Land and Resources, Natural Resources
Greece is relatively poor in natural resources. Bauxite, from which aluminum is produced, is the most significant mineral resource, and there are also deposits of asbestos, nickel, magnesite, and marble. The country has little black coal, and its lignite (brown coal) is of poor quality. The reserves of other commercially important minerals, such as chromium, copper, uranium, and magnesium, are relatively small. Greece’s small petroleum deposits, located under the Aegean Sea near the island of Thasos, are rapidly being depleted. There are no significant reserves of natural gas.
Greece’s forests, probably abundant in ancient times, have been significantly depleted. Subsequent soil erosion has made reforestation efforts difficult. Although much of Greece’s soil is rocky and dry, the country’s mountains are interspersed with small valleys where the soils are of the rich Mediterranean terra rosa (red earth) variety. Cultivated fields and orchards cover 30 percent of the country. The fertile plains of Thessaly, Macedonia, and western Thrace are prime agricultural areas.
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Current event on going now in Greece: Why would Europe want to bail out Greece? Is anyone losing sleep over their mess? Looks like a sinking ship,imho.
Greece also wants to be more realistic about the large tax debts that its citizens owe the government. The letter assessed those tax arrears at 76 billion euros, 23.56 billion of which dated from before 2009.
But only 8.9 billion of the 76 billion could actually be collected, Varoufakis said, proposing a complex scheme of reductions and instalments to improve the chances of recouping as much of the money as possible.
Greece also wants to tax on-line gambling, reduce bureaucracy and spend money to help the poorest and most affected by the country's multi-year deep recession.
The letter will be discussed by euro zone finance ministers at their next meeting on Monday in Brussels.
Greece is sinking, imagine that....
Greece is relatively poor in natural resources. Bauxite, from which aluminum is produced, is the most significant mineral resource, and there are also deposits of asbestos, nickel, magnesite, and marble. The country has little black coal, and its lignite (brown coal) is of poor quality. The reserves of other commercially important minerals, such as chromium, copper, uranium, and magnesium, are relatively small. Greece’s small petroleum deposits, located under the Aegean Sea near the island of Thasos, are rapidly being depleted. There are no significant reserves of natural gas.
Greece’s forests, probably abundant in ancient times, have been significantly depleted. Subsequent soil erosion has made reforestation efforts difficult. Although much of Greece’s soil is rocky and dry, the country’s mountains are interspersed with small valleys where the soils are of the rich Mediterranean terra rosa (red earth) variety. Cultivated fields and orchards cover 30 percent of the country. The fertile plains of Thessaly, Macedonia, and western Thrace are prime agricultural areas.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Current event on going now in Greece: Why would Europe want to bail out Greece? Is anyone losing sleep over their mess? Looks like a sinking ship,imho.
Greece also wants to be more realistic about the large tax debts that its citizens owe the government. The letter assessed those tax arrears at 76 billion euros, 23.56 billion of which dated from before 2009.
But only 8.9 billion of the 76 billion could actually be collected, Varoufakis said, proposing a complex scheme of reductions and instalments to improve the chances of recouping as much of the money as possible.
Greece also wants to tax on-line gambling, reduce bureaucracy and spend money to help the poorest and most affected by the country's multi-year deep recession.
The letter will be discussed by euro zone finance ministers at their next meeting on Monday in Brussels.
Greece is sinking, imagine that....