Getting to Know You (Module 1) – Bernstein

Hello everyone!

My name is Teresa Bernstein. I am a Junior majoring in International Relations (a branch off of the International Politics major) and currently attend the World Campus “location”. Even though I was born in North Carolina, I was raised here in Bernville, Pennsylvania. Bernville is a rather small town about 12 miles away from the more well-known city of Reading (if you need a point of reference). In the future I hope to get into politics – hence my major – and maybe even represent the United States abroad (as I have my Bachelor’s in German from Lycoming College already). The part of this course that I am most anticipating is talking about human-environment interactions and the implications thereof. I do not have too much to say about myself fact wise; I am very big into music and can play 6 different instruments (some of which I taught myself how to play), and like to participate in karate in my free time (a hobby of mine since I was about 9 years old).

One issue that geography would be well suited to address is human-environment interactions. Environment and Society Geography can help analyze why certain areas of the world are left with a larger human footprint than others. Globalization and integration as a result also play a large role in this particular issue. If Country A has a natural resource that Country B wishes desperately to acquire, the Cultural integration between these two countries could lead to Economic integration in order to meet the desire for this resource. Too large of a demand then has the possibility to stress Country A and could deplete resources at drastic rates unless sanctions are put in place. As a result, this can fuel the fires of an economic and/or political battle – which all started with Geography. I believe it is important to understand how much of an effect we have on our surroundings because it ties into more than one would think at first glance.

2 thoughts on “Getting to Know You (Module 1) – Bernstein

  1. Hi Teresa, my name is Sabrina and I am a sophomore at University Park. Take a look at my page http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/01/20/getting-to-know-you-sabrina-hecht/ !

    Simply by reading what your major is it is clear to my why you have chose to take this class. I also spoke about human-environment interactions and find it very interesting how much of an effect it truly has on the world. Using an example between two countries was a great way to show that most of the time the decisions each country makes that has to do with the natural resource they have, plays just as big of a role as the natural resource itself. I look forward to your views throughout the rest of the course as an international relations major!

  2. Hi Teresa,
    I’m Chris and it’s nice to meet you. It sounds like to have an interesting major that you’re passionate about. It’s good that someone with political aspirations is interested in geographical issues. In my post I also wrote about globalization and the kinds of widespread effects it can have. It’s important to understand how globalization influences demand for resources and how the impact from this can be minimized. Here’s a link to my post:
    http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/01/20/getting-to-know-me-chris-miller/

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