It is so interesting to see how countries in Asia that have worked so hard to industrialize at quick rates are now facing a lack of childbirth increase.  I believe most if not all first world countries do not have reproductive rates that can maintain populations.  Most of these countries are only able to keep their numbers up by immigration.  And immigration seems to always be unpopular with residents of any area in the world.  People do not trust people from other parts of the world and think that everything they have is something that was taken away from the native born residents.  In a world where people are so connected and dependent on the systems that maintain that connectivity, people are more isolated from each other.  Families and communities are dwindling because everyone is focused so much on developing and maintaining the economy.  The degredation of what makes a community beautiful, the environment, the families, the culture all seem to be at risk as so much has been sacrificed for industrialization and modernization.  What do you think are the best ways to tackle this issue?  I personally think immigration is part of the solution, but that takes a lot of willingness to allow the cultural dynamics to evolve, which many people are opposed to.

It seems that politicians' main concern is the childbirth rates of countries but some do not realize that humans have not created the best world for our future generations.  Japan is a country who is still constructing coal burning plants, which will cause difficult living conditions for many.  Countries like South Korea and China are trying to help out the planet by educating the citizens of the nation and enforcing measures.  Can we still save the planet?  

I would be able to use these articles and have my students compare Asian and Latin American environmental issues.  

I remember, way back in the day, when Zero Population Growth was the big thing. Anything more than 2 children was considered bad for the environment, was going to lead to the end of the world, and was really looked down upon. I remember seeing interviews with some those proponents who praised China's One Child Only Policy. After reading and seeing how many elderly people are needing care and don't have children to care for them, it seems like many people are starting to regret this policy, whether they express it outright or not. This could be an opportunity for growth within the gerontology community. Entrepeneurs could have an opportunity to start more nursing homes and senior care centers. Seeing all of the dolls in that rural community that have replaced people was slightly depressing, but also a little creepy too. 

Prior to reading the article "China Has Reached It's Environmental Tipping Point", I knew that pollution in China was an issue. It's common knowledge that the air quality in China can pose harmful effects to an individual's health and wellbeing. However, I never considered the correlation between levels of pollution and levels of business profits. An excerpt from the article reads:

“When I’ve spoken to factory owners they say ‘Well look, if I choose to not do this and not discharge the heavy metals but my neighbours do then I could be in a difficult situation in the market because the profit margins are often so tight.’ “And then to add insult to injury, the owners say, the big national brands come in and care only about the cost. They just buy from the cheapest. They don’t care at all about the environmental pollution. If we have a high cost, we lose the contract. We collapse. So how can we act in a responsible way?”

I find this to be an interesting point because as consumers, we are constantly searching for a common characteristic in a product: the lowest price and for us to get the lowest price, manufacturers and businesses can cut corners and ignore safety regulations to give us that characteristic in their product. We often see China's pollution problem as simply that: THEIR problem. But maybe we, as consumers, are also to blame. We want the lowest price for a quality product. I know I'm guilty of this...

I agree with you! I sometimes have problems with students trying to connect with the lesson.  The famous questions "How does this apply to me?" or "Why are we learning about this?" can be avoided if I start my lesson with maps or simply explaining how the US connects to the country of study.  

Still looming in the details of the Coronavirus and the political and economical impact of this virus are the actual human lives that are being lost and effected by the transmission and handling of this illness. Understanding that since the beginning of time illnesses have been transmitted through travel, but that there is more of spotlight on the issue because of the frequency in which information is shared through media and technology.  Of course this is a major issue that we will continue to follow. Well, it almost impossible to escape the conversation and headlines because of the global impact this illness is having.

The geographic landscape and population dispersment is most interesting with China's landmass and hope there is the opportunity through the BRI to perhaps take advantage of the its size.  If China is able to capitalize on its land and the population subsequently increases, what about water?  

The cleanup efforts in Japan after 3/11 was so impressive and speaks to the culture of the people. 

An issue that binds us all, that was a hot topic topic today, was the aging population and pairing that with younger people who are not having children and still relying on their parents to find their way...I think in that regard I am thinking more about China and the US having this issue.  Also, I found it interesting the distribution of household incomes and how the two countries spend their incomes. We touched on a lot this morning and discussed various ways to include the content in our curriculum in terms of geographic location in relation to the US. We have more in common than we may think.

Reading Robinson's "Schools in South Korea," I couldn't help wondering about the impact on the quality of education in the elementary schools. Surely, each child is receiving dramatically more attention and individualized support from their teacher, but what about their social emotional learning? Many communities in South Korea are already quite homogeneous; how do teachers make sure their pupils are exposed to different ideas and perspectives in such an environment (or am I projecting my own cultural values when I ask these questions)?

Maybe I'm completely mistaken and need further information on this topic, but the views expressed by Musk and Ma in Coonan's "Global Population" are concerning because they focus so much on business and politics. Their companies' success depends on consumption, so naturally they want more consumers. However, population growth on Earth up until now has already had dramatically detrimental effects on climate, resources, and the environment; continuous population growth is simply not ecologically possible. Wouldn’t it be great if the problem of population decline motivated innovators like Musk and Ma to find environmentally responsible solutions instead?