Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask
where things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are
located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how
people interact with the environment. Geographers have skills to analyze
environmental information: cartography (map making) and Geographic
Information Systems (GIS).
Geographers care about the spatial aspects of human existence - how
people and their activity are distributed in space and how they create
and sustain the places that make up the earth's surface.
Because we study the linkages between human activity and
natural systems, geographers were among the first scientists to sound
the alarm that human-induced changes to the environment is threatening
the balance of life itself. We are active in the study of global
warming, desertification, deforestation, loss of biodiversity,
groundwater pollution, and flooding.
To put it in simple words, studying geography can provide an individual with a holistic
understanding of our planet and its systems. Those who study geography
are better prepared to understand topics impacting our planet such as
climate change, global warming, desertification, El Nino, water resource issues, among others.
With their understanding of political geography,
those who study geography are well-positioned to comprehend and explain
global political issues that occur between countries, cultures, cities
and their hinterlands, and between regions within countries. With
instant global communications and media coverage of geopolitical
hotspots around the world on twenty-four hour news channels and on the
Internet, the world might seem like it has gotten smaller. Yet centuries old conflict and strife remain despite huge technological developments over the past few decades.