Ireland vs Haiti: Comparison by Population Pyramid

The population pyramids I compared are Haiti (an LDC) and Ireland (a MDC). As can be seen, Haiti has a much younger population than Ireland. This follows the trend observed between LDC's and MDC's.

Haiti is officially the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, ranking 148 of 179 on the Human Development Index. Meanwhile, Ireland ranks 5 out of 179 on the HDI, and is relatively wealthy. The total fertility rate for each Irish woman sits at 2.0, keeping the Irish population relatively stable. Haitian women, on the other hand, average 4.0 births in their lifetime, a full 2.0 children per woman higher than Ireland.

There are several factors that contribute to this trend. It is likely that most Irish women have demanding careers throughout their childbearing years. Because of this, and the wide availability and practice of birth control methods in Europe, Irish couples limit the size of their families to cater to their desires. Hatian women can not afford luxuries such as these, and have characteristically larger families. In the slums of Haiti, women are usually not a part of the workforce. Instead, they spend time caring for their children. Children in 3rd world countries can aid the family's survival by becoming a source of work and income.

As far as can be determined, the Irish population will continue to grow older and live longer, while the population of Haiti will remain young with children constituting the most significant portion of the population.

-Daniel Uden 1-29-2009

Firsthand Glimpse into the Past

I got a letter in the mail from my grandma today, and part of her letter described growing up in the Nebraska Sandhills during the Great Depression. What experience and insight...

"I am still working on my organization project and it sure is going slow! I guess I don't know what to do with stuff and it is hard for me, having lived through the Great Depression when I was a kid, to throw things out. I remember that we were issued stamps so one pair of shoes per person was allowed. You could buy one banana for each member of your household-you couldn't get much sugar unless you had fruit to case and my mom had bought lots of jars of sour plums from a neighbor before we moved to Brown County so we could get plenty of sugar which we shared with our neighbors. We made our own fire by burning cow chips in Garden County and lots of cobs both places and my dad also raised hogs back then. We ate lots of rabbits and pheasants and then fish too after we moved to Goose Creek. We had big gardens, had our own milk, creams, eggs and butter-We sold cream and eggs via the barter system. I guess that paid for our groceries. We wore lots of hand-me-downs and were glad to get them. We were lucky to live in Nebraska. I guess we didn't even know we were poor! We had no electricity or plumbing, of course-Had kerosene lamps-our house was "3-room and a path!" I wrote a song about that-How things have changed! My dad drove our cattle from Garden County in 1942 when we moved-21 days on the trail with 3 teenage boys helping him-tent, chuckwagon and all! I was 6 years old that spring."

Only someone who has seen the Nebraska Sandhills can imagine what a trek across them in a wagon while driving a herd of cattle would be like. What I wouldn't do to witness this and events like it...at least I have a first-hand description.

-Daniel Uden 1-27-2009

Favorite North American Place

Of all the places I’ve visited in North America, the Mira Valley near Ord in central Nebraska is my favorite. The Mira Valley lies just south of the town of Ord, with the Mira Creek winding through it. Both Ord and the Mira Valley are near the larger North Loup Valley, one of the most beautiful of Nebraska’s rivers.

My uncle, Keith Peterson, who grew up in the valley and now farms and ranches there, introduced me to the Mira Valley. When my family travels to Ord for holidays and special occasions, I often spend the better part of the day walking the rolling Mira Valley hills hunting upland game birds with my uncle and his brother.

The Mira Valley and the surrounding terrain resemble the Sandhills or northern Nebraska, which lie relatively close to the north. Yet, the area is distinctly different, especially in regard to the soil. While the soil of the Sandhills is very sandy and unsuitable for farming, the Mira Valley is a very fertile and farmable area, especially alongside the Mira Creek. Even though most of the land there is farmable, the few residents of the valley make a living through a combination of farming and ranching. This combination is evident in the landscape, as corn and soybean fields border alfalfa fields and unplowed pasture. Horses are still the choice work vehicle in many jobs that involve moving and working cattle.

Many kinds of wildlife thrive in the Mira Valley. When walking the valley, one passes beaver dams on the creek, spooks both whitetail and mule deer across the hills, hears turkey flocks gathering beneath cottonwood trees, sees coyotes and raccoons crossing the roads, and flushes out upland game birds such as quail, pheasant and grouse.

One reason that I am so interested in and impressed by the Mira Valley is that I am attracted to areas of Nebraska that have remained largely unchanged over the past several centuries of human settlement. Perhaps this is because I come from a highly plowed area, where the fertile land spells profit, and the landscape looks nothing like it once did. Although the human presence has certainly been made known in the Mira Valley, areas of traditional Nebraska prairie remain and offer a glimpse into the past that long was the American Midwest. I also enjoy the memories that my relatives and I have made walking those Mira Valley hills. It's the place I learned to hunt, shoot a gun, and ride a horse. I hope this place can continue to be enjoyed by me and those that call it home.

-Daniel Uden 1-27-2009

1st Time Blogger

I am entering the blogging world for the first time as part of an introductory level geography class this semester. I am actually a geography major in my third year of school, but this is the first time it has worked for me to take this class, Diversity Amid Globalization. The class is a broad overview of world regions...a little different than what I'm used to, which are classes that tend to focus in depth on smaller regions or issues. But I'm enjoying this so far. First blog accomplished

-Dan