GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Yesterday was Earth Day, a time set aside to increase awareness of the natural environment and the impact of our collective actions…

This is a gorgeous set of 39 images that are all view the Earth and captures images for above.  These aerial photography and remote sensing images focus of a wide range of topics such as the cultural landscape, the environment, earth science, cultural ecology and urban systems.   The photo above is of Mont-Saint-Michel, a tourist attraction and UNESCO world heritage site in northwestern France that is the world’s premier example of the tombolo landform.

See on www.theatlantic.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

TED Talks Eduardo Paes is the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, a sprawling, complicated, beautiful city of 6.5 million.

What should city planners be doing to maintain a vibrant city?  The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro explains his vision for cities and city management for the future. 

See on www.ted.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

For some time now, Brazil, Russia, India, and China have been grouped together under the acronym BRIC.

What are the demographic profiles of these “BRIC” countries that are increasingly looming large in the global consciousness?  While they to not quite fit the profile of more developed countries (MDCs), the BRIC countries are notable for how rapidly they are closing the gap in many metrics. 

See on www.prb.org

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday approved the Legislature’s plans for new congressional, House and Senate districts, paving the way for the state to begin using the maps in preparation for the November elections.

What is gerrymandering?  Why, when and where might it happen?  What strikes you as distinct or different about district 5?

See on www.news4jax.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Three years after the recession officially ended, Census county population estimates show Americans are staying put or moving to cities.

The recession and foreclosure crisis really hurt many suburban families and the values of suburban homes. 

See on www.usatoday.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

“The photograph is real, no photoshop, no digital manipulation, no nothing, in fact it was shot on slide film Fuji Provia 100 using a Nikon F5 Camera and 17-35 mm lens. For those conspiracy fans who still doubt its authenticity please read how I took the photograph.”  –The true story by Thomas P. Peschak

See on www.thomaspeschak.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Divided islands, like Market in the Baltic Sea, conform to a version of Sayre’s law: the smaller the territory, the more confusing the border.

In the latest chapter of the Borderlines series in the New York Times, explores the smallest divided island with characteristic insight, humor and intellectual eclecticism.  “Borders allow humankind to separate what nature has united. But an island is a naturally closed entity. Its shoreline is the boundary of the bubble separating it from the rest of the world. And then impose a human-made barrier on an island? What is the meaning of isolation — a word derived, in fact, from the Latin for island — if you have to share it with someone else?”

See on opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

Like a detective at a crime scene, chief language inspector Antons Kursitis scans the lobby of a hotel in downtown Riga. He spots a brochure that lists hotel services in Russian only, a flagrant violation of Latvia’s language laws.

“Protecting the Latvian language — that is, safeguarding its supremacy over Russian — has been a priority here since the Soviet occupation ended two decades ago. Those efforts face their biggest test yet on Saturday, in a referendum on whether to make Russian the country’s second official language.”  What historical, political and demographic factors shape this cultural issue of language?  Why is language often seen as so crucial to cultural identity?

So how did Latvian voters respond?  In a massive voter turn-out, they struck down the referendum that sought to make Russian an official language.  “Latvia is the only place throughout the world where Latvian is spoken, so we have to protect it,” said Martins Dzerve, 37, in Riga, Latvia’s capital. “But Russian is everywhere.”  For more on the vote, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17083397

See on news.yahoo.com

See on Scoop.it – Geography Education

When Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed legislation this month making Indiana the nation’s first new right-to-work state in more than a decade, it turned up the heat on a long-simmering debate about the true intent and impact of the controversial…

Why do industries locate in particular places?  The accompanying graph and map are loaded with great thematic and spatial information for geography students.  Look at the ‘right-to-work’ states and mentally overlay what you know of the political map…How does that fit within the ideological leanings of these states?  How does that change employment, industry and income patterns in the various states of the United States?   

See on www.mcclatchydc.com