GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

Much like the Power of Place resources were created by Annenberg Learner to share World Regional Geography videos, the Habitable Planet has diverse resources for Physical Geography and Environmental Science.  In essence, it is an excellent free online textbook.   

Tags: textbook, environment, physical.

Spatial thinking needs to be infused into many of our public conversations, and geographers collectively need to find ways to be a part of them.

This is an interesting concept that shows the divergence between national and regional identities.  68% of French citizens recognize that consolidating regional administration will be economically more efficient at the national level; however 77% don’t want to see the elimination of their own local region.   The formation of place-based identities operate an multiple scales.  How would you feel if your state was absorbed by a neighboring state?  How come? 

Tags: community, place, governance, France.

In dry areas of interior drainage (such as Central Asia and the Great Basin in the U.S.), the human settlements are often clustered along the foothills of the mountains near landforms called alluvial fans.  Take time to analyze this image (and this one as well); in alluvial fans and the agricultural patterns that people create on them, we can see some striking geometric and spatial configurations that show how human settlements are highly dependent of the physical environment.   

Tags: spatial, remote sensing, geospatial, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, landscape.

Many of the geopolitical conflicts in the East Pacific have their roots in the territorial disputes over islands that at first glance seem as if they wouldn’t be worth the trouble.  However, since the the UNCLOS agreement gives countries 200 nautical miles off their coasts to be an Exclusive Economic Zone, that greatly enhanced the strategic value of controlling these islands.  This interactive map briefly highlights some of the details behind the conflicts with links for further readings.  

Questions to Ponder: Why do countries care so much about some minor islands?  Why would other countries not want to accept China’s territorial assertions?  Experts are saying that Chinese-Japanese relations are as bad as they’ve been since the end of World War II–Why all the commotion? 

Tags: borders, political, conflict, China, East Asia.

Recently there was a summit on protecting the world’s oceans attending by representatives of most countries.  Overfishing is but one of the many issues that are plaguing our oceans. We can’t pretend that the oceans are external to our national ecosystems; the World is a closed system and oceanic pollution and degradation impacts the entire system. You can also explore more using these ESRI StoryMaps with over 25 interactives on a variety of topics about our Oceans.   

Tags: environment modify, consumption, water, physical, industry, economic, pollution, industry, sustainability, urban ecology.

Events that we think of as local (Washington and Colorado legalizing marijuana use) have national and global implications, especially in a globalized economy.  This article is but one example of why geographers try to approach every issue at a variety of scales to more fully comprehend the ramifications and ripple effects of any given phenomenon. 

Tags: Mexico, narcotics, scale. 

The Great Green Wall initiative is composed of 11 countries that are cooperating together to combat the physical and human geographic characteristics that make the Sahel one of the more vulnerable ecosystems in the world.  This swath running through Africa is the transition zone where tropical Africa meets the Sahara.  The Sahel is susceptible to drought, overgrazing, land degradation and desertification.  These issues of resource management and land use transcend international borders so this “Green Wall” was created with the intent to protect the environment, landscapes and people of the Sahel from desert encroachment (as an aside, the Green Wall spatially corresponds nicely with the apocryphal Mountains of Kong). 

Tags: Africa, development, environment, water, biogeography, ecology, environment depend, physical, weather and climate, supranationalism, political ecology.

I know just enough Arabic to read the word Halal (حلال) and know that it means permissible, the opposite of Haram (حَرَام‎) which means forbidden or illegal.  In the context of meat, it means meat that has been prepared in accordance with Islamic traditions and is therefore permissible for an observant Muslim to eat (very similar to Kosher for Jewish people).  Today, Halal is becoming an important issue within the European Union for two main reasons: 1) more Muslims are migrating to Europe and 2) Europeans are searching for less artificial food products.  Some Europeans, however, feel that the Halal labeling and marketing is a change to the cultural landscape that they are not comfortable with, and don’t want to see it become more mainstream.  Other meat companies try to present their products as Halal, but don’t adhere to all of the customs according to some more strict Muslims.  Halal, then is a lightning rod, in either direction right now in Europe.  If you want to see the inner workings of a Halal slaughterhouse in New York, this video will show you what it is like.