If you missed it.....

If you missed Wednesday's 'Horizon' programme which was flagged up in the last posting, you can catch up with it here in 10 minute chunks...
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=F6E41595AC2A1807
The first can be linked to directly below



And some questions on the programme to focus your attention...
1. How many people live on earth? __________________________(1)
2. How much does the world’s population increase by each year? ___________________(1)
3. Name two environmental problems that population density contributes to____________
__________________________________________________________________ (2)
4. What does the UN predict the world’s population will be by mid century?___________(1)
5. By 2050 which country will have overtaken China to become the most populated in the world?_______________(1)
6. Name two countries where population will shrink? ___________________________(2)
7. The parts of the world where the population will grow fastest are LEDC’s/MEDC’s (1)
8. Since 1890 how have the world death rates been reduced? ______________________
_________________________________________________________________(1)
9. What fundamental ingredient for life are we running out of? ___________________(1)
10. How many people on the planet lack access to safe water?______________________(1)
11. Within the next 20 years how many people will live in areas of water stress?
______________(1)
12. How much of the entire land surface is already being used to produce food? __________
_________________________________________________________________(1)
13. What are the world’s richest countries acquiring from the very poorest? ____________
______________________________________(1)
14. Why are the MEDC’s using land in LEDC’s? ___________________________________
_________________________________________________________________(1)
15. How many years will it take for Rwanda’s population to double? __________________(1)
16. On average how many children does each family in Rwanda have? ________________(1)
17. How did food shortage contribute to the genocide in Rwanda? ___________________
_________________________________________________________________(1)
18. How much oil do we use every day? ___________________ (1)
19. How much will energy demand increase by in the next two decades? ______________(1)
20. What is carrying capacity? ______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________(1)
21. The earth’s population would need how many earths to support the world’s population with our current way of life? ____________________(1)


22. What are the three ways we could reduce our impact on the earth? ________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________(3)
23. What policy was adopted in China in 1979? ________________________________(1)
24. What did they encourage in the 1970’s in India to reduce the birth rate? ___________
_________________________________________________________________(1)
25. How does education help to reduce birth rates? ______________________________
_________________________________________________________________(1)
26. Across the world what fraction of married women don’t have access to contraception? _____________________________(1)
27. How many has the world’s population increased by during this programme? ____________________(1)

"How many people can live on planet Earth?

....asks Sir David Attenborough in Wednesday evening's episode of 'Horizon' at 9pm on BBC2.Here is a description of the programme content ..

In a Horizon special, naturalist Sir David Attenborough investigates whether the world is heading for a population crisis. In his lengthy career, Sir David has watched the human population more than double from 2.5 billion in 1950 to nearly seven billion. He reflects on the profound effects of this rapid growth, both on humans and the environment. While much of the projected growth in human population is likely to come from the developing world, it is the lifestyle enjoyed by many in the West that has the most impact on the planet. Some experts claim that in the UK consumers use as much as two and a half times their fair share of Earth's resources. Sir David examines whether it is the duty of individuals to commit not only to smaller families, but to change the way they live for the sake of humanity and planet Earth.

Sounds interesting for Higher!

Greenhouse effect in a bottle

If you need to be convinced that air with large amounts of CO2 absorbs more heat energy, watch this... (click on the image to link to the video)

COP 15....

...is the official title of the Copenhagen conference which takes place from 7-18 December 2009. It refers to the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).Climate change will feature on almost every news broadcast next week so you'd be well advised to watch, listen and learn! In the meantime you can start to read up on the background to the conference by checking out these excellent BBC web pages . They contain a huge amount of information on climate change and its possible consequences.

In particular, if you click on the image below, it will link you to an animated journey through the earth's climate history..

Bet nets for Nigeria in anti Malaria campain

It is hoped that a new campaign to to issue two insecticide treated bed nets to every Nigerian household by December 2010 will reach over 30 million homes and save thousands of lives. The malaria crisis in Nigeria accounts for over one quarter of all cases in Africa and this seriously damages the country's economy - estimated at a loss of $1billion. Sleeping under a bed net is one of the most effective ways of avoiding infection.

The campaign is being backed by £50million of UK aid along with USAID, World bank and UNICEF contributions..

300 lorries will transport the nets to 1500 distribution points
Radio broadcasts will promote the use of nets
Town criers will announce the delivery of nets to villages
9500 vounteers will be trained to visit 2million households to explain how to claim bednets
Drama groups will outline the dangers of malaria and how to hang the nets

This is the kind of detail which will reap its rewards in your answers! Named case studies are essential in paper 2 and will always be credited by markers.

Click on the this logo to link to an excellent new source of information about malaria. Malaria Consortium is the world's largest not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the control of malaria.

There is a wealth of material and links on their website. Here is just one of the photos from their photo collection - spraying drainage channels (potential mosquito breeding sites) with insecticide in Mozambique.

And there is even a Facebook page!

What has a pliosaur got to do with Higher Geography?

This is a pliosaur . It was in the news today because a fossilised 2.5m long skull and lower jaw of this voracious sea monster have recently been found in an undisclosed location on the Jurassic Coast - a stretch of coastline which we will be studying in the RLR unit. Click image to link to the BBC website report.

Fossil collection attracts many thousands of vistors to the Jurassic Coast each year and fossils continue to be found here because one stretch of this amazing coastline near Lyne Regis has very soft rocks which are easily eroded by the sea. Stormy seas release 'fresh fossils' all year round and so fossil hunters constantly unearth new finds.

You may find yourself explaining why the Jurassic Coast attracts so many visitors. Fossil hunting is one reason.... but of course there are lots of others!

Interactive Climate Change Impact Map

Here's a nice interactive map for you to explore showing the potential impact of climate change....

Click map to link

A couple of things.....

....related to population and development.

Firstly some good interactive maps courtesy of the Office for National Statistics which allow you to examine aspects of the population structure across the UK. We are familiar with the idea that population structure varies between LEDCs and MEDCs but the variations within a MEDC like the UK are less often examined. It is, for example, interesting to see where the population is significantly aged or juvenile and to ask why. The map below is just one of many maps which you can create and then follow changes from the present until 2031 (click on the map to link to the site)

Secondly the United Nations Development Programme has just published its annual report which comprises many findings relating to population and development. This year's report particularly focuses on migration and is accompanied by a short video...

A ranking of the world's countries by HDI (Human Development Index) has also just been published today. The place to be, it would seem, is Norway and as for where you wouldn't want to live, click here to link to the report! And while you are on that page, it would also be worthwhile to follow the hyperlink to 'Getting and using Data'.

Apostles are dwindling.....

One of the most famous landmarks along The Great Ocean Road in the Australian state of Victoria are a series of limestone stacks called the 'Twelve Apostles'....Over the years, however, erosion has taken its toll and although there are now only seven stacks left, the feature retains its full title! Last week it looked as if another stack had been lost. The good news is that it wasn't an apostle but only a 'sister' which succumbed to the waves!

Before and after.... Spot the difference!

Scribble Maps!

I have been playing around with this application for Google maps http://scribblemaps.com/ . It allows you to draw, annotate, print text, shade areas and add images to Google Maps at any scale on a map or satellite image. There are then a whole variety of saving options. I am sure you could put this technology to good use! Here, for example, is one I made earlier...

To see it in more detail, click on the map, then select 'menu' top left. Click on 'load/import map' and enter lNKFiaIYsv . The map will then load.

An esker in the making and one that was made earlier...

It is not always easy to imagine what is going on under a glacier when an esker is forming. Here is an image which I had stored away but forgot to show you in class which illustrates deposition in a sub glacial stream very clearly ....

And here, in a sort of before and after, is another taken on top of the Keptie Hills esker in Arbroath...

Grey pride!

There was an interesting article on the Asia-Pacific page of the BBC News website yesterday It seems that over a quarter of Japanese women are now over the age of 65. This, and the fact that almost 20% of men are also over 65, adds up to a looming demographic crisis for the country. Link to the article and try to list what the socio-economic implications of this might be? What options do the Japanese government have for reversing this trend. They can hardly adopt policies to increase the death rate so how can they reduce the percentage of elderly people in the total population?

India's desert solar energy plan

With a major environment summit in Copenhagen on the horizon, pressure is being put on LEDCs to reduce their carbon emissions. Click on the image above to view a short video which explains how India is responding to the challenge.

Welcome to the new Higher Geography Year!

The Human part of your course begins with the Population Unit and right on cue there has been news today from the Office of National Statistics about a significant increase in the population of the UK. In the last year the population has grown by just over 400,000 - the biggest increase in 50 years bringing the total population of the UK to 61.4 million.

What is interesting about this is that while in recent years, it has been immigration which has accounted for much of the population increase, it is natural increase which is now having an impact. Click on the image above to link to a related article on the BBC website.

Today's figures lend weight to the suggestion that the UK may have the largest population in the EU by 2060 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7583776.stm . Here is an article which explores the impact of such growth http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7059195.stm .

"Traffic congestion is now a major problem facing many cities in EMDCs"

The title of this posting was the quote which started the second part of the Urban Geography question in last year's exam paper. The question went on to ask candidates to describe and explain schemes which have been introduced to reduce problems of traffic management in any named city.

Here's one solution In Tokyo!

Biosphere resources by yours truly!

You may remember that during the last week of term I referred to some resources for the Biosphere Unit which I helped to produce in conjunction with the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Aberdeen. ...

They can be downloaded in PowerPoint or pdf format from the LTScotland website (click image above to link to the soils resources and the image below to link to the sand dune succession resources.)

News 'Widget'

The sharp-eyed among you may notice a new 'widget' in the sidebar of the blog. This comes courtesy of History teacher Russell Tarr who has developed a great new free tool called classpress.net . It involves a generator which does an hourly run through web services looking for topic keywords associated with different subject areas. This creates an up-to-date summary of key news articles for a number of subjects, including Geography. You can link directly to the articles by clicking on them in the widget.

3 Days in the Dales

Here, as promised, are some pics taken last weekend in the Dales..... starting with Thornton Force waterfall. Strangely I don't remember the sunshine. It must have been all that driving rain at the Norber erratics on Saturday which eclipsed it in my memory!

We did some fieldsketching at close quarters...

..and posed for a team photo...

Then it was on to Chapel Le Dale with its barns and walls scenery ...overlooked by the summit of Ingleborough Saturday morning saw us at Malham Cove before climbing the 417 steps to the limestone pavement on top.
...and our first sight of those clints and grykes!

...and here they are at at closer quarters ahead of team photo 2......
The sun came out briefly in Watlowes dry valley.... ..very briefly. It was gone by the time we got to the top and took in the view!From there it was on down to Gordale Scar... where the depths of the gorge inspired Tolkein's vision of Helm's Deep
and after all that walking, there was more mental exercise in the evening! and more limestone pavement on Sunday... Grikey... it's a long way down!

And here's the shot of the Ribblehead viaduct that delayed me getting back to the bus....... my picture of the weekend. It's a bit of an optical illusion - the 'sky' in the distance is actually sunshine on a distant hillside and the whole shot is foreshortened with a zoom lens.

And finally, despite lucrative offers of work from the BBC... Mr Foulds and I have decided to stick to our day jobs!!

White Scar Cave

I have just discovered that White Scar Cave which we will be visiting this week when the second Higher group are in the Yorkshire Dales, now has a new website....Click on the image above to link directly to it.

Another trip to the Dales

Having been to the Yorkshire Dales on Higher fieldwork about ten times in the last eight years, I thought it was about time I had a weekend there with my family. Unfortunately, I managed to leave my camera battery at home ! However, I did have my little Flip video recorder and so can upload a couple of bits of footage from that.

The first is on the limestone pavement above Malham Cove..

This one shows a view in Upper Wharfedale....

Jurassic Coast conflict

This is a great story to enhance your 'conflict' case study material for the Jurassic Coast....


Click on the headline to link to the Times on-line report!

An A - Z of Coasts

Sadly, I can't take any credit for this.....

An A-Z of Coasts terms

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: geography coasts)