GeoJournalAs you read this chapter, use your journal tolog the key economic activities of Australia,Oceania, and Antarctica. Note interestingdetails that illustrate the ways in whichhuman activities and the region’s environ-ment are interrelated.
Chapter Overview Visit the Glencoe WorldGeography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.comand click on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 34 topreview information about the region today.
Living in Australia,Oceania, andAntarctica
A Geographic ViewAntarctic DivingThere’s something special aboutpeering beneath the bottom of theworld. When Antarctica’s summerdiving season begins in Septemberthe sun has been largely absentfor six months, and the water . . .has become as clear as any in theworld. Visibility is measurednot in feet but in football fields.. . . Only here can you orbit anelectric-blue iceberg whilebeing serenaded by the eerietrills of Weddell seals.
—Norbert Wu, “Under Antarctic Ice,” National Geographic, February 1999
The wonders hidden under Antarctic ice areamong the many attractions of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica.Tourism is a growing part of the region’s economies. In this sectionyou will learn how people in Australia and Oceania earn their livingsdespite remote geographic locations and challenging environments.
AgricultureAgriculture is by far the most important economic activity in the
South Pacific area. Australia and New Zealand—the region’s majordeveloped countries—export large quantities of farm products. Australia is the world’s leading producer of wool, and New Zealandis known for the quality of its dairy products, lamb, beef, and wool.
Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowEnvironments in Australia, Oceania,and Antarctica range from tropicalrain forests to icy wastelands. Whatattractions or activities might drawpeople to visit or live in a regionwith such extreme differences in the physical environment?
Read to Find Out• How do people in Australia, New
Zealand, and Oceania make their livings?
• What role does trade play in the economies of South Pacificcountries?
• What means of transportation and communications are used in the region?
Terms to Know• station
• grazier
• copra
Places to Locate• Fiji
• Papua New Guinea
• Nauru
C h a p t e r 3 4 833
Skyline of Melbourne,Australia, at night
View from under Antarctic ice
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Although only 5 percent of Australians work inagriculture, much of their country’s vast land areais devoted to raising livestock—primarily sheepand cattle. Because of the generally dry climate,ranchers must roam over large areas to findenough vegetation to feed their herds. As a result,some Australian ranches, called stations, aregigantic—as large as 6,000 square miles (15,540 sq.km), about the size of Connecticut or Hawaii.
In addition, because of Australia’s dry climate,only about 10 percent of its land is suitable forgrowing crops. Irrigation, fertilizers, and moderntechnology help Australian farmers make the bestuse of their limited croplands. Wheat, for example,is grown in the dry Central Lowlands. By contrast,sugarcane thrives in the wetter climate and fertilesoil of Australia’s northeastern coast.
About half of New Zealand’s land is used for agriculture. New Zealand ranchers, known asgraziers, raise sheep, beef, dairy cattle, and reddeer. Surprisingly, the country has 25 times morefarm animals than people! New Zealand’s soil,more fertile than that of Australia, allows farmersto grow wheat, barley, potatoes, and fruits. One ofNew Zealand’s most distinctive fruits is thekiwifruit, a small, green-fleshed fruit named for itsresemblance to the kiwi, the flightless bird that isthe country’s national symbol.
Throughout Oceania, the lack ofarable soil limits commercial agricul-ture. As a result, most island farmerspractice subsistence farming. Theygrow starchy roots and tubers—taro,cassava, and sweet potatoes—and raisepigs and chickens. Fishing adds to thediet of many South Pacific peoples.
Some South Pacific islands, how-ever, have areas of rich soil—often volcanic—and ample rainfall. Theseislands produce a variety of crops,such as tropical fruits, sugarcane, cof-fee, and coconut products, for export.The major South Pacific cash crop, pro-duced widely in the region, is copra(KOH•pruh), or dried coconut meat.Among the island countries thatexport are Fiji, a producer of sugar-cane, copra, and ginger, and PapuaNew Guinea, a supplier of coffee,copra, and cacao.
Mining and ManufacturingA variety of mineral deposits exist in some parts
of the South Pacific region. Australia is a leadingexporter of diamonds, gold, bauxite, opals, and ironore. Extracting these minerals, however, is ham-pered by high transportation costs inside and out-side the country. In addition, public debate aboutAboriginal land rights limits where mining canoccur. For example, Australia has the world’s largestundeveloped supply of uranium ore, but much of itlies within ancestral lands sacred to the Aborigines.
With some exceptions, few significant mineralresources are found in other areas of the SouthPacific region. New Zealand has a large aluminumsmelting industry, and Papua New Guinea’s richdeposits of gold and copper have only recently beenexploited. Kiribati and Nauru, once dependent onphosphate mining, now face dwindling supplies.They are now encouraging foreign investment andseeking aid to develop new economic activities.
Government
Mining in AntarcticaAntarctica holds enormous untapped mineral
resources, including petroleum, gold, iron ore, andcoal. Scientists have used core sampling—drillingcylindrical sections through the Antarctic ice cap—to
Cattle StationA rancher rounds up cattle on a station in southern Australia.
Place Why are Australian ranches so large?
identify the presence of these and other key min-erals. Although seven countries have made territo-rial claims to Antarctica, the voluntary Protocol onEnvironmental Protection, signed by 44 nations in1991, prohibits mining on the continent.
ManufacturingAustralia and New Zealand are the South Pacific
region’s major producers of manufactured goods.Because agriculture is important in these twocountries, food processing is their most importantmanufacturing activity. Relatively isolated geo-graphically, Australia and New Zealand mustimport costly machinery and raw materials inorder to set up major manufacturing industriescapable of producing exports. As a result, indus-tries in the two countries generally manufactureproducts for home consumption. Goods that cannotbe produced domestically are imported.
The rest of the South Pacific region is less indus-trially developed than Australia and NewZealand. Manufacturing in the islands of Oceaniais limited to small-scale enterprises, such as textileproduction, clothing assembly, and mass produc-tion of craft items.
Service IndustriesThroughout Australia and Oceania, service indus-
tries have emerged as major contributors to nationaleconomies. As in other developed countries, mostpeople in Australia and New Zealand make theirliving in service industries. In Oceania few coun-tries are large enough to support extensive serviceindustries other than tourism. Nauru, however, has begun to attract international banking andinvestment companies as a way of ending itstraditional dependence on phosphate mining.
Davis(Australia)
Casey(Australia)
Dumont d'Urville(France)
Mirnyy(Russia)
Progress(Russia)
Vostok(Russia)
Molodezhnaya(Russia)
Novolazarevskaya(Russia)
Amundsen-Scott(U.S.)
Palmer(U.S.)
Rothera(U.K.)
Halley(U.K.) Mawson
(Australia)
Syowa(Japan)
Maitri(India)Sanae
(S. Africa)
Marambio(Argentina)
San Martin(Argentina)
Belgrano II(Argentina)
Gen. BernardoO'Higgins (Chile)
atlantic
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pacific
ocean
indian
ocean
120°W
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20°W 20°E
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180°160°E160°W
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PoleT
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Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection
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Arctowski (Poland)Artigas (Uruguay)
Bellingshausen (Russia)Com. Ferraz (Brazil)
Great Wall (China)Jubany (Argentina)
King Sejong (S. Korea)Pres. Eduardo Frei (Chile)
KING GEORGEISLAND STATIONS
Orcadas(Argentina)
Scott (N.Z.)McMurdo (U.S.)
MAP STUDY
Antarctica: National Claims and Research Stations
2. Applying Geography Skills How does themap show international cooperation in Antarctica?
Find NGS online map resources @ www.nationalgeographic.com/maps
ChileArgentinaUnited KingdomNorwayAustraliaFranceNew ZealandMajor research station
Antarctic Land Claims
1. Interpreting Maps What countries hold over-lapping claims in Antarctica?
836 U n i t 1 1
TourismIn recent decades the expansion of air travel
has boosted tourism in Australia and Oceania.Each year thousands of tourists visit the region.Among the South Pacific region’s attractions areits indigenous cultures, unique wildlife, and con-trasting physical features—rock formations,tropical rain forests, geysers, mountain glaciers,sandy beaches, and coral reefs.
History
World War II in the PacificToday several countries in Oceania are promot-
ing World War II battle sites on or near SouthPacific islands as tourist destinations. Just as his-tory buffs in the United States visit Civil War bat-tlefields, people from the countries involved arenow visiting World War II battle sites. For devel-oping South Pacific countries, such as Vanuatu, theMarshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, and theFederated States of Micronesia, tourism provides amuch-needed source of income.
Global Trade LinksIn recent decades, improved transportation and
communications links have increased trade betweenthe once remote South Pacific region and other partsof the world. The South Pacific’s agricultural andmining products are its greatest sources of exportincome. Countries in Oceania export copra, timberand wood products, fish, vegetables, and handi-crafts. The spices of the vast South Pacific regionare now found in kitchens around the world. Forexample, the islands of Micronesia are a majorsource of black pepper, and Tonga exports gingerand the costly vanilla beans used to flavor icecream and baked goods. A number of SouthPacific countries, however, must import food tosupplement the subsistence crops.
During most of the 1900s, Australia and NewZealand traded exclusively with the United Kingdom and the United States. In recent years, how-ever, these South Pacific countries have increasedtrade with their neighboring Asian countries ofJapan, Taiwan, and China. In 1971 various islandcountries of Oceania set up the South Pacific Forum,an organization that promotes trade and economicgrowth. Because of few natural resources, someSouth Pacific islands are dependent to some degreeon outside investment or foreign aid.
Transportation andCommunications
Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica contain thou-sands of miles of coastland, barren desert, andsolid ice. Physical barriers and long distances chal-lenge travelers in the region.
Land TravelAustralia and New Zealand have the most
developed road and rail systems in the region. Incoastal areas of these countries, highways are wellmaintained, and subways provide public trans-portation in urban areas. Few roads, however, arefound in the isolated Australian outback.
In Oceania many island countries are too small,too poor, or too rugged to have well-developedroad or rail systems. Some governments, however,are improving the roads and bridges necessary for economic growth. Antarctica lacks permanentsettlements and has no roads or rail systems.
Battle Site Guadalcanal, one of the SolomonIslands, was the site of heavy fighting between theUnited States and Japan during World War II.
Place How do World War II battle sites benefit Pacificcountries today?
Checking for Understanding1. Define station, grazier, copra.
2. Main Ideas On a table like theone below, fill in details aboutthe key agricultural and miningproducts of countries in thisregion. Then describe the role theregion plays in world trade.
Critical Thinking3. Identifying Cause and Effect How
does importing more manufac-tured goods than it exports affecta country’s economy?
4. Predicting Consequences Whatmight be the consequences ofopening Antarctica to mining?
5. Drawing Conclusions Why areAustralia and Oceania tradingmore with East Asia and South-east Asia than with the West?
Analyzing Maps6. Place Study the map on page 835.
Which Latin American countrieshold claims in Antarctica? Whichhave research stations there?
Agricultural MiningCountry Products Products
7. Economic Activities Create a table that shows majoreconomic activities for sixcountries in the region. Thenexplain why the economies of some countries focus onone major product.
Applying Geography
Air and Water Travel Long distances, harsh climates, or obstacles to land
travel make air and water travel important to theregion. Cargo ships and planes move imports andexports to and from far-flung Pacific territories. Com-mercial airlines and cruise ships bring travelers.
Water and air also provide important means ofpersonal transportation. Pacific islanders beganusing outrigger canoes thousands of years ago, andmany of Oceania’s travelers continue to use boatstoday. Sailboats and motorized boats are common,and ferries link New Zealand’s two major islands.Icebreakers—ships with reinforced bows—carrypeople and supplies to Antarctica as do smallplanes and helicopters, although winter blizzardsoften make transportation of any kind impossible.Severe winters isolate Antarctica:
“ Along about February the annual exo-dus [from the research stations] beginsin earnest. Once the cold season takeshold, planes stop making regular flightsto inland stations, and the ice layerspreads out to sea, making access by shipnearly impossible. Only a few hundredresidents stay through the winter.”Michael D. Lemonick, “McMurdo
Station,” Time, January 15, 1990
C h a p t e r 3 4 837
Planes also provide transportation betweenislands in the South Pacific. In Australia’s outbackalmost every station or farm has at least one plane.Ranchers often use helicopters to herd cattle overthousands of acres of rough terrain.
CommunicationsIn the South Pacific area, the same geographic
obstacles that hinder land travel also make com-munications difficult. The development of moderntechnology, however, has helped increase contactswithin Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica andwith the rest of the world. In the Australian out-back, some cattle stations are large enough to maintain their own post offices and telephoneexchanges. Others use two-way radios to commu-nicate. Emerging technologies, such as cellular, dig-ital, and satellite communications and the Internet,are becoming common in developed areas. A con-tinuing challenge is to provide developing Pacificcountries with access to these technologies.
Student Web Activity Visit the Glencoe WorldGeography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.com and click on Student Web Activities—Chapter 34 for an activity about research in Antarctica.
Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowAustralia’s remarkable wildlife is recognizable around the world.What animals and plants unique to Australia can you name?
Read to Find Out• Why do Australia, Oceania, and
Antarctica face many environ-mental challenges?
• What effects did nuclear testinghave on the region?
• Why are the thinning of the ozonelayer and global warming specialchallenges for this region?
Terms to Know• marsupial
• introduced species
• food web
• ozone layer
• El Niño-Southern Oscillation(ENSO)
• diatom
Places to Locate• Tasmania
• Murray-Darling River Basin
• Great Barrier Reef
838 U n i t 1 1
People and TheirEnvironment
A Geographic ViewFrom Leafy Grove to Salty SwampBehind us a forest of dead eucalyptustrees stood in a salty swamp, a grave-yard of skeletons with gray arms raisedin good-bye. . . . Once a leafy grove inWestern Australia, this salt lake rosefrom the ground when nearby wood-lands were cleared for farms. Thirstytrees had absorbed rainwater andkept the water table from rising, butwhen they were cut, the water sur-faced and brought salt with it. Theresult: saline ponds and dead fields.
—Michael Parfit, “Australia: A Harsh Awakening,” National Geographic, July 2000
Beneath much of Australia’s land surface thereis a layer of salty subsoil or salty groundwater. Salts are carried to thesurface as the water slowly evaporates. Scientists believe that 40 per-cent of Western Australia’s productive wheat belt could be lost tosalty swamps in the next two decades. Today Australia, like othercountries, is experiencing the environmental consequences of humanactivity. In this section you will learn about environmental challengesin Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica as well as the efforts under wayto remedy environmental damage.
Managing ResourcesAustralia, Oceania, and Antarctica hold some of the planet’s richest
and most diverse natural resources. Unfortunately, these resourceshave not always been well managed, and today the region facesmany environmental issues. Conservation efforts, however, are
Salty swamp, Australia
C h a p t e r 3 4 839
Wildlife The kangaroo and the Tasmanian devil(inset) are uniquely Australian mammals.
Place Why does Australia have such a variety of unusual animal species?
Murray-Darling River Basin, one of the world’slargest drainage basins, the use of water for agricul-ture and growing city populations has dramaticallyreduced the rivers’ flow.
Oceania also faces challenges in managing itsfreshwater resources. Many small coral atolls andvolcanic islands hold only limited supplies of fresh-water. Agricultural runoff and inadequate sanita-tion cause pollution that further threatens thesesupplies. The lack of clean drinking water keepsthe standard of living low and poses barriers toeconomic growth in some countries of Oceania.
gaining recognition in the region. Environmentalissues concern voters and government leadersalike in Australia, New Zealand, and other SouthPacific islands.
Australia’s Unusual AnimalsThe continent of Australia, separated for so long
from other landmasses, is home to many uniqueanimal species. Kangaroos, koalas, and wal-labies are just some of Australia’s 144 speciesof marsupials—mammals whose young mustmature in a pouch after they are born. The Aus-tralian island of Tasmania gave its name to theTasmanian devil, a powerful meat-eating marsu-pial about the size of a badger. Australia’sstrangest wildlife may be the duck-billed platypusand the echidna, a spiny anteater—the only mam-mals in the world that lay eggs.
Australia’s unusual wildlife species, however,have been seriously threatened by the humanintroduction of various nonnative animals. Theseintroduced species include the hunting dogs calleddingoes brought from Asia by migrating Aborig-ines. Sheep, cattle, foxes, cats, and rabbits were alsobrought by European settlers. In the absence of nat-ural predators, these animals have multiplied andtaken over the habitats of Australia’s native species.Some of Australia’s native species have becomeextinct, and at least 16 kinds of marsupials are nowendangered. Efforts to restore Australia’s ecologicalbalance include the use of electric fencing to keepout nonnative animals, hunting and trapping pro-grams, the introduction of natural predators, andthe creation of native wildlife reserves.
Forest, Soil, and WaterThe protection of forest, soil, and freshwater
resources is a major concern throughout the SouthPacific region. In Australia many sparse woodlandshave been cleared for farms and grazing lands, leav-ing little protection against wind erosion. As in otherparts of the world, soil conservation in the region isclosely linked to reducing deforestation. Countrieswith valuable timber resources, such as NewZealand, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu, aredeveloping plans to use forest resources withoutdamaging the environment.
Drought, salt, irrigation, and agricultural runoffthreaten Australia’s freshwater sources. In the fertile
840 U n i t 1 1
Improvement will come with bettermanagement of runoff, constructionof additional sanitation facilities,and development of less expensiveways of removing salt from ocean water.
Agricultural runoff, chemical fertilizers, andorganic waste also threaten oceans in the SouthPacific region. Toxic waste in particular endangersAustralia’s Great Barrier Reef and other Pacificcoral reefs. Coral environments are increasinglystressed by tourists, boaters, and divers as well asoil-shale mining.
Pollution also affects all kinds of marine life,including the tiny organisms that make up coralreefs. Algae—on which these organisms thrive—and plankton are key parts of the ocean’s foodweb, the interlinking chains of predators and theirfood sources in an ecosystem. As these tiny livingthings are destroyed, the larger plants and animalsthat rely on them for food also die off.
History
The Nuclear LegacyThe testing of nuclear weapons has had major
effects on the region’s environment. In the late 1940sand 1950s, the United States and other countrieswith nuclear capability carried out abovegroundtesting of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific. Thedangers of such testing were gravely underestimated
at the time. In 1954 the United States exploded anuclear device on Bikini Atoll, in the MarshallIslands. The people of Bikini Atoll had been movedto safety, but those living on Rongelop Atoll, down-wind of the explosion, were exposed to massivedoses of radiation that resulted in deaths, illnesses,and genetic abnormalities.
Although the American testing was stopped, theeffects of radiation exposure and environmentaldamage have continued through several genera-tions. Today the atolls affected by the testing remainoff-limits to human settlement. Recent studies, how-ever, offer hopeful signs of eventual environmentalrecovery. In the 1990s the United States governmentprovided $90 million to help decontaminate BikiniAtoll and set up a $45 million trust fund for blastsurvivors and their offspring from Rongelop Atoll.
The nuclear legacy also has had political effects.Antinuclear activism is a major factor in regionalpolitics. In 1986 New Zealand banned nuclear-powered ships and those with nuclear weaponsfrom entering its waters. Because of this ban, theUnited States withdrew from a defense agreementwith New Zealand. In the mid-1990s, French plansto conduct nuclear tests on an atoll in French
Great Barrier ReefThe Great Barrier Reef (left) in Australia is home to hundreds ofspecies of coral-forming organisms (right).
Human-Environment Interaction What human activitiesthreaten the Great Barrier Reef?
Checking for Understanding1. Define marsupial, introduced
species, food web, ozone layer, El Niño-Southern Oscillation(ENSO), diatom.
2. Main Ideas On a chart like the onebelow, list resources and examplesof their mismanagement in theregion. Also list possible solutions.
Critical Thinking3. Comparing and Contrasting
How are countries of the regionsimilar and different in the chal-lenges they face concerning waterresources?
4. Decision Making Do you agree or disagree with New Zealand’snuclear ban? Explain your reasons.
5. Problem Solving What steps wouldyou take to increase awarenessabout the risks of global warming?Explain.
Analyzing Maps6. Location Study the physical-
political map on page 796. Whichcountries are at the greatest riskfrom rising ocean levels as a resultof continued global warming?
7. Effects of Mining Study themap on page 787. Comparea mineral-rich area shownon the map to a mineral-rich area in another region.Explain the effects of min-ing on both environments.
Applying Geography
Polynesia aroused antinuclear demonstrations. Theinternational outcry led to an early halt to the tests.
Atmosphere and ClimateLike other world regions, Australia, Oceania, and
Antarctica are threatened by global atmosphericand climate changes. In the 1970s scientists founda hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica:
“ The mysterious stuff called ozone, which until then was known to the pub-lic chiefly as an . . . element of smog inovercrowded cities, was being destroyed in the stratosphere by chemicals madeand released in the 20th century byhumans. . . . The hole was real ; the ozone had dropped by 50 percent. . . .”Samuel W. Matthews, “Is Our
World Warming?” National Geographic, October 1990
The ozone layer’s protective gases prevent harm-ful solar rays from reaching the earth’s surface. Theozone hole over Antarctica grew dramaticallybetween 1975 and 1993, when it covered more than9 million square miles (23 million sq. km). In 1989 asimilar ozone hole developed over the Arctic.
The loss of protective ozone may be behind theglobal rise in the rates of skin cancer and cataracts,conditions caused by overexposure to the sun’sultraviolet rays. Increased solar radiation thatreaches the earth through ozone holes may alsocontribute to global warming, the gradual rise inEarth’s temperatures over the last century.
Climate and weather in the South Pacific region arehighly sensitive to changes in the El Niño weatherpattern called El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).This seasonal weather event can cause droughts inAustralia and powerful cyclonic storms in the SouthPacific. These ENSO-related weather patterns arebelieved to be increasing in frequency and severityand may also be linked to global warming.
Some scientists claim that continued rises inEarth’s temperatures could be devastating. If polarice caps were to melt and thermal expansion ofocean waters occurred, many of Oceania’s islandswould be flooded by rising ocean levels. Risingocean temperatures also affect certain types ofplankton and algae that grow in warm waters,causing overgrowth and the choking out of otherlife-forms. Diatoms—plankton that flourish in coldocean waters—would die if temperatures rose,affecting life-forms that feed on them. Scientists inthe region, especially in Antarctica, are studyingglobal warming and are hoping to discover causes,predict consequences, and provide solutions.
C h a p t e r 3 4 841
Example of PossibleResource Mismanagement Solution
Is GlobalWarmingat Fault ?
Viewpoint
During the last century, Earth’saverage surface temperaturecrept steadily higher—a phenomenon called globalwarming. In the past fewdecades, vast expanses ofAntarctic ice have startedbreaking up and large chunkshave floated out to sea.Researchers speculate that ifthe huge West Antarctic icesheet collapses and melts, sealevels could rise dramatically,causing flooding in coastalregions around the world. Isglobal warming responsible forAntarctica’s melting ice?
CASE STUDY on the Environment
ANTARCTICAWEST
ANTARCTICA
Ross Ice Shelf
Ice shelf
Antarctica’s Melting Ice:Antarctica’s Melting Ice:
Is GlobalWarmingat Fault ?
842 U n i t 1 1
As globaltemperaturesrise, ocean waterswarm and thenexpand, and ice inplaces such asAntarctica begins tomelt.The seas startcreeping higher ontothe edges of the con-tinents. Sea levels in someparts of the world are alreadyalmost a foot (30 cm) higherthan they were a century ago.However, this increase is trivialcompared with the rise thatcould occur if the vast WestAntarctic ice sheet melts. If thishappens, sea levels could riseby 13 to 20 feet (4 to 6 m).Coastal communities world-wide would be flooded. Low-lying islands, such as Tuvaluand Kiribati in the Pacific,would disappear underwater.
Recent studies, however,indicate that the West Antarcticice sheet has been receding foralmost 8,000 years. Scientistshave also uncovered evidencethat the ice sheet may havecollapsed about 400,000 yearsago, before the last ice age.These findings have sparked a controversy.
Some scientists think thatchanges taking place in
Cars spew carbon dioxide into the air, contributing to globalwarming.
Tavaerua Island (below) could disappear if sea level rises. Scientists(right) study Antarctic ice cores forclues to a changing climate. ▼
What’s Your Point of View?Experts predict it will take 500 to700 years for the West Antarcticice sheet to melt completely, nomatter what the cause. Shouldpeople today care about thisissue? Why or why not?
▼
In March 2000 an icebergtwice the size of Delawarebroke free from Antarctica’sRoss Ice Shelf, part of the
West Antarctic ice sheet. Onthe other side of the conti-nent, an entire ice shelf disinte-grated in 1995. Why is thishappening? Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth.Nevertheless, the continent is a little warmer than it used tobe. The average temperature in parts of West Antarctica hasincreased by almost 5°F (3°C)in the last 50 years. During the1900s, the average temperatureworldwide rose by 1°F (.5°C).
Most scientists believe thatrising global temperatures arepartly due to an increasedamount of carbon dioxide(CO2) in the atmosphere.Much of the carbon dioxide is caused by human activitiessuch as burning gasoline, coal,and other fossil fuels. In theatmosphere, carbon dioxide isa powerful heat absorber, trap-ping heat that radiates fromthe sun-warmed ground. Thetrapped heat leads to globalwarming.
Antarctic ice are part of a natu-ral cycle that has nothing to dowith recent global warming.They point out that the WestAntarctic ice sheet beganshrinking before people startedburning large amounts of fossilfuels and adding carbon diox-ide to the atmosphere.
Other scientists think thatrecent changes in Antarctic icesheets are a direct result ofhuman-caused global warming.While these scientists admitthere might be a natural cycleat work in Antarctica, theyargue that global warming isspeeding up that cycle.
Learning the SkillWhether a problem is simple
or complex, local or global, thesame problem-solving steps canbe applied. You can practicethese steps in your everyday life,just as governments and organi-zations do when addressingmajor conflicts.
Here are the steps involved inproblem solving:
• Identify the problem. Stateclearly the issue at hand andthe reasons the problem mustbe solved.
• Brainstorm possible solutionsto the problem. Be open-minded and creative. Takenotes on all the possibilitiessuggested.
• Evaluate the proposed solu-tions. Evaluate each proposedsolution by listing its advan-tages and disadvantages and anticipating its possibleconsequences.
• Choose and implement thebest solution. Choose thebest possibility, understand-ing that it may have somedrawbacks. Put your solutioninto practice.
• At a later time, review thesuccess of the solution. Ifimplementing your solutionhas not improved the situa-tion or has resulted in furtherproblems, begin the processagain.
Problem SolvingIndividuals and groups often face problems that require critical
thinking to solve. Identifying problems and evaluating possiblesolutions are important skills used by individual citizens, localand national governments, and world organizations.
844 U n i t 1 1
Work in a small group to find anenvironmental issue facing yourcommunity. As a group, apply thesteps for problem solving to theissue you have chosen. Prepare awritten report of your results. Ifpossible, share your proposed solu-tion with community authorities.
The Glencoe Skillbuilder Interactive Workbook,
Level 2 provides instruction andpractice in key social studies skills.
Environmentalists say the Great Barrier Reef will be under threat if the
Australian government allows oil explorations in the area. After years of
controversy, the government has started testing ways of tapping oil reserves
around one of the world’s most spectacular sites. Experts say there is more
oil to be tapped in the reef ’s coastal rock next to the coral than has ever been
found on the entire American continent.
Environmentalists say the processes involved could destroy the delicate
coral. . . . “To do that [extract the oil] requires a lot of energy and the oil you get
is very carbon intensive, making the whole process a very dirty kind of mining.”
More than one million people visit the reef each year but oil pollution
has the potential to ruin the tourist industry. . . . [The government] says the
country cannot afford to ignore the reef ’s precious resources. . . . [S]uch is the
sensitivity of the issue, the authorities have only given the go-ahead for one
pilot area to be exploited for oil.
—“World: Asia-Pacific Oil Threat to Great Barrier Reef,”
BBC News (online), September 25, 1998
Practicing the SkillRead the excerpt above. Then
use what you know about prob-lem solving to answer thesequestions.
1. What is the problem?
2. What are the positions ofenvironmental groups andthe Australian governmentregarding the problem?
3. What are some possible solu-tions to the problem?
4. How has Australia tried tosolve the problem?
5. How can the success of thesolution be evaluated?
C h a p t e r 3 4 845
SUMMARY & STUDY GUIDE
Key Points• Agriculture is the most important economic
activity in the region, although mining is donein Australia and some island countries.
• Manufacturing in Australia and New Zealandcenters on food processing, and the rest of the region engages in small-scale production of clothing and crafts.
• The importance of service industries, particu-larly tourism, is increasing in the economies ofthe region.
• Transportation and communications technolo-gies, such as air travel, satellite communica-tions, and the Internet, are helping people inthe region to overcome geographic obstacles.
Organizing Your NotesCreate an outline using the for-mat below to help you organizeyour notes for this section.
Terms to Know• station• grazier• copra
SECTION 1 Living in Australia, Oceania,and Antarctica (pp. 833–837)
Terms to Know• marsupial• introduced species• food web• ozone layer• El Niño-Southern
Oscillation (ENSO)• diatom
Key Points• Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica have many
natural resources, but the region’s environmentis threatened by human activity.
• Governments and individuals in the region arefocusing on balanced management of waterresources, forest, land, and wildlife.
• Nuclear testing conducted in Oceania duringthe 1940s and 1950s has had a lasting impacton people and the environment.
• Scientists are studying global warming and thethinning ozone layer to prevent potential risks.
Organizing Your NotesCreate a web diagram like the one below to help organizethe notes you took for this sec-tion. Add other key ideas to theweb, and draw lines to showconnections between ideas.
SECTION 2 People and Their Environment (pp. 838–841)
Environmental Concerns
ENSO ozone hole
climate changedeforestation
I. AgricultureII. Mining and Manufacturing
A. Mining in Antarctica1.2.
Living in the South Pacific
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Thermal spring, Rotorua,New Zealand
Critical Thinking1. Finding and Summarizing the Main
Idea What are three critical challenges toagriculture in Australia?
2. Identifying Cause and Effect In whatways could mining operations in Antarcticainterfere with scientific research programsthere?
3. Problem Solving Use a graphic organizerlike the one below to describe three stepsthat countries in Oceania might take toreduce the impact of tourism on coral reefs.
Reviewing Key TermsWrite the key term that best completes each of thefollowing sentences. Refer to the Terms to Know inthe Summary & Study Guide on page 845.
1. Ranchers on an Australian __________ willsometimes build fences to keep out ________.
2. The kangaroo, one type of __________, isnative to Australia.
3. __________ are part of the __________ of largerlife-forms.
4. Disruptions to weather patterns in the SouthPacific caused by __________ may be increasing.
5. A New Zealand __________ makesa living by raising sheep, beef cat-tle, and dairy cattle.
6. Many countries in Oceania export__________.
7. Scientists discovered a reductionin the __________ in the 1970s.
Reviewing FactsSECTION 1
1. How does the importance of agri-culture, mining, and manufactur-ing vary among South Pacificcountries?
2. What service industries are devel-oping in Australia and Oceania?
3. How have changes in trans-portation and communicationsaffected the location and pat-terns of economic activities inthe South Pacific region?
SECTION 24. What are the major threats to the
region’s wildlife, forests, soil, andwater?
5. What have been the effects ofnuclear testing in Oceania?
6. What effects in the South Pacifichave occurred because of atmos-pheric and climatic changes?
Locating PlacesAntarctica: Physical Geography
Match the letters on the map with the physical features of Antarctica.Write your answers on a sheet of paper.
1. Weddell Sea2. Antarctic Circle3. South Pole
4. Ross Sea5. Antarctic
Peninsula
6. TransantarcticMountains
60°W
40°W
0°W 20
40°E
80°E
60°E
80°W
100°W
120°W
160°
W
140°
W
140°E160°E
120°E
100°E
180°
70°S
60°S
80°S
A
D
F
E
B
C
Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection1,000
1,0000 mi.
0 km
ASSESSMENT & ACTIVITIES
846 U n i t 1 1
Reduce tourist impact
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Look for the best answer choice forthe question. The best answer choiceis the one that offers the most correct
information in response to the question.
Self-Check Quiz Visit the Glencoe WorldGeography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.comand click on Self-Check Quizzes—Chapter 34 toprepare for the Chapter Test.
Using the Regional AtlasRefer to the Regional Atlas on pages 784–787.
1. Location Where are most of the zincdeposits in the region?
2. Human-Environment Interaction Whichphysical features in the region are vulnera-ble to environmental damage from miningactivities?
Thinking Like a GeographerUsing what you know about the physical geogra-phy of Oceania’s islands, write a paragraph sug-gesting three ways these islands might addresstheir lack of clean freshwater.
Problem-Solving ActivityGroup Research Project With a small groupof classmates, research one of the introducedspecies in Australia. Investigate the origins ofthe problem it has created, its effects on theenvironment, and suggested solutions. Brain-storm additional solutions, and evaluate eachproposal. Prepare a report to the class on thesolution you think is best.
GeoJournalDescriptive Writing Using your GeoJournaldata, select a human activity from each of the fol-lowing areas: Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica.Then write a descriptive paragraph that com-pares how each of these activities has modifiedthe physical environment.
Technology ActivityUsing the Internet for Research Use
the Internet to find information about globalwarming. List the sources you find on the Internet,and compare the different viewpoints on the issueof global warming. Then choose one solution thatyou support, and write an argument for adoptingthat solution.
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0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Read the selection below. Then choose the bestanswer for the following multiple-choice question. If you have trouble answering thequestion, use the process of elimination to narrow your choices.
Rabbits are one of the more destructive wild animals that have been introduced intoAustralia. They damage the environment andreduce agricultural production. They competewith native wildlife for food and shelter,which reduces the populations of manynative plants and animals. Because rabbitseat seedlings, there are fewer young plants toreplace those that die naturally. Rabbits alsocompete with livestock for the same plants,eating them to below ground level. This lossof plant cover results in soil erosion.
1. Based on the information in the paragraph, how do rabbits reduce agricultural production?
A They live in wheat-growing regions and eat the wheat seedlings.
B They compete with native wildlife for food.C Dead plants are not replaced by enough
new plants to prevent soil erosion.D They eat the plants that provide food
for livestock and cause soil erosion by eliminating plant cover.
