Author Archives: akmontano

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52321529?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world/asia&link_location=live-reporting-story

It's pretty hard to find a story that doesn't involve the corona virus, but I found this article about Wuhan to be both relevant and interesting. The article is titled "Coronavirus: China outbreak city Wuhan raises death toll by 50%". The article talks exclusively about how the virus is affecting Wuhan, the ninth most populous city in China. Wuhan is located in the Hubei province which has a current total death toll of 3,869 due to COVID-19. The article also discusses how China has recently lifted its strict lockdown of Wuhan. I like that the article talks about China's response to the accusation of their government covering up the actual death toll. There is not much basis in that claim. Near the end of the article, it talks about how the virus has affected China-US relations and some of the ways president Trump has responded. Overall, I found the information in this article to be informative and interesting. Thanks for reading.

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The two countries I selected are Japan and South Korea

Japan:

Males per  100  females:  93.9

People per kilometer:  345.3

Number of children per woman:  1.4

Current population:  125.9  million

Estimated population in  2050:  107.2  million

South Korea:

Males per  100  females:  100.4

People per kilometer:  532.8

Number of children per woman:  1.3

Current population:  51.6  million

Estimated population in  2050:  47.7  million

Japan has a slightly larger female population  than  South Korea's which you can see on the pyramid because there's more on the right side.  Both pyramids are larger in the middle from people in their early thirties to late sixties.  There are way more people that are 30+ than young people in both countries. It appears that the birth rate began to lower drastically about 30-40 years ago. This explains why the population in both countries will start to lower  drastically within the next 10 years. By 2050, both countries will experience a large   population decrease due to  the die of the older generations. This makes sense  because the two largest age groups  in  Japan according to the pyramid are adults in their late 40s and late 60s.  Unless the birth rate increases dramatically within the next 30 years there will be a large population decrease.

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https://www.foxnews.com/world/chilean-man-crashes-truck-into-sacred-easter-island-stone-statue-sparks-furor

This article is titled "Chilean man crashes truck into sacred Easter island stone statue sparks furor" and it's pretty self explanatory. A man completely destroyed a 1000 year old statue by running it over with his truck, click the link if you want to see the photo. While the article is brief, I did learn something. Easter Island is technically part of South America because it is a territory of Chile, but historically and culturally it is Polynesian. The island's traditional name is Rapa Nui which is the same name of the tribe of Polynesians that settled there. The statues are called Maoi and were made by the Rapa Nui that settled on the island about a thousand years ago. The Maoi are sacred and represent the spirits of passed on ancestors. I'm glad this guy is going to jail. So sad and disrespectful to ruin these beautiful ancient statues.

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https://www.rt.com/russia/480074-russia-coronavirus-prices-double/

While the news organization Russia Today can sometimes be biased, I found this article had none and thought it was interesting. The article is titled, "Coronavirus food warning: PRICES DOUBLE in Russia’s Far East after Chinese border closed, vegetable supplies running scarce". The article discusses how the price of produce has doubled in Siberian districts like Khabarovsk, Primorsky, and Yakutia. The only district I have heard of was Yakutia because its' capital city Yukatsk is sister cities with Fairbanks. Yakutia is the largest and coldest territory in Russia which may explain it have a population just under a million. Khabarovsk krai borders Yakutia and the Pacific Ocean. Primosky krai lies under Khabarovsk krai and between China and the Pacific Ocean. It is also is the only region to border North Korea. I can understand how this will effect daily life for Russians in small towns in these areas. Since Russia is still in the dead of winter, there have been shortages of vegetables in some areas because of lack of local supplies and suspension of incoming produce from China due to the Coronavirus. The article says that in some places the prices of cucumbers has doubled. Cucumbers and pickles are a diet staple for many Russians. This not only effects Russia's society, but Russia's economy.

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Hello! My name is Alyssa Montano and I was born and raised in Alaska. This is my 3rd year at UAF. I am majoring in elementary education and wanted to take this course online so I can work as a substitute teacher with an open schedule. I have always loved geography and learning about new places. In my junior year of high school, I was fortunate enough to go on exchange. I chose to go to Latvia because my grandmother was born there and wanted to learn more about it. I fell in love with Latvia and decided to apply for nursing school there. I didn't pass the first semester so I decided to come back to UAF and continued to study nursing before I changed my major a few weeks ago. I can definitely see myself being a geography teacher. I hope this course will help me in my career and show me some new places and cultures.