GEOG 170 Lecture 8: Working Landscapes
Document Summary
Rural landscapes: look and feel very different from urban or suburban landscapes, contain about 20% u. s. population, often have less infrastructure for residents (schools, hospitals, grocery stores, etc. , more likely to have higher levels of unemployment, land uses: Natural resource extraction: timber (30%), oil, natural gas, coal. Increasingly industrialized farming: industrial farms account for more than 80% of total u. s. farm production. Small enough to be owned and farmed by a family (home and workplace), generally also employs seasonal labor. Involves production of food and maintenance of resources (requires intimate knowledge and care) } community: valuing family, neighbors, and social relations and social relations. } conservation: valuing the land, water, and natural resources. Small farms are characterized by a unique set of relationships between people and place. Number of farms is decreasing, but their productivity is increasing. Large scale machines and fossil fuels to boost yields. Many crops end up as animal feed, biofuels, or processed junk food ingredients.
