GeoJournalAs you read this chapter, take notes in yourjournal on the economic activities, transpor-tation, communications, and environmentalconcerns of the United States and Canada.

Chapter Overview Visit the Glencoe WorldGeography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.comand click on Chapter Overviews—Chapter 7 topreview information about the region today.

Living in the UnitedStates and Canada

A Geographic ViewAn Occasion to CelebrateCounty fairs endure as an occasionto celebrate our agrarian traditions,to honor family, inventiveness, and hard work. More important,perhaps, they allow us, as com-munities, to come together andget to know one another. Countyfairs also give us a chance toglimpse the American past. Yetthey have lasted not by beingannual historical reenactmentsbut by evolving as Americansociety evolves and becomes more urban.

—John McCarry, “County Fairs,” National Geographic, October 1997

Urban lifestyles predominate in the United States andCanada, yet people in both countries continue to respect traditionalrural values, such as inventiveness and hard work. Adhering to thesevalues, Americans and Canadians have utilized their rich naturalresources and technological skills, placing their countries among theworld’s top economic powers. In this section you will learn how peoplein the United States and Canada make their livings and how theireconomies are interrelated with each other and with the rest of the world.

Economic ActivitiesThe United States and Canada both have free market economies,

which allow people the freedom to own, operate, and profit fromtheir own businesses. Businesses can hire employees and pay them for their work. Laws protect private property rights, employment

Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowPeople in the United States andCanada depend heavily on the auto-mobile for personal travel. How istravel by automobile different fromtravel by bus or train? How do youthink dependence on automobileshas influenced the development ofnew neighborhoods?

Read to Find Out• What are the effects of physical geo-

graphy on the region’s agriculture?

• What kinds of transportation andcommunications systems does theregion have?

• How are the economies of theUnited States and Canada depen-dent on each other and interdepen-dent with those in other parts ofthe world?

Terms to Know• market economy

• post-industrial

• commodity

• retooling

• pipeline

• monopoly

• trade deficit

• tariff

• trade surplus

Places to Locate• Corn Belt • Research Triangle

• New York State • Pittsburgh

• Minnesota • Trans-Canada

• Seattle Highway

C h a p t e r 7 157

The skyline of Houston, Texas

County fair,Vermont

158 U n i t 2

opportunities, and the health and safety of workers.Although their economies are similar, the UnitedStates and Canada take different approaches to theownership of some corporations and the adminis-tration of some services. In Canada the governmentowns and administers many services, such as broad-casting and health care, that tend to be handled by private, nongovernmental corporations in theUnited States.

Like other developed countries, the United Statesand Canada have moved from primarily agricul-tural to primarily industrialized economies. Astechnology transforms the workplace, both coun-tries are developing post-industrial economies,which place less emphasis on heavy industry andtraditional manufacturing and more emphasis onservice and high-tech businesses. Agriculture andmanufacturing continue to play significant roles inthe region’s economic life, however.

AgricultureAs in most developed countries, farming in the

United States and Canada is overwhelmingly com-mercial, with agricultural commodities, or goods,produced for sale. Large commercial corporations,however, account for only 5 percent of farm

ownership. Most farms in the United States andCanada, no matter what their size, are still ownedby farming families, many of whom have formedcooperative operations.

The United States devotes about 1 billion acres(405,000,000 ha) of land to agriculture. A little lessthan half of that total is cropland—the largest crop-land area of any country in the world—and the restis used for the grazing of livestock. Canada, withmuch less arable land than the United States, stilldevotes 167 million acres (67,583,000 ha) to agricul-ture, evenly divided between crops and livestock.

Since the 1950s, although the average size offarms in the United States and Canada has risen,the number of people employed as farmers in theregion has decreased. Today only 2 percent ofAmericans and 4 percent of Canadians work inagriculture. Among the factors contributing to thisdecline is the high cost of farming. Success-ful agriculture requires investing in expensivemachinery, fertilizers, and chemical pesticides—allof which make farming easier but drive up costsand impact profits. Another factor is unpredictableconsumer demand. If a farm product produced inlarge quantities—such as hogs or cranberries—does not sell well on the market, farmers have to

lower their prices for the productand may lose money as a result. Therisk of natural disasters and thetime and hard work needed to run afarm also contribute to fewer farm-ers entering this segment of theeconomy.

Key Agricultural ProductsThe United States and Canada

rank among the world’s leadingproducers of beef, milk, and eggs,and of corn, wheat, and othergrains. These agricultural productsare shipped to markets across thecountry and around the world.

Cattle ranches operate mostly inthe western, southern, and midwest-ern United States and in Canada’swestern Prairie Provinces. Otherimportant livestock-producing areasinclude the north-central parts ofthe United States and the Canadian

Wheat Harvest ThePeace River area of British Columbia produces most of the grain harvested in the province.

Place Where is wheat grown in the United States?

C h a p t e r 7 159

provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Hogs,chickens, and dairy products also lead thelist of farm products from these areas.

Wheat is grown in the Prairie Provincesof Canada and on the Great Plains of theUnited States, a region often called theWheat Belt. The type of wheat growndepends on the climate. Farmers in thenorthern plains, with their short growingseason, concentrate on spring wheat,which is planted in the spring and har-vested in the fall. Farther south, farmersplant winter wheat, which germinatesbefore the ground freezes, grows withthe spring rains, and is harvested in theearly summer.

The Corn Belt of the United States con-sists of a band of farmland stretchingfrom Ohio to Nebraska. Corn is alsogrown in the Canadian provinces ofQuebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. About50 percent of the corn crop is used tofeed livestock; the rest is processed tomake sweeteners and corn oil, used inindustrial manufacturing, or used forfood by people.

Fruits and vegetables are grown in many parts ofthe United States and Canada. Apples, peaches, andcherries flourish in the Great Lakes region and inthe St. Lawrence River Valley. Potatoes are animportant crop in the U.S. states of Maine, NorthDakota, and Idaho as well as in the Canadianprovinces of Prince Edward Island and NewBrunswick. California ranks first among U.S. statesin the production of tomatoes, lettuce, peas, aspara-gus, okra, avocados, grapes, and strawberries. Cit-rus fruits are grown in central and southern Florida,in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and insouthern California. Sugarcane, pineapples, andbananas are grown in Hawaii.

Economics

Breaking Geographic BoundariesThroughout much of the region’s history, geo-

graphic factors often limited the type of agriculturethat could be carried out in a particular area. Cattleranching, for example, needed the wide openspaces and natural grasses of the western prairiesand plains. Most American dairy farms were con-

centrated in a belt of land stretching from upperNew York State to Minnesota. This region, knownas America’s Dairyland, has cooler summers andnative grasses ideal for dairy cattle.

Today, however, advances in agricultural technol-ogy have changed or widened the traditionalgrowing areas. The development of breeds of cat-tle that need less room to roam has opened the south-ern United States to cattle ranching. Because ofimproved feed sources and automation, large pro-ductive dairy farms can now be found in everyAmerican state and many Canadian provinces.

Manufacturingand Service Industries

Manufacturing makes up about 20 percent ofboth the United States and Canadian economiesand employs about 20 percent of the region’s work-force. Advanced technologies, such as robotics andcomputerized automation, have transformed man-ufacturing in the region. As with farming, theregion’s factories produce greater quantities ofgoods with fewer workers than in the past.

AdvancedTechnologies Automation and robotics have revolution-ized heavy industry in the United States and Canada.

Place What kinds of industries might use robots for welding?

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Transportation equipment and machinery arelarge export categories of both countries. In theUnited States, aircraft and aerospace equipmentare produced in California and Washington, andfactories in the Midwest produce most of the coun-try’s automobiles. United States auto manufactur-ers also operate plants in Quebec and Ontario.Food processing is another important economicactivity in California and in the northeasternUnited States. Canada, especially Quebec, manu-factures and exports a variety of wood-basedproducts drawn from its timber resources.

Post-Industrial EconomiesThe largest area of economic growth in the

United States and Canada is in service industries.About 75 percent of the region’s workers areemployed in service jobs, such as government,education, health care, tourism, entertainment,banking, and real estate.

The rising post-industrial economy is bestreflected in the region’s high-tech and biotech-nology industries. Both countries produce high-tech equipment for use in computer sciences and

telecommunications. California’s Silicon Valley,for example, is home to around 20 of the world’s100 largest high-tech companies. Led by the development of high-tech industries in Seattle, thestate of Washington has the sixth-highest concen-tration of high-tech businesses in the UnitedStates. Texas boasts more than 1,000 softwarecompanies in its capital city of Austin, and some ofthe fastest-growing high-tech companies are basedin Dallas. Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill,known as North Carolina’s Research Triangle,have attracted prestigious biotechnology compa-nies. Boston is a leading area in software, telecom-munications, and media technology. In Canada,Ontario is home to many thriving telecommunica-tions and Internet businesses.

Retooling the Rust BeltDuring the last third of the 1900s, the switch

from heavy industry and traditional manufactur-ing to service industries left cities in the east andnear the Great Lakes, such as Buffalo, Pittsburgh,Cleveland, and Detroit, without their major eco-nomic bases. As corporations began to move

In 1900, the United States was changing from a

mostly agricultural society.

By 1930, manufacturing andindustry employed about40 percent of workers.

GRAPH STUDY

The Changing U.S. Workplace, 1900 to Present

Service

Industry

Agriculture

EmploymentSectors

south to the Sunbelt, some older industrial areaswere left with abandoned factories and rustingsteel mills. Together they acquired the derogatorynickname “the Rust Belt.” Today, however, many ofthese cities are converting old factories for use innew industries, a process called retooling, andtransforming run-down areas into tourist attrac-tions and public spaces. For cities such as Pitts-burgh, this change has brought renewed energy:

“ Shaken by the collapse of the steel indus-try, which had provided them with anunshakable sense of identity for morethan a century, Pittsburghers hunkereddown and built a new economy based onservices, medicine, education, and tech-nology. In the process, they transformedtheir community from one driven byquantity of production into one devoted to quality of life.”Peter Miller, “Pittsburgh: Stronger

than Steel,” National Geographic,December 1991

Transportation andCommunications

Good transportation and reliable communica-tions systems are the backbone of economic suc-cess in the United States and Canada. Both alsocontribute to the quality of life in the region today.

The AutomobileSince World War II, the most popular means of

personal transportation in the United States andCanada has been the automobile. Extensive auto-mobile use in the region has required heavyinvestment in the building and maintenance ofhighways, roads, and bridges. In the United States,more than 3,900,000 miles (6,276,442 km) of streets,roads, and highways carry about 208 millionmotor vehicles each year. Canada’s smaller, moreconcentrated population relies on about 15 millionmotor vehicles and 550,000 miles (885,139 km)of roads. The Trans-Canada Highway, a well-maintained modern roadway, runs 4,860 miles(7,821 km) from Victoria, British Columbia, to St.John’s, Newfoundland.

Source: Britannica Book of theYear, 2000

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C h a p t e r 7 161

By 1960, service jobs employedmore than half of workers.

Today, the service sectordominates the U.S. economy.

1. InterpretingGraphs How hasthe percentage ofworkers in the ser-vice sector changedsince 1900?

2. Applying Geogra-phy Skills Whatfactors have influ-enced the shift froman economy basedon agriculture to onebased on services?

162 U n i t 2

More than a simple means of getting from oneplace to another, the automobile has become a sta-tus symbol for many North Americans. Cars aremarketed for the image they represent, and obtain-ing a driver’s license has become an unofficial riteof passage for most teenagers in the United Statesand Canada. Reliance on the automobile, however,creates many challenges because automobile-related pollution affects most urban areas. Auto-makers and government agencies are workingtogether to reduce the use of automobiles in cer-tain urban districts and to find clean, efficientways to use fuel.

Another challenge posed by automobile use istraffic congestion in the region’s cities, where traf-fic jams can last for hours. Mass public transporta-tion can help ease such congestion. Cities such asMontreal, New York, San Francisco, and Bostonnow have well-established subway systems. LosAngeles, which has some of the world’s largesttraffic jams, is completing a transport system thatwill combine subways with elevated trains, andSeattle and Dallas both use monorail systems.Urban areas also use buses and commuter trains toease some of the congestion.

Other Means of TransportationFor long-distance travel, many people in the

United States and Canada use the region’s busynetwork of airports. In the United States, Atlanta’sHartsfield and Chicago’s O’Hare InternationalAirports vie for the title of the busiest airport inthe country and in the world. Toronto’s PearsonInternational Airport is Canada’s busiest. Passengerrailroads and long-distance buses account for onlya small portion of the region’s passenger travel.

The transport systems of the region move goodsas well as people. Railroads move about 35 percentof the region’s freight, and about 15 percent con-tinues to be carried along inland waterways. Moremodern means of transport include long-haultrucks, which carry about 20 percent of theregion’s freight. Airplanes carry only a small por-tion of the region’s heavy freight but do a growingamount of overnight delivery business. Finally,pipelines, long networks of underground oraboveground pipes, carry almost one-fourth of theregion’s freight in the form of gas and oil.

CommunicationsIn the United States and Canada, telephone and

mail services are the primary means of communica-tion. While Canada’s broadcasting and telephoneservices are publicly owned, private companiesoperate the same services in the United States. Fed-eral government regulations, however, make surethat there is no monopoly, the total control of a typeof industry by one person or one company.

Wireless microwave and satellite relays areincreasingly used for long-distance contacts. Cellu-lar and digital services have made telephone com-munication more mobile. Computer use is high,although efforts are underway to make this technol-ogy available to all people. In the midst of theseadvances, Americans and Canadians still rely onnewspapers and magazines.

Trade and InterdependenceThe United States and Canada are among the

world’s major trading countries. The United Statesis second only to the European Union in exports,providing more than 10 percent of all worldexports. The U.S. economy supplies chemicals,

Transporting Goods Long-haul trucks are usedheavily in the United States and Canada.

Region What other means of transporting goods areimportant to the region?

C h a p t e r 7 163

agricultural and manufactured goods, and rawmaterials, such as metals, iron ore, and cottonfiber. Canada exports many of the same goods, aswell as large quantities of seafood and timberproducts. In 2000, the United States grantedChina—one of the world’s largest potential markets—permanent normal trade relation status(PNTR, formerly called most-favored nation status), which gives China the same tradingopportunities granted to other trading partners.

Exports and ImportsDespite its many resources, the United States

spends more on imports than it earns fromexports. The resulting trade deficit, or difference in value between a country’s imports and itsexports, is hundreds of billions of dollars. The U.S. trade deficit results from the country’s largepopulation and its growing industries that requirecostly energy purchases. Also, some countriescharge high tariffs, or taxes, on imports, thus raising the price of U.S. products and reducing

their sales abroad. As a result, growth rates forU.S. exports are very slow.

Canada, by contrast, enjoys a trade surplus,earning more from exports than it spends forimports. Canada’s smaller population makes itsenergy needs less costly. Although both countriesare spending more on imports, Canada’s exportrevenues have grown yearly at a higher rate thanthose of the United States.

NAFTAThe United States and Canada are each other’s

largest trade partners. In 1989, the two countriessigned an agreement that removed trade restric-tions between them. A 1994 pact—the NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—included these two countries and Mexico. Unlikethe European Union, however, NAFTA prohibitsthe free flow of labor among member countries.

In recent years, businesses in the United Statesand other developed countries have sought lowerproduction and labor costs by outsourcing, or setting up plants abroad to produce parts andproducts for domestic use or sale. Outsourcingprovides cheaper goods for home markets, whileoffering jobs to foreign workers. Because ofNAFTA, more American companies have set upassembly plants in Mexico, where labor costs areless expensive than in the United States.

United Against TerrorismOn September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four

passenger planes, crashing two of them into NewYork City’s World Trade Center and the third intothe Pentagon, the defense department headquar-ters near Washington, D.C. A fourth plane plum-meted into a Pennsylvania field. The devastationand loss of so many lives made the United Statesfirmly resolved to rid the world of terrorism.

architecture ofTHE UNITED STATES

Student Web Activity Visit the Glencoe World Geogra-phy Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.com and click on StudentWeb Activities—Chapter 7 for an activity on the economicinterdependence of Canada and the United States.

Empire State BuildingCompleted in New York City in 1931, the EmpireState Building was thetallest building in the worldat 1,250 feet (381 m). It wascreated in the streamlined art deco style of geometricpatterns that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s.

164 U n i t 2

Checking for Understanding1. Define market economy, post-

industrial, commodity, retooling,pipeline, monopoly, trade deficit,tariff, trade surplus.

2. Main Ideas Use a table to organizedetails about agriculture, manu-facturing, and trade in the UnitedStates and Canada.

Critical Thinking3. Analyzing Information Describe

how recent technological changeshave affected the location andpattern of economic activities inthe United States and Canada.

4. Identifying Cause and EffectWhat factors caused technologicalgrowth in the region? How didtechnology affect agriculture?

5. Drawing Conclusions Why do theUnited States and Canada havestrong economies?

Analyzing Maps6. Region Study the economic activ-

ity map on page 109. How are the locations of manufacturingcenters related to the region’slakes and rivers?

7. Public Policies Research anissue related to global tradeand the United States andCanada. Identify differentpoints of view in each countrythat affect public policy anddecision making on the issue.

Applying Geography

the country put up flags and held candlelightvigils and prayer services. The United Statesgovernment also acted swiftly in dealing withthe crisis. Military forces were put on high alert,security was increased at airports and other pub-lic places, and the FBI began a massive investi-gation. President George W. Bush announced thecreation of the Office of Homeland Security toorganize efforts to protect Americans from fur-ther terrorist attacks.

In October, another crisis arose when traces ofanthrax, a type of bacteria used in deadly biologi-cal weapons, were found in mail sent to majornews offices and federal government buildings.Several people contracted the anthrax disease, andsome died. The FBI began investigating who hadmade the anthrax and distributed it.

Meanwhile, the September 11th attacks hadshocked other nations, some of whom had lost cit-izens in the World Trade Center. As a result, theUnited States won much international support fora massive, wide-ranging response to terrorism.The first military operation of the war on terrorismbegan in the Southwest Asian country ofAfghanistan, which harbored Saudi exile Osamabin Laden, the leader of the terrorist networkbelieved to have carried out the attacks. PresidentBush warned that Afghanistan was only the begin-ning of a struggle that would not end “until everyterrorist group of global reach has been found,stopped, and defeated.”

Although the attacks stunned Americans, theyresponded quickly to aid victims and rescueworkers. To show their unity, Americans across

American Heroes New York City firefightersraise the U.S. flag on the ruins of the World TradeCenter.

Region What was the U.S. response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001?

EconomicActivity

UnitedStates Canada

C h a p t e r 7 165

Guide to ReadingConsider What You KnowPollution of the air, water, and landin the United States and Canada is a well-known problem. Why doesreducing pollution require regionalcooperation?

Read to Find Out• How are the United States and

Canada learning to manage their natural resources moreresponsibly?

• What are the causes and effectsof pollution in the region? Howcan pollution be prevented?

• What environmental challengesface the United States andCanada in the twenty-first century,both as individual countries andas a region?

Terms to Know• clear-cutting

• acid rain

• smog

• groundwater

• eutrophication

Places to Locate• Sudbury

• Banks Island

People and TheirEnvironment

A Geographic ViewFrom Waste to WetlandThis is gold mining today, the adsproclaim—beautiful hills, wavingfields of grass, prancing mule deer, a glimmering lake. . . . I saw wasterock piles shaped into eye-pleasingmounds, the milling operationthat recycles and contains allprocessed water, and the huge[residue-collecting] pond that,over time, will become a 600-acre wetland. I saw the sophis-ticated monitoring system forthe early detection of contamination in thegroundwater. I even saw the gate placed over the mouth of a tunnel to protect the maternity roost for a local population of Townsend’s big-eared bats.

—T. H. Watkins, “Hard Rock Legacy,” National Geographic, March 2000

Strip mining made the American West rich, butit also left deep scars on the landscape. Today mining and otherresource-based western industries are working to control ecologicaldamage. In this section you will discover how people in the UnitedStates and Canada are managing scarce resources and seeking ways toovercome the effects of pollution.

Human ImpactThe rich natural resources of the United States and Canada have

not always been managed responsibly. The practice of clear-cutting,or taking out whole forests when harvesting timber, has destroyed

Gold mine in Nevada

166 U n i t 2

many of the region’s old-growth forests, endan-gered wildlife, and left the land subject to erosionand flooding. Overfishing has depleted many ofthe region’s freshwater and ocean fisheries.Although efforts to reverse the damage havebegun, the region has a long way to go toward thesustainable use of its natural resources.

Natural resource management also includesevaluating the impact of human activity on theenvironment. In some cases, policies that appear to make good environmental sense must berethought. For example, in the dry western regionsof the United States and Canada, it used to be stan-dard practice to extinguish wildfires as quickly aspossible. The vegetation in these areas, however,needs periodic wildfires to clear overgrowth andto germinate seeds. Without burning, grasses andscrub grow thick and underbrush dries out. Toomuch burning, however, can be devastating. Forexample, when lightning from summer stormsignited brushfires in 2000, the result was explosiveinfernos that raged across several states, endan-gering human and animal life and destroying agri-cultural and grazing lands. One solution may be tofollow the practice of the early Native Americaninhabitants of these dry areas, who set deliberatefires, known today as controlled burns, to cleardry brush before it became too dense.

PollutionOne of the unfortunate consequences of industrial

development in the United States and Canada hasbeen the increase in human-made pollution. Pollu-tion, the introduction of harmful materials into theenvironment, damages the quality of water, air, andland. The kinds of pollution that trouble the UnitedStates and Canada are directly related to the region’sphysical geography and economic activities.

Acid RainAcid rain, precipitation that carries abnormally

high amounts of acidic material, affects plants andfish in a large area of the eastern United States andCanada. Acid rain forms when chemical emissionsfrom cars, power plants, factories, and refineriesreact with water vapor in the air. The reaction turnsthe chemicals, chiefly sulfur dioxide and nitrogenoxide, into their acidic forms. As the acid rain falls to

the ground, it corrodes stone and metal buildings,damages crops, and pollutes the soil. Acid rain isespecially damaging to the region’s waters, how-ever. Plant life and fish cannot survive in highlyacidic waters. Over time, lakes may become biolog-ically dead, unable to support most organisms.

The winds that carry acid rain do not respectlocal or national boundaries. The source of the pol-lution may be quite distant from the place whereacid rain falls. Carried by eastward winds, acidrain from the U.S. Midwest’s coal-burning plantsfalls on the Adirondack Mountains, where it mixeswith the runoff from melting acid snow. The resultis that 26 percent of all lakes in the region are

60°N

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TROPIC OF CANCER

ARCTIC CIRCLE

C A N A D A

MEXICO

UNITED STATESWashington,D.C.

OttawaDetroit

AtlantaDallas

LosAngeles

Vancouver

WinnipegMontreal

Toronto

Sudbury

New York CityChicago

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OceanPacific

Ocean

N

Lambert AzimuthalEqual-Area projection

1,000

1,0000

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km

Source: National Atmospheric Deposition Program, 1998 (U.S.),and Environment Canada, 1991–1995 (Canada).

MAPSTUDY

Acid Rain

Find NGS online map resources @ www.national geographic.com/maps

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25-3030-35Over 35

Acid Rain(kilograms per hectare)

1. Interpreting Maps What cities are located inareas with high levels of acid rain concentration?

2. Applying Geography Skills In which state ofthe southeastern United States are trees leastlikely to show the effects of acid rain? Why?

C h a p t e r 7 167

acidic, and hundreds areunsuitable for the survivalof sensitive fish species.Emissions from the UnitedStates also result in acidrain in Canada, threateningimportant timber and waterresources. Canada’s easternprovinces—Ontario, Quebec,New Brunswick, and NovaScotia—are the most vul-nerable. Thousands of lakesthroughout Canada, includ-ing 100 in Ontario alone, areso acidic that they are bio-logically dead.

About half of the acidrain in Canada comes from the United States. As aresult, the two countries have begun cooperatingto improve air quality. Improvement has alreadybeen noted. In Canada, 33 percent of the acidifiedlakes studied since the 1980s show reduced acidlevels. In the Sudbury region of Ontario, for exam-ple, fish populations are rising, as are the numberof fish-eating birds, such as loons.

SmogThe sulfur and nitrogen oxides that create acid

rain also contribute to the type of air pollutionknown as smog. As the sun’s rays interact withautomobile exhaust gases and industrial emissions,a visible haze forms, damaging or killing plants andirritating people’s eyes, throats, and lungs.

Health officials in many of the region’s metropol-itan areas now measure air quality on a daily basis.When emissions interact with climate conditionsand create dangerous levels of smog, officials issuealerts, urging children, the elderly, and people withrespiratory problems to stay indoors. Under theseconditions authorities may prohibit nonessentialdriving and the use of lawnmowers, chainsaws,and other devices with gas-powered engines.Industrial activity may be restricted, and indus-tries with excessive emissions may be fined. Somelocal and state governments in the United Statesrequire emissions testing as part of the automobilelicensing process. In many parts of the UnitedStates and Canada, fuel pumps in service stationsmust have special nozzles that reduce the leakageof petroleum vapors into the air.

Clean-air practices have substantially reduced airpollution in Los Angeles and other major cities, andstill more is being done. Some car manufacturersare producing vehicles that run on electricityinstead of fossil fuels. Engineers also continue toresearch air-, water-, and solar-powered cars. In theUnited States, proposed legislation would requirethe reduction of the sulfur content in diesel fuel by97 percent. By 2007, officials hope to make all newdiesel vehicles, such as trucks and buses, smokefree. Smog can also be reduced by encouraging theuse of alternatives to automobiles, such as walking,bicycling, or using public transportation.

Water PollutionWater systems in the United States and Canada

become polluted not only by acid rain but also bythe introduction of sewage and industrial andagricultural wastes into the water supplies. Indus-trial wastes, including toxic substances, may beillegally dumped into rivers and streams or mayfind their way through small, unnoticed leaks intothe groundwater, freshwater that lies beneath theearth’s surface. Industries also cause thermal pollu-tion by releasing heated industrial waste water intocooler lakes and rivers. Runoff from agricultural

Skyline of Smog Automobile and factory emis-sions combine with natural conditions to create smogin Los Angeles, California (shown), and other cities.

Human-Environment Interaction How has industrialization affected the environment?

168 U n i t 2

chemicals, such as fertilizers and pesticides, alsopollutes the water resources of the region.

Water pollution has disastrous effects on marinelife and on the birds and other animals that feed onfish or breed in wetlands. The toxic chemicals andwastes that pollute the water supply also endangerhumans. In 2000 seven people in the Canadianfarming town of Walkerton died and thousandsbecame ill after being infected by E. coli bacteriain their drinking water. Groundwater contami-nated with animal waste and other toxins hadentered Walkerton’s water supply through cor-roded pipes.

Water pollution also speeds eutrophication(yu•TROH•fuh•KAY•shuhn), the process by whicha lake or other body of water becomes rich indissolved nutrients, encouraging overgrowth ofsmall plants, especially algae. In extreme cases thealgae growth depletes the water’s oxygen, leavingnone for fish. Algae overgrowth can also turn a lakefirst into a swamp and later into dry land. Nor-mally, eutrophication takes thousands of years, butpollution greatly speeds the process.

History

Back from the BrinkIn the 1960s the region’s waterways were under

assault from pollution. The Cuyahoga River nearCleveland, Ohio, was so fouled by industrialchemicals that it burst into flames. Oil from a spilloff the coast of Santa Barbara, California, coatedbeaches and wildlife. Eutrophication threatenedLake Erie. A biologist warned of serious conse-quences:

“ The most alarming of all man’s assaultsupon the environment is the contamina-tion of air, earth, rivers, and sea withdangerous and even lethal materials. . . .The poisons . . . kill vegetation, sicken cattle and . . . travel from link to link of the food chain. . . .”Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962

In 1972 the United States and Canada signed theGreat Lakes Water Quality Agreement to combatpollution in the lakes. The United States also passed

The polluted Nashua River,Massachusetts, in the 1960s

The present-day Nashua River,after cleanup

Checking for Understanding1. Define clear-cutting, acid

rain, smog, groundwater,eutrophication.

2. Main Ideas Copy the flowchartbelow on a sheet of paper. Com-plete the chart by listing causes,effects, and possible solutions fora regional environmental problem.

Critical Thinking3. Analyzing Information Why is it

important for Canada and theUnited States to work together toreduce pollution?

4. Drawing Conclusions Why aremore metropolitan areas of theUnited States and Canada begin-ning to experience smog?

5. Identifying Cause and Effect Whatare the short-term and long-termeffects of water pollution on people and the environment?

Analyzing Maps6. Place Study the map of acid

rain on page 166. Which parts of the region have the greatestconcentration of acid rain? Why?

7. Regional CooperationThink about the coopera-tion among the UnitedStates, Canada, and Mexicoin NAFTA to promote freetrade. Identify the humanfactors involved in thetrade network created bythis agreement.

Applying Geography

the Clean Water Act, mandating measures to restorethe quality of the country’s waters.

In New England, the Act forced an end toasbestos dumping in the Nashua River andspurred the construction of waste-water treatmentplants. The facilities protected the river from paperpulp, chemical dyes, and other industrial wastes.Like many of the country’s waterways, the Nashuaslowly regained its health. Today it is once againsafe for wildlife and people.

The passage of the North American Free TradeAgreement (NAFTA), however, has shifted someenvironmental concerns south to the U.S.–Mexicoborder. Along the Rio Grande, rapid industrialgrowth threatens the environment. The Commis-sion for Environmental Cooperation, a nongovern-mental agency with representation from Canada,the United States, and Mexico, is monitoring theenvironmental effects of NAFTA and suggestingways to reduce pollution.

Challenge for the FutureLike people worldwide, those who live in the

United States and Canada are concerned aboutthe possible effects of global warming. The slightbut steady rise in the earth’s temperatures overthe past century is not easily explained, nor are its consequences completely understood. Some

effects of global warming, however, are easy tosee, especially in the Arctic regions of Alaska andCanada. In these areas, the melting of polar ice isaccelerating, a phenomenon with potentially dis-astrous consequences. In one Inuit community onthe western tip of Canada’s Banks Island, thin-ning sea ice has forced caribou, polar bears, andseals, on which the hunting lifestyle of the Inuitdepends, to move farther north. More disturbing,the permafrost—the frozen soil of the tundra—isbeginning to thaw, buckling the land and weaken-ing the foundations of houses.

Global warming has a chain reaction of effectsthat threaten to alter life throughout the UnitedStates and Canada. When polar ice melts, oceanlevels rise, increasing the danger of coastal flood-ing. For example, the city of New Orleans, much ofwhich lies below sea level, is in danger of being completely submerged because of the combinedeffects of rising ocean waters and more frequentMississippi River floods. Warmer, higher seas alsoalter climate patterns, leading to increased fre-quency and severity of weather events such as ElNiño, which has been responsible for both flood-ing and drought. Monitoring and respondingappropriately to the effects of global warmingremains a critical challenge for the future of theregion and for the world.

C h a p t e r 7 169

Problem Causes Effects Solutions➔ ➔ ➔

ViewpointCASE STUDY on the Environment

ALASKA

HAWAII

UNITED STATES

Wetlands

Source: USGS Water Supply Paper 2425

Under Siege

Marsh. Bog. Swamp. Differentwords, but they all describe wetlands. A wetland is an areawhere water covers the soil, orlies just beneath its surface, forat least part of the year. For cen-turies, wetlands were regardedas smelly, insect-choked waste-lands. They were places to elimi-nate. Across America, wetlandswere filled in or drained. But inthe 1970s, research confirmedwhat many had suspected—wet-lands are valuable ecosystemsthat link water, life, and land.Laws were passed to protectwetlands. However, balancingwetlands preservation withdevelopment is controversial.

Under Siege

United States’s Wetlands:United States’s Wetlands:

170 U n i t 2

Atricolored heron stands in the still, shallow water(left). It is early morningin Florida’s Everglades

National Park, one of the largestwetlands in the United States.

Wetlands teem with life.Spend a few hours in the Ever-glades and what might you see?Egrets, herons, and dozens ofother birds. Scores of insects,fish, frogs, and snakes. Perhapsan alligator or two.

Wetlands rank amongEarth’s most productive eco-systems.They are nurseries,where fish and shellfish cometo spawn.They are rich feedinggrounds, where tiny plants andaquatic insects form the base ofcomplex food webs.They arealso sanctuaries, home to livingthings found nowhere else.About a third of all endangeredor threatened species in theUnited States live in wetlands.

Wetlands are valuable inother ways, too. They slow ero-sion, thus stabilizing shorelinesand riverbanks. They filter outpollutants that would other-

wise end up inlakes and rivers.Coastal wetlandsbuffer the impactof storm tides.Inland wetlandsslow fast-movingfloodwaters.

However, wet-lands often occur where peo-ple want to grow crops. Beforewetlands were recognized asvaluable, the United States gov-ernment encouraged farmersto drain these ecosystems tocreate cropland. In addition,wetlands frequently lie in thepath of new housing develop-ments, shopping malls, air-ports, roads, and reservoirs.

When Europeans arrived inNorth America, some 220 mil-lion acres (89 million ha) ofwetlands existed in what arenow the lower 48 states.Todayslightly more than 100 millionacres (40 million ha) remain.Wetlands are protected by law, but some wetlands devel-opment is allowed.

Supporters of wetlands devel-opment think the land wherewetlands are found has moreprofitable uses. As cities andcommunities grow, people

need more housing, schools,businesses, and roads. Devel-opers insist they often have no choice but to build in wet-lands. In many instances, it isnow legal for developers todestroy natural wetlands aslong as they create “new”wetlands as replacements.

Opponents of wetlands devel-opment argue that wetlands aretoo valuable to lose.Withoutthese unique habitats, somekinds of animals may becomeextinct. Opponents are con-cerned that human-made wet-lands are not true replacementsfor existing ecosystems.

What’s Your Point of View?Do you think it’s acceptable to build on natural wetlands, as long as “new” wetlands are created? Or do you think wetlands should be completely protected?

In its wetland habitat, abullfrog eyes the world.

A worker in an all-terrain tractor(below) digs ditches in wetlands inFlorida. A waterfront housingdevelopment (right) abuts wetlandson Long Island in New York State.

▼

▼

Learning the SkillA climate map shows the

climate zones of a region.Latitude, temperature, precipita-tion, altitude, wind patterns,and nearness to oceans helpdetermine the climate of aregion. Variation in precipi-tation also creates differenttypes of climates, such as rainforest (very wet), desert (verydry), and savanna (wet and dryseasons).

On a climate map, colors rep-resent different climate regions.The map key explains the colorcode. To interpret a climate map:

• Identify the area covered bythe map.

• Study the key to identify theclimate regions on the map.

• Locate the regions in each cli-mate zone.

• Draw conclusions about theclimate similarities and dif-ferences among regions.

Practicing the SkillStudy the climate map of east-

ern Canada. Use the informationto answer the following questions.

1. What climate dominates thefar northeast part of Canada?

2. Which area shown has ahumid continental climate?

3. What climate does the coastof Newfoundland andLabrador have?

4. Why are so few major citieslocated in Nunavut andnorthern Quebec?

5. Why are there only three climate regions representedin eastern Canada? What factors of physical geographymay account for this?

6. Compare the climate map on this page to the naturalvegetation map on page 123.What is the relationshipbetween climate patternsand vegetation patterns ineastern Canada?

172 U n i t 2

Humid continental

SubarcticTundra

Mid-Latitude

High Latitude

Azimuthal Equidistant projection500

5000 mi.

0 km

N

ARCTIC CIRCLE

60°N

50°N

100°W 80°W 60°W

Atlantic

Ocean

LabradorSea

HudsonBay

O N T A R I O

MANITOBA

N U N A V U T

Q U E B E C

N E WF O

UN

DL A

ND

A N DL A

BR

AD

OR

PRINCE EDWARDISLAND

NOVASCOTIA

NEW BRUNSWICK

UNITED STATESToronto

Churchill

Quebec

Fredericton

Iqaluit

Charlottetown

St. John’s

Happy Valley-Goose Bay

Halifax

Ottawa

Windsor

MontrealSudbury

Rouyn-NorandaThunder

Bay

The Glencoe Skillbuilder Interactive Workbook,

Level 2 provides instruction andpractice in key social studies skills.

Eastern Canada: Climate Regions

Interpreting a Climate MapClimate helps determine how people live, work, dress, and

play in a particular region. People on different continentsmay share similar climates. By reading a climate map, you candiscover these similarities and differences among regions.

Research to learn more about theclimate of a place in the UnitedStates or Canada. Then write aparagraph describing how youthink the location of the areaaffects its climate. Include examplesof agricultural products or vege-tation found in the area.

C h a p t e r 7 173

Organizing Your NotesUse an outline format similar tothe one below to help you orga-nize your notes for this section.

Terms to Know• clear-cutting• acid rain• smog• groundwater• eutrophication

Organizing Your NotesUse a web diagram like the onebelow to help you organize yournotes for this section.

Terms to Know• market economy• post-industrial• commodity• retooling• pipeline• monopoly• trade deficit• tariff• trade surplus

SECTION 1 Living in the United States and Canada (pp. 157–164)

SECTION 2 People and Their Environment (pp. 165–169)

SUMMARY & STUDY GUIDE

Living in the U.S. and Canada

I. Economic ActivitiesA. Agriculture

1. Livestocka.b.c.d.

2. CropsB. Manufacturing and Services

Globalwarming

Environmental Concerns

Climatechange

Water pollution

Acid rain Smog

Workers guide a barge down the Erie Canal.

Key Points• The United States and Canada are working to

manage their rich natural resources responsibly.

• Acid rain, smog, and water pollution causedamage to the region’s environment and affecthuman health.

• Cooperative efforts to address environmentalconcerns are making a difference in the region.

Key Points• The region’s economy has shifted from reliance

on agriculture and traditional manufacturing toemphasis on service and high-tech industries.

• Agriculture is a key economic activity of theregion, although it employs only a small per-centage of the workforce.

• Technology and improved agricultural methodshave helped farmers overcome the limitationsof physical geography and climate.

• Dependable transportation and advanced com-munications systems help make the region aneconomic leader.

• The United States and Canada are among theworld’s leading exporters.

• The region’s two countries are each other’slargest trade partners. The region also tradeswith countries and trade blocs around the world.

2. Analyzing Information Explain the con-nection between transportation patterns andair pollution.

3. Identifying Cause and Effect Use a chartlike the one below to analyze the causes ofacid rain and its effects on the environment.

Reviewing Key TermsWrite the letter of the key term that best matcheseach definition below.

a. trade surplus e. trade deficitb. retooling f. market economyc. clear-cutting g. post-industriald. acid rain h. tariff

1. an economic system in which people canown and profit from their own businesses

2. reduced emphasis on heavy industry

3. converting old factories to new uses

4. loss of income through trade

5. a tax on imported trade goods

6. taking out whole forests when harvesting timber

7. precipitation that carries highamounts of acids

8. earning money through export sales

Reviewing FactsSECTION 1

1. What type of economic system dothe United States and Canada have?

2. What economic activity employs themost people in both the UnitedStates and Canada?

SECTION 23. What solutions have the United

States and Canada implemented todeal with air pollution?

4. What factors contribute to waterpollution in the region?

5. What part of the region is experi-encing increased environmentalproblems as a result of NAFTA?

Critical Thinking1. Making Generalizations What

challenges will industrial cities face asthe economy becomes more depen-dent on high-technology industries?

Locating PlacesThe United States and Canada:Physical-Political Geography

Match the letters on the map with the places and physical features of theUnited States and Canada. Write your answers on a sheet of paper.

1. Midwest2. Prairie Provinces3. California4. New York

5. Toronto6. St. Lawrence River7. Ohio River

8. Alaska9. Texas

10. Pacific Northwest

A

G

B

H

I

C

J

E

F

D

160°W

140°W

120°

W

100°

W

80°W

60°W

40°W

20°W

180°

80°N70°N

60°N

50°N

40°N

30°N

TROPIC OF CANCER

AR

CT

ICC

IRCLE

Azimuthal Equidistantprojection

500

5000 mi.

0 km

N

ASSESSMENT & ACTIVITIES

174 U n i t 2

Acid PrecipitationCauses Effects

C h a p t e r X 175

Self-Check Quiz Visit the Glencoe WorldGeography Web site at tx.geography.glencoe.comand click on Self-Check Quizzes—Chapter 7 toprepare for the Chapter Test.

Using the Regional AtlasRefer to the Regional Atlas on pages 106–109.

1. Region Describe the relationship betweenareas where livestock is raised and the popu-lation density in these areas.

2. Human-Environment Interaction Whattypes of natural resources are clustered aroundlarge cities and manufacturing areas in theUnited States?

Thinking Like a GeographerStudy the economic activity map on page 109.Identify an activity that is represented in yourarea. Then, in geographic terms, explain why yourarea is suited to this activity and what otherrelated activities might be developed there.

Problem-Solving ActivityProblem–Solution Proposal Identify a trans-portation problem in your community or state. Findexamples of different points of view that affectdecision making and the development of publicpolicies on the problem. Then devise your ownsolution and present it to the class.

GeoJournalDescriptive Writing Use your GeoJournal towrite an essay describing how varying physical andcultural patterns in the region influenced the devel-opment and spread of new ideas and technologies.Use your textbook and the Internet as resources tomake your essay accurate and interesting.

Technology ActivityCreating an Electronic Database

Choose a region of the United States or Canada.Research that region and create an electronicdatabase. Include types of industries, jobs,trading partners, major transportation routes,communications, land use, and environmentalproblems. Share your findings with the class,using charts, maps, and other graphics.

Study the bar graph below. Then choose thebest answer for the following multiple-choicequestion. If you have trouble answering thequestion, use the process of elimination to narrow your choices.

Barrow, Alaska°F/°C

Ave

rag

e M

on

thly

Tem

per

atu

re

0/-18

-10/-23

-20/-29

10/-12

20/-7

30/-1

40/4

50/10

J F M A M J J A S O N D

1. As a regional geographer for an oil com-pany, you need to determine the best timefor a survey team to work near Barrow,Alaska. Given the information on the bargraph, during which three-month periodshould the survey take place?

A January, February, MarchB September, October, NovemberC March, April, MayD June, July, August

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

C h a p t e r 7 175

Study the information shown on thebar graph for average monthly tem-perature. Look for three consecutive

months in which temperatures would be the mostfavorable for people and equipment to function outside.