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CHAPTER

THEMATIC CONCEPTS W hite S ea

Population • Gender • Development Food • Urbanization • Globalization Democratization • Climate Change • Water

Europe

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E Danube River, Budapest, Hungary FIGURE 4.1 Regional map of Europe.

198 

CHAPTER 4  Europe

Global Patterns, Local Lives

Grigore Chivu (a pseudonym) wanders through the empty pig pens on his farm near Lugoj in western Romania. For generations his family has made a meager but rewarding living by raising and processing hogs and selling the meat. A few years ago, just before Romania joined the European Union (EU), he had more than 250 pigs. At Christmas, he and thousands of pig farmers across the country would slaughter a certain number of their pigs and preserve the meat, using age-old methods. Pig slaughtering was a time of high spirits, community cooperation, and celebration, as the farmers contemplated the coming feast and their profits. Flavorful sausages, which they smoked and hung high in the rafters of their kitchens for further drying, were slowly parceled out to select customers, providing a steady income well into summer. When Romania entered the European Union in 2007, all farmers were required to conform to EU standards for processing meat. The old methods were no longer allowed, and the new standards were prohibitively expensive. At first the farmers were uncertain just how to respond. Before they could organize a butchering cooperative that conformed to EU standards, and for which development funds were available, an American company stepped into the breach. Smithfield, a Fortune 500 meat company based in Virginia, was expanding operations into Middle America and Central Europe, where it planned to produce pork and pork products and market them globally. Eager to enter the EU market, Smithfield enlisted the help of Romanian politicians and got permission to establish a conglomerate that included feed production, pig breeding, modernized sanitary barns for fattening thousands of hogs, and slaughterhouses. As the old picturesque Romanian agricultural landscape is transformed into one of huge factory farms, the number of pig farmers has been reduced by more than 90 percent (Figure 4.2). Unable to compete with the lower prices Smithfield can charge, Grigore Chivu, like thousands of his fellow pig farmers, is thinking of migrating to western Europe where, because of his traditional farming background, he will be eligible for only menial labor. [Source: Conversations with geographer

A

B

C

Margareta Lelea, a Romanian specialist, Visiting Assistant Professor, Bucknell University; Doreen Carvajal and Stephen Castle, “A U.S. Hog Giant Transforms Eastern Europe,” New York Times, May 6, 2009, at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/business/global/06smithfield. html?ref=europe; http://www.nytimes. European Union (EU)  a com/2009/05/06/business/global/06smithfield. supranational organization that html?ref=europe.] ■ unites most of the countries of West, South, North, and Central Grigore Chivu is faced with disrupEurope tive change as his country adjusts to new cultural homogenization  the tendency toward uniformity of circumstances in the European Union (EU), ideas, values, technologies, and but he is also part of a global revolution institutions among associated in food production and marketing that is culture groups

changing food patterns across the world. For example, Smithfield pork trimmings, produced and processed at low cost in Romania, are now marketed in West Africa, where the low prices are putting African pig farmers out of business. The European Union is a supranational organization that unites most of the countries of West, South, North, and Central

FIGURE 4.2  Pig farms in Romania and the United States. (A) Shepherds on a farm in Romania that raises small numbers of cows, sheep, and pigs (shown in B). (C) An industrial hog farm in Georgia, U.S., capable of raising thousands of pigs at a time.



Global Patterns, Local Lives 

199

FIGURE 4.3 Political map of Europe. ICELAND

FINLAND

SWEDEN

Faroe Islands (Denmark)

NORWAY ESTONIA

UNITED KINGDOM

REPUBLIC of IRELAND

DENMARK

LATVIA LITHUANIA

RUSSIA NETHERLANDS

GERMANY BELGIUM

POLAND

CZECH REPUBLIC

LUXEMBOURG

SLOVAKIA

FRANCE

LIECHTENSTEIN

SWITZERLAND

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HUNGARY

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CROATIA 1

PORTUGAL

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SPAIN

(France)

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BULGARIA

4 3

ALBANIA

Sardinia (Italy)

North Europe

GREECE Sicily (Italy)

Crete

West Europe Central Europe South Europe EU members

Europe (Figure 4.3). In principle, throughout the European Union, people, goods, and money can move freely. Many people, like Grigore Chivu, decide to migrate only reluctantly, and often do so because the longstanding inequities that persist across Europe make life especially difficult for those from poorer regions. Adapting to the changes that have come in Europe is wrenching for many, especially for poor, rural people. There are now 27 countries in the European Union, the most Maps.com recent inRegional 2007,Geography, with 5emore hoping to join in the next sevWH Freeman - joining Pulsipher: World Art Code: Pul_Fig4.03 years. The new members (with the exceptions of Malta and eral Name: Subregions of Europe (?) 06/21/10 - First Proof Cyprus) are formerly Communist countries in eastern Europe, CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK with lower standards of living and higher unemployment rates than western Europe. As their own economies have faltered, hundreds of thousands of workers from eastern Europe have taken advantage of the EU principle that (for the most part) citizens of all member states may move to any other EU state. Some EU residents fear that the migration of workers in an expanding European Union is bringing very different people into close contact with each other, resulting in political tensions

MALTA

1 2 3 4

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA MONTENEGRO MACEDONIA KOSOVO

(Greece)

CYPRUS

and increased costs for social and educational services. Others lament the cultural homogenization that is occurring. Across the European Union, as in Romania, distinctive local ways of life are disappearing as a result of new well-intentioned EU regulations. Meanwhile, economic planners and employers across Europe argue that without modernization and workers willing to migrate, economic growth and competitiveness in the global market is impossible. Many of the points touched on in this introduction to Europe are elaborated on in the Thematic Concepts on pages 200–201. They are further expanded upon in the chapter.

THINGS TO REMEMBER Throughout the European Union, smaller family-run farms are giving way to larger farms run by corporations. This move is strongest in the recently admitted EU states of Central Europe, resulting in many farmers and their families migrating to other EU countries in search of work.

THEMATIC CONCEPTS: Population  •  Gender  •  Development  •  Food  •  Urbanization Globalization  •  Democratization  •  Climate Change  •  Water Globalization, Development, and Colonialism:

European powers conquered vast overseas empires, creating trade relationships that laid the foundation for the modern global economy. The profits from these empires transformed economic development in Europe by helping to fund the industrial revolution.

(A)  A poster depicting Britain’s conquest of Sudan in 1897.

(B)  Sugar plantation workers in the 1890s in Puerto Rico, then a colony of Spain.

(C)  A steel mill in the Netherlands in 1890, financed in part by profits from a large colonial empire.

Urbanization and Democratization: As Europe urbanized during the industrial revolution, widespread poverty, squalid living conditions, and unsafe work environments created pressure for change in Europe’s political order. Decades of struggle eventually led to democratic reforms, including the establishment of strong social welfare institutions that transformed many European cities.

(D)  Destitute Londoners applying for entrance to (E)  This painting by Eugène Delacroix, “Liberty a homeless shelter are shown in this 1872 print, Leading the People,” commemorates a pro“Refuge: Applying for Admission,” by Gustave Doré. democracy uprising in Paris in 1830.

(F)  Public housing in London. Decent housing for low-income people is a central achievement of Europe’s democratic “welfare states.”

Climate Change: Europe leads the world in responding to climate change. Europe has made more commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and taken more concrete steps to do so, than any other region. Although emissions are still high, Europe’s dense cities and well-developed mass transit networks reduce per capita emissions to about half of North America’s.

(G)  New housing in London powered partially by micro wind turbines.

200

(H)  Bicycles parked by commuters outside a train station in Lund, Sweden.

(I)  These buildings in Amsterdam save energy because of their adjoining walls.

Population and Gender: Europeans are choosing to have fewer children, and as a result, the population as a whole is aging. Small families are in part a result of women pursuing demanding careers in occupations once dominated by men. Many women delay or avoid child bearing so that they can focus on work.

(J)  A mother and her only child celebrate Cernavale in Viareggio, Italy.

(K)  Two elderly women and their caregiver go for their daily walk in Cordoba, Spain.

(L)  Ségolène Royal (in white), France’s first female major party candidate for president. Royal was defeated in 2007.

Food: Throughout the European Union, smaller family-run farms are giving way to larger farms run by corporations. This move is strongest in the Central European states recently admitted to the EU. Smaller-scale organic food production is increasingly being promoted as an alternative throughout the EU.

(M)  A rural landscape in Germany dominated by small family farms.

(N)  A harvester making its way across a huge field on a corporate-run farm in France.

(O)  An organic vineyard in Slovenia.

Water: Europe’s many seas are increasingly threatened by water pollution from agriculture, industry, and cities. Several seas are nearly landlocked, and pollution here stays around longer because it is only slowly diluted by the Atlantic Ocean.

(P)  The Amoco Cadiz sinks off the Atlantic coast of France in 1978, creating the worst oil spill in European history.

(Q)  The narrow Strait of Gibraltar (circled), slows the Mediterranean’s exchange of water with the Atlantic.

(R)  Sewage dumped into the Mediterranean by the resort city of Benidorm, Spain, has recently forced beaches to close.

201

202 

CHAPTER 4  Europe

I THE GEOGRAPHIC SETTING Terms in This Chapter

This  book  divides  Europe  into  four  subregions  (see  Figure  4.3  on  page 199)—North, West, South, and Central Europe. For  convenience,  we  occasionally  use  the  term  western Europe to refer to all the countries that were not part of the experiment with  communism  in  the  Soviet  sphere  and  Yugoslavia.  That  is,  western Europe comprises the combined subregions of North Europe (except  Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), West Europe (except the former East  Germany),  and  South Europe. When  we  refer  to  the  countries  that  were part of the Soviet sphere up to 1989, we use the pre-1989 label  eastern Europe. When we refer to the group of countries that includes  Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Bulgaria,  Croatia,  Macedonia,  Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia (known to some collectively as the Balkans), we use the term southeastern Europe. Central Europe is  now  the  commonly  used  term  for  all  those  countries  formerly in eastern Europe that are now in the European Union, plus  the countries that were formerly in Yugoslavia, as well as Albania (see  Figure 4.3). 

Physical Patterns Europe is a region of peninsulas upon peninsulas (see Figure 4.1 on  pages 196–197). The entire European region is one giant peninsula  extending off the Eurasian continent. Its very long coastline has many  peninsular appendages, large and small. Norway and Sweden share  one of the larger appendages. The Iberian Peninsula (shared by Portugal and Spain), Italy, and Greece are other large peninsulas. Then  there  are  small  peninsulas  along  most  coastlines,  numbering  in  the  thousands. One result of these many fingers jutting into oceans and  seas is that much of Europe feels the climate-moderating effect of the  large bodies of water that surround it.

Landforms Although European landforms are fairly complex, the basic pattern is  mountains, uplands, and lowlands, all stretching roughly west to east  in wide bands. As you can see in Figure 4.1, Europe’s largest mountain chain stretches west to east through the middle of the continent,  from southern France through Switzerland and Austria. It extends into  the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and curves southeast into Romania.  The Alps are the highest and most central part of this formation. This  network  of  mountains  is  mainly the  result  of  pressure  from  the  collision  of  the  northward-moving  African  Plate  with  the  southeasterly  moving Eurasian Plate (see Figure 1.26 on page 51). Europe lies on  the westernmost extension of the Eurasian Plate. South  of  the  main  Alps  formation,  mountains  extend  into  the  peninsulas  of  Iberia  and  Italy,  and  along  the  Adriatic  Sea  through  Greece  to  the  east.  The  northernmost  mountainous  formation  is  shared by Scotland, Norway, and Sweden. These northern mountains  are  old  (about  the  age  of  the  Appalachians  in  North  America)  and  have been worn down by glaciers and millions of years of erosion. Extending  northward  from  the  central  mountain  zone  is  a  band  of  low-lying  hills  and  plateaus  curving  from  Dijon  (France)  through  Frankfurt  (Germany)  to  Krakow  (Poland).  These  uplands 

(see Figure 4.1B) form a transitional zone between the high mountains and lowlands of the North European Plain, the most extensive  landform in Europe (see Figure 4.1C). The plain begins along the  Atlantic  coast  in  western  France  and  stretches  in  a  wide  band  around the northern flank of the main European peninsula, reaching across the English Channel and the North Sea to take in southern  England,  southern  Sweden,  and  most  of  Finland.  The  plain  continues  east  through  Poland,  then  broadens  to  the  south  and  north to include all the land east to the Ural Mountains (in Russia). The  coastal  zones  of  the  North  European  Plain  are  densely  populated all the way east through Poland. Crossed by many rivers  and holding considerable mineral deposits, this coastal lowland is an  area of large industrial cities and densely occupied rural areas. Over  the past thousand years, people have transformed the natural seaside  marshes  and  vast  river  deltas  into  farmland,  pastures,  and  urban  areas  by  building  dikes  and  draining  the  land  with  wind-powered  pumps.  This  is  especially  true  in  te  low-lying  Netherlands,  where  concern over climate change and sea level rises is considerable. The  rivers  of  Europe  link  its  interior  to  the  surrounding  seas.  Several of these rivers are navigable well into the upland zone, and  Europeans  have  built  large  industrial  cities  on  their  banks.  The  Rhine carries more traffic than any other European river, and the  course it has cut through the Alps and uplands to the North Sea also  serves as a route for railways and motorways (see Figure 4.1D). The  area  where  the  Rhine  flows  into  the  North  Sea  is  considered  the  economic core of Europe. Here Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port, is  located. The larger and much longer Danube River flows southeast  from  Germany,  connecting  the  center  of  Europe  with  the  Black  Sea. As the European Union expands to the east, the economic and  environmental roles of the Danube River basin, including the Black  Sea, are getting increased attention (Figure 4.1E). 

Vegetation Nearly all of Europe’s original forests are gone, some for more than  a  thousand  years,  to  make  way  for  farmland,  pasture,  towns,  and  cities. Today, forests with very large and old trees exist only in scattered  areas,  especially  on  the  more  rugged  mountain  slopes  (see  Photo Essay 4.1C) and in the northernmost parts of Scandinavia  (the  area  occupied  by  Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Finland;  see Photo Essay 4.1C). In parts of central and southeastern Europe,  forests have been sustainably managed for generations—in Slovenia,  for  example,  the  owner  of  a  woodlot  may  not  cut  one  of  her  own trees for use as firewood or lumber without a special permit— and across Europe, forests are now regenerating where small farms  have been abandoned. Today, although regenerating forests cover  about  one-third  of  Europe,  the  dominant  vegetation  is  crops  and  pasture grass. Former forestlands are covered with industrial sites,  railways, roadways, parking lots, canals, cities, suburbs, and parks.

Climate Europe  has  three  main  climate  types:  temperate  midlatitude,   Mediterranean,  and  humid  continental  (Photo  Essay  4.1).  The 

4.1 Climates of Europe

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CHAPTER 4  Europe

temperate midlatitude climate  dominates  in  northwestern  Europe, where the influence of the Atlantic Ocean is very strong. A  broad  warm-water  ocean  current  called  the  North Atlantic Drift  brings large amounts of warm water to the coasts of Europe. It is  really just the easternmost end of the Gulf Stream, which carries  water  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  north  along  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America  and  across  the  North  Atlantic  to  Europe  (see  Photo Essay 2.1 on page 71).   The  air  above  the  North  Atlantic  Drift is  warm  and  wet.  Eastward-blowing winds push it over northwestern Europe and the  North European Plain, bringing moderate temperatures and rain  deep  into  the  Eurasian  continent.  These  factors  create  a  climate  that, although still fairly cool, is much warmer than elsewhere in  the world at similar latitudes. To minimize the effects of heavy precipitation  runoff,  people  in  these  areas  have  developed  elaborate  drainage  systems  for  their  houses  and  communities.  Forests  are  both evergreen and deciduous. For the most part, the food crops in  the temperate zone are not native to Europe, coming instead from  around the world (see Figure 1.29 on page 57).  There is some concern that global warming (see pages 45–46  in  Chapter  1)  could  weaken  the  North  Atlantic  Drift,  leading  to  a  significantly  cooler,  drier Europe.  However,  in  recent  years  Europe has actually experienced abnormally warm temperatures,  but also less precipitation. temperate midlatitude Farther  to  the  south,  the  Mediterranean climate as in south-central North climate   prevails—warm,  dry  summers  and  America, China, and much of mild,  rainy  winters.  In  the  summer,  warm,  Europe, a climate that is moist all year with relatively mild winters dry air from North Africa shifts north over the  and long, warm-to-hot summers Mediterranean  Sea  as  far  north  as  the  Alps,  North Atlantic Drift the bringing  high  temperatures  and  clear  skies.  easternmost end of the Gulf Crops  grown  in  this  climate,  such  as  olives  Stream, a broad warm-water and grapes, citrus, apple and other fruits, and  current that brings large amounts of warm water to Europe wheat, must be drought-resistant or irrigated.  Mediterranean climate a Forests tend to be evergreen with low-growing  climate pattern of warm, dry hardy  shrubs,  such  as  rosemary  and  bay.  summers and mild, rainy winters In  the  fall,  this  warm,  dry  air  shifts  to  the  cool humid continental south and is replaced by cooler temperatures  climate a midlatitude climate and  rainstorms  sweeping  in  off  the  Atlantic.  pattern in which summers are Overall, the climate here is mild, and houses  fairly hot and moist, and winters become longer and colder the along the Mediterranean coast are often open  deeper into the interior of the and  airy  to  afford  comfort  in  the  hot,  sunny  continent one goes summers. Biosphere  the parts of the earth In  eastern  Europe,  without  the  moderand its atmosphere in which all ating  influences  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  living organisms exist the Mediterranean Sea, the climate is more  extreme.  In  this  region  of  cool humid continental climate,  summers  are  fairly  hot,  and  the  winters  become  longer  and  colder  the farther north or deeper into the interior of the continent one  goes. Here, houses tend to be well insulated, with small windows,  low ceilings, and steep roofs that can shed snow. Crops must be  adapted  to  much  shorter  growing  seasons  and  include  corn  and  other grains; a wide variety of vegetables, including root crops and  cabbages adapted to cold; and fruit trees.

THINGS TO REMEMBER Europe, a region of peninsulas upon peninsulas, has three  main landforms—mountain chains, uplands in the north, and 

the vast North European Plain; and three principal climates— the temperate midlatitude, which results from the North  Atlantic Drift; the Mediterranean climate; and the cool humid  continental pattern. 

Environmental Issues Having dramatically transformed their environments over the past  10,000  years,  Europeans  are  now  increasingly  taking  action  on  environmental issues at the local and global scales. Nevertheless, Europe’s air, seas, and rivers remain some of the  most polluted in the world, and there is still a long way to go to  meet the European Union’s stated environmental goals of clean  air  and  water;  sustainable  development  in  agriculture,  industry,  and energy use; and maintenance of biodiversity.

Europe’s Impact on the Biosphere There  is  a  geographic  pattern  to  the  ways  that  human  activity  over time has transformed Europe’s landscapes. Western Europe  shows the effects of dense population and heavy industrialization,  and eastern Europe reveals the results of long decades of willful  disregard for the environment. At present, despite Europe’s activist role in alerting global citizenry about the dangers to humanity  posed  by  pollution  and  climate  change,  this  region  continues  to have a major impact on the  Biosphere through the air, water,  and  sea  pollution  it  generates  (Photo  Essay  4.2).  Furthermore,  Europe is itself especially vulnerable to a number of the potential  effects  of  climate  change,  such  as  cooler,  drier  climates  in  the  north, warmer, drier climates near the Mediterranean, and wider  variability  year  to  year,  all  of  which  will  affect  agriculture  and  industries such as tourism and transportation.  Europe’s Energy Resources  Europe’s main energy sources have  shifted  over  the  years  from  coal  to  petroleum  and  natural  gas,  and in some countries to nuclear power. Increasingly, alternative  energy  sources  are  being  pursued  in  response  to  rising  energy  costs and efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The  27  members  of  the  European  Union  (often  referred  to as the EU-27) get a large portion of their fuel supplies from  Russia—32  percent  of  their  crude  oil  and  42  percent  of  their  natural gas, as of 2008. Most of the gas now comes via pipelines  through  Belarus  and  Ukraine,  but  Turkey  is  negotiating  to  supply Russian gas to Europe via the Black Sea, and it already  hosts a pipeline that carries gas from the Caspian Sea to Europe.  Russia  is  negotiating  for  yet  another  trans-Turkey  pipeline  to  carry  oil  and  gas  to  the  Mediterranean.  Europeans  fear  that  Russia will use this dependency against them, withholding and  releasing flows at will as it did in 2008 with oil and gas flowing  through Ukraine and Belarus. Another 30 percent of the gas and  oil the European Union consumes comes from the Middle East.  Large oil and gas deposits in the North Sea, most controlled by  Norway (not an EU member), have alleviated Europe’s dependence on “foreign” sources of energy, but the production of oil  from the North Sea has already peaked and is expected to run  out by 2018.  82. Winter on the Way

PHOTO ESSAY

4.2 Human Impact on the Biosphere in Europe

ANIMATION

Most of Europe has been transformed by human activity. Western Europe has some of the most heavily impacted landscapes and ecosystems, but the former communist countries of eastern Europe also have severe environmental problems. Meanwhile, agricultural intensification is creating new problems in southern Europe. The map shows some of the impacts on Europe’s land, sea, and air.

A  The Garzweiler open pit coal mine in Germany, one of the  largest in the world, covers 25.3 square miles (66 square km).  Its operations have forced the abandonment of twelve villages  and towns and threaten local groundwater resources. The coal  produced by this mine is a highly polluting variety called lignite,  which is responsible for much of Europe’s acid rain problem  because of its high sulfur content. B  A coal-fired power plant at an industrial facility in Poznan,  Poland, in 2009. Central Europe has thousands of similar small  but highly polluting facilities, many of them built during the  era of Soviet domination or before, when environmental  safeguards were rare. B

A

C

Human Impact on Land

Land Cover

High impact

Forests

Medium–High impact

Grasslands

Low–Medium impact

Deserts Tundra

Acid Rain