Chapter 13

Section 1
1. Three of the reasons major economic changes are taking place in Europe are the opening of tourism in urban areas, the fall of communism, and the creation and expansion of the European Union, or the EU.

2. Some changes in the economies, farming techniques, and communications in eastern Europe since the fall of communism in 1989 are the switching from command economies to market economies, the use of organic farming, and the merging of Eurovision and Intervision broadcast networks to create the European Broadcasting Union.



The euro is the most common form of currency in Europe, as it is used by most countries in the EU.

 creative writing: As Europe develops a more unified, service-oriented economy, a question rises: is it more important for nations to develop more efficient communications systems than to develop more efficient transportation systems? I believe that both are equally important. More efficient transportation would mean that less oil is used to power trains, cars, boats and airplanes. Also, a more efficient communications network would mean that more people could share their ideas with the rest of the world through fiber-optics, cell phones, satellite relay, cable and microwave relay. This would especially help communications in eastern Europe.

Section 2

1. Three ways the industry and farming practices have affected Europe's environment are soil erosion caused by over-farming, over-grazing, bad farming practices and too much removal of vegetation, the deforestation of nearly two-thirds of the natural forests of europe, and the creation of acid rain by the mixing of moisture and air-borne chemicals produced by factories and industrial sites. 



Trees killed by acid rain in Europe.



2. The steps that have been taken by the European Union to protect Europe's environment are the burning of natural gas instead of fossil fuels, the use of Biogas, a gas made by decomposing organic materials, and the law that states that by this year, 2010, all countries in the EU must have lowered their emissions to 15% lower than their previous levels in 1990.

creative writing: Are the pollution laws and controls put in place by members of the European Union all that is necessary to protect the environment in Europe today and in the future? In my opinion, no. I believe that we are always needing new restrictions to erase or at least lessen our environmental footprint. As long as humans will need electric power, we will need restrictions on our uses of it, and even the most recent laws against greater pollution will become outdated.

The flag of the European Union.