GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

“Scientists think an asteroid killed the dinosaurs. In today’s extinction, humans are the culprit.  [In this podcast] our guest is Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the book The Sixth Extinction.  The book begins with a history of the big five extinctions of the past and goes on to explain how human behavior is creating this sixth, including our use of fossil fuels which has led to climate change.”

Source: www.npr.org

As stated in a JSTOR daily article, “New research confirms that the next mass extinction is in progress, and we’re the cause. There’s been little doubt that humans have been severely altering the planet and reducing biodiversity, but it has been unclear how many species go extinct under normal circumstances, without human influence.

This new research clarifies the rate of ‘background extinction’ (the rate of extinction during the point before humans became a primary contributor to extinction). The research confirms that human activity is driving species extinct at a rate far higher than the background rate. A look at previous events suggests cause for concern. Geologists recognize five previous mass extinction events— the end of the Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous periods, meaning that we’re now in the 6th.”

Tags: physical, podcast, biogeography, environment, ecology, environment modify, sustainability, geology.

What makes an idea, a brand, or a behavior catch fire? This hour, TED speakers explore the mysteries behind the many things we spread: laughter and sadness, imagination, viruses and viral ideas.

Source: www.npr.org

What made the world the way it is?  The spread of people, ideas and goods–Geographers refer to this as diffusion and these 5 podcasts all center on what factors promote the spread of some phenomena, and what obstacles and barriers exist to the diffusion of others. 

Tags: podcast, medical, diffusion, culture, popular culture, globalization.

Think you’re a geography expert? Test your knowledge with BBC Travel’s Geoguessr – the game that proves how well you know the world!

Source: www.bbc.com

Source: xkcd.com

I’ve always enjoyed this comic strip…it highlights some of the difficulties in teaching about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. 

Tags: Israel, Palestine, political, language, toponyms, Middle East.

It is quite significant that extremely high fertility figures are now mostly confined to tropical Africa, with only a few exceptions (such as Afghanistan and East Timor).

Source: www.geocurrents.info

In the decades after 1950, less developed countries were characterized as having very high fertility rates and that was (by and large) an accurate statement.  While the highest birth rates are still in less developed economies, it is important to note that the subjective scale is changing; while over 8 was once uncommonly high, now over 5 is as comparably uncommon a fertility rate as 8 used to be.  This still signals global population growth, but the idea that the ‘less developed world’ hasn’t adopted birth control or other measures to slow population growth is outdated.   

Tag: declining populations, population, demographics, unit 2 population.

If the population of the world was only 100 people, what would society look like? How many people would have shelter? Clean water? Education?

Source: www.youtube.com

Reminicent of the picture book, “If the World were a Village” by David Smith, this video attempts to make large statistics more meaningful to to a broader audience. The concept is simple, but the impact is profound.

Tags: statistics, development, perspective.

In honor of the late Doreen Massey, an eminent geographer who died Friday at age 72, we repost her Social Science Bites podcast, which has long been one of our most popular. In this interview, Massey asked us to rethink our assumptions about space — and explained why.

Source: www.socialsciencespace.com

If you’ve wanted to see how an academic geographer approaches space, politics, and power, this podcast is a good entry point.  It is also a nice intellectual tribute to a giant social theorist who contribute greatly within the discipline and beyond.

Tags: space, spatial, political, governance, culture, cultural norms, perspective.

“Geography is linked to the environment,” says Connie Wyatt Anderson, of Canadian Geographic Education. “In the Lake Winnipeg watershed, what you throw into the Bow River in Calgary eventually ends up in Hudson Bay.”

Source: www.ijc.org

More than anything I love the idea of using watersheds to connect students to their location environment and to think about places that are beyond the backyard, but are connected to them.  If they see themselves as more intimately connected to these places, it can only increase their spatial awareness, geo-literacy and hopefully their commitment to protect their expanded backyard.   This is an effective way to help students ‘jump scale’ in a way that will still keep things relevant to their lives. 

Questions to Ponder: What watershed do you live in?  Where does your drinking water come from?  When you flush the toilet, where does it go? How are places in your watershed linked?  

Tags: Canada, environment, resources, water, environment depend, spatial, scale. 

John Nese is the proprietor of Galcos Soda Pop Stop in LA. His father ran it as a grocery store, and when the time came for John to take charge, he decided to convert it into the ultimate soda-lovers destination. About 500 pops line the shelves, sourced lovingly by John from around the world. John has made it his mission to keep small soda-makers afloat and help them find their consumers. Galcos also acts as a distributor for restaurants and bars along the West Coast, spreading the gospel of soda made with cane sugar (no high-fructose corn syrup if John can avoid it).

Source: www.youtube.com

Hearing this man talk about his business is a pure delight; even if you are not a soda afficionado, his passion will win you over (and yes I call it soda, not pop or coke).  What I find so striking is how few businesses like his exist in a way that modern consumers know about it–he is the underground indie band of soda vendors.  He has found a niche by zigging when economies of scale demand that everyone else zag.  

Questions to Ponder: If a store like this was close to you, would you shop there?  How come?  Why are there so few stores with this type of business model? 

Tags: industry, economic, scale.