Albert Einstein once famously said that God does not play dice with the universe; apparently the same cannot be said about humans and the Earth.
This reminds me of God’s command to humans. When He gave us dominion over the earth, He did not give us the rights to do whatever we want, but to care and maintain(stewarding) the earth.
As forests disappear,
Forests disappearing seems like an easy fix for more land, however trees and forests will ultimately cause much damage due to the carbon dioxide that they provide.
To deal with these environmental problems
To maintain a healthy/stable economy and society it is vital to keep your environment ready and able for the problems that nature might bring.
Economic growth is a rough indicator of our species’ relationship with the environment
A great way to help with economic growth is utilizing the environment and finding what in your society has greatest value that other societies do not have.
the actual sources
In history, fortune for a nation often comes from something naturally sourced and they utilize that for their own personal gain.
American ships called directly at more Chinese ports opened to trade
This trade opened up trade globally because of how Britain and India opened up trade for opium from China.
Figure 5.2. Share of World Manufacturing Output, 1750–1900
This figure shows the exponential difference with GDP once industrialization occurred. The figures before were more linear and steady. Industrialization caused a very visible difference.
since neither China nor India was industrializing
This emphasizes the shift that industrialization had on who was the center of the economy. Because the United States industrialized the shift went from China and India ruling the economy to the United States being the center.
specialize in rice and could easily export it on boats
Different places specialized in different things showing the need for trade and exchanging goods. This way the food that was eaten in a place does not limit to the food that is specialized to that place.
worked by African slaves
This shows how much labor and force were on the slaves. Slavery was the backbone of a lot of trade and that is what fueled the slave owners to be so stern on them and force them to labor on.
working families spent 60 to 80 percent of their earnings on food
One thing has always stayed the same throughout history, working helps families and individuals feed and care for themselves. Working is not for just luxury goods, but about maintaining basic health too.
The use of coal-fired steam to power machines was a major breakthrough, launching human society out of the biological old regime and into a new one no longer limited by annual solar energy flows
This shows the breakthroughs that happen in history due to discovery. Learning how to manipulate natural products can benefit societies and advance living that impacts history from then on.
Parliament then passed laws restricting the importation of Indian cotton textiles
You can tell this is making a foundation for industrialization; making law shape the economy.
pushed his empire
Ivan IV truly made Moscow into a major empire even though it was just a little principality before. This is an excellent example of good leadership playing a key role in the success of place.
Little Ice Age
This event shows how history is not just about human decisions. History is about lots of components and conditions that go into even the little events.
links drew the entire globe into a single world for the first time
This emphasizes how bringing the world together is more about connection and not conquest.
why Europeans were perceived as exceptional
This begs the question on why this is perceived this way, instead of concluding that Europe is perceived as exceptional and moving on. This dives deeper into something in history and asks the question of “why?” in order to investigate this mark in history.
accident
Accidents do happen within history, like something happening not on purpose, but truly history does not have many accidents. Everything has causes that go into every event. But even with a true 100% accident, there are many causes that come from it. Nothing can truly happen within history without flowers of reactions that bloomed from action of the event.
can be found in other parts of the world
More than just the surrounding area is affected by historical events. Everything has its effect and it has its consequences, which expand more than just the local area.
Ecology mattered.
This shows the environmental conditions play a larger role than we realize. More than just the “large” events or famous leaders play roles in historical events.