H56-2000s


 * 2000s PRESENTATIONS **
 * All information, evidence, and materials from the presentation must be uploaded to this wiki.
 * Effectively present in-depth information that meets YOUR learning target(s).
 * Explain YOUR cultural topic(s) and how/why they are significant to the decade
 * Presentation must be **creative and unique**, allowing the audience to **experience** the decade (do not rely solely on a PowerPoint presentation)
 * Information (pertaining to YOUR learning targets) is presented in a creative, unique, well-organized and easy to understand format.
 * Presentation includes pictures, tables, interviews, and artifacts that are thoroughly explained and help the viewer understand YOUR learning target(s) and cultural topic(s).

===DIRECTIONS FOR INSERTING CONTENT (if more than one person in your group is using PowerPoint, Prezi, Glogster, etc. then you MUST combine the presentations and upload only one file) ===

1. SAVE the file to your computer (to your desktop or another folder) 2. Click on the button in the center of the editing tool bar. 3. Click on "Upload Files" button 4. Locate your file on your computer and click "Choose" 5. Click on the image that you have just uploaded and it will immediately be placed in your document. 


 * INSERT ALL CONTENT FOR PRESENTATION HERE: **

= ............................................................................................................ =


 * 2000s ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS: **
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">All questions on the Assessment Question sheet are included and answered correctly and thoroughly on this wiki page.
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">Thoroughly explains the answers to the questions related to his/her learning targets.
 * <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">Answers are supplemented by examples, images, charts and/or graphs.

1. What controversy surrounded the 2000 presidential election? ANSWER: The 2000 election between Bush and Gore has a lot of controversy surrounding it. Bush had won the elections in the Midwest, Plains, and South, while Gore had the advantage along the coasts and in industrial cities. The outcome of the election depended on the votes in Florida, which were extremely close in such a large election. After 5 weeks and lawsuits and recount requests for the Florida votes, the US Supreme Court halted the recount because the Justices said it violated the principle that "all votes must be treated equally" and that a full recount would take too long. Even though Gore's votes outnumbered Bush's by 500,000, Bush won the election because he had the advantage in the Electoral College votes.

2. What is the War on Terrorism (led to invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan)? How has the War on Terrorism affected the United State’s foreign policy? ANSWER: The War on Terrorism was in response to the September 11th attacks; a terrorist group named Al- Qaeda led the attacks on the United States. Taliban insurgents were mostly found in the Middle East, specifically, Afghanistan and Iraq. The invasion of Afghanistan was not to fight the Afghan people; it was strictly just to drive the Taliban out of Afghanistan. The reason we invaded Iraq was because it was believe that Iraq was housing WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). In addition to WMDs, the US wanted to restore Democracy into Iraq. This was completed when Saddam Hussein was hanged in late 2006. Still, there was a lot of work to be done, The US had to completely turn Iraq from a communist nation, to that of a democratic country. Almost all of our foreign policies of this time ha d to do with the Middle East. Al- Qaeda is now a "rival" of the United States. The "War on Terror" will never end because there will always be terrorism, therefore the United States has to adjust its' foreign policy accordingly.

3. September 11, 2001 ("9/11") was the A. attack by terrorists on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon B. date of the U.S. invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein C. day that the stock market bubble "burst" D. first time a surprise attack occurred against the U.S.

4. On what basis did the George W. Bush administration attempt to justify the invasion of Iraq in 2003? A. weapons of mass destruction B. prosecution of the War on Terror C. spreading democracy to Iraq D. all of the above

5. The USA-Patriot Act provided for, among other things A. trying suspected foreign terrorists before military tribunals. B. permitting the break-ins of suspected Americans’ homes. C. extensive telephone and e-mail surveillance and the detention/deportation of immigrants suspected of terrorism. D. the use of the U.S. military in domestic police operations against terrorism.

6. Summarize the impact of and responses to natural disasters: ANSWER: Southeast Asian Tsunami: This natural disaster, which occured on December 26, 2004, affected several countries, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.There was an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0, which caused a massive tsunami. Unfortunately it was very deadly, with a total of around 227,000 casualties. It was, at the time, regurded at the worst tsunami in history because of the high number of casualties. There was a huge negative impact on the economies of these countries (who rely primarily on the fishing and tourist industries). As a result of the tsunami, local fisheries had to be shut down, which led to many people losing both their jobs and their source of food. The world was blindsided by this event, but most countries lended aid in one way or another, whether it was a direct monetary donation or a donation of medical supplies, food, water, or blankets. About $14 billion was donated to help the cause. Several countries also donated military assistance, including the US. Katrina: Hurricane Katrina is known as the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the US's histroy causing about $81 billion in property damages. It made landfall in the US on August 29, 2005 as a Category 5 hurricane. This hurricane caused a great deal of damage to the infrastructure of the US, including residential, and commercial, as well as damage to major highways and most of the levee system in the Gulf. Oil refining in the entire area had to be stopped, which caused a temporary spike in oil prices worldwide. Cities such as New Orleans relied on being port cities, but because of the extensive damage, the economy of these cities declined and unemployment went up. The government issued a mandatory evacuation in some areas, and the national guard was callled in for immediate assistance, but some still criticize the federal government's response as being unorganized and slow. The US asked the EU for help, and many counties pitched in and donated much needed supplies. Billions of dollers were raised to help the US recover.
 * Southeast Asian Tsunami (2004)
 * Katrina (2005)
 * Haitian Earthquake (2010)

Hatian Earthquake- January 12, 2010: This earthquake was a magnitude 7 and it had a epicenter near Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. This was one of the deadliest disasters of all time, with 316,000 casualties. Due to low structural design standards, nearly all homes, commercial, municipal, and historical buildings were reduced to rubbish, and approximately a million people were made homeless. Hospitals and an airport control tower were also destroyed, which made the initial response efforts difficult and ineffective; there was much confusion regarding how the response would be organized. Countries all around the world offered help, including the US and Canada who also sent military assistance. The UN and the Red Cross also donated a great deal of supplies and money. Due to the extensive media coverage of the event, citizens made millions of dollars of private donations to organizations like the Red Cross, which has helped tremendously. In all, billions of dollars were donated initially, and many countries have developed long term financial aid plans to help Haiti. 7. Why is President Bush criticized for his response to hurricane Katrina?

ANSWER: President Bush was criticized by local governments and citizens for his response to hurricane Katrina because many believed that he did not treat the response with any sense of urgency. Bush was actually away from the White House when the tsunami hit, and he did not immediatly return once the storm made landfall. Therefore, many people were angry about his slow response to the matter. Also, the response was unorganized and chaotic, which only made the situation worse.

8. Explain the international response to the Southeast Asian Tsunami of 2004. ANSWER: The world was unprepared for a natural disaster of this magnitude, so most countries were caught off guard; however, many countries were willing to lend substantial aid to those nations affected. The UN was put in charge of allocating funds and determining how and where nations should help out. The US navy offered immediate assistance by providing aircraft carriers to do survey missions, man power carry out search and rescue missions, as well as cargo planes to deliver supplies. Australia, India, Japan and the US were among the countries that provided the most money and supplies to help the cause, but most nations helped out in one way or another by providing direct donations or by donating food, clean water, blankets, and/or medical supplies. The citizens of nations all around the world expressed sympathy for the affected nations, and as a result, many successful fundraisers were held which raised significant amounts of money.

9. Identify the significance and social impact of Obama winning the 2008 presidential election.

ANSWER: On November 4th, 2008, Barack Obama won The Presidential Election and became the 44th President of The United States. The significance of Obama winning the election was he became The First African American President of The U.S.A. In addition to becoming The First African American President, Obama had gained the support of typically Republican States, such as North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, and Florida. A lot of people voted for Obama because they rallied around his idea of "Change".

10. Summarize Obama’s domestic policy achievements. ANSWER: Obama has achieved a lot of bills and policies, while in office so far. In February, Obama put in place a 787 Billion Dollar Stimulus Plan to stabilize the economy, which had high unemployment, and a weak financial market. Also Obama put into place the end of the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" with the armed forces. In March 2010, Obama put into place the historic health care reform, that gave health care insurance to 30 million people, that did not have it. Along with his many achievements, Obama had nominated the first Hispanic justice in Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. She would later be approved by Senate to take over for David Souter.

11. Explain the accelerated rate at which the world population is increasing and identify strains this places on the world economy (energy crisis). ANSWER: As many people can tell the world is rapidly expanding in population. The accelerated rate of increase is causing both good and bad problems. Large increases have been recorded in Asia, and the Middle East. This may hurt the world economy due to the number of jobs needed to put all of these people to work. Also more people require more energy for living, pleasure, and many other everyday functions. This can cause a need for alternative methods of producing energy as well as overpopulation which can create slums, and excessive amounts of garbage and crime.

12. What are some of the possible consequences of the current trends in population growth? ANSWER: High populations, more poverty stricken areas, slums, pollution, and not enough resources to live off of are all possible consequences. We will have to find new ways to dispose of all the new waste. Housing may become an issue. New diseases and epidemics may become a large issue, and could cause major consequences to society. Also when discussing the effects of population growth many realize that it becomes harder to educate people, and there might not be enough money or resources to do so. Many issues arise when speaking of overpopulation from diseases, to health care issues, and even food distribution. All of these problems seem impossible to fix yet if we knew all the answers then overpopulation wouldn't be a concerning factor. Regarldess, as a nation we will learn to go through the problem rather then around it, and this will eventually lead the United States and many other nation to a successful victory against the issue of overpopulation.



13. What methods have environmentalist identified to reduce strains on natural resources? ANSWER:Environmentalists have thought of numerous ways to reduce strain on natural resources. Many home good companies such as home depot, and office depot have been making changes to many of their products to help better the world and be environmentally friendly. There are more water efficient sinks, toilets, and even shower heads. Just by simply reducing the amount of water used, or electricity needed helps preserve our natural resources for many years to come. Simple things such as walking to the grocery store, or even using a push lawnmower rather than a gas powered one reduces the carbon footprint drastically. Also, many people are switching to compact florescent bulbs and lowering their thermostats. Car companies are also contributing to the global desire to consume energy, save money, and be more conservative citizens by creating electric, and various types of hybrid cars. Therefore, we can obvisously tell that many companies, scientists, and even everyday people are taking various actions to help and promote a green and environmentally friendly planet.



14. What were the causes, course and consequences of the financial crisis of 2007-2009?ANSWER: ANSWER:To say the least and most simple definition, the financial crisis was simply causes by three reasons. The federal reserve was giving out too much money to companies that never had it. Also large companies basically bet or hoped that their decisions were somewhat useful, however, most simply went in to deep, and spent money that never existed. Overall, we can tell that people all over the country took considerable amounts of debt, and they did not properly understand the system of trading, business, etc.Financial firms were taking to many financial risks. An explosive mix of excessive borrowing and risking too much put the financial system on a crash course with crisis. Now numerous countries have our money and because of that, we are in too deep and simply can't escape. America as a nation doesn't have the money so basically we are at a stalemate. Our nation can only hope that these countries we owe money to don't decide to say times up. This would cause catastrophic failure to our economy and country. Over 97% of all consumables and even everyday living items are imported from China. In a sense, they control our economy along with other major nations.



15. Identify significant advances in technology and summarize the changes this has brought to information sharing and communication. ANSWER:Advances in technology have transformed the way the world communicates. The biggest breakthrough in this area are the changes in the computer processors. They are the brains behind every computer. Processors used to be very large, but now a massive amount of data can fit on a very small chip. This breakthrough allows us all to live in a "wireless world". Almost everyone has a computer, which allows immediate acess to the "Information Age". These micro chips have changed the way the wold conducts business and how people communicate with each other in a very positive and portable way.

16. How has technology led to the formation of a global society? ANSWER: Technology has led to making the world a global society by changing the way we communicate. Social networking has open a whole new world to remote locations. People are no longer limited by communication, they communicate on the move. The speed of talking to one another is instantaneous. The clarity of communication is high quality in audio and video. Finally, information and news can reach people at lightning speed and people's response can be immediate.