Geography Reference
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economic factors also encouraged the white middle class to leave inner cities. Urban
decay is a consequence of white flight which eroded the city tax base. Gentrification
of architectural heritage areas, which have undergone recent renovation, may help
stop, even possibly reverse, white flight by attracting more affluent residents. In
some cases, it led to the exodus of minorities (as in the French Quarter and Faubourg
Marigny in New Orleans, for example).
Wilderness: Wilderness refers to a desert-like environment that has not been
modified by (white) man's activity since the discovery and colonization of America.
Since the beginning of the 19th century, Americans have deeply valued those
undeveloped areas and created the first National Parks (Yosemite in 1864,
Yellowstone in 1872) and even large inner city natural parks (New York City
Central Park 1853-57). The 1964 Wilderness Act designates all natural areas on US
territory as protected areas. Wilderness is labeled “natural asset” in the ecological
footprint calculation developed by Rees and Wackernagel [WAC 95].
Wildfires : Forest fires or brush fires are now considered a natural component of
the ecosystem of arid and semi-arid environments, and possibly an essential element
for certain plant species. Such fires are frequent in late summer and fall following
seasonal droughts and heat waves. However, fire frequency increased with the
population growth in affected areas; seven out of eight fires are caused by arson or
accidental ignition. Each year, fires in the United States consume an average of
17,000 km² (4,300,000 acres), with peaks in dry years, as in 2006 and 2007
(California). Continued population growth in semi-arid areas makes protection
against fire difficult, especially along the wildland-urban interface, as in the
periphery of Californian cities or on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains near
Denver. A particularly dry year in the American West was 2006, which resulted in
nearly 80,000 fires over an area of more than 3 million hectares (7.5 million acres).
Measured in hectares burned, and despite a wet year in 2003 with very few fires, the
2003 to 2006 yearly average is 37% higher than the 1997 to 2002 average. 2007 and
2008 were also very active years, above the average of the 10 preceding years, with
major fires in southern California where 2,000 km² (495,000 acres) were engulfed in
flames, causing the evacuation of half a million residents in October 2007. Damage
from the 2007 southern California fires is estimated at $1 billion.
Y
Yankee: In 1758, a British general referred to the New England soldiers under
his command in the French-Indian Wars as Yankees. Despite its initial derogatory
connotation, the term was used as a mark of pride by the parties concerned during
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