MCofS; Cairn Gorm Funicular campaign

 

MCofS; Cairn Gorm Funicular campaign

Confronting a World Freshwater Crisis: In-Depth Reports

 

Features
Top 10 Water Wasters: From Washing Dishes to Watering the Desert
The many ways we squander water, from unintentional leaks to outright negligence

Slide Show
A Six-Point Plan to Avert a Global Freshwater Crisis
Policymakers need to figure out how to supply water without degrading the natural ecosystems that provide it.

Ask the Experts
Why don't we get our drinking water from the ocean by taking the salt out of seawater?
Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, distills an answer

Features
Freshwater Conservation: Drip by Drip
Doing small things consistently over time—if enough people participate—can make a dent, even in a global problem. Here are a few suggestions:

Features
Get Involved in Freshwater Conservation
To find out more about your local water situation, check in with your local water authority

Map
Freshwater Crisis Map: Current Situation
Lots of Water, but Not Always Where It Is Needed

Map
Freshwater Crisis Map: Looming Shortages
Models examining the effects of climate change and of population and economic growth on water availability by 2025 indicate that climate change alone will bring scarcity to many places.

Confronting a World Freshwater Crisis: In-Depth Reports

Palm oil

 

It's an invisible ingredient, really, palm oil. You won't find it listed on your margarine, your bread, your biscuits or your KitKat. It's there though, under "vegetable oil". And its impact, 7,000 miles away, is very visible indeed.

The wildlife-rich forests of Indonesia and Malaysia are being chain-sawed to make way for palm-oil plantations. Thirty square miles are felled daily in a burst of habitat destruction that is taking place on a scale and speed almost unimaginable in the West.

When the rainforests disappear almost all of the wildlife – including the orangutans, tigers, sun bears, bearded pigs and other endangered species – and indigenous people go. In their place come palm-oil plantations stretching for mile after mile, producing cheap oil – the cheapest cooking oil in the world – for everyday food.

The guilty secrets of palm oil: Are you unwittingly contributing to the devastation of the rain forests? - Environment - The Independent

Rothiemurchus, Aviemore

Rothiemurchus is a special place at the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, near Aviemore, in the Scottish Highlands. It offers a warm welcome, stunning scenery and outdoor activities for individuals, families, groups and corporate parties to enjoy.

Rothiemurchus, Aviemore, Scotland for Walking, Outdoor Activities, Camping and Shopping

Protecting nature and the economy

Grantown Grammar School in the Highlands is next to Cairngorms National Park. School Reporters investigate if it is possible to protect both nature and local peoples' livelihoods.

VIDEO

BBC NEWS | School Report | Protecting nature and the economy

Essentials of Geology : Chapter 18 : Animations

Glacial advance and retreat is determined by the balance between the accumulation of snow and the removal of ice by sublimation, melting, and calving (ablation). When the rate of ablation below the snowline equals the rate of accumulation above it, the glacier is stationary, as in View 1. During glacial retreat, View 2, the rate of ablation exceeds the rate of accumulation, and the position of the toe retreats toward the origin of the glacier. Glacial advance, View 3, occurs when the rate of accumulation exceeds the rate of ablation. For all views, pay attention to the motion of the stones. Note that in all cases, ice flows downhill.

ANIMATIONS

Essentials of Geology : Chapter 18 : Animations

Images of Cairngorm

 

Galleries

Cairngorm Landscapes

The Cairngorms form some of the most cherished scenery of the Scottish Highlands. These are granite hills - the Cairngorm Granite intrusion is one of the largest in the British Isles and displays fine examples of classic granite landforms. The Cairngorms is equally a glacially-shaped terrain that exhibits splendid corries, over-deepened valleys and roches moutonnées. The mountains provide a world-class example of a landscape of selective linear glacial erosion. Here glacial erosion has been concentrated in the glens whilst the adjacent plateau has been left largely untouched by the passage of ice. The magnificent natural sculptures of the summit tors include features over half a million years old. The Cairngorms includes the largest area of high ground in Britain. The climate of the high tops is as severe as in arctic regions and a range of cold-climate landforms are developed, reflecting the central importance of frost action both now and in the past. Much scenery-shaping activity continues today, under the savage impact of avalanches, wind storms and floods and the unseen but relentless onslaught of weathering and erosion

Cairngorm Landscapes

Braemar Guide

Braemar, or Braigh Mharr in Gaelic (which finally died out locally as a spoken language about 1900), is not only redolent with Scottish history, but is a land of superlatives. It is the highest and most mountainous parish in the UK, with each of its 182,000 acres being more than 1000ft above sea level (the Post office, in the village centre, is at 1110ft).

The area contains within its borders some 24 Munros, or mountains of over 3,000ft, with three over 4,000ft. It is also the only parish in the country to border with four of the old counties (Banffshire, Inverness-shire, Perthshire and Angus). It has the highest 18-hole golf course in the country, and shares with Perthshire the Cairnwell Pass, at 2,100ft the highest through road in the country, which on the Braemar side passes through the Glenshee Ski Centre.

Braemar Guide :: About Braemar :: Views of Braemar

Cairngorms Chamber of Commerce

 

Community websites. Where is Cairngorm has detailed map.

Cairngorms Chamber of Commerce | Visitors

Hiking in the Southern Cairngorms - an illustrated guide

 

Hiking in the Southern Cairngorms - an illustrated guide

Nevis Range Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland

Aonach Mor is a 4006ft mountain that is best described as "the next but one along" from Ben Nevis when seen from the north or north west. When combined with its slightly higher southern neighbour Aonach Beag it makes an excellent hillwalking expedition.

Since its construction in 1989 the northern slopes of Aonach Mor have become much better known as the home to Nevis Range. A mountain gondola whisks visitors from a base station just off the A82 midway between Fort William and Spean Bridge. The gondola's top station lies at a height of 655m or 2150ft, where you find a range of facilities including the Snowgoose Restaurant.

Nevis Range Feature Page on Undiscovered Scotland

Summer at Nevis Range

 

Nevis range BLOG

Recent Photographs

Summer at Nevis Range Mountain experience, Fort William :: summer visitor attractions and winter ski resort

Cairngorms

Glenshee Ski Centre

 

Glenshee Ski Centre offers the UK's most extensive skiing and snowboarding facilities - we hope you will enjoy our mountains of adventure.Glenshee's impressive 20 lifts and 36 runs offer an amazing diversity of natural terrain for all standards of skiers and snowboarders.

There are lots of options to choose from - you can join a class, go private, hire an instructor for your group, get into race training or simply take advantage of one of our great value package deals.

Glenshee Ski Centre

Cairngorms National Park Authority: The Park: National Park Map

Useful sections

THE PARK

The National Park plan

Cairngorms National Park Authority: The Park: National Park Map

Life Expectancy

Data base that can be interrogated.

INSTRUCTIONS :

1. Cause of Death Column to the left is in World Rank Order.
2. Select a Country from the list on the right, click on it to place it in the Grid. You can place up to 7 countries into the Grid at one time.
3. Once the Country is in the Grid you can change the Cause of Death Column from the World Order to the Individual Country order by clicking on the Abbreviation beneath the Flag. Sorting the Data in this way enables you to compare one Country to another and against the World at the same time.
4. To remove an Individual Country from the Grid, return to the Country List on the right and Click to remove. You can then replace it with another Country or click the orange "Clear" button located at the top of the List to remove all Countries at once.
5. To assist you in finding Countries you may use the control above the list to alphabetise them. You'll also notice each time you select a country to be placed in the Grid it will change color and move to the top of the list making it easy to find to remove it. This feature also assists you in knowing which countries are in the Grid for review.

Life Expectancy

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of France -

There are now 46,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometre of the world's oceans, killing a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals each year. Worse still, there seems to be nothing we can do to clean it up. So how do we turn the tide?

Drowning in plastic: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of France - Telegraph

Carbon Capture

The UK government has given a massive boost to world ambitions to develop clean-coal technology. It announced a decision that will herald a new generation of coal-fired power stations in the UK - but all of them will have to have their CO2 emissions partially captured by cutting-edge technology.

Climate change threatens Ganges, Niger and other mighty rivers

 

This map shows the change in run-off inferred from streamflow records worldwide between 1948 and 2004, with bluish colors indicating more streamflow and reddish colors less. Graphic: Journal of Climate, modified by UCAR

Some of the mightiest rivers on the planet, including the Ganges, the Niger, and the Yellow river in China, are drying up because of climate change, a study of global waterways warned yesterday.

Climate change threatens Ganges, Niger and other mighty rivers | Environment | The Guardian

London 2012 aerial pictures show Olympic Park's changing skyline

 

The latest set of aerial photographs of the London 2012 olympic show just how far the building works have come along. Compare this aerial view of the Olympic Village site in April 2007...

London 2012 aerial pictures show Olympic Park's changing skyline - Telegraph

Ga Conf09 W21 Bppt

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Ga Conf09 W21 Bppt

View more presentations from geogrocks.

World's major rivers 'drying up'

 

Water levels in some of the world's most important rivers have declined significantly over the past 50 years, US researchers say.

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | World's major rivers 'drying up'

Italian Earthquake

Water Wars

Water Wars

Italy earthquake reconstruction will cost billions

The central Italy region ravaged by an earthquake more than a week ago will need at least euro12 billion (about $16 billion) for rebuilding, the country's interior minister said.

Italy earthquake reconstruction will cost billions

Encounters At The End Of The World Go watch the Film

RELEASE DATE: Friday 24th April

Werner Herzog journeys to Antarctica's McMurdo Station to find out what it is that drives its 1,000 inhabitants to want to live and work in this remotest of glacial landscapes

Encounters At The End Of The World | Film | guardian.co.uk

New limits to Antarctic tourism

 

Countries with ties to Antarctica have adopted US proposals to limit tourism in the region, in a bid to protect the fragile ecosystem of the continent.Parties to the Antarctic Treaty agreed to limit the size of cruise ships and the number of tourists taken ashore at a meeting in the US city of Baltimore. Limiting tourism has taken on urgency due to a surge in visits and a number of cruise ship accidents. Antarctic visits have risen from 6,700 in 1992-93 to over 45,000 last season.

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | New limits to Antarctic tourism

Catastrophic droughts in Africa are the norm, claim scientists

 

Researchers believe the drought that struck parts of Northern Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, killing hundreds of thousands and displacing millions more, may have been the result of a natural climate cycle. In the past, many scientists thought the drought in the Sahel zone – a band that runs just below the Sahara – was caused by humans overusing natural resources in the region.

But a new study in the journal Science shows that they are a natural part of weather pattern of the area for the last 3,000 years.

If anything the droughts were less severe than those seen historically, with previous periods without rain lasting more than a century.

Catastrophic droughts in Africa are the norm, claim scientists - Telegraph

Britain in 2009: A nation of bullied social networkers who don’t believe in global warming

 

The annual Social Trends study published by the Office for National Statistics presents a revealing portrait of the way we live now.

Nearly two million men aged between 20 and 34 still live with their parents, almost twice the number of women of the same age. The proportion of young adults who are reluctant or unable to leave home has increased by about 300,000 since 2001. Far more are continuing with their studies, while others are unemployed. The lack of affordable housing is the chief deciding factor in living with parents. The proportion of single-person households has doubled since 1971, from 6 per cent to 12 per cent, while the number of marriages in England and Wales – 237,000 in 2006 – was the lowest for more than a century. The average age at which people tie the knot is 31.8 for men and 29.7 for women. In the past 10 years, the number of women under 25 giving birth has overtaken the number marrying by that age.

EDUCATION   LAW and ORDER  EMPLOYMENT   POPULATION

LIFE STYLE   WEALTH  HEALTH   HOUSING   TRAVEL  ENVIRONMENT

and SOCIETY

Britain in 2009: A nation of bullied social networkers who don’t believe in global warming - This Britain, UK - The Independent

UK goes into ecological debt on Easter Sunday

 

Britain is living beyond its environmental means and is increasingly dependent on the rest of the world for its natural resources, a thinktank study has revealed.The recession may have slowed consumption but the New Economics Foundation (Nef) says we are now drawing deep on the cropland, pasture, forests and fisheries of other countries. The research also shows that by tomorrow the country will have used the levels of resources it should consume in an entire year if it were to be ecologically self-sufficient.

 

UK goes into ecological debt on Easter Sunday | Environment | The Guardian

Water shortages go global | Sin aqua non | The Economist

 

THE overthrow of Madagascar’s president in mid-March was partly caused by water problems—in South Korea. Worried by the difficulties of increasing food supplies in its water-stressed homeland, Daewoo, a South Korean conglomerate, signed a deal to lease no less than half Madagascar’s arable land to grow grain for South Koreans. Widespread anger at the terms of the deal (the island’s people would have received practically nothing) contributed to the president’s unpopularity. One of the new leader’s first acts was to scrap the agreement.

Three weeks before that, on the other side of the world, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California declared a state of emergency. Not for the first time, he threatened water rationing in the state. “It is clear,” says a recent report by the United Nations World Water Assessment Programme, “that urgent action is needed if we are to avoid a global water crisis.”

Water shortages go global | Sin aqua non | The Economist

New nuclear site options unveiled

 

The government has released a list of 11 sites in England and Wales where new nuclear power stations could be built.The locations were nominated by companies interested in building the stations, and the government has given its initial approval to the sites.

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | New nuclear site options unveiled

Italy quake survivors mark Easter

ROME, April 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the earthquake in central Italy's Abruzzo region rose to 287 on Thursday, Italian media reported. Days after the 5.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday, aftershocks continued to jolt the region, with 71 seismic events recorded Wednesday night, Abruzzo Governor Gianni Chiodi said. There had been a total of 1,000 aftershocks since the quake struck the region on Monday, he said.

Premier Silvio Berlusconi said earlier on Thursday it was still too early to estimate the costs of rebuilding the quake-stricken region of Abruzzo, but this would likely require "several billion euros." Meanwhile, the government has approved a package of emergency measures to ease financial pressures on the 29,000 people left homeless by the earthquake.

According to the plan, families will receive up to 400 euros a month to help with rent while business owners, including farmers, who have had to cease activity because of the quake will receive a monthly allowance of 800 euros.

Electricity and gas bills for the stricken areas have been suspended for two months and insurance contributions have also been put on hold, while survivors will be able to renegotiate mortgages with banks. Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said government aid to deal with the disaster had been increased to 100 million euros.

The government also approved the deployment of 700 troops to patrol the quake-hit areas alongside police to prevent looting. Some 19,000 survivors from the quake are currently housed in tent camps, while 10,000 others are allowed to live in hotels paid by the state.

The government also approved the deployment of 700 troops to patrol the quake-hit areas alongside police to prevent looting. Some 19,000 survivors from the quake are currently housed in tent camps, while 10,000 others are allowed to live in hotels paid by the state.

Photographs http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/04/the_laquila_earthquake.html

Warning given http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6046585.ece

Images http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirkosim/

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Italy quake survivors mark Easter

Water cut off in Mexican capital

 

Mexico City officials have shut down a main pipeline providing fresh water to millions of residents because reserves have fallen to record low levels.

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Country profiles | Water cut off in Mexican capital

Global Water Crisis // Current

 

Current.com is our online home for viewer influenced and created content. Members of our community contribute links to news stories, blog posts, videos, and other influential content they find on the Internet. Through their contributions and votes, VC2 uploads, and VCAMs, our community plays an influential role helping us determine what gets aired on Current TV

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GLOBAL WATER CRISIS

Global Water Crisis // Current

Investing in water: why water is blue gold - MoneyWeek

 

Anyone unfortunate enough to have been caught by this year’s record-breaking UK floods might wonder how a lack of water could possibly be an imminent global problem. But away from our damp corner of the planet, things are rather different. Since 1950, the world’s population has doubled but the amount of fresh water available hasn’t actually budged at all. The result? According to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), one-third of the world’s population is short of water. What’s worse, this is a point that the planet was not expected to reach, according to previous reports, until 2025, implying that the situation is deteriorating – fast

Investing in water: why water is blue gold - MoneyWeek

Pump Aid Who We Are

 

Pump Aid is a leading water and sanitation organisation, providing lasting solutions to clean water provision and sanitation. At Pump Aid we believe that access to clean water is a fundamental human right.  Provision of clean water for rural communities in Africa, means that people can lead a healthy and productive life. Children are able to attend a full day at school, instead of fetching water from far away, open sources. Villagers in rural communities can utilise the clean water source for drinking, washing and irrigation that can lead to generating income from their vegetable crops

Pump Aid Who We Are

Italy hunts for quake survivors April 2009

 

A desperate search for survivors is on in and around the Italian city of L'Aquila after a quake killed, Italian media say, at least 150 people.Some 5,000 rescuers are picking through rubble in the walled medieval city and nearby towns and villages, some of them said to have been virtually destroyed. Tents are being put up in tennis courts and on football pitches to house some of the 30,000-40,000 homeless. The number of people injured has been put at 1,500.

BBC NEWS | World | Europe | Italy hunts for quake survivors

Sustainable Cities

 

If you think it's impossibly complicated to make your town or city low carbon, think again.This website gives expert advice on planning, designing and managing a sustainable place. It cuts through the complexity with clear priorities for action. And it shows which places are getting it right.Getting it right means a more resilient economy, healthier residents, a more beautiful place and a better quality of life for everyone.

Sustainable Cities

The £20,000 bungalow that's now valued at just £1

 

The £20,000 clifftop bungalow with stunning sea views that's now valued at just £1 | Mail Online

LONDON FUTURES

London and climate change

http://www.gmjlondonfutures.com/

Chronic Arsenic Poisoning:BANGLADESH

Arsenic poisoning has emerged as a fresh blow to Bangladesh, a country of 130 million population, known as a land of frequent natural calamities. Recent surveys showed that about 80 million people of the country are living under the risk of Arsenic poisoning as the groundwater of a vast region contaminated with Arsenic the Arsenic pollution is not only causing serious health hazard to the people, but also affecting the environment and creating social problems.
Arsenic poisoning was first detected in Bangladesh in 1993 by the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE). But the fact remained behind the screen till 1996. According to the latest surveys conducted at both Government levels, at least 53 out of the total 64 districts of Bangladesh are affected with Arsenic pollution

DHAKA Community Hospital

SOS Arsenic .net

Chronic Arsenic Poisoning: History, Study and Remediation

Water: Science and Issues

Searchable database

Water: Science and Issues

Thirst refusal | Environment | The Guardian

 

The destruction of nearly 182,000 hectares (450,000 acres) and the displacement of a million people by the worst Californian fire-storms in decades are focusing attention on what may, over the next 50 years, become the most pressing environmental issue in the US - the south-western states are drying up.

Thirst refusal | Environment | The Guardian

Basin Fact Sheets - Colorado Water Conservation Board

Basin Fact Sheets - Colorado Water Conservation Board