BBC News - An animated journey through the Earth's climate history
Thursday, 3 December 2009
Sunday, 29 November 2009
World Cup 2010 Football to footprints: World Cup's carbon impact
Africa's first football World Cup will generate 2.75m tonnes of carbon emissions, one of the biggest environmental impacts of any sporting event in history, a study has found.
The finals in South Africa next year are expected to have a carbon footprint eight times that of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, even before long-haul international travel is taken into account.
The main reasons for the discrepancy are the vast distances between South Africa's host cities and the lack of a green transport infrastructure.
The estimated output from South Africa is 896,661 tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to the optimistically entitled Feasibility Study for a Carbon Neutral 2010 Fifa World Cup, commissioned jointly by the South African and Norwegian governments. Another 1,856,589 tonnes will result from fans travelling from around the world, making the World Cup's footprint the biggest of any major event aiming to be "climate neutral", the report said.
Football to footprints: World Cup's carbon impact | Environment | The Guardian
Watch your waste during the season of overindulgence | Money | The Observer
Christmas contributes a hefty whack to that sum. Families spend £182m on Christmas lunch or dinner, and increase their grocery spend by about 20% in the Christmas period, according to market researchers Nielson. Households (including families) spend £63m on turkey, £31m on stilton and cheddar, £15m on Christmas pudding, £14m on Christmas cake and £124m on bacon and sausages.
Watch your waste during the season of overindulgence | Money | The Observer
'I want an education. I want to change my life' | Katine | The Observer
Looking back, Simon identifies two catastrophic moments that conspired to ruin his academic prospects. The first was in 2002 when his father abandoned the family home, never to return, leaving a pregnant wife and eight children.
The second was when his uncle, who sponsored him through school after his father's disappearance, unexpectedly announced that he could no longer afford to pay the fees, forcing Simon to give up his education. Since that day two years ago he has stayed at home (a huddle of four thatched mud-brick huts), helping to tend the family's fields. He is educated enough to feel frustrated by his fate, but not sufficiently qualified to have many other options for the future.
Christmas appeal 2009: 'I want an education. I want to change my life' | Katine | The Observer
CumbriaFloods Nov 2009 « GeogBlog@IoE
Emergency rescue workers wade through a flooded street in Cockermouth, in north-west England. Photo source: AFP
Thanks to Dave Rayner for this set of very useful links
http://geogblogatioe.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/lake-district-floods-nov-2009/
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Cumbria Floods 2009- How the heaviest rainfall happened
In the hours before floods swept through Cumbria, the heaviest rain ever recorded in Britain fell on a hamlet in the county. Philip Eden unpicks the unique combination of factors which made this happen.
1. A 'conveyor' of warm, very moist sub-tropical air was carried towards Britain from south of the Azores
2. When this mass of warm air - which holds more moisture than cold air - was blown by high winds over Cumbria's mountains it cooled, allowing the moisture to condense as heavy rain
3. What made matters worse was that the weather system, which extended south-west from Britain for thousands of miles into the Atlantic, got stuck over the hills of Cumbria and southern Scotland
4. The falling heavy rain entered the region's rivers, which were forced to carry exceptionally high water loads
5. This led to significant flooding, especially at their confluences, such as in Cockermouth
Rising sea levels hit Maputo, Rotterdam
When people talk about the impact of rising sea levels, they often think of small island states that risk being submerged if global warming continues unchecked.
But it's not only those on low-lying islands who are in danger. Millions of people live by the sea - and are dependent on it for their livelihoods - and many of the world's largest cities are on the coast.
By 2050 the number of people living in delta cities is set to increase by as much as 70%, experts suggest, vastly increasing the number of those at risk.
To shed light the impact of rising sea levels, we are taking a close look at two very different cities, Rotterdam and Maputo , and their varying responses to the problem.
BBC News - Climate change: Rising sea levels hit Maputo, Rotterdam
The Olympic Park View Tube
Map http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgeezer/4110866504/
In Pictures: The Olympic Park View Tube - Londonist
Sunday, 22 November 2009
Hurricane Katrina: It was not an act of God - Americas, World - The Independent
The Corps – which is responsible for the design and upkeep of the levees surrounding New Orleans – had argued that Katrina was a once in a 100-year storm, an act of God, that had overwhelmed its hi-tech flood protection system. However, Judge Stanwood Duval Jr brought the debate back down to earth, blaming authorities for "negligence" in a strongly worded ruling that accused the Corps of "insouciance, myopia and short-sightedness".
Hurricane Katrina: It was not an act of God - Americas, World - The Independent
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
Japan's hi-tech bid to boost food
Japan is only growing 40% of its food needs, leaving it dependent on imports. In an effort to combat the problem, a Japanese company is experimenting with a "hi-tech" approach to farming.
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Japan's hi-tech bid to boost food
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Brazil celebrates 45% reduction in Amazon deforestation | Environment | The Guardian
The Brazilian government yesterday announced a "historic" drop in the deforestation of the Amazon, weeks before world leaders meet in Copenhagen for climate change talks.
Brazilian authorities said that between August 2008 and July this year, deforestation in the world's largest tropical rainforest fell by the largest amount in more than 20 years, dropping by 45% from nearly 13,000 square kilometres to around 7,000 square kilometres (5,000 square miles to 2,700 square miles).
Brazil celebrates 45% reduction in Amazon deforestation | Environment | The Guardian
Green belt threat to 27 towns and cities revealed - Telegraph
An analysis by The Sunday Telegraph has identified twenty-seven towns and cities which have been chosen by Whitehall planners as locations where parts of the Green Belt should be reviewed or sacrificed to make way for a massive programme of house building.
Green belt threat to 27 towns and cities revealed - Telegraph
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)