The incredibly detailed map of the world’s religions shows what the biggest religion is by census area in each country, along with its level of support.
Source: brilliantmaps.com
Mapping religion can be incredibly problematic, but this map (hi-res here) uses the best data available for each country. Examine some of the regional maps (Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania); what patterns are interesting/surprising to you?
How Chicago became the alley capital of the country and why so much of the rest of the region is conspicuously alley-free.
Source: www.wbez.org
The alley is a reminder of past visions of how to best lay out a city. In the 19th century, back when Chicago started booming, the city was laid out in a grid and it quickly became a filthy, stinky, disease-ridden place. “Rear service lanes were essential for collecting trash, delivering coal, and stowing human waste — basically, keeping anything unpleasant away from living quarters.” As we have moved towards curvilinear residential streets and more discrete public utilities, the newer neighborhoods abandoned the alley, but they are still very prominent in old neighborhoods (click here for an interactive map to explore all of Chicago’s alleys).
Also, Chicago’s suburbs have lofty names (Mount, Heights, Ridge, etc.) that don’t match this flat topography–read here to find out why.
Record heat, fading ice, and rising seas show how climate change is affecting us. But there’s new hope we can cool the planet. Here’s how.
Source: www.nationalgeographic.com
The National Geographic Magazine has recently created this interactive to accompany the magazine article on climate change (for those worried that the editorial direction would not be as environmentally focused because of the recent changes for the National Geographic Society, I think this is a resounding way for them to emphatically declare that they are committed as ever to their core values and mission). This interactive is richly-laden with videos, images and case-studies, showing the tangible impacts of climate change and lays out what the future implications of these changes. The interactive is organized to answer these main questions:
Tags: physical, weather and climate, environment, National Geographic, climate change, water.
Rapid growth in several cities along the Pearl River Delta has made a Chinese megacity larger and more populous than any other urban area in the world.
Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
What was a rural landscape dominated by rice paddy fields just a few decades ago is now home to the largest Metropolitan region in the world (depending on who is counting and what areas they are including). The “slider” comparison of these two satellite images taken of the same area in 1988 and 2014 is staggering (click here for an animated GIF of the same imagery).
Tags: urban, remote sensing, megacities, China, urban ecology.
Gansu Province, in northwestern China, is about the same size as California, with a population of about 26 million people. Gansu’s diverse landscapes include parts of the Gobi Desert, the Yellow River, numerous mountain formations, and remnants of the Silk Road and the Great Wall of China.
Source: www.theatlantic.com
This photo gallery is filled with dozens of great teaching images, displaying the dramatic human and physical landscapes of the Gansu Province of China.
The world is increasingly going hi-tech. Many people in our high consumption society want the latest and the greatest; last year’s much anticipated laptops and cell phones are miles behind the newest models that are coming out. So what happens with the old models? Even thrift stores are politely not accepting them as donations. Even some workable machines that were highly valuable 10 years ago are now functionally trash in our society. We can’t put it to the curb to end up in the landfill because of the lead, mercury, and other hazardous materials that can leak into the environment. This type of trash is what we call e-waste. The geography of e-waste is an ‘out of sight out of mind’ problem that we rarely think about but need to due to the ecological impacts of our collective consumption.
Tags: pollution, sustainability, environment, resources, Ghana, Africa.
Source: geographyeducation.org
The perfect gift for adventurers young and old – this book is a whirlwind exploration of world cultures!
Source: www.kickstarter.com
I’ve received an advance copy of Australia to Zimbabwe and it is a delightful book that appeals to all ages (everyone in my house ate it up). Carefully layered so that readers can customize the experience to fit their interests, time, and goals, this treasure trove just begs the reader to keep exploring as they flip through its pages. Australia to Zimbabwe presents facts in a context that enlivens learning about the people and places of the world and heightens the reader’s curiosity. With the online supplemental materials, this book brings to life the sights, sounds, and smells of far-away places. Teachers, librarians, and parents alike should all be excited to get their hands on this book when it comes out November 17th.
Tags: education, K12, geography education, book reviews.
“What is on the other side of the Earth? Find out here.”
Source: www.findlatitudeandlongitude.com
The antipode of any place is the spot of opposite side of Earth; this is like a geographic version of Bizarro Superman (it is also the name of journal for radical geography). Two points are considered antipodal if they are are on opposite sides of a Great Circle from each other (Check out Great Circle mapper). I knew I never would be able to dig a hole to China from the United States…I guess I’ll have to go to Argentina with my shovel to dig my tunnel.
Tags: mapping.
The close race comes after a decade of leadership by Stephen Harper, whose relationship with Barack Obama has suffered. But a victory for Justin Trudeau and the Liberals on Monday could help the US and Canada forge renewed ties
Source: www.theguardian.com
GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION 
