Via Scoop.it – Geography Education
Scientists model where and when the debris from the March 2011 Japanese tsunami will be, and the possibility that it will reach the U.S. west coast.
Via www.nature.com
Via Scoop.it – Geography Education
Island Biogeography is endlessly fascinating and provides some of the most striking species we have on Earth. The physical habitat is fragmented and the genetic diversity is limited. Within this context, species evolve to fill ecological niches within their particular locale. This NPR article demonstrates the story of but one of these incredible species that never could have evolved on the continents. In modern society, more extinctions are happening on islands than anywhere else as ‘specialist’ species are in greater competition with ‘generalists.’
Via www.npr.org
Via Scoop.it – Geography Education
The MDG (Millennial Development Goal) to cut the global population that does not have access to clean drinking water was cut in half, and five years ahead of schedule. The World Health Organization and the United Nations are very pleased with this achievement, but it is a timely reminder of the developmental problems of poverty and access that still exist. For example, 783 million people still do not have access to clean drinking water. 3,000 children die each day from diarrheal diseases (usually from bad drinking water and poor sanitation). Although some success should be celebrated, the world, in the currently constituted social, economic and political framework, still does not provide the most basic of requirements for a sizable portion of humanity.
Via www.guardian.co.uk
Via Scoop.it – Cultural Geography
“Nearly 200 years after his death, Napoleon Bonaparte is finally getting the greatest honor our age can bestow: his own theme park. Napoleonland — stop laughing — was concocted by a former French minister to rival Disneyland in its immersive fun and totemic cultural status. Shopping! Dining! Re-enactments of the Battle of Austerlitz! Not a bad rehabilitation for an all-conquering megalomaniacal exiled emperor.”
Culture and heritage are packaged in places such as theme parks as a commodity–what should we make of these spaces? What do they say about the society that creates them? What are the economic, cultural and political motives for creating such as space?
Via www.foreignpolicy.com
Via Scoop.it – Geography Education
The economic and social turmoil after the fall of the Soviet Union was profound enough to be seen in the demographic statistics. Birth rates dropped as the death rates went up. Typically when birth rates drop it is presented as an indicator of social development, but it clearly is not in this instance. What explains these statistics?
Via en.wikipedia.org
Via Scoop.it – Geography Education
This site houses several good maps, especially this one of the ‘core’ and ‘periphery’ of Europe. This map corresponds strongly with maps that show the first places to be industrialized. The Map on the formal culture regions is also especially useful for understanding cultural barriers to diffusion. What is the connection between the branches of Christianity and Indo-European language families?
Via www.nonformality.org
Via Scoop.it – Geography Education
This video is not very educational, filled with bad stereotypes and some truly inaccurate (and potentially offensive) statements. Still, I show it every semester as the rationale for why we need to study more about Europe (but mainly because my students LOVE watching it).
Via www.youtube.com
Via Scoop.it – Geography Education
“The American Geographical Society (AGS) needs your help in a matter of vital importance. We are conducting a nationwide survey of public attitudes toward geography and knowledge about geography. This is our part in a major study funded by the National Science Foundation. The only eligibility requirement is that you must be age 18 or older. The results will help guide Federal and state policies regarding geographic education.” Please take the quiz but MORE IMPORTANTLY, get non-geographers (FB friends, twitter followers, etc.) to take the quiz.
Via www.amergeog.org
