especially severe in places where emission
sources are concentrated, such as urban areas. Urban air pollution has three basic elements:
 Carbon monoxide. Breathing carbon monoxide reduces the oxygen level in blood, impairs vision
and alertness, and threatens those with breathing problems.
 Hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight form
photochemical smog, which causes respiratory problems, stinging in the eyes, and an ugly haze
over cities.
 Particulates. These pollutants include dust and smoke particles. The dark plume of smoke from a
factory stack and the exhaust of a diesel truck are examples of particulate emission.

Water Pollution Water pollution is a widespread problem because it is easy to dump waste into a river
and let the water carry it downstream, where it becomes someone else’s problem. Water can decompose
some waste without negatively affected other activities, but the volume of waste often exceeds the
capacity that many rivers and lakes can accommodate.

Demand for Water Humans use approximately 3.6 trillion cubic meters (950 billion gallons) of water
per year, or around 500 cubic meters (132,000) per capita. The most demand is for electricity, followed
by agriculture and municipal sewage systems. Water usage is either nonconsumptive or consumptive.
Nonconsumptive water usage is use of water that is returned to nature as a liquid. Most industrial and
municipal uses of water are nonconsumptive because the wastewater is primarily discharged into lakes
and streams. Consumptive water usage is use of water that evaporates rather than being returned to
nature as a liquid. Most agricultural uses are consumptive because the water is used primarily to supply
plants that transpire it and therefore cannot be treated and reused.

Impact on Aquatic Life Polluted water can harm aquatic life. A commonly used measure of water
pollution is biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), which is the amount of oxygen required by aquatic
bacteria to decompose a given amount of organic waste. Aquatic plants and animals consume oxygen and
so does the decomposing organic waste that humans dump in the water. If too much waste is discharged
into water, the water becomes oxygen starved and the fish die. Many factories and power plants use water
for cooling and then discharge the warm water back into the river or lake. Fish adapted to cold water,
such as salmon or trout, might not be able to survive the warmer water.

Point Source Pollution The sources of pollution can be divided into point sources and nonpoint sources.
Point source pollution enters a body of water at a specific location. Nonpoint source pollution comes
from a large, diffuse area. Point source pollutants are usually smaller in quantity and much easier to
control than nonpoint source pollutants. Water-using manufacturers and municipal sewage are the two
main point sources of water pollution.

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Nonpoint Source Pollution Nonpoint sources usually pollute in greater quantities and are much harder to
control than point sources of pollution. The principal nonpoint source is agriculture. Fertilizers and
pesticides spread on fields to increase agricultural productivity are carried into rivers and lakes by
irrigation systems or natural runoff.

Solid Waste Pollution The average American generates about 2 kilograms (4 pounds) of solid waste per
day. Residences generate around 60 percent of the solid waste, while businesses account for the remaining
40 percent. Paper products account for the largest share of solid waste in the United States, especially
among residences and retailers. Manufacturers throw away large quantities of metals as well as paper.

Sanitary Landfill Using a sanitary landfill is by far the most common strategy for disposal of solid
waste in the United States. Thousands of small-town “dumps” have been closed and replaced by a small
number of large regional ones. Given the shortage of landfills, alternatives have been sought to dispose of
solid waste. A rapidly growing alternative is incineration. Burning releases some toxins into the air and
some toxins also remain in ash. Thus solving one pollution problem may increase another.

Hazardous Waste Disposing of hazardous waste is especially difficult. Hazardous waste includes heavy
metals (including mercury, cadmium, and zinc), PCB oils from electrical equipment, cyanides, strong
solvents, acids, and caustics. These may be unwanted by-products generated in manufacturing or waste to
be discarded after usage. If poisonous industrial residuals are not carefully placed in protective containers,
the chemicals may leach into the soil and contaminate groundwater or escape into the atmosphere.

Key Issue 4: Why Are Industries Changing Locations?

Emerging Industrial Regions In 1970, nearly one-half of world industry was in Europe and nearly
one-third was in North America. Currently, these two regions constitute only one-quarter each of world
industry. Industry’s share of total economic output has steadily declined in developed countries since
the 1970s. The share of world industry in other regions has increased – from one-sixth in 1970 to one-
half in 2010.

Outsourcing Transnational corporations have been particularly aggressive in using low-cost labor in
developing countries. To remain competitive in the global economy, they identify steps in their
production processes that can be performed by low-paid, low-skilled workers in developing countries.
The new international division of labor is the selective transfer of some jobs to developing countries.
Transnational corporations allocate production to low-wage countries through outsourcing, which is
turning over much of the responsibility for production to independent suppliers. Outsourcing has led to
intense scrutiny in the determination of optimal locations in the production process. Outsourcing contrasts
with the approach typical of traditional mass production, called vertical integration, in which a company
controls all phases of a highly complex production process.

Mexico and NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), effective in 1994, eliminated
barriers to moving goods among Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Because it is the nearest low-
wage country to the United States, Mexico attracts labor-intensive industries that also need proximity to
the U.S. market. Plants in Mexico near the U.S. border are known as maquiladoras, from the Spanish verb

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maqullar, which means “to receive payment for grinding or processing corn.” Under U.S. and Mexican
laws, companies receive tax breaks if they ship materials from the United States, assemble the components
at a maquiladora plant in Mexico, and export the finished product back to the United States.

BRIC Countries Much of the world’s future growth in manufacturing is expected to locate outside the
principle industrial regions described earlier. The financial analysis firm Goldman Sachs coined the
acronym BRIC to indicate the countries it expects to dominate global manufacturing during the twenty-
first century: Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The four BRIC countries together currently control one-
fourth of the world’s land area and contain 3 billion of the world’s 7 billion inhabitants. Their economies
rank second (China), seventh (Brazil), ninth (Russia), and eleventh (India) in the world.

Industrial Change in Developed Countries In developed countries, industry is shifting away from the
traditional industrial areas of northwestern Europe and the northeastern United States. In the United
States, industry has shifted from the Northeast toward the South and West. In Europe, government
policies have encouraged relocation toward economically distressed peripheral areas.

Intraregional Shifts in North America The United States lost 2.3 million manufacturing jobs between
1950 and 2015. The northeastern United States lost 3.7 million jobs in manufacturing in the same period.
The South added 1.3 million manufacturing jobs, and the far western states gained 1.1 million. Industrial
growth in the South since the 1930s has been stimulated in part by government policies to reduce
historical disparities. The Tennessee Valley Authority brought electricity to much of the rural South, and
roads were constructed in previously inaccessible sections of the Appalachians, the Piedmont, and
Ozarks. Steel, textiles, tobacco products, and furniture industries have become dispersed through smaller
communities in the South, many in search of a labor force willing to work for less pay than the North and
forgo joining a union. Motor vehicle production is an example of an industry that has been attracted to the
South on account of these factors. The principle lure for many manufacturers to locate in the South has
been right-to-work laws. A right-to-work law requires a factory to maintain a so-called “open shop” and
prohibits a “closed shop”. In a “closed shop” a company and union agree that everyone must join a union
to work in the factory. The percentage of workers who are union members is much lower in the South
than elsewhere in the United States. Twenty-five U.S. states have right-to-work laws that make it much
more difficult for unions to organize factory workers, collect dues, and bargain with employers from a
position of strength. More importantly, the region has been especially attractive for companies working
hard to keep out the unions altogether.

Intraregional Shifts in Europe Manufacturing has diffused from traditional industrial centers in
northwestern Europe towards Southern and Eastern Europe. Several European countries situated east of
Germany and west of Russia have become major centers of industrial investment since the fall of
communism in the early 1990s. These countries offer manufactures an attractive combination of two
important site and situation factors: labor and market proximity. The workers offer manufacturers good
value for money; they are less skilled but much cheaper than in Western Europe and they are more skilled
than workers in Asia and Latin America. The region is also close to the wealthy markets of Western Europe.

Skilled or Unskilled Labor? Many manufacturers are torn between the benefits of locating in regions
with low-skilled low-cost labor and those with highly skilled higher-cost labor.

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Skilled Labor Two location factors influence industries to remain in these traditional regions: availability
of skilled labor and rapid delivery to market. Traditionally, factories assigned each worker one specific
task to perform repeatedly. Some geographers call this approach Fordist production because the Ford
Motor Company was one of the first companies to organize its production this way early in the twentieth
century. Many industries now follow a lean, or flexible, production approach. The term post-Fordist
production is sometimes used to describe lean production in contrasts with Fordist production. Four
types of work rules distinguish post-Fordist lean production: teams, problem solving, leveling, and
productivity.

Recycling and Remanufacturing Recycling is the separation, collection, processing, marketing, and
reuse of unwanted material. Remanufacturing is the rebuilding of a product to specifications of the
original manufactured product using a combination of reused, repaired, and new parts.

Recycling Recycling has increased in the United States from 7 percent of all solid waste in 1970 to 34
percent in 2013. As a result of recycling, about 87 million of the 254 million tons of solid waste generated
in the United States in 2013 did not have to go to landfills and incinerators, compared to 34 million of the
200 million tons generated in 1990. The percentage of materials recovered by recycling varies widely by
product: 50 percent of paper products and 24 percent of yard trimmings are recycled, compared to less
than 10 percent for other sources of solid waste.

Remanufacturing Recycled materials can be remanufactured into new products. Four major
manufacturing sectors accounted for more than half of the recycling activity: paper mills, steel mills,
plastic converters, and iron and steel foundries. Common household items that contain remanufactured
materials include newspapers and paper towels; aluminum, plastic, and glass soft-drink containers; steel
cans; and plastic laundry detergent bottles.

Introducing the Chapter

The chapter enters on a dark note: the loss of manufacturing jobs in the United States at the dawn of the
twenty-first century. It’s a fine place to start for many of our students, and a great way to make what
might otherwise be perceived as a boring subject matter very relevant. A similar approach to the
outsourcing of service jobs can be used to introduce Chapter 12.

Icebreaker: Rivers and Cities

This exercise can also be used for Chapter 13, Urban Patterns.

Using an online mapping service, challenge the students:

Can you name a major North American city that is not located on a river or with access to the ocean?
Las Vegas will invariably come up. Use the opportunity to discuss why Las Vegas is located where it is.
Most other examples are on the ocean, on a river, or both. Enter the city name into the search tool to
demonstrate this.

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Next ask the following:

Can you think of any other cities in the world?

Again, students will be hard pressed to find a city of significant size that is not served by a river, the
ocean, or both.

The availability of efficient transport (not to mention water supply) is fundamental to a city with
industrial output at any appreciable scale.

Challenges to Comprehension

Other “Industries”

Similar to the confusion over the meaning of “state”, students may have heard “industry” used in more
general terms than the text’s strict definition. For clarity, simply explain that industry applies only to
manufactured goods of some sort, and does not include the following “industries”:

 The recreation industry

 The restaurant industry
 The hospitality industry
 The travel industry

Site vs. Situation

Students usually grasp the reasons for an industry locating close to inputs vs. close to markets—but then
they forget these reasons for industrial location as soon as they learn about site factors, or confuse the two.

The review questions below may help students distinguish between these issues: Sometimes site factors
are so overwhelming that situation factors are ignored, and vice versa. In other cases a combination of site
and situation factors may be at play.

Assignments

Review/Reflection Questions

 Name some industries local to our town. Identify and explain the situation and site factors
involved in each industry’s location.
 Now pick an industry and describe how its closing would affect the town’s economy. Would the
jobs lost in the closing be the only effects? Explain.
 Give an example, not from the text, of an industry that is likely to locate closer to inputs, and
explain.

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 Give an example, not from the text, of an industry that is likely to locate closer to markets, and
explain.
 If industrial location is chosen according to situation factors in order to minimize transportation
costs, explain why many industries are locating in Southeast Asia and shipping goods to markets
in North America.
 Given current trends in the movement and growth of industry, is industry likely to remain
important as a source of employment in our country? Why or why not?

Industry Assignment

Americans are the number one consumers of goods on the face of the planet. We accumulate so much
“stuff” that we fill up our garages, attics, and even rent storage units to house our excess.

The purpose of this activity is to illustrate how the items in your house reflect the globalization of economic
production. Based on the idea of spatially fixed and spatially varied costs, corporations will search for the
lowest production costs in order to increase profits. Increasingly, the cost of labor is the driving force in the
migration of projection centers to less developed countries. Keeping production costs low allows producers
to sell goods at affordable costs to more developed countries and still realize a profit.

Instructions

1. Select 30 items in your home (electronics, appliances, clothing, furniture, etc.) and list the item, a
general category (electronics, clothing, etc.), and where each was produced.

2. Analyze the data you’ve collected. Where was most of your stuff produced? Is there a correlation
between the types of items and the location of their production? Are there any results you did not
expect? Is there a relationship between the costs of goods and the production location? How much of
your stuff was made in the United States? Does quality influence the location of production? Does the
type of item influence the location of production?

3. Write up a description of how the items in your home reflect the globalization of economic
production. Look at the countries that come up in your chart and refer to Chapters 9 and 11 in your
textbook to find helpful information (for example, maquiladoras, Wal-Mart, and so forth).

4. Fill in the map illustrating the flow of goods into your home. Add up the number of times that
products in your household were manufactured in a particular country. Write the number on or next to
that country. If a country did not produce any goods in your household, leave it blank.

TURN IN THE FOLLOWING:

1. Minimum 2-page written analysis of your items related to topics covered in text and class. Must be
typed and double spaced.

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2. The filled out map.

3. List of 30 items. Describe what the item is and what country it was manufactured in. This can be
handwritten (please be neat).

Thinking Geographically Questions

11.1: What situation and site factors hurt the ability of the United Kingdom to maintain the leadership in
industry that it gained in the nineteenth century?

Situation factors such as proximity to inputs, and site factors such as low-wage labor, may play a role in
hindering the United Kingdom’s ability to maintain the leadership in industry that it gained in the
nineteenth century.

11.2: Volkswagen received $577 million in government incentives to locate a factory in Chattanooga,
Tennessee, in 2012. Do you think it’s worth it for governments to provide large incentives like this? Why
or why not?

I think it is absolutely worth it for governments to provide large incentives like this so that domestic
manufacturing returns. These plants provide well-paying jobs that can sustain families that live in
historically economically disadvantaged regions, such as the South. It’s not just the Volkswagen plant
that moves into Chattanooga; it’s also the businesses that supply parts to Volkswagen, such as glass
manufacturers and seat manufacturers.

11.3: What strategies does your community employ to encourage recycling? What additional strategies
might be effective in your community? Why?

My city is nice in that recyclables do not need to be sorted before being taken out, so it requires very little
effort to set aside recyclables. Recycling cans picked up by the trash service are also included in monthly
trash service at no additional expense. My city would benefit from placing recycling containers in the
downtown area. If these containers were placed there, it would make people aware of the option to
recycle.

11.4: What has been the impact on Canada of the changes in the distribution of vehicle assembly plants in
North America (refer to Figure 11-76)?

Mexico benefited from foreign investment, job creation, tax receipts, and new technology that occurred
because of NAFTA. Many factories (called maquiladoras) have been built near the United States/Mexico
border, and they have provided decent paying jobs for many Mexicans. NAFTA has unfortunately
negatively affected farmers in the state of Chiapas because they have to somehow compete with heavily
government subsidized corn coming from U.S. states like Iowa and Illinois. A pig, for example, can be
raised and sold for 20 percent less in Iowa than it would cost to raise and sell a pig in Mexico, so this has
There are less employment opportunities in Canada as a result of the changes in the distribution of vehicle
assembly plants in North America, as these plants either scaled down production or, in the case of a plant
in southwestern Québec, shut down altogether.

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11.5: Why might situation and site factors be placing Canadian plants at a disadvantage compared to
those in Mexico?

Site factors, such as access to low-wage labor in Mexico, have placed Canadian plants at a disadvantage
compared to those in Mexico. Additionally, shifting patterns in steel production (moving from the
Midwestern corridor in the United States to China) is a situation factor that may have negatively impacted
Canadian plants.

Pause and Reflect Questions

11.1.1: The use of one of the three fossil fuels is increasing in the United States in the twenty-first century.
Which one is it? Why might that be the case?

The use of natural gas is increasing in the United States, partially due to domestic proven reserves being
discovered.

11.1.2: Compare the world’s principal industrial areas with population distribution (Figure 2-4). Are
industrial areas generally in regions of high population density or low? Why?

Industries are generally located in regions of high population density, as easy access to labor is a site
factor that encourages industrial activity in these regions.

11.2.1: What is an example of a product purchased by consumers that is made of copper?

Copper wiring is used in homes and other buildings for transmission of electricity, as it is an excellent
conductor of electricity. Similarly, copper is used in integrated circuits due to its conductivity.

11.2.2: Why isn’t wine bottled near the market, as beer and cola are?

Wine is dependent on grapes grown in specific regions, where soils generate unique flavor profiles. This
property of wine is known as terroir, as defined in Chapter 4. Wine must be bottled as soon as it is
produced to retain these flavors.

11.2.3: Pittsburgh’s football team is named “Steelers,” but based on Figure 11-16, what city’s team
might be a more appropriate choice for the nickname?

Pittsburgh’s team could now be named “the Scientists,” or “the Researchers.”

11.2.4: How might weather conditions influence the choice of a factory site between the North and the
South in the United States?

The South experiences relatively mild temperatures year-round, giving them a climatic edge on the North.
Air conditioning has allowed people to deal with the hot summers, and snow and other inclement weather
may not hinder shipping and other business-related activities during the winter.

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11.2.5: Labor accounts for around 5 percent of the cost of manufacturing a car. Does this mean that
motor vehicle manufacturing is a labor-intensive industry? Explain.

Car manufacturing is not a labor intense industry. A labor intense industry is an industry in which wages
and other compensation paid to employees constitutes a high percentage of expenses.

11.2.6: Check the labels on the shirt you are wearing at this moment. Where was it made?

My shirt is made in the United States; it is a vintage K-Mart shirt from the 1960s, which reflects the
domestic textile industry that was present at that time.

11.3.1: Which country produces at least 20 quad BTUs of all three fossil fuels?

No country produces at least 20 quad BTUs of all three fossil fuels.

11.3.2: Referring to Figure 11-36, what world region of developing countries appears to have the highest
per capita demand for energy?

Central Asia appears to have the higher per capita demand for energy.

11.3.3: What are the only two countries named on all three pie charts of proven reserves?

Russia and Kazakhstan are the only two countries named on all three pie charts of proven reserves.

11.3.4: Do you consider fuel efficiency when you or your family buy a new vehicle? Why or why not?

Yes, I consider fuel efficiency when buying a new vehicle. I want to reduce my fuel consumption so I
don’t have to pay as much at the pump, and so that my car doesn’t emit as much carbon dioxide when
burning fuel.

11.3.5: Should dependency on nuclear energy be increased or decreased? Why?

It should be decreased, as there is no safe, sustainable way of disposing of radioactive waste.

11.3.6: Does your local power company offer options for using alternative energy? Check the company’s
website.

My local power company is affiliated with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and they do offer
incentives for installing solar panels.

11.3.7: Why are people warned not to leave a dog or child unattended in a parked car during the
summer?

Passive solar energy that enters a car when it is parked warms the car considerably and could cause
adverse health effects, or even death.

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11.3.8: What gas is now most commonly used as a coolant instead of CFC? Use a search engine to find
the answer.

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons have replaced CFCs.

11.3.9: How might a change in the sources of energy used in factories help improve water quality?

If factories and power plants did not use water for cooling (and subsequently discharging the warm water
back into the river or lake), it could prevent warm water from entering these bodies of water and causing
environmental problems, such as fish kills.

11.3.10: Where does your solid waste go?

My solid waste is both recycled, repurposed and thrown away in the trash which is taken to the local
landfill.

11.4.1: Take a close look at an iPhone (yours or a friend’s or relation’s). Can you find any evidence that
it was made at Foxconn in China?

From a cursory inspection, I cannot find evidence that it was made at Foxconn. I believe if you opened
the phone up and looked at individual components, you would see their logo stamped on some of them.

11.4.2: Motor vehicle production has increased in Turkey and Morocco. What might be advantages and
challenges of producing vehicles in these countries instead?

For Turkey, it would be advantageous to produce vehicles domestically because a relatively large market
is there for them to be sold at. However, persistent political and social unrest creates an uncertain and
unstable economic environment, and may scare off any future motor vehicle companies from locating
production facilities there. Morocco is a developing country with a base of low-wage workers, so it is
advantageous for the motor vehicle companies to locate facilities there. Despite this, the local market for
motor vehicles is probably not as large as it would be in neighboring Europe. This proximity, though, is
probably a reason facilities are being built in Morocco.

11.4.4: Which of the four types of recycling do you use most often? Why?

I most often use curbside programs, as it is the most convenient way to recycle.

Explore

Saltaire is a village in the United Kingdom built in the early years of the Industrial Revolution by Sir
Titus Salt. Surrounding his factory, Salt built houses for the workers.

Fly to Saltaire.

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Zoom in to eye alt around 3,500 ft. Salt’s original factory is the large building immediately north of the
balloon.

Click More, then turn on Transportation layer. The factory was built before the invention of cars and
trucks.

1. What two modes of transportation from the nineteenth century (still visible immediately to the north
and south of the factory) would have been used to move materials and products?

Rail and ship would have been two modes of transportation used by the Salt factory in the early years of
the Industrial Revolution.

Turn on Photos. Move the cursor over one of the photos on top of the factory.

2. What was Salt’s factory used for? (Hint: Turn on Gallery in the Primary Database and click on the
“i” (for information) icon near the north side of the factory.)

Salts Mill was originally a textile factory.

Drag street view to the southwest side of the factory complex.

3. Why might the structure no long be suitable for manufacturing?

Site and situation factors may have evolved over time to make this an unsuitable location for textile
manufacturing. Manufacturing can be done cheaper and closer to inputs in places that are more “business
friendly.” For example, in India, cotton is grown and apparel is manufactured there, in close proximity to
the primary input. A base of low-wage labor further justifies a business’s decision to manufacture there.

GeoVideo Questions
1. What are the principal uses of water resources other than direct consumption by people and
animals?

Agricultural and industrial demands are also principal uses of water resources.

2. Given that the world’s total supply of water is constant, how might we increase the world’s
supply of water suitable as a resource for use by people?

Conservation efforts must be undertaken to ensure an increase in the world’s supply of water
suitable as a resource for use by people. These efforts must include infrastructure improvements,
efficient (non-corrupt) political solutions, and education about wasting of water resources.

3. What steps, if any, are being taken in your school or community to conserve water?
A local environmental organization attempts to educate people on responsible, sustainable water
usage habits (e.g. not running the tap while brushing your teeth or washing your hands).

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Resources

Roger and Me

This 1989 film chronicles the effects of GM plant closures in Flint, Michigan, as the job losses ripple
throughout the city, resulting in economic depression. Students might be assigned the film as an out-of-
class paper project or shown part of the film in class.

The Urban Game

The Urban Game, developed by Larry Treadwell of Ft. Lauderdale (Florida) High School, provided
students with a hands-on stimulation of the development and industrialization of urban areas in the first
100 years of the industrial revolution. A full round of the game will take students about 1½ to two hours,
but stages may be combined to speed the process.

Consider modifying the game into an assignment or breaking the class into small groups to accomplish
the activity.

www.thecaveonline.com/APEH/TheUrbanGame.htm

Office of the United States Trade Representative

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative serves as a bulldog for American trade policy. This website
promotes U.S. trade policy, defending everything from the North American Free Trade Agreement to
development through trade:

www.ustr.gov/

U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics

This website provides enough statistics on labor and industry to last a lifetime, including detailed
statistics on labor, job markets, inflation, productivity, unemployment, and much more.

www.bls.gov/

Connections between Chapters

Back to Chapters 9 and 10

Industry and agriculture are not closely related. However, when agricultural workers leave their farms to
work in industries, the country’s food supply may be changed as factory workers can no longer grow their
own food. This relates to a country’s attempts to develop, referring back to Chapter 9.

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Forward to Chapter 12

As industrial employment declines continue, job losses are usually made up in the service sector.
However, some services are now being outsourced to off-shore locations. This issue serves as the case
study for Chapter.

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