Monday 25 June 2007

World Facts

Link to Highest lowest biggest smallest tallest deepest oldest youngest Continents Countries Cities Dependencies Deserts Islands Lakes Mountains Oceans Provinces Rivers Seas and more list by World Atlas

Tate Modern | Current Exhibitions | Global Cities

Information on current exhbition

SIZE: Cities are increasingly at the centre of global flows of people, capital, culture and information. Over the last 30 years their role as financial command centres has expanded, creating a new type of sprawling, often multi-centred, urban agglomeration.

SPEED: The speed with which many of the world's cities are growing affects their social and physical structure dramatically. The five cities featured in this section - Cairo, Istanbul, London, Los Angeles and Shanghai - are experiencing growth at a different pace, and absorbing it in different manners: some are growing upwards, others are growing outwards.

FORM: This section provides an overview of the distinctly different urban forms of five cities: Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, Mumbai, and Tokyo. Satellite photographs illustrate the diversity and complexity of human impact on these cities, as physically manifest in street widths, block and plot sizes and distribution of open green spaces.

DENSITY: Density – the number of people living in a given area, usually expressed as people per square kilometre – is at the centre of public debate on the future growth of cities. Used as a planning tool, awareness of density can help to curtail over-development and overcrowding, or ensure that scarce urban land is not under-used, especially in areas with good public transport and social amenities. High density does not mean high-rise; large numbers of people can be accommodated in five- or six-storey buildings arranged in a compact and efficient manner, creating congenial places for living.

DIVERSITY n an urban context, diversity - the level of variety within a city - is usually interpreted as its ethnic and racial composition. But diversity has a much broader range of indicators: the spread of ages and incomes, education levels, the range of employment sectors, and people born in the city versus newcomers.

Link to Tate Modern | Current Exhibitions | Global Cities

Floods 25th June 2007

Link to BBC NEWS | UK | Trapped man dies amid flood chaos

Friday 22 June 2007

Save the planet: Ten ways to cut your carbon footprint at home

According to the Energy Saving Trust, the average British household emits around six tonnes of CO2 and spends around £870 on power and fuel a year, but both figures can be massively cut with a few simple steps.

1 Change your light bulbs to eco ones replace your home’s conventional light bulbs with energy-saving ones. The latter used to be really expensive but prices have dropped dramatically and they come in all shapes and sizes, as well as different wattages and hues. Low-energy light bulbs last up to 12 times longer than conventional ones, and just one bulb will save you around £9 and 40kg of CO2 emissions a year. Incredibly, if every household in the UK had just three of these eco bulbs, we’d save the equivalent of the annual output of a power station.

2 Insulate Insulate your loft, walls and hot water cylinder. British homes lose enough heat through their walls and roofs to heat approximately 3,000,000 homes every year. Almost a quarter of heat loss is through the roof, but adequate loft insulation will save you around £180-£220 and one tonne of CO2 a year. Similarly, cavity wall insulation will cut your heat loss by approximately 60 per cent, saving you around £130-£160 and one tonne of CO2 a year.

3 Change your boiler All new boilers (with a few exceptions) have to be energy-efficient condensing ones, which retain heat from the gasses usually expelled down the flue. Have one of these fitted (by a CORGI installer) and you’ll cut your heating bills by around a third and emit one tonne less of CO2 a year.

4 Recycle Shockingly, Britain’s recycling record is one of the worst in Europe, according to the most recent comparable figures, with only Greece and Portugal recycling less. Of the 600kg of waste generated by each of us in Briton a year, 74 per cent goes to landfill, 8 per cent is incinerated and just 18 per cent is recycled or composted, compared to 65 per cent in the Netherlands and 58 per cent in Germany. Buying recycled goods (something many of us forget but also vitally important) and increasing your home recycling by just 10 per cent will save around 90kg of CO2 a year.

5 Draught proof and/or double glaze your windows Single-glazed windows and poorly insulated frames can result in a fifth of all heat loss. Double glazing can reduce this loss by 50 per cent and save you around £80-£100 and 570kg of CO2 a year. If you can’t afford double glazing (or secondary double glazing), invest in draught excluders for your windows and doors (both internal and external) instead. Draught proofing your doors and windows will save you around £20 and 140kg of CO2 a year.

6 Compost While the UK is only, of course, recycling and composting about 18 per cent of its waste, a third or more of household waste can actually be composted. As well as green and food waste, you can compost all kinds of things you might not consider suitable, including kitchen roll, shredded paper, cardboard and vacuum cleaner bags. If you don’t have outside space, you can get compact compost bins and sprinkle on a Japanese substance called Bokashi, which breaks the matter down quickly and should take care of any unpleasant odours. You could even have a communal compost bin if you live in a block of flats. Other benefits of composting include fewer bin bags to contend with when putting out the rubbish, knowing you’re contributing less to landfill and having an end product that will enrich your garden and house plants.

7 Full loads only Never put a washing machine or dishwasher on without it being full, unless you have an economy or half-load programme, because you’re wasting water as well as energy. Wash your clothes at 30Þ and you’ll save around 40 per cent of the energy your washing machine uses. Energy-sapping tumble drying should also be ditched in favour of drying clothes outside, on radiators and clotheshorses or in the airing cupboard. Tumble driers are one of the worst offenders in the home for CO2 emissions: a year of not using yours will save you around £75 and 635kg of CO2.

8 Only boil enough water for your needs It’s all too easy to turn the tap on and fill the kettle up without considering how much water you actually need, but again you’re wasting both water and electricity. Only boil enough water for your needs – at home and work – and you’ll make big savings. It’s estimated that if all of us stopped “filling” the kettle, enough energy would be saved to power between 50 and 75 per cent of the UK’s street lights.

9 Conserve energy when cooking Chop food into small pieces when cooking, as it will cook quicker and use less energy. It’s also important to boil water for cooking in the kettle and then transfer it to the hob, to only boil enough to just cover the food, to put the saucepan lid on and to ensure the pan’s the right size for the burner or ring you’re using, otherwise energy will be lost around the sides.

10 Don’t leave appliances on standby That little coloured standby light uses 10-60 per cent of the energy needed to power the appliance when in use, so always switch it off at the socket. Alternatively, invest in a Bye Bye Standby kit, which cuts power to appliances left on standby so you don’t even need to think about it. Eight per cent of UK households’ energy, or four million tonnes of CO2 annually, is wasted by appliances left on standby. Stamp out standby and unplug chargers and you could save as much as £130 and 560kg of CO2 a year. Another useful gadget is the Electrisave, which shows how much electricity you’re using so you can identify the most power-hungry appliances in your home.

Link to Ten ways to cut your carbon footprint at home - Independent Online Edition > Climate Change

Climate change and the fight for resources 'will set world aflame'

Climate change has become a major security issue that could lead to "a world going up in flames", the United Nations' top environment official has warned. From rising sea levels in the Indian Ocean to the increasing spread of desert in Africa's Sahel region, global warming will cause new wars across the world, said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

"People are being pushed into other people's terrain by the changing climate and it is leading to conflict," he said. "Societies are not prepared for the scale and the speed with which they will have to decide what they will do with people."

The world was already experiencing its first war partly caused by climate change, he said. Dramatic changes to the environment in the Darfur region of Sudan helped lay the ground for today's conflict which has displaced more than 2.5 million people and killed at least 200,000.

A report to be published by UNEP tomorrow will make a direct link between climate change and the Darfur conflict. "It will be one of the most significant documents in terms of linking environment change and conflict," Mr Steiner said. "It will say that climate change is now a key dimension that must be considered in conflict issues."

The roots of the four-year conflict can be found in the devastating drought that swept Sudan and the Horn of Africa in the 1980s, the report will say. Since then, rainfall in Sudan has fallen by 40 per cent, a result, claim scientists, of global warming. Farmers began to fence off land to which nomads once had access. Clashes over shrinking resources between nomads, who tend to be Arab, and the mainly African farmers became widespread.

The current crisis was sparked by a rebellion launched by three Darfuri tribes, and a ferocious counter-insurgency unleashed by Khartoum, but the dramatic changes to Darfur's ecology appear to have been a contributing factor. "What we see in Darfur is an environmental change phenomenon unfolding that puts pressure on local communities," Mr Steiner said. "Combine that with potential tensions and you very quickly get a potent mix within which increased pressure can result in conflict. The situation that emerged in Darfur will emerge in other parts of the world." He warned of a "world going up in flames" if countries did not "wake up", adding: "It is a major security issue that affects the whole geopolitical dynamics that we have today."

Earlier this year Britain used its presidency of the UN Security Council to lead its first debate on climate change and conflict. "What makes wars start?" asked the Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett. "Fights over water. Changing patterns of rainfall. Fights over food production, land use. There are few greater potential threats... to peace and security itself."

The two major areas of potential conflict, Mr Steiner said, are the Sahel region and east Asia. "In the next 35 years most of the glaciers in the Himalayas will... disappear. You are talking of 500 million people being affected directly and another 250 million people affected downstream." Rising sea levels off the coast of Bangladesh are another potential area for conflict, he said: "India has already started building a wall to stop Bangladeshis coming across. The predicted half-a-metre sea level rise means 34 million people not being able to stay where they are now. Where will they go? They will break through the boundaries."

But Africa is likely to suffer most. Rising sea levels could destroy up to 30 per cent of the continent's coastline, while between 25 and 40 per cent of Africa's natural habitats could be lost by 2085. Conflicts caused by a scarcity of resources are already brewing across Africa. In Ghana clashes between farmers and Fulani herders have become more widespread as resources have become increasingly scarce. In the Mount Elgon region of Kenya more than 40,000 people have been displaced as different tribes fought over access to land.

Climate change will also cause problems post-conflict. According to the UNEP report on Darfur, the majority of those displaced by the conflict will never be able to return to their homes. "We have have moved beyond a point of return," Mr Steiner said.

Link to Climate change and the fight for resources 'will set world aflame' - Independent Online Edition > Climate Change

Wednesday 20 June 2007

Migrant workers 'help UK economy'

Polish plumber

Migrant workers have boosted the UK economy, with their influx not having a negative effect on employment or wage levels, the TUC has argued.Foreign workers made a positive net economic contribution, it said, with their share of tax paid exceeding the cost of supplying public services.

Link to BBC NEWS | Business | Migrant workers 'help UK economy'

Role-Playing Scenarios

Resources for role playing exercises

Link to Role-Playing Scenarios

The Vertical Farm Project - Agriculture for the 21st Century and Beyond...

The Problem By the year 2050, nearly 80% of the earth's population will reside in urban centers. Applying the most conservative estimates to current demographic trends, the human population will increase by about 3 billion people during the interim. An estimated 109 hectares of new land (about 20% more land than is represented by the country of Brazil) will be needed to grow enough food to feed them, if traditional farming practices continue as they are practiced today. At present, throughout the world, over 80% of the land that is suitable for raising crops is in use (sources: FAO and NASA). Historically, some 15% of that has been laid waste by poor management practices. What can be done to avoid this impending disaster?

A Potential Solution: farm vertically The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes, a wide variety of herbs, and other produce has been in vogue for some time. What is new is the urgent need to scale up this technology to accommodate another 3 billion people. An entirely new approach to indoor farming must be invented, employing cutting edge technologies. The Vertical Farm must be efficient (cheap to construct and safe to operate). Vertical farms, many stories high, will be situated in the heart of the world's urban centers. If successfully implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.

Link to The Vertical Farm Project - Agriculture for the 21st Century and Beyond...

Your Earth galleries | Earth | Telegraph

Trailer park

Reader Photographs illustrating climate change in action.

Link to Your Earth galleries | Earth | Telegraph

Your CO2 Calculater..... from DEFRA

The Act on CO2 calculator is currently seeing an overwhelming response and we're working to fix the problems you may be experiencing. Please bear with us and visit again later today. Thank you for your interest and patience.

Use the Act on CO2 calculator to find out what your carbon footprint is. You'll also get a personalised action plan with recommendations about how you can help tackle climate change - including links to further information on Directgov and the Energy Saving Trust website.

Link to Are you ready to act on CO2? : Directgov - Environment and greener living

Travel Photos | TrekEarth

the mouth of Credit River

Good quality photographs

Link to Travel Photos | TrekEarth

Monday 18 June 2007

4L - Geography Essentials - Quick menu

Channel 4 Learning

Geography essentials area series of student resources

People and Place: Village settlers, Whars in the news, passporrt to the world, how and wheer we spend our time, a village overseas.

The environment: Improving the environment, Mountains, Weathera round the world, Investigating rivers, water

Your local area UK, Investigating local area, Local traffic

Link to 4L - Geography Essentials - Quick menu

Sunday 17 June 2007

The inconvenient truth about the carbon offset industry | Climate change

Article on the problem of Carbon credits

Link to The inconvenient truth about the carbon offset industry | Climate change | Guardian Unlimited Environment

Is this the world's most polluted river?

It was once a gently flowing river, where fishermen cast their nets, sea birds came to feed and natural beauty left visitors spellbound. Villagers collected water for their simple homes and rice paddies thrived on its irrigation channels. Today, the Citarum is a river in crisis, choked by the domestic waste of nine million people and thick with the cast-off from hundreds of factories. So dense is the carpet of refuse that the tiny wooden fishing craft which float through it are the only clue to the presence of water.

Their occupants no longer try to fish. It is more profitable to forage for rubbish they can salvage and trade - plastic bottles, broken chair legs, rubber gloves - risking disease for one or two pounds a week if they are lucky. On what was United Nations World Environment Day, the Citarum, near the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, displayed the shocking abuse that mankind has subjected it to.

More than 500 factories, many of them producing textiles which require chemical treatment, line the banks of the 200-mile river, the largest waterway in West Java, spewing waste into the water. On top of the chemicals go all the other kinds of human detritus from the factories and the people who work there. There is no such luxury as a rubbish collection service here. Nor are there any modern toilet facilities. Everything goes into the river. The filthy water is sucked into the rice paddies, while families risk their health by collecting it for drinking, cooking and washing. Twenty years ago, this was a place of beauty, and the river still served its people well. As one local man, Arifin, recalled: "Our wives did their washing there and our children swam."

Its demise began with rapid industrialisation during the late 1980s. The mighty Citarum soon became a garbage bin for the factories. And the doomsday effect will spread. It is one of two major rivers that feed Lake Saguling, where the French have built the largest power generator in West Java. Experts predict that as the river chokes, its volume will decrease and the generator will not function properly. The area will be plunged into darkness. But at least the factories will be stilled and their waste will stop flowing.

Link to Is this the world's most polluted river? | the Daily Mail

Your climate, your life

Climate change is one of the most important issues of our time. It regularly makes the news - the main debate amongst scientists today is focussed on the amount and rate of climate change we can expect to experience in the future.

This site is about our changing climate and how it affects our lives, from the buildings we live and work in, to the way we travel, the holidays we take and the food we buy in the shops.

Link to Your climate, your life

GeoHive: Global Statistics

Welcome to GeoHive, a site with geopolitical data, statistics on the human population, Earth and more. The main kind of data you can find here is population statistics of regions, countries, provinces and cities. Next to that there are some statistics on economic factors like wealth, infrastructure; statistics on natural phenomena; ....... and yet, even more

The site is structured into several parts. To get at statistics for a specific country, you can go directly to by Country. The Global section has regions and countries compared with each other: what are their capitals, areas, population, growth figures, &c. Also two- and three-letter codes for countries, historical population data and projected future populations for countries. Then there is a section with Charts. Find the city with the highest number of inhabitants, the largest airports of the world and the longest rivers.

Link to GeoHive: Global Statistics

Global Warming Interactive, Global Warming Simulation

Good interactive simulation from National Geographic

Link to Global Warming Interactive, Global Warming Simulation, Climate Change Simulation - National Geographic

Three Gorges Dam, China

The longest river in Asia, the Yangtze River brings mixed blessings to China. Although it meets the water needs of millions of people, the river regularly overflows its banks. In the twentieth century alone, Chinese authorities estimated, the river claimed the lives of 300,000 people. To protect some 15 million residents and 3.7 million acres (roughly 14,970 square kilometers) in the lower Yangtze floodplains, China began construction on the Three Gorges Dam in 1994. Like the river itself, the dam appears to be a mixed blessing: the reservoir was expected to submerge about 632 square kilometers (244 square miles) of land and force the relocation of more than a million people. The reservoir was anticipated to submerge ecologically and culturally important sites in the three gorges—Qutang, Wu Xia, and Xiling—that were the dam’s namesake.

These images show the Yangtze River in the vicinity of the Three Gorges Dam (lower right). Landsat 7 acquired the top image on November 7, 2006, after the main wall was complete. Landsat 5 acquired the bottom image on April 17, 1987, several years before construction on the dam began. In the top image, the dam’s main wall appears as a thin, buff-colored line crossing the water. The water body balloons out markedly in the later image—evidence of the rising water level. The water has backed up and expanded tributaries well upstream of the dam (upper left of image).

Link to EO Newsroom: New Images - Three Gorges Dam, China

World's Longest Rivers Map Quiz

Interactive river game based on world map and identification of rivers shown.

click on links above for Interactive games on naming countries and capitals.

Link to World's Longest Rivers Map Quiz

Friday 15 June 2007

fitfortravel

fitfortravel' is a public access website provided by the NHS (Scotland). It gives travel health information for people travelling abroad from the UK.

Link to fitfortravel home page

Wednesday 13 June 2007

Year 8 go to the beach 13th June 2007

Sunday 10 June 2007

Chong Qing 重庆

Chongqing is a move by the Chinese government to spread the benefits of economic boomto the countrys vast interior. Home to3 Chinese in four. The government believes that the way to ease poverty in the interior it has to encourage people to abandon the land and migrate to cities.

In 1978 18% of chinese lived in citiesa nd towns. By 2010 the authorities estimate that 50% will, in the greatest migration in human history. One after another the cities of the interior have entered the race to urbanise, with the objective of becoming a world city. The most spectacular growth has occurred in Changqing.

The citys growth is attracting 200,000 new residents a year. The authorities are still encouraging expansion. The city limits are being expanded under a scheme the city calls "one hour economic circle". Under the plan, teh city wants to move 2 million rural residents into newly urbanized areas within an hours driving distance from the city centre within the next 5 years and another 2 million in the 5 years after that.

Switch it off!

London is to make one of the biggest environmental statements Britain has ever witnessed next week, when the heart of the city switches off its lights in a mass twilight turn-off.

Between 9pm and 10pm on Thursday 21 June, many of London's most famous landmarks, including Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Canary Wharf, the BT Tower and at least one government department, will execute the black-out to raise awareness of global warming.

London's three million households will be urged to switch off their non-essential lights and appliances in what organisers hope will be the first in a series of events that will spread to cities across the country. The event is based on Earth Hour, a similar, hour-long mass switch-off earlier this year in Sydney that involved 65,000 households and 2,000 businesses and landmarks, including the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. Earth Hour saw energy consumption in the city fall by 10.2 per cent, meaning many fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide were released than otherwise would have been. Spectacular photographs recorded the blacked-out skyline.

Link to Switch it off! | UK News | The Observer

Is carbon offsetting the solution or part of the problem?

what is carbon offsetting

We burn fossil fuel in the developed world - and plant much-needed trees in Africa to 'off set' our emissions. It sounds like a win-win situation. But is it? Read the article here

Link to Is carbon offsetting the solution or part of the problem? | Magazine | The Observer

Climate Care

Home

Climate Care was set up to tackle climate change by reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. We do this by offsetting - making CO2 reductions on behalf of individuals and companies.

This site is excellent for Case study material:

1. The treadle Pump 2. Bioenergy 3.Wind Energy 4. Efficient Lightening 5. Efficient Cooking Stoves 6. Rainforest restoration

Useful (and simple) Carbon Offsetting Calculator available.

Link to project types :: project types :: Climate Care

Wednesday 6 June 2007

Learning centre

Plan is a child-centred community development organisation with no religious or political affiliations, enabling families and communities in the poorest countries to make lasting improvements to the lives of their children.

Because I am a Girl encourages students to explore and examine the role of girls in society and identify the differences between the experiences and expectations of girls and boys around the world. It accompanies the report ‘Because I am a Girl: The state of the world's girls 2007’ published by Plan.

Water in Kenya looks at the impact of water shortages in Kenya and the wider world. Students will begin to asses the impact that water shortages will have on them individually and the world as a whole.

Fair Trade in Pakistan begins to explore the idea of Fair Trade and the affect we can have in the developing world through Fair Trade. Students will develop an understanding about where products originate from and social responsibility.

Child Labour in India introduces the country of India to young people and examines the practice of child labour. It encourages young people to examine their own life and compare their experiences with those in India.

Make the link, break the chain examines the history of the transatlantic slave trade as well as the forms of slavery which still exist in the world today. It was developed from a project which linked schools in Brazil, Haiti, Senegal, Sierra Leone and the UK.

Togo: making choices has been designed to help UK children explore the ideas of needs, choices and fairness whilst learning about the lives of children in Togo.

Real life in Ghana explores similarities and differences between life in the UK and in Ghana. It draws on multimedia extracts of Ghanaian children, discovering everything from their daily routines through to the games that they play.

A global identity looks at the idea of our identity and how it can be used to distinguish and unite us all.

Speak out on Africa introduces the continent of Africa and encourages pupils to think about how their voice could facilitate change there. The work is an introduction to youth advocacy.

Visit a virtual village Experience a virtual visit to an African village. Nyalakot is a rural farming community of about 6,200 people where poverty is endemic and average income amounts to about £130 per person a year – less than 60 pence a day. Meet community members, children, students and adults.

Stop Disasters game Play this interactive game where you plan and construct an environment for a community affected by natural hazards.

Link to Learning centre

E Waste

Electronic waste in Guangdong, China As much as 4,000 tonnes of toxic e-waste are discarded every hour. Vast amounts are routinely and often illegally shipped as waste from Europe, USA and Japan to places where unprotected workers recover parts and materials.

This is a search on GREENPEACE. There are some excellent photographs here

Link to e waste | Search Results | Greenpeace International | 1

Tourism Threatens Antartica

More than anywhere else on Earth, the polar regions are most affected by global warming. Yet it is exactly this threat to their existence that is attracting more tourists to the region than before.

The World Tourism Organisation puts the number of annual visitors to the Arctic, including Alaska, at more than one million. Although far fewer tourists visit Antarctica, the rate of there growth is causing as much concern to environmentalists.

This year 33,000 people will visit the Antarctic region, up from about 7,400 a decade ago, according to the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), which promotes responsible tourism practices.

Link

Large Area of Antarctica Melted, Re-Froze in 2005

In contrast to the Antarctic Peninsula, where evidence of climate warming has been evident in rising temperatures, retreating glaciers, and collapsing ice shelves, the interior of Antarctica has generally appeared to be staying well below freezing. In May 2007, however, a team of researches from NASA and the University of Colorado found evidence of warming and melting as much as 900 kilometers (500 miles) inland. Just 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the South Pole, and more than 2,000 meters (6,600 feet) above sea level, portions of Antarctica’s interior experienced temperatures above freezing for about a week in January 2005.

The areas where snow melted and then refroze as ice over the winter were detected by NASA’s Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT). In this image, areas where QuikSCAT detected more ice are red, and places where it detected less ice are yellow. Small patches of yellow and red around the coastline of East Antarctica show that at least some melting took place there, but the most significant amounts of ice formed in West Antarctica. QuikSCAT detected significant amounts of melting along a stretch of the West Antarctic coastline more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) long. Additional evidence of melting appeared as a ring of icy patches surrounding the Ross Ice Shelf.

Link to EO Newsroom: New Images - Large Area of Antarctica Melted, Re-Froze in 2005

Hurricanes - Towers in the Tempest

Towers in the Tempest - full version

'Towers in the Tempest' is a 4.5 minute narrated animation that explains recent scientific insights into how hurricanes intensify. This intensification can be caused by a phenomenon called a 'hot tower'. For the first time, research meteorologists have run complex simulations using a very fine temporal resolution of 3 minutes. Combining this simulation data with satellite observations enables detailed study of 'hot towers'. The science of 'hot towers' is described using: observed hurricane data from a satellite, descriptive illustrations, and volumetric visualizations of simulation data.

Scroll down to available formats - click on desired size

Link to SVS Animation 3413 - Towers in the Tempest

Tuesday 5 June 2007

Year 10 Geography Fieldwork

Monday 4 June 2007

Ecological Footprints

Recycle now

  

Each UK household produces over 1 tonne of rubbish annually, amounting to about 31 million tonnes for the UK each year [source: Waste Watch]

Every year, the average dustbin contains enough unrealised energy for 500 baths, 3500 showers or 5,000 hours of television. [source: www.assurre.org]

On average every person in the UK throws away their own body weight in rubbish every 7 weeks [source: Waste Watch]

Every 8 months the UK produces enough waste to fill Lake Windermere (the largest lake in England) [source: Waste Watch]

In less than 2 hours the UK produces enough waste to fill the Albert Hall
[source: Waste Watch]

The cost of managing the municipal waste produced in England is around £1.6 million per year [Source: Waste not, Want not; Cabinet Office, 2002]

Link to Recycle now - Recycle Now Week - Plastics

Sunday 3 June 2007

The CarbonNeutral Company

Off set your Flight this summer click on the link

Link to The CarbonNeutral Company

The gathering storm

The gathering storm

Whether it's a freak dust storm stopping play in Pakistan, severe drought in Australia or the disappearance of snow from the Alps, our fast-changing climate is affecting sport as it is so much else in the world. Ed Douglas introduces our special on the weather and sport, while experts warn us of further troubles to come

Take this remarkable image of a Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Multan, where the batsmen were forced to leave the field by an all-encompassing dust storm. Were you aware that dust storms in Asia - and elsewhere - are increasing both in strength and frequency, because global warming is turning previously fertile land to desert? Equally, how many of us know that many Indian cities could be underwater by the end of the century, making wickets there more than ordinarily sticky?

There are short articles on:-

1. Flood and water

2. Bare Mountain

3. Drought and Fire

Link to The gathering storm | Sport | The Observer

The Bradshaw Model

Link to IB Geography - The Bradshaw Model