*Chapter 13: Europe Today

*Section 1: Living In Europe

Terms to Know:*European Union (EU)*Maastricht Treaty*Heavy industry*Light industry*Mixed farming*Farm cooperative*Collective farm*State farm*Genetically modified food *Organic farming

*Changing Economies

*Economies – diverse and changing*World’s major manufacturing & trading regions*European Union (EU) unites western Europe into one

trading community*Greater volume of trade than any single country in world*Former communist countries of eastern Europe – building free market economies

*The European Union

*European unity – western Europe struggled to rebuild after WWII*1950 – France proposed closer links among Europe’s coal

and steel industries*1st step toward united Europe

*More steps taken*1990s – agree that goal could be reached

*1992 – European governments met in Maastricht (Netherlands) *Signed Maastricht Treaty*Set up European Union (EU)

*The European Union

*Set up European Union (EU)*Aimed to make Europe’s economies competitive with rest of world*No more restrictions on movement of goods, services and people

across members’ boarders*Single European currency, central bank and common foreign policy

*Worked to boost trade and economies more efficient/productive*Control government spending for social welfare programs*Europeans – oppose scaling down welfare state*Believe step would increase hardships on people during times of

rising unemployment*Extend membership to include additional countries (eastern

Europe)

*Eastern Europe

*40 years after WWII – communist governments ran command economies of eastern Europe*Loyal to Soviet Union

*Government planners made decisions about goods to produce and how to produce*Employed more workers and managers then needed*Factories lacked modern technology

*Fall of communism – 1989*Moving away from command economies to market economies*Overcome outdated equipment and inefficient production methods

*Retrain laid-off workers*Lost social “safety net” – provided by communist system*Free health care, child care, lifetime jobs et al

*Result: death rates high for newborns*Life expectancy declined

*Adjusting to new way of life

*Industry

*Industrial revolution = birthplace of modern industry*Large-scale manufacturing centers across Europe

*Produce from computers to cell phones*Transportation equipment to packaged goods

*Manufacturing

*Development of industry – supply of raw materials*1800s – large deposits of coal and iron ore*Led to heavy industry – manufacture of machinery and

industrial equipment*Today – industrial centers are:*Germany: Ruhr & Middle Rhine districts*France: Lorraine-Saar district* Italy – Po basin*Poland – Upper Silesia-Moravia district

*Vast mineral deposits – U.K., France, Germany*Leaders in manufacturing*Light industry – making textiles or processing food*Countries lacking industrial raw materials*Netherlands & Denmark

*Service & Technology Industries

*Employ large percentage of workforce*60% of workers in western Europe

*Top service industries – international banking & insurance*Switzerland & U.K.

*Belgium – HQ for lots of international companies*Tourism – large service industry*Esp. United Kingdom, France, Germany and Switzerland

*High-tech industries – growing part of western Europe*Ireland – leading manufacturer of computer products &

software

*Agriculture

*Has fertile farmland*Earn living from farming – more than any other single

economic activity*% of farmers in country varies widely*50% Albania’s workers*U.K. (industrialized) – 2%

*Crops vary from area to area*Warm Mediterranean – olives, citrus fruits, dates and grapes*Cooler plains region – wheat, rye and other grains plus livestock*Denmark & Netherlands (Northern countries) – dairy products*Scandinavian – supply fish

*Farming Techniques

*Western Europe*Use advanced technology to make use of limited agricultural

space*Mixed farming – raise several kinds of crops and livestock on

same farm*Most farmers own land – average farm 30 acres

*Denmark – farm cooperatives*Organizations in which farmers share in growing and selling

products*Reduce costs and increase profits

*Farming Techniques

*Eastern Europe*Changes to farming – after fall of communism*Communism – farmers worked on government-owned collective

farms* Received wages plus share of products and profits

*State farms – not sharing in profits by getting wages like factory workers

*Outdated equipment and lack of incentive – low crop yield*Move to democracy – private ownership of land and food

production risen*Expected to increase yields and profits*Use modern equipment and fertilizers

*Agricultural Issues

*New farming methods – many criticize*Genetically modified foods – foods with genes altered to

make them grow bigger/faster or more resistant to pests*Con: safety of food not known

*Consumers avoid foods grown with toxic chemicals to control insects/weeds

*Organic farming – using natural substances instead of fertilizers and chemicals to increase crop yields

*Agricultural Issues

*Western Europe - Livestock crisis*2001 – outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in UK*Highly contagious among animals, harmless to humans

*Thousands of animals had to be killed*Country’s livestock industry crippled*Crossed to European continent*Consumer panic – plummeting beef sales*U.S. and other countries banned imports of animals, meat and

milk from Europe

*Transportation and

Communications

*Network of highways, railroads, waterways and airline routes – best in world*Modern communication systems – link most parts of

Europe to rest of world*Most transportation and communications system are

government owned*Standards and performance vary from one country to

another*Eastern Europe – improve less advanced transportation

and communications systems to match quality of those in western Europe

*Railways and Highways

*Railroads – move freight and passengers* Connect region’s major cities and airports as well as link natural resources to major

industrial centers* Provide easy access to downtown and suburban areas

*Bridges and tunnels carry traffic over/through barriers* I.e. water, mountains, valleys* Denmark & Sweden in 2000 – opened rail and road bridge* Links Sweden to western Europe* 1st time since Ice Age

* 1981 – France – high speed train*Trains a grand vitesse (TGVs) “very fast trains”

* Fastest train in world* Less damage to environment* More economical than airline travel

*Other high speed lines in Germany, Italy and Spain*Chunnel (Channel Tunnel) – high speed rail triangle linking Paris, Brussels

and London* Passes beneath English Channel

*Railways and Highways

*Highway system links Europe’s major cities*Autobahnen – Germany’s four lane super-highways*Among Europe's best roads

*Highest number of auto owners in world except for U.S.*Other methods of transportation?*Bicycles and motorcycles

*Seaports and Waterways

*Long coastline – seafaring tradition*Handles more than ½ world’s international shipping at busy

ports*Major ports:*London, England*Antwerp, Belgium*Genoa, Italy*Le Havre & Marseille, France*Odessa, Ukraine*Gdansk, Poland

*Rotterdam, Netherlands – world’s largest port in:*Surface area*Amount of freight handled*Number of ships docked at one time

*Seaports and Waterways

*Many navigable rivers and human-built canals:*Rhine River & tributaries*Carry more freight than any other river system in Europe*Provides access to the North Sea for five European

countries*Kiel Canal – cuts across southern Denmark*Shortens route between North Sea and Baltic Sea

*Main-Danube Canal – Germany*Links hundreds of inland ports between North Sea and

Black Sea

*Communication Links

*Bring information and programming to Europe*International Telecommunications Satellite Organization *Uses communication satellites (INTELSATs) to broadcast &

receive television programs*Eurovision network – links most of western Europe and

Intervision network operates in eastern Europe*Two networks sometimes exchange programming

*Communication Links

*Telephone & print media – vary throughout Europe*High-quality telephone service not available in eastern

Europe but available in western Europe*Western Europe telephone systems:*Extensive cable & microwave radio relay*Fiber optics*Satellite systems

*Western Europeans – lots use cell phones, e-mail and internet*Government censorship of printed materials in eastern

Europe*Ended as democracy grows

*Section 2: People and Their

Environment

Terms to KnowDry farmingAcid rainMeltwaterAcid depositionEnvironmentalistGreenhouse effectGlobal warmingBiologist

*Humans & Environment

*Face challenges posed by physical environment*S. Europe – 40 million years ago*Two tectonic plates collided*Mountain ranges formed: Alps and Apennines

*Earthquakes occur frequently in: Italy, Greece and Macedonia*Tectonic changes still taking place, earthquakes may follow

*Affect and affected by environment*Low rainfall – S. Europe*Meseta (Spain) – very arid, streams dry up, ground scorched,

drought common*Dry farming in area*Way of farming in dry areas that produces crops without any

irrigation and relies on farming methods that conserve soil moisture

*Delta Project

*NW Europe – violent Atlantic and North Sea storms*Batter countries that border sea* i.e. Netherlands and Denmark

*Sea travel hazardous along coasts*1953 – severe Atlantic storm & North Sea heavy spring

tide*Flooded SW corner of Netherlands*Killed 1,800 people

*Next 30 years – Dutch engineers carried out Delta Plan*Project aimed to prevent severe flooding*Dams and dikes built to seal off and protect Netherlands’

SW coast

*Floods

*Heavy rains lashed much of Europe*Caused widespread floods and mudslides*Extreme weather led to loss of life, property damage

and disruption of transportation networks*Why? Some scientists say….*Natural climate cycle *Global warming

*Pollution

*Europe’s high concentration of industry and population – devastating impact on land, air and water* i.e. “black triangle” – central Europe – heavily industrialized area in

Poland, eastern Germany and Czech Republic*Soot covers ground, air smells like sulfur from smokestacks

*Before 1989 – eastern Europe – no laws to control pollution*Communist emphasis on rapid industrial growth*Pollution of air, water, soil increased*Resulted in – harming public health*Today – efforts to clean environment

*Too little, too late?*Western Europe – serious environmental damage from dumping of

industrial wastes in air and water*EU – requires environmental protection and cleanup from

members

*Acid Rain

*1960s – industries built high smokestacks to carry pollution away from industrial sites*Worked locally but pollution from others drifted across

national borders*Pollution contained acid-producing chemicals*Combined with moisture in air – created acid rain

*Effects – eastern Europe – severe*Why? Lignite coal (brown coal) still main fuel source*Found close to earth’s surface – cost of production low*Burns inefficiently and pollutes heavily*Result: acid rain ravaged 35 % of Hungary’s forests, 82% of

Poland’s and 73% in Czech Republic and Slovakia

*Acid Rain

*Not limited to forests – falls on lakes and rivers*Winter – snow carries industrial pollution to ground*Spring – meltwater (result of melting snow and ice)

carries acid into lakes and rivers*Acid concentration builds – fish and aquatic life die*20% of Sweden’s lakes have no fish*1/3 rivers in Czech Republic and ½ in Slovakia – can not

support aquatic life

*Acid Rain

*Auto exhaust – adds acid forming compounds to air*Acid deposition – wet or dry acid pollution that falls to

ground*Harms natural environment and historic buildings*Damage from acid deposition have hurt:*Acropolis – Athens*Tower of London – England*Cologne Cathedral - Germany

*Air Pollution

*Traffic exhaust & industrial fumes – cause eye irritations and asthma*Netherlands – people drive greatest number of cars per

square mile in Europe*High levels of air pollution – affect public health*2000 – Swiss researches est. pollution from autos and trucks

responsible for 6% of all deaths across Austria, France and Switzerland

*Eastern Europe – communist built factories – belch soot, sulfur and carbon dioxide into air*Result? Poland, Romania and Czech Republic among

world’s most polluted countries*Life expectancy lower in area*Cancer rates and birth defect rates – higher in area

*Air Pollution

*Air quality – global consequences*Environmentalists: people concerned with quality of

environment*Studying effects of increased carbon dioxide in earth’s

atmosphere*Gases trap sun’s heat near earth’s surface and create

greenhouse effect*w/o greenhouse effect – earth so cold that oceans would freeze

*Burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) – raised amounts of carbon dioxide in atmosphere*Increased greenhouse effect*May cause earth’s average temp. to rise 2.5 to 10.4 degrees

(F) by 2100*Known as global warming

*Air Pollution

*Global Warming:*Warmer global climate – melt polar ice caps and

mountain glaciers*Cause oceans to submerge coastal areas*Weather patterns might change*New extremes of rainfall and drought

*Global warming – big problem – but governments give less attention*Combat with international cooperation

*Water Pollution

*Mostly in Mediterranean Sea*Used for transportation and recreation*Also used for waste disposal, dump sewage, garbage and

industrial waste*Past – bacteria in sea broke down most waste*Now – growing population and tourism increased

environmental problems *Small tides & weak currents – keep pollution where people

place it*Mediterranean Sea – open to Atlantic at narrow Strait of

Gibraltar*Century to renew completely

*Water Pollution

*Contaminates marine and animal life*Creates health hazards for people*Mediterranean – overfished and cannot provide as did in

past*Small schools of tuna enter from Atlantic; disease claimed

monk seals*Seaweed and shellfish compete with foreign species

carried by ships*Affects rivers and lakes *Danube River – affected by agricultural runoff*Fertilizers enter river – encourage algae growth*Algae – rob river of oxygen and fish cannot survive

*Water Pollution

*Raw sewage – dumped into rivers *Warsaw – ½ of sewage treated*Other ½ released untreated into Vistula River

*Western Europe – industries deposit wastes into Meuse and Rhine Rivers*Eventually flow into North Sea

*Pollution levels – Netherlands to Denmark – doubled over last years