In the latest crisis, tens of thousands are racing to Hungary before a border fence is finished.
Source: www.nytimes.com
Today there are refugees seeking safety throughout the world. There are several regional hot spots of political, ethnic and religious turmoil; many are now asking how the global community should response to the worst refugee crisis in generations (Related article: Migrant or Refugee? There is a difference with legal implications).
To hear the White House describe Alaska, the state has become the canary in the climate change coal mine, complete with raging wildfires, accelerating ice melt in the arctic, vanishing glaciers and whole villages forced to relocate away from rising seas.
Source: www.cnn.com
Most Alaskans already have shed the Mount McKinley name for over a generation, but as this National Geographic article points out, naming conventions matter and are filled with meaning. Some of you might be wondering how it ever got called Mt. McKinley in the first place, but this action is still causing some political commotion.
Tags: place, language, toponyms, indigenous.
“In communities across America, lawns that are brown or overgrown are considered especially heinous. Elite squads of dedicated individuals have been deputized by their local governments or homeowners’ associations to take action against those whose lawns fail to meet community standards.”
Source: 99percentinvisible.org
This is a great podcast that shows not only the environmental aspects of America’s obsession with well-manicured lawns, it also nicely explored the cultural norms that police our behavior to create the stereotypical suburban landscape. This is my favorite quote from the podcast: “There’s a paradox to the lawn. On the one hand, it is the pedestal on which sits the greatest symbol of the American Dream: the home, which people can ostensibly govern however they wish. And yet—homeowners often have almost no control over how they should maintain their lawn. Grass may be a plant, but a lawn is a designed object.”
Tags: housing, neighborhood, cultural norms, consumption, water, environment, urban ecology, culture.
“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.” ~Benjamin Franklin
GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION 