Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Why there isn't many battles near the equator.

     Since the beginning of humans, there has always been confrontations. However, if we look at where these have happened, there has never been that many near where it is warmest; the equator. Disease, poor soil, crazy weather, and no advancement of civilization are all reasons, but how did these come to be?
     Climate. Right around the equator, it is always above freezing and life should be very prosperous because of this. It means many of our world's species and plants are here, but it also means many of our world's diseases come from here as well. This giant list of diseases includes malaria, dengue, leprosy, tuberculosis, West Nile virus, and so many more that just prosper. When many of the European countries first set up their colonies in the 16 through 18th centuries, they at first had the upper hand with their diseases they had bought with them. However, they never were able to somewhat prosper and adjust to this climate with monsoons and scorching temperatures. Even when resources like silver were found in the Andes mountains during this time, no country ever permanently settled it because of it's distance from Europe and little importance to strategy.

Image result for monsoon season brazil
     With this unpredictable climate plague of disease, the equator seems to always be the spot to avoid. Only civilizations like the Incas have succeeded in building civilization,  but they were quickly dismayed by disease from Europe. After them, civilizations along the Equator never rose to high prominence in the world because they just could not catch up with how fast the rest of the world was advancing. They were too far behind. Monsoon seasons would often drench the soil making it hard to grow many crops native to North America and Europe. The equator may seem like a good warm spot of the world to always be, but it comes with many flaws.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

The Mississippi Flood of 1927. Did we learn from it?

     The Mississippi River is one of the most mighty water systems in the entire world. It is the third longest river in the world behind the Amazon and the Nile. All water that flows into this water system covers over half of the land in the United States. Even though this is probably the most destructive flood of U.S. history, why does the U.S. still have very bad floods still?
     The year 2017 saw the most expensive flood yet in U.S. history with Hurricane Harvey. The year 2016 saw devastating floods in Baton Rogue Louisiana.the year 2005 saw days of flooding in New Orleans. The year 1927 saw the most destructive flood in U.S. history along the Mississippi River.
     That year 1927 was a major glimpse of what the mighty Mississippi can do. Over 600,000 people became homeless from this flood because of how much the mighty Mississippi was relied upon. People ended up building their houses in what were the low lands of the deep south right near the Mississippi. No one was able to prevent this from happening as the deep south still at the time was not the major manufacturing center like the northern United States. Farming was still the way of life and the Mississippi water system is what kept it going.
Image result for 1927 mississippi flood
    (Cape Girardeau Missouri 1927)
     The U.S.went close to 80 years without a devastating flood like this. This may be by luck, but the U.S. figured out how to engineer levees and dams that were built to stop floods of that magnitude. However, history repeats itself, and people forget how destructive weather phenomenons like the Mississippi floods, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions can be.
     With the 1927 Mississippi flood, the U.S. built levees in which the U.S. could to continue to live their way of life. It got slowly ignored, and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina flooding in New Orleans was a prime example of why everyone needs to be ready and alert for whatever weather phenomenon comes next. No one can ever tame mother nature, but one can lesson the impact from it.