GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

Diverting more water could pose serious health and economic threats to Utah.

Source: www.citylab.com

Follow-up: The drying up of the lake can’t be blamed on the current drought, this is a human-induced modification of the environment.  This lake is not exceptional, even if the imagery is startling.  Like many lakes in dry climates with growing populations, the people are using the freshwater flow into the lakes more extensively than they have in the past.  The Great Salt Lake, the Aral Sea, Lake Chad, Lake Urmia, and the Dead Sea are all drying up.  

Tags: physical, Utah, environment modify, environment, water.

“The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled some of the more stunning examples into a traveling art exhibition called Earth as Art 4, the fourth in a series of shows since 2002. The collection, which can be viewed in full online, debuted at USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia.”

Tags: remote sensing, land use, environment, geospatial, images, art, landscape.

Source: www.smithsonianmag.com

“37 mind-boggling Great Lake facts.”

Tags: physical, environment, water.

Source: www.buzzfeed.com

Bern Szukalski shares his highlights from the latest release of ArcGIS Online.

Source: video.esri.com

This video is a great way to find out what is new in ArcGIS online this month.  Some of the capabilities highlighted in this 10 minute video are:

• New oceans layers
• Drag and drop route change ability
• Living Atlas – multidirectional hillshade, USA geologic units, drag layers to basemap (make custom basemap)
• Vector tile basemaps
• Compare 2 3D scenes
• 3D in Web App Builder
• Multiple attributes for symbolization
• Predominance Mapping
• Auto-play for storymaps

Tags: GIS, ESRI, video, mapping, cartography, geospatial, technology.

“The ultimate list of the greatest wonders in the world.”

Source: www.listchallenges.com

I have been fortunate enough to have visited 53 of the places on this list (I have gaping holes in my list and the list itself has some gaping holes itself).  All lists are highly subjective; this list, for example, is heay on urban/cultural/European tourism sites and light on physical/Asian/African destinations.  Most geographers already have enough reasons to go traveling, but this list might spark more.  Who wants to map out these places to verify that initial impression? 

Questions to Ponder: Which places are on your dream list?  Which places do you think should have been added to this list?  

Tags: place, tourism, culture, landscape, geo-inspiration.

“Most food, if we trace it back far enough, began as a seed. And the business of supplying those seeds to farmers has been transformed over the past half-century. Small-town companies have given way to global giants. A new round of industry consolidation is now underway. Multibillion-dollar mergers are in progress, or under discussion, that could put more than half of global seed sales in the hands of three companies.”

Tags: food, economic, food production, agribusiness, podcast.

Source: www.npr.org

At its fullest extent the Pan-American Highway is a network of roads stretching from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, a distance of around 30,000 kilometres (19,000 miles).

Source: brilliantmaps.com

I love a good road trip, and I while I love the idea of traversing the entire length of the Americas, I think that the idea of it might be better than the actual trip (at least will my kids in the back seat).

Tags: mobility, transportation, tourism, South America, Middle America.  

The Czech Republic is expected to change its name to “Czechia” to make it easier for companies and sports teams to use it on products and clothing.

Source: www.bbc.com

That sound you hear is cartographers and database managers gasping at the joy and shock of need to updata all their data and maps.  Old maps still show Czechoslovakia, maybe on date in the future someone will be excited to find “The Czech Republic” on the map as much as I was fascinated to discover Hindustan on a 19th century globe. 

Tag: Czechia, language, toponyms, culture.

“The phrase ‘Free, white, and 21’ appeared in dozens of movies in the ‘30s and ‘40s, a proud assertion that positioned white privilege as the ultimate argument-stopper. It was a catchphrase of the decade, as blandly ubiquitous as any modern meme: a way for white America to check its own privilege and feel exhilarated rather than finding fault.  Read more about the history of the phrase here.”

Source: www.youtube.com

I found this glimpse into the American past as startling, even if it shouldn’t be.  It jarred me because today many in America bristle or are startled at the notion that ‘white privilege’ exists today even if there are countless examples that we do not live in a post-racial society.  This glimpse of old-school Hollywood shows how asserting white privilege was common place in the lexicon–equally fascinating is how we’ve pretended that it never was.  White privilege is no longer flouted in polite company like it once was, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t real.    

Tags: race, cultural norms, language, racism, culture, unit 3 culture.