Year 11
We continue with our relentless march towards completing your coursework. You need to complete the environmental survey aspect of your data interpretation by Thursday.
Year 10
We continue to investigate life in squatter settlements and also look at the problems caused by rapid urbanisation in poorer countries.
Year 9
We look at the issues in urban areas in richer countries particularly housing, Urban Development Corporations, City Challenge and Sustainable communities.
Year 8
We enter the unpredictable world of teach yourself Geography based upon squatter settlements in India and environmental problems.
Year 7
We continue our rapid push through map skills by looking at how we can measure distance on a map and how we show height on a map.
Mr. Still
Sunday 15 November 2009
Climate lessons from the past 3....
Imperial Angkor - its vast water system was a marvel of engineering - and a cautionary tale of technological overreach!!
Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire which was a very powerful civilisation based in modern day Cambodia about 750 years ago. The city of Greater Angkor covered almost 400 square miles roughly the area of the five boroughs of New York City, with as many as 750,000 inhabitants.
Most were rice farmers and labourers who worked the giant jigsaw of fields. Though, the rainy season usually brought ample water, the ability to store water in great reservoirs called Barays and control its flow gave Angkor an edge in times of drought or flood. But this engineered landscape required constant maintenance. When the water system faltered, so did Angkor's power.
What went wrong?
Any civilisation in South-East Asia is heavily dependent on the monsoon for water. When the monsoon arrived the rainwater was directed into channels and stored for irrigation to grow crops in the futures. The problem was the monsoon weakened and moved south and thus did not reach as far north as Angkor. This meant water could not be stored and a drought started. People from the surrounding areas could not grow food because of the drought and migrated to Angkor. The migrants used more water and eventually Angkor ran out of water. Eventually people moved out of Angkor in search of water and an area in which to grow food.
The lesson here is real - people are being made homeless and have to move to towns and cities that cannot deal with the influx of people and eventually what resources are left are depleted so there are no resources left for anybody. This is happening today. We have to find a way to cope with climate change refugees and the consequential scare resource depletion.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/secrets-of-angkor-3774/Overview
Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire which was a very powerful civilisation based in modern day Cambodia about 750 years ago. The city of Greater Angkor covered almost 400 square miles roughly the area of the five boroughs of New York City, with as many as 750,000 inhabitants.Most were rice farmers and labourers who worked the giant jigsaw of fields. Though, the rainy season usually brought ample water, the ability to store water in great reservoirs called Barays and control its flow gave Angkor an edge in times of drought or flood. But this engineered landscape required constant maintenance. When the water system faltered, so did Angkor's power.
What went wrong?
Any civilisation in South-East Asia is heavily dependent on the monsoon for water. When the monsoon arrived the rainwater was directed into channels and stored for irrigation to grow crops in the futures. The problem was the monsoon weakened and moved south and thus did not reach as far north as Angkor. This meant water could not be stored and a drought started. People from the surrounding areas could not grow food because of the drought and migrated to Angkor. The migrants used more water and eventually Angkor ran out of water. Eventually people moved out of Angkor in search of water and an area in which to grow food.
The lesson here is real - people are being made homeless and have to move to towns and cities that cannot deal with the influx of people and eventually what resources are left are depleted so there are no resources left for anybody. This is happening today. We have to find a way to cope with climate change refugees and the consequential scare resource depletion.http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/secrets-of-angkor-3774/Overview
Mr. Still
Sunday 8 November 2009
Geocube!!
I found this the other day and think it is very cool - especially as a research tool or just for an introduction to Geography for students!!
http://www.geo-cube.eu/
http://www.geo-cube.eu/
Enjoy - Mr. Still!!
Death Knell...
In the early 1800s an Englishman could be hanged for stealing a shirt. By the end of the 1900s, growing concern for individual rights had caused the death penalty to disappear from the United Kingdom and nearly everywhere else in the Western World. Two exceptions are Belarus and the USA, although this year New Mexico became the 15th state to outlaw capital punishment. Death-penalty opponents cite the exoneration of 131 people on death row since 1973 as well as the high cost of capital cases.
Defenders argue that the penalty offers justice and cite some studies that show its a deterrent. The practice is strong in culturally conservative areas - Japan, Saudi Arabia, Texas and totalitarian regimes. Elsewhere, opposition is mounting. Indian activists believe capital punishment is a violation of the right to life. In most countries where the penalty is still legal. it is used less and less.
Death rows - In 2008 there were official reports of 2,390 executions in 25 countries:
1,718 - China 346 - Iran 102 - Saudi Arabia 37 - United States
36 - Pakistan 34 - Iraq 19 - Vietnam 17 - Afghanistan
15 - North Korea 15 - Japan 13 - Yemen 10 - Indonesia
1,718 - China 346 - Iran 102 - Saudi Arabia 37 - United States
36 - Pakistan 34 - Iraq 19 - Vietnam 17 - Afghanistan
15 - North Korea 15 - Japan 13 - Yemen 10 - Indonesia
Mr. Still
This week in the Geography department...
So another busy week in the Geography starts.
Year 11
The deadline for your coursework is now Friday 4th December. It has been moved back a week as you will miss lessons due to English revision and Enterprise day. As a result of this it is incrdibly important that you attend the coursework sessions on Mondays and Thursdays afterschool.
Year 10
We continue our look at what life is like in squatter settlements through roleplays and creating powerpoint presentations. We will look at what life is really like for the stars of Slumdog Millionaire and try to imagine what life is like for them.
Year 9
Most of you will look at issues for people living in urban areas in MEDC. This includes issues of housing, traffic, sustainable communities and multicultural mix in cities.
Year 8
We will continue our look at India and how it is being affected by its' cultural revolution. We will look at the monsoon as well as Globalisation and how this affects you during your everyday life.
Year 7
We continue through the "nitty gritty" Geography of map skills with Grid References and distances up on the menu this week.
Mr. Still
Year 11
The deadline for your coursework is now Friday 4th December. It has been moved back a week as you will miss lessons due to English revision and Enterprise day. As a result of this it is incrdibly important that you attend the coursework sessions on Mondays and Thursdays afterschool.
Year 10
We continue our look at what life is like in squatter settlements through roleplays and creating powerpoint presentations. We will look at what life is really like for the stars of Slumdog Millionaire and try to imagine what life is like for them.
Year 9
Most of you will look at issues for people living in urban areas in MEDC. This includes issues of housing, traffic, sustainable communities and multicultural mix in cities.
Year 8
We will continue our look at India and how it is being affected by its' cultural revolution. We will look at the monsoon as well as Globalisation and how this affects you during your everyday life.
Year 7
We continue through the "nitty gritty" Geography of map skills with Grid References and distances up on the menu this week.
Mr. Still
Sunday 1 November 2009
Climate lessons from the past 2....
This follows on from the first lesson about the people living in Fezzan, Libya.
This week I thought I would discuss about what happened in Greenland about 750 years ago. This time period in Britain was called the Medieval. It was was also significantly warmer during this period as much as 1 degrees Celsuis and thus in climate circles is known as the Medieval Warm Period. In this period wine and olive oil was grown in South East England. It is also believed that the plague spread more quickly due to the heat.
How does this link to Greenland?
Well, because of the higher temperatures the sea-ice had melted and retreated opening up ocean passages to Greenland. On Greenland itself the ice had melted and revealed lush green meadows. People from Scandinavia and Iceland undertook the epic journey by boat to Greenland. They set up towns and villages and farmed the surrounding areas. They also fished the rich Arctic seas around Greenland including Whales!
What went wrong?
Roughly about 600 years ago the climate changed and got significantly colder; as much as 2.5 degrees Celsuis. The ice spread back over Greenland meaning the people could no longer grow crops and rear sheep. Also the sea-ice was spreading and people could not set sail from Greenland back to Scandinavia, so the people starved.
What is the evidence?
Evidence has come from a variety of sources. One of the most obvious is written records e.g. letters being sent from Greenland to Scandinavia and the UK detailing how the ice was growing and food was becoming harder to grow. Another peice of evidence are dead flies. Flies are very sensitive to changes in temperatures. For example warm species will die as the temperature rises and cold weather species will start to grow in number. Scientists found that fly species changed when the ice started to grow.
What drove the climate change?
Scientists are not sure and have linked both the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age to changes in ocean circulation and sunspot cycles.
Useful links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot
http://www.atmosphere.mpg.de/enid/1vc.html
The video is about climate change over the last 120,000 years!!
Enjoy!!
This week I thought I would discuss about what happened in Greenland about 750 years ago. This time period in Britain was called the Medieval. It was was also significantly warmer during this period as much as 1 degrees Celsuis and thus in climate circles is known as the Medieval Warm Period. In this period wine and olive oil was grown in South East England. It is also believed that the plague spread more quickly due to the heat.
How does this link to Greenland?
Well, because of the higher temperatures the sea-ice had melted and retreated opening up ocean passages to Greenland. On Greenland itself the ice had melted and revealed lush green meadows. People from Scandinavia and Iceland undertook the epic journey by boat to Greenland. They set up towns and villages and farmed the surrounding areas. They also fished the rich Arctic seas around Greenland including Whales!
What went wrong?
Roughly about 600 years ago the climate changed and got significantly colder; as much as 2.5 degrees Celsuis. The ice spread back over Greenland meaning the people could no longer grow crops and rear sheep. Also the sea-ice was spreading and people could not set sail from Greenland back to Scandinavia, so the people starved.
What is the evidence?
Evidence has come from a variety of sources. One of the most obvious is written records e.g. letters being sent from Greenland to Scandinavia and the UK detailing how the ice was growing and food was becoming harder to grow. Another peice of evidence are dead flies. Flies are very sensitive to changes in temperatures. For example warm species will die as the temperature rises and cold weather species will start to grow in number. Scientists found that fly species changed when the ice started to grow.
What drove the climate change?
Scientists are not sure and have linked both the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age to changes in ocean circulation and sunspot cycles.
Useful links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot
http://www.atmosphere.mpg.de/enid/1vc.html
The video is about climate change over the last 120,000 years!!
Enjoy!!
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