Political and Environmental Concepts

Anarchism

Anarchism is an ideology based on the premise that all state authority is coercive and therefore illegal. It reached its intellectual peak in the late nineteenth century through the works of Proudhon and Kropotkin. Proudhon famously stated that "private property is theft," and since the main purpose of government is the protection of property, no form of government is justified.

Biomes

A biome is a large geographic area characterized by groups of plants and animals adapted to a particular environment. Climate is the primary factor determining the dominant vegetation type, although soil type and topography also play important roles. Each biome consists of different ecosystems whose communities have adapted to small differences in climate and environment within the biome itself.

Forest (Tropical)

Dense formations of tall trees with vines, located in warm equatorial climates.

Forest (Other)

Open tree formations with shrubs and herbs, located in warm tropical, warm subtropical, cold continental, and cold ocean climates. The characteristics of the flora and fauna vary depending on the specific weather conditions.

Savanna

Tall herbaceous tapestry with sparse tree groups, located in warm tropical climates.

Prairie

Dense grass formations without trees, located in temperate oceanic, temperate, and cold ocean transition areas.

Tundra

Vegetation of mosses and lichens, located in cold and high-altitude snowy climates.

Taiga

Coniferous forests typical of continental climates.

Desert

Vegetation of thorny plants and shrubs, located in warm desert climates.

Communism

Communism, a derivative of socialist ideology, was inspired by Lenin. The Russian politician initiated a revolution in Russia in the early twentieth century, despite it being a predominantly agricultural country. He saw the need to create an intellectual revolutionary vanguard to develop the consciousness of workers, who otherwise would be limited by their own economic and social circumstances.

Birthrate

Birthrate refers to the number of births. It is measured by the crude birth rate (CBR), which is calculated by dividing the total number of births in a given year by the total population that year. The result is multiplied by one thousand and is expressed in per mil (‰). Formula: Total births per 1,000.

Mortality

Mortality refers to deaths and is measured by the crude death rate (CDR), which is the number of deaths in a year per thousand population (expressed in per thousand or ‰). Its formula is similar to the CBR: Total deaths per 1,000.

Watershed

A watershed is an area of land drained by a river system, consisting of a river and its tributaries. Its boundaries are established through the watershed divide, separating the various basins. The surface of a basin can be easily seen from a topographic map.

Capitalism

Capitalism is the currently dominant economic system. In this system, companies or individuals produce and exchange goods and services through markets. The term capitalism encompasses various economic models, but all share the following features:

• The means of production (land, factories, and machinery used to produce goods) are privately owned.
• Both producers and consumers are free to decide what to produce and what to buy, giving rise to the forces of supply and demand. This means manufacturers try to provide consumers with what they request or persuade them to buy what they produce through advertising and/or pricing.
• The goal of business is to maximize profits, taking into account workers' wages, the cost of raw materials and energy sources, technological investment, transport infrastructure, tax laws, labor and environmental regulations, and the location of production facilities.