" This is very sophomoric narrative for scientists to be putting forth. Using a cliche like that tends to lessen the value of the science. It takes the authors quite a long time to get to one of the most interesting points of the article. That is, the rifting is important in terms of understanding human evolution. It seems like that fact could have been placed at or near the front of the article. There are many "hominid fossil finds" in the rift, which means that the evolution of humans can be traced by scientists because the evolution of the rift itself is giving clues to human evolution. The weakness here is because the authors waited until the last page to present something about humans that is far more interesting than just information about tectonic plates and how crumbling plates may be creating newer plates. There are no known factual errors, but it would have been more compelling to begin the article with how a rifting situation teaches science about human evolution. And they way they explain the link to evolution is clumsy. Because the rift was there centuries ago, they write on page...
3). The "environmental pressure" may have been the "drive needed for our ancestors to become bipedal and more brainy as they attempted to adapt to these shifting climates," Wood writes (3). This is not very clear or understandable, but in the conclusion they achieve a bit more clarity. Because the local climate was altered, they explain in the conclusion, that may have "…in turn caused our ancestors to develop the skills necessary to walk upright, develop culture and ponder how such a rift came to be" (Wood, 3). That still doesn't explain how climate change due to the rifting could cause early man (or apes) to stand up straight, or to be smarter, but it is more interesting than some of the other material in the article.
East Africa's Great Rift Valley: A Complex Rift System" Wood and Guth's article, "East Africa's great rift valley..." details some of the lesser known facts about the shifting of the earth and how continents are formed. The authors are extremely enthusiastic about this topic, and write about it with a familiarity and adherence to scientific principles that edifies the reader. Although the subject matter is fairly dense and filled with
Imperialism and African Colonization: Imperialism is empire building and occurs when one state is more powerful than the other state's obstacles (such as peoples, geographic obstacles, physical obstacles and technological obstacles) to expansion. Imperialism became a popular cause for the first time in Western countries in the 1890s due to a significant degree by propaganda that sought to make nationalism and imperialism popular (Pieterse par, 2). Towards the end of the
Some of these factors enhance the ability to detect geothermal activity in an area, while others impede it. The presence of these factors must be taken into consideration as they relate to the specific area being surveyed. A complete study of these factors and their potential affects on the ability to use remote sensing techniques will have to be explored in order to understand how they affect the use
junior high school level easy understand reviewing journal article "East Africa's Man has continually wondered about his original development -- how continents were formed and how humanity evolved. Studying a system of rifts that occurred in Africa can possibly give insight into this process. This theme is discussed in Wood and Guth's article, "East Africa's great rift valley: a complex rift system." The authors explain a number of different things
Plate Tectonics and Landform Processes The Aleutian Islands, Alaska The Aleutian Islands are located along the southwestern coast of Alaska, ad at the northern edge of the Pacific plate. This plate runs along the Pacific coast of North America, with its well-known faults -- the San Andreas and the Denali -- causing the strike-slip plate motion that is familiar to residents of the Pacific coastal areas. However, at the Aleutian Island location
The quality life would include provision of good education, health care, adequate employment opportunities, safe drinking water and clean air, reduction of crime and many more (World Bank 2004, p.1). This report also poses that a country will only be deemed developed when life expectancy increases, provide average income and ensure adult literacy. In brief human development involves all features of individuals' well-being, this range from health condition to
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