Qatar, a Middle Eastern country bordered by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, has experienced a population boom in the last few decades because of the gushing reserves of oil. However, since Qatar is essentially desert, the skyrocketing population has put strain on available water resources. Here is a video on Qatar, a country with no water: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv3E6ESTp30 
--Read my thoughts on the video below! 
       I thought this talk was interesting because different countries and their economic/environmental situations intrigue me greatly. The rapid rate of change that has occurred in about 70 years is amazing. In 1940, Qatar was just another nomadic region with people wondering the deserts for food, water, and other resources. Now, it is thriving on wealth generated from oil and the cheap labor of Philippine and Indian immigrants. This video reminded me of an article that was recently in National Geographic (January 2014). Qatar’s population is 89% noncitizens and only 11% native Qatari; most of its imported workers come from Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, and India. Therefore, all the water that is being used up (430 liters per person per year) is mostly consumed by the immigrants. However, I find it hard to believe that these poor workers are “over-consuming,” as the speaker was insinuating. 

Alesund, Norway http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alesund_3.jpg

Chugach State Park, Alaska http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chugach_State_Park

       This painting depicts a fast-moving train with soldiers shooting long, powerful guns. It is in the style of Futurism, an Italian modern movement (1909-1914) that glorified technology, war, the dynamism of new objects, and the fast pace of urban life. It was founded by Marinetti, an Italian poet, and practiced by Boccioni (i.e. Unique Forms of Continuity in Space), Giacomo Balla (i.e. Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash), and Severini. WWI was raging on in Europe at this time and there was new military technology such as machine guns, chemical weapons, and cannons that were used to devastating effect. The painting has an aerial view, which reflects Severini’s Parisian studio that overlooked a train station. The fast movement of the train is broken down into flat, broad color planes (i.e. light blue, dark/light green, and red) that exemplify Cubism (multiple perspectives at once). The smoke from the guns masks the background of ridged fields, which may hint at the destruction of the Italian countryside. The five shooters are a faceless, menacing, and threatening mass. There are also many interesting, specific details such as the rivets on the train and cannon. Armored Train is similar to Francisco Goya’s Third of May, 1808 which shows a wall of unrecognizable oppressors shooting a defiant subject. However, unlike the Goya rendition, Severini’s painting has no identifiable victim; it’s just general chaos. Despite the violence, the colors are uplifting and the central line of composition thrusts upwards (positive).

Jama Masjid Mosque, India http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jama_Masjid_is_the_largest_mosque_in_India._Delhi,_India..jpg

Djenné Mud Mosque, Mali http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Djenne_great_mud_mosque.jpg

Ashford Castle, Cong, Ireland http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ashford_Castle_2008.jpg

Everyone is connected!

       After counting up my family’s internet connected gadgets, I found that I have at least ten in my house. That is double the U.S. national average according to the Bloomberg Tech Blog (which puts the mean at five). After talking to other kids around the world and reading the statistics, I realized what an outlier my family is compared to others elsewhere. I have a few laptops, desktops, iPods, and an iPad; however, this number is the same with all my other friends in the United States. I discovered that some families in the Ukraine, Germany, and Mexico have two internet devices, a boy in Thailand only has one, and girl from France has eleven! This gap in wealth and ability to get access to internet doesn’t mean those countries are terrible and are lacking necessary provisions; rather they are more practical and frugal than in America. Why does someone really need an iPad, iPhone, tablet, Macbook, and Wii all at the same time?
       As well as in America, Europeans are fond of technology and, at least in the big cities, many people are constantly on their phones (i.e. in Rome, Paris, London, etc). According to the Guardian, 58% of Europeans alone have Smartphones. I remember my taxi driver who was taking my family to the airport in Milan yakking away on his savvy phone while trying to drive a stick-shift down an 80 mile an hour highway—multitasking at its best! Although I am sometimes embarrassed  to admit just how much I have in terms of technology, I admit it is neat to be able to talk to my family overseas in England, Scotland, and India. Without the internet and the number of devices I have, that would not be possible at all. Also from the Guardian, I read that the number of internet connected products was predicted to exceed the human population in 2013. Is this just madness or the result of globalization, commercialization, and growing wealth? Leave your thoughts below!

Sources:
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/feb/07/mobile-internet-outnumber-people
http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-blog/2012-08-29-average-household-has-5-connected-devices-while-some-have-15-plus/
http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Bohemia, Czech Republic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemia