Good quality photographs
Wednesday, 20 June 2007
Monday, 18 June 2007
4L - Geography Essentials - Quick menu
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
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
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?
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
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.
Wednesday, 6 June 2007
Learning centre
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' 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
Monday, 4 June 2007
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 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
Friday, 1 June 2007
The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth
Link to The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth
Thursday, 31 May 2007
Developers to demolish Asia's biggest shantytown
The largest slum in Asia, a sprawling shantytown in the centre of Mumbai, will be demolished and replaced with free homes for the city's poor under a $2.3bn (£1.2bn) scheme to transform one of India's most obvious eyesores.
The state government of Maharashtra placed advertisements yesterday inviting Indian and foreign developers to raze the tin shanties and maze of open drains that make up Dharavi slum and replace it with a new township in India's financial hub. For the government the redevelopment is a demonstration that developers can help the poor and free land in one of the world's most densely populated spots.
The scheme has outraged local activists who say the poor are being ignored in favour of the rich. Jockin Arputham, president of the National Slum Dwellers Association, told news agencies that it was not clear where ordinary people would live in the new developed areas.
He said Dharavi's residents lived next to the small businesses - such as tanneries and potteries - where they worked. "Their businesses will be shut once the construction starts," said Mr Arputham. "[The government] is forcing us to get on to the street," he said. "We will tell bidders from Europe to China not to touch this project because it damages the country."
India, Asia's fourth-largest economy, is facing a crisis of "slumification" according to experts, with numerous people leaving the countryside in search of jobs in the booming cities. The Indian government's own figures show the number of people living in its slums has more than doubled in the past 20 years to more than 60m.
Food miles: The true cost of putting imported food on your plate
Some examples given in the article.
Gobbling up the planet: Your guide to food miles
APPLES (FUJI)
Seventy-six per cent of apples consumed in the UK come from overseas. Washington, home of the Red Delicious and grower of half of America's apples, produces 135,000 tons of Fuji apples a year. They also come from China and Japan, and have a long shelf-life. With refrigeration, Fuji apples can last five or six months.
Typical exporter: US
Food miles to UK: 3,700
C02 (kg per pack of four): by sea 0.06; by air 1.68
Price: £1.99/500g, £2.98/kg
BEEF
The United States, Brazil, the European Union, Japan and the People's Republic of China are the world's largest consumers of beef, while the world's largest exporters of beef are Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Canada respectively. While British beef is clearly labelled in UK supermarkets, Argentinian beef is still a best seller here.
Typical exporter: Argentina
Food miles to UK: 6,900
CO2 (kg/kg): by sea 0.22; by air 6.33
Price: approx £6/kg
PINEAPPLE
South-east Asia dominates world production of pineapples. Total world production in 2001 was 14.220 million tons. The primary exporters of fresh pineapples in 2001 were Costa Rica, 322,000 tons; Ivory Coast, 188,000 tons; and the Philippines, 135,000 tons. In the UK we get most of our pineapples from Ghana.
Typical exporter: Ghana
Food miles to UK: 3,100
CO2 (kg/pineapple): by sea 0.22; by air 6.26
Price: approx £2/kg
Link to Food miles: The true cost of putting imported food on your plate - Independent Online Edition > Lifestyle
Wednesday, 30 May 2007
Stansted expansion inquiry starts
Protesters on the opening day of the public inquiry
A public inquiry has begun into airport company BAA's plans to expand the capacity of Stansted Airport in Essex.BAA wants to increase passenger numbers from 25 million to 35 million each year. Plans were rejected by Uttlesford District Council so a final decision will now be made at the inquiry.
The Stop Stansted Expansion campaign group, which opposes the plans, staged a protest opposite Endeavour House where the inquiry is taking place. BAA also wants permission to increase the number of air traffic movements permitted from the airport from 241,000 to 264,000 a year.
Link to BBC NEWS | England | Essex | Stansted expansion inquiry starts
For and against AIRPORT EXPANSION
There are a number of groups that have views on the merits or pitfalls of airport expansion:
Many anti-expansion campaign groups have emerged including: HACAN ClearSkies, a campaign group that aims to reduce noise and air pollution from aircraft around Heathrow airport;
Stop Stansted Expansion; Stop Luton Airport Plan (SLAP) Stop Bristol Airport Expansion consists of a coalition of groups; Birmingham Airport Anti-Noise Group (BANG) which wants to see the reduction of aircraft noise, night flights and pollution; Swansea Airport No Expansion (SANE) opposes the increase in flights.
AirportWatch opposes airport expansion and wants to promote an aviation policy that is in line with sustainable development.
Aviation Environment Federation is a UK-based association that campaigns exclusively on the environmental impacts of aviation.
Campaign to Protect Rural England fears the government’s proposals will badly affect the countryside.
Friends of the Earth wants to protect the environment and is lobbying for airlines to pay tax on fuel.
Plane Stupid says it aims are to stop the destruction of the environment and communities caused by airport expansion and aviation.
Transport 2000 is concerned about how the environment will be affected by more aircraft flying in our skies.
BAA is an airport operator that runs several airports in the UK. It thinks expansion is key to the UK’s economic future.
Confederation of British Industry says expansion is important to Britain’s economic growth.
Department of Transport details the case for expansion in its progress report.
Future Heathrow is a group derived from trade unions, business groups, and airlines that believes Heathrow airport must modernise to secure its internationally competitive future.
London Chamber of Commerce supports expansion as seen in, “The Business Case for Airport Expansion” report.
Airlines believe expansion will create thousands of jobs and billions of pounds for the UK.
The Future of Air Transport - White Paper and the Civil Aviation Bill
The White Paper 'The Future of Air Transport', published on 16 December 2003, sets out a strategic framework for the development of airport capacity in the United Kingdom over the next 30 years, against the wider context of the air transport sector.
Link to Department for Transport - The Future of Air Transport - White Paper and the Civil Aviation Bill
Airport Expansion: an Action Network briefing
Flying has become so important that nearly half of the British population fly at least once a year. In 2005, 229 million passengers passed through UK airports. By 2030 passenger numbers are estimated to rise to 490 million.
Many airports face expansion To meet the rising demand, the government’s 2003 White Paper on The Future of Air Transport published a strategic framework for the development of air travel over the next 30 years, which includes major expansion plans of 30 airports in the UK.
What are the arguments?
Link to BBC - Action Network - Airport Expansion: an Action Network briefing
Initiation of Rainy Season in Southern Amazon
Despite its name, much of the Amazon Rainforest is not actually rainy year round. Many areas experience a monsoon climate, with a season of heavy rains followed by a dry season that can last anywhere from one to seven months. North of the equator, the rainy season occurs from June-August. South of the equator, it runs from October or November through March, April, or May. The processes that initiate the switch in where the rain falls are something of a mystery. In 2007, scientists discovered evidence that the forest itself triggers the switch. Increasing leaf area throughout the dry season may set off a chain of events that leads to a reversal in the north-south winds that carry moisture into one hemisphere or another.
This trio of photo-like images illustrates steps in the initiation of the wet season in the southern Amazon in 2006.
Link to EO Newsroom: New Images - Initiation of Rainy Season in Southern Amazon
Tuesday, 29 May 2007
Best of the net | Travel | The Guardian
LINK Tripadvisor.com User reviews, candid snaps and video and basic price comparison. Best feature Its sheer wealth of five million user-generated reviews.
LINK lonelyplanet Lonely Planet publishes a raft of websites, many of them at the cutting-edge of internet travel. The Thorn Tree forums - which pioneered user-generated content a decade ago - remain second to none
LINK Boo The people behind hostelworld.com - one of the biggest backpacking accommodation sites - have repackaged themselves as all-encompassing accommodation brokers comparing a range of prices from different hotel and hostel sites. Most useful because Boo's price comparison service is also linked to over one million user generated reviews
LINK Kayak.co.uk The people behind hostelworld.com - one of the biggest backpacking accommodation sites - have repackaged themselves as all-encompassing accommodation brokers comparing a range of prices from different hotel and hostel sites. Most useful because Boo's price comparison service is also linked to over one million user generated reviews (second only to Tripadvisor).
LINK Travelsupermarket Travel Supermaket provides an increasing amount of interaction on its website. But rather than give everything over to random users, it has left its experts to marshal the user-generated content by its lively community forums, almost guaranteeing qualified advice.
LINK Where are you now "Where are you now?" is the simple question at the heart of one the most popular travellers' networking sites in Britain. WAYN has grown from nothing to 1.5m members in the UK (and 8m globally) in just four years. The site lets users let each other know where in the world they are and keep in touch - and make new travel buddies - via a handy world map.
Link to Best of the net | Travel | The Guardian
Trees v travel: campaigners take on industry over airport expansion
Environmental campaigners yesterday revealed how they are preparing to lobby a public inquiry starting tomorrow into plans to expand Stansted airport; its owner, BAA, is seeking permission to increase the number of passengers flying in and out from 25 million to 35 million a year.
Both sides recognise that the public inquiry decision could have consequences throughout Britain. Air passenger numbers are predicted to more than double in the next 20 years to 465 million and at least 20 other British airports, including Gatwick, Heathrow, Bristol and Norwich, are planning to expand.
Campaigners say the government's 2010 target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% is contradicted by its aviation policy, which is committed to new runways at Heathrow and Stansted if environmental standards are met. "At the heart of this issue is the contradiction between the government's aviation policy and its climate change policy," said Brian Ross, of the Stop Stansted Expansion campaign.
Link to Trees v travel: campaigners take on industry over airport expansion | The Guardian | Guardian Unlimited
Communities and Climate change
Communities on the frontline of climate change
In the Canadian Arctic, western Inuit are having trouble reaching their traditional hunting grounds as warmer springs have brought an earlier thaw. Inuit campaigners say their human rights are being violated by human-induced climate change
In Norway, Sami reindeer hunters have recorded severe changes in weather patterns that are affecting breeding cycles and destroying grazing areas. The Sami are having to alter their travel routes because of changes to prevailing winds previously used for navigation
Residents of the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu claim to be the first climate change refugees, as many have been forced to flee to neighbouring New Zealand to escape rising seas. The islands, only three feet above sea level, are expected to disappear below the waves
Indigenous communities in Puerto Rico have seen plants they gather for traditional medicines disappear, making it impossible to continue healing practices
Severe droughts are forcing the nomadic Turkana people of north-west Kenya into towns and relief camps as entire herds of camels, cows and goats are being wiped out. Although they are accustomed to months of dry weather and resulting food shortages, droughts are becoming more intense and more frequent
Read the article from the Guardian about "Central American indigenous people are among first to suffer from climate change but least equipped to adapt" The Rio Coco, deep in the Nicaraguan rainforest.
Link to Hope dries up for Nicaragua's Miskito | Climate change | Guardian Unlimited Environment
Eat the seasons
There are a number of good reasons to eat more local, seasonal food:
-
to reduce the energy (and associated CO2 emissions) needed to grow and transport the food we eat
-
to avoid paying a premium for food that is scarcer or has travelled a long way
-
to support the local economy
-
to reconnect with nature's cycles and the passing of time
The majority of the UK population grow up in urban areas, with little or no awareness of when and where various foods are produced. Imports from around the world ensure that supermarket shelves look the same week in week out. Eat the seasons aims to promote an understanding of food seasons. Each week we focus on one food, which is currently in season, and share enlightening facts, useful tips and enticing recipe ideas picked from the web and our favourite books.
Link to eat the seasons | seasonal food
The Longbridge revival
MG Rover was sold in July 2005 to another Chinese car firm, Nanjing Automotive, which paid around £50m.In July 2006 Nanjing reaffirmed its commitment to produce cars at Longbridge when it purchased a 33-year lease for one third of the land at Longbridge. The company also said it would be investing around £10m in the plant, but there would be far fewer jobs than in previous years. By March this year, as the company unveiled its first China-built cars to the world's media at its factory in Nanjing, plans were well advanced in Longbridge too.
Several pre-production models of the MGTF had been completed and the old production line was being brought back into use. It is thought that around 250 people are already employed at the factory. Staff numbers are expected to rise over time as production ramps up. Nanjing has said it aims is to make 3,000 cars in the first year, rising to 12,000 by 2009. It will ultimately have the capacity to make 15,000 cars a year. The company also says it has had a good response from dealers who want to sell the new cars.
Link to BBC NEWS | England | West Midlands | The Longbridge revival
LINK Car production to resume at Longbridge The Guardian 29th May
Monday, 28 May 2007
VIDIPEDIA
This isVIDIPEDIA. Video UPLOADS are available. Good video on ANTARTICA
LINK: Antartica Video.
Go to GEOGRAPHY PORTAL for full list of Videos available.
LINK: Antartica Video.
Go to GEOGRAPHY PORTAL for full list of Videos available.
Can Shanghai turn green and grow?
Shanghai has been transformed into a global city - but its rapid growth has produced pollution, traffic jams and overcrowding.In becoming one of the centres of the world economy, Shanghai has grown faster than almost any other global city in the past 15 years. The population increased from 13.5 million to 21.5 million as migrant labourers flooded in from the surrounding countryside, and the standard of living rose even faster, with per capita income now at $7,000, the highest in China.
The physical size of the city increased sixfold, from just 100 sq km to 680 sq km, as people sought more space and the city government rushed to develop nearby areas, such as Pudong. Rapid growth of car ownership has led to congestion and pollutionThree ring roads and six motorways now criss-cross the city, and gridlock grips the bridges and tunnels across the Huangpu river during rush hours.
The city has also seen an explosion in car ownership, with over 1 million car owners in 2006, and private car ownership has doubled in two years. The increased traffic levels contributed to rising levels of atmospheric pollution. Now the city of Shanghai has begun to tackle some of the environmental problems that could threaten its future growth.
The goes on to discuss; new towns, discouraging car ownership; Investment and public transport; and Bicycles.
Link to BBC NEWS | Business | Can Shanghai turn green and grow?
Millions who risk death for a better life
Across Africa, millions are dreaming of fleeing to Europe. Families scrimp and save to find the money needed to secure a seat on a boat. Young men, often fathers, squeeze on to overcrowded, rickety fishing boats that leave Senegal, Libya or Somalia in the dead of night. They take with them nothing more than the hope that a better life lies across the sea.
Some leave because of conflict, most because of poverty. All hope to find enough money in Europe to be able to send some back home to their families. The money earned by a migrant on a construction site in Spain or hawking sunglasses on the streets of Italy can be several times more than he would have made back in Mali, Nigeria or Eritrea. African migrants' remittances are growing at a faster rate than official aid from foreign governments.
Source: Millions who risk death for a better life - Independent Online Edition > Africa
Make Trade Fair - Oxfam International
More than a year ago, the Ethiopian government approached Starbucks global HQ in Seattle and asked the company to recognise Ethiopia’s legal ownership of the names of its coffees.
Ethiopia's ownership of its coffee names could bring substantial benefits to the 15 million poor Ethiopians who depend on coffee for their livelihood. By owning the rights to its fine coffee names- Harar, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe- Ethiopia can help its farmers negotiate a better price, potentially increasing income for the country’s coffee industry by an estimated $88 million a year. This would help lift millions of farmers and their families out of poverty, helping them to send their children to school and access healthcare.
After initially dismissing Ethiopia 's plan to trademark its specialty coffees, Starbucks, which came under international pressure from campaigners, has now said it is ready to recognize Ethiopia 's right to pursue this path. So far, more than 90,000 people across the globe have called on Starbucks to sign such an agreement. This support has pushed Starbucks to hold meetings with the Ethiopian government to discuss the issue. Despite its much-publicised commitments to Ethiopia’s farmers, Starbucks has not taken the Ethiopian request seriously. It’s time for Starbucks to recognise Ethiopia’s right to the legal ownership of its own coffee names.
Sunday, 27 May 2007
PlayPump water system example of Intermediate Technology
While children have fun spinning on the PlayPump merry-go-round (1), clean water is pumped (2) from underground (3) into a 2,500-liter tank (4), standing seven meters above the ground. A simple tap (5) makes it easy for women and children to draw water. Excess water is diverted from the storage tank back down into the borehole (6). The water storage tank (7) provides a rare opportunity to advertise in outlaying communities. All four sides of the tank are leased as billboards, with two sides for consumer advertising and the other two sides for health and educational messages. The revenue generated by this unique model pays for pump maintenance.
The design of the PlayPump water system makes it highly effective, easy to operate and very economical, keeping costs and maintenance to an absolute minimum. Capable of producing up to 1,400 liters of water per hour at 16 rpm from a depth of 40 meters, it is effective up to a depth of 100 meters.
Film can be seen at http://www.green.tv/one_water
Link to Playpumps International and the PlayPump water system. Kids play. Water Pumps! :: PlayPumps International
Driving Ban Lowers Beijing Pollution
In an effort to control smog during the 2008 Olympics, Beijing officials planned to institute a number of pollution-curbing measures. One such measure is to limit the number of vehicles on the roads. The Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, held in Beijing on November 4-5, 2006, gave officials the opportunity to see just how much pollution would be reduced if traffic were restricted. Between November 4 and November 6, officials banned government and commercial vehicles, restricted the use of private vehicles, and limited access to certain roads. Buses ran more frequently to provide transport within the city. News reports estimated that approximately 30 percent of the city’s vehicles were taken off the road during the three-day restriction period.
Orbiting overhead once a day, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite recorded nitrogen dioxide levels. Looking through the column of air that sat between the satellite and the city, the instrument summed up the average number of nitrogen dioxide molecules per square centimeter. The data it sent back to Earth showed a drop in nitrogen dioxide levels over Beijing between November 4 and November 6, as illustrated by these images. High concentrations of nitrogen dioxide are represented by bright yellow squares over China’s major cities. The cities, and their corresponding pollution “hotspots” stretch across the North China Plain from north to south, with Beijing reigning in the north. On November 5, center, nitrogen dioxide levels dropped over the entire country, but the decrease is most dramatic over Beijing which went from turquoise-yellow (high) to dark blue (low) back to yellow before, during, and after the restriction period.
The graph illustrates the drop in nitrogen dioxide over Beijing in greater detail. Though concentrations jumped from day to day between October 25 and November 19, sometimes to concentrations as low as levels seen during the summit, the only time nitrogen dioxide levels remained below 20x1015 molecules per square centimeter for more than a single day was during the summit when traffic was restricted. The graph is from a paper by Yuxuan Wang and colleagues from Harvard University and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, published in Geophysical Research Letters on April 28, 2007. The scientists estimated that nitrogen oxide emissions were reduced by 40 percent during the restriction period.
Link to EO Newsroom: New Images - Driving Ban Lowers Beijing Pollution
EARTH GUIDE
This is a great interactive site that provides answers to the following questions:
1. Where is the earth located in the Milky way Galaxy?
2. How is the earth different from other planets?
3. Where does the sky become space?
4. Where does sunlight that hits the earth go?
5. How do water and carbon circulate.
6. What type of substances is the earth made of?
7. What kind of land areas exists on the face of the earth ?
8. How big are the oceans of the world?
Link to EARTH GUIDE
What Is GeoSquishing?
the basic idea is, you find a famous or infamous location which you believe to have some relevance and GeoSquish it. For example Bodie Island Lighthouse being GeoSquished.
Link to What Is GeoSquishing?
There will be a summer competition with prizes, look out for it in Kingdown News.
The village that was swallowed by the sea
Just an hour's drive south of the Thai capital Bangkok , the small coastal village of Khun Samutchine is facing a daily battle with the sea. The sea is coming in at an alarming rate
The village is suffering from the effects of severe coastal erosion: the sea comes in at a rate of approximately 25 metres a year. Environmentalists say the erosion experienced in the area is probably some of the worst in the world. Dr Thanawat Jarupongsakul, a scientist from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University says that climate change has helped cause the loss of nearly 600 km of Thailand's coastline. "Climate change has resulted in more intense waves and rougher seas during the monsoon period," he said. "The average height of waves used to be between one and 1.5 metres, but now it has increased to between two and four metres high." Go to SOURCE for rest of article..
Source: BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | The village that was swallowed by the sea
Flying addicts take dim view of air taxes in poll
Britain has become a nation addicted to flying, according to a Guardian/ICM poll out today. It shows that more than two-thirds of people have travelled by plane in the last five years and reveals widespread opposition to government action aimed at cutting the number of people who fly in order to limit climate change.
The poll does reveal a growing level of concern about the impact of air travel. Almost half of air travellers claim they have changed their behaviour in response to fears about the impact on the environment.
But these fears are not being translated into backing for official action. Voters remain strongly opposed to government action to control the rapid growth of the airline industry, such as raising tax levels on air tickets to restrict low-cost airlines. More travellers want taxes on air travel cut than want to see them increased: 30% want a reduction and only 20% higher taxes. Many people (46%) think that tax levels should remain the same, although environmental groups, the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats all support some form of increase.
At present, airlines do not pay tax on the fuel they use. Air passenger duty, doubled by the chancellor in February to between £10 and £80 a ticket, is regarded as too low by many campaigners. But only 18% of Tory voters back a rise despite their party's policy on reforming air taxes, launched earlier this year. Labour voters are equally hostile, with only Liberal Democrat supporters more in favour of increases than tax cuts.The poll shows that 68% of respondents have travelled at least once by plane in the last five years. Cheap flights have boosted the number of people travelling by air, with airlines such as Ryanair currently offering "10m seats at £10".
But flying remains a middle-class habit: 83% of people in the top AB economic group have flown recently, against 52% of DEs at the bottom of the scale.
Air travel is also weighted towards the south of the country, with 72% of southerners flying in the last five years against 66% in Scotland and the north.
Only 13% of passengers say that they have given up flying as a result of climate change. But 34% of people who fly say that they have cut down on the short-haul trips they take as a result of climate change. A similar proportion, 31%, say that they have reduced long-haul flying.The growing number of air travellers suggests that the reality may differ. People at the top of the economic scale are the least likely to claim they have taken action to help the environment.
Many air passengers also say that they have tried carbon offset schemes to neutralise the impact of their journeys: 29% of all passengers say that they have used such a scheme.Again, that claim may be running ahead of what is actually happening. A recent Financial Times investigation suggested the industry was still in its infancy, with a lack of clarity about how off-setting and carbon trading schemes should work.· ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,003 adults aged 18+ between May 18 and 20. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.
Link to Flying addicts take dim view of air taxes in poll | Climate change | Guardian Unlimited Environment
Black Gold : The Official Site
Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.
But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.
Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.
Against the backdrop of Tadesse's journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world's coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers.
Link to Black Gold : The Official Site
American Food Aid to Malawi
US government deal, announced in April, to ship $19.5 million of American corn and soya to Malawi as food aid.
School-feeding programmes run by the Malawian government and various aid agencies have resulted in incraeses in stuents attending school. Children come to the school because of the meal - class numbers are up by about 7 per cent in every age group since the feeding programme began in January.In a country where only 70 per cent of the children attend primary school, that's an achievement. At another nearby primary, where an Oxfam partner supplies milk to mix into the free porridge, the head teacher, Annie Jana, told me that she now had 800 eight-year-olds, compared to 500 when the programme started a year ago. 'Absenteeism has fallen, and even children who dropped out are coming back, especially girls.' And in Malawi, getting girls into school has always been difficult - which is why half of all women are illiterate.
In April the US Government announced that it wanted to join in. It would give WFP nearly $20 million over three years to help fund an expansion of the programme so, from 2008, 650,000 Malawian children get a daily mug of porridge at school. At the same time it announced similar schemes for Kenya, Cambodia, Guinea and Pakistan - a total spend of $85.9 million.
The problem is - though WFP left this detail out of their press release - that the US grant came with a condition: it had to be spent on American CSB to be bought from American farmers and put in American ships to be transported to Malawi. According to WFP, the cost of buying, transporting and packing the annual 8,000 tonnes of US CSB will be $812 a tonne. SIR, which will buy about 3,600 tonnes of Malawian CSB - likuni phala - this year, expects to pay around $320 a tonne (distribution costs add another 5 per cent). Simply, if the American money was spent in Malawi, it could feed nearly two-and-a-half times as many schoolchildren.
Link to How America is betraying the hungry children of Africa | Food monthly | The Observer
Thursday, 24 May 2007
Sunday, 20 May 2007
AIRPORT WATCH
Link to Airport Watch
AirportWatch is an umbrella organisation, formed in 2000. AirportWatch campaigns for a demand management approach to aviation. Demand for air travel could be dampened down by government removing the considerable tax breaks the aviation industry receives. AirportWatch believes that government policies to expand aviation can and should be resisted.
Optimum Population Trust
A radical form of “offsetting” carbon dioxide emissions to prevent climate change is proposed today – having fewer children.
Each new UK citizen less means a lifetime carbon dioxide saving of nearly 750 tonnes, a climate impact equivalent to 620 return flights between London and New York*, the Optimum Population Trust says in a new report.
Based on a “social cost” of carbon dioxide of $85 a tonne**, the report estimates the climate cost of each new Briton over their lifetime at roughly £30,000. The lifetime emission costs of the extra 10 million people projected for the UK by 2074 would therefore be over £300 billion.
Link to Optimum Population Trust
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)