Cultural Geography

Cabrillo College Library

Biodiversity
1. Definitions
2. Hotspots
3. Biological & cultural diversity
4. Calif. bioregions

Desertification
1. Causes
2. Defintions

Global Warming
1. Background info
2. Potential outcomes

How to Get to This Page

This page was created for use with GEOG 2: Cultural Geography taught at Cabrillo College by Keith Ducote

name_____________________________

Biodiversity
1. Definitions

Go to California Biodiversity Council's An Applied Definition of Biodiversity
Read the definition provided, then write a definition of biodiversity using your own words.

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2. Biodiversity Hotspots

Go to Biodiversity Hotspots from the Conservation International Foundation

Conservation International (CI) has identified biologically rich areas under the greatest threat of destruction as biodiversity hotspots, and concentrates conservation in these areas to have the most impact.

Click on "Hotspots Explorer." (It's an interactive map; you'll need Flash.) Select either Philippines or Mesoamerica.

Area selected: _________________________________

Summarize 3 major points about the hotspot:

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3. Biodiversity and Cultural Diversity

Go to Cultural and Biological Diversity from the World Resources Institute

What are some of the ways in which cultural and biological diversity are interrelated? What is "sustainable use" of natural resources?

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4. California's Bioregions

Go to California's Bioregions from the California Biodiversity Council
Click on Central Coast
Scroll down and click on Maps and Spatial Data. Explore a couple of the maps offered (e.g.,

California vegetation; or land ownership)

Make notes here about what types of information are provided:

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Desertification
1. Causes

Go to United Nations Interim Secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification (takes a little time to completely load; be patient!)
Once the site has loaded, click on Knowledge Base under the words What is UNCCD and Desertification ?- Knowledge Base

What are some of the causes and consequences of desertification?

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2. Definitions

Go to Desertification and Climate Change published on the Web as part of the Tiempo series from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom.

According to the authors, what defines desertification and how is desertification distinguished from drought and desiccation?

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What do the authors say about the relationship between dryland degradation and global warming?

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Global Warming
1. Background Information

Go to U.S. Global Change Research Information Office
Click on Ask Dr. Global Change (towards the top of the screen). Then, click on Question & Answer Archive.

Explore a couple of the questions and answers, and summarize what you learned:

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2. Potential Outcomes

Go to Global Warming from the Woods Hole Research Center
Click on Potential Outcome (over on left)

Read the analysis and summarize what you see as the most important potential outcome of the warming of the earth:

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Go to EPA Global Warming (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Click on Impacts
Click on State Impacts (over at left)
Select California

What are some of the impacts predicted for California?

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How to Get to This Page on the Internet

Be on the Cabrillo College Library homepage <http://libwww.cabrillo.edu>
Click on Internet Links
Click on Geography
Scroll down, and under Course-Related Materials, click on GEOG 2, Cultural Geography, K. Ducote

K. Ducote; T. N. Smalley
1/00; last rev. 3/04