Share ideas that matter on the social web and experience
the benefits of curating the world's best content.
I don't have a Facebook, a Twitter or a LinkedIn account
|
Scooped by Seth Dixon onto Geography Education |
Scoop.it!
There are many amazing examples of artists who turn to cartography and geography for inspiration. Whether through the lens of a camera, paint, ...
This series of cartographically-inspired art works changes how we look at maps. Some of these artists also make us think of places that are on the Earth as explicitly "mappable" features. I think the Google Maps push-pin in the city center is my favorite. Which do you prefer?
Tags: art, mapping, place, cartography.
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
 Your new post is loading...
Scoop.it!
Portions of the High Plains Aquifer are rapidly being depleted by farmers who are pumping too much water to irrigate their crops, particularly in the southern half in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Levels have declined up to 242 feet in some areas, from predevelopment — before substantial groundwater irrigation began — to 2011.
Seth Dixon's insight:
The article connected to this map from the New York Times can be found here. "Two years of extreme drought, during which farmers relied almost completely on groundwater, have brought the seriousness of the problem home. In 2011 and 2012, the Kansas Geological Survey reports, the average water level in the state’s portion of the aquifer dropped 4.25 feet — nearly a third of the total decline since 1996." Tags: water, agriculture, environment, consumption, resources, environment depend. 
Michael Miller's curator insight,
May 20, 1:41 PM
The recent PBS special on the Dust Bowl also addressed this current problem and how some American farmers are not learning from past mistakes. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
For years, China claimed to hold an estimated 50000 rivers within its borders. Now, more than half of them have abruptly vanished. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
Seth Dixon's insight:
How could this prompt (with accompanying activities and lesson plans) fit in with what you teach or study? Tags: consumption, food, development, resources, sustainability. 
Sally Egan's curator insight,
April 10, 6:34 PM
Useful for teh Fodd Security section which will be in the National Curriculum. The video provides an animated presentation of reasons for inequity in food availability over the globe. The activities on Oxfam site are useable resources. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
An arid region grew even drier between 2003 and 2009 due to human consumption of water for drinking and agriculture.
Seth Dixon's insight:
As drought conditions have hit the Middle East, growing populations are using more water per capita then ever. See this on Google Earth with this KMZ file. Tags: water, environment, consumption, resources, environment depend, Middle East, Iraq. 
Adam Cooke's curator insight,
March 19, 4:34 PM
Great Google Earth resources looking at the shrinking of water storage in the Middle East. Critical reading for our water unit and a superb example of how powerful imaging like Google Earth can be. 
Mary Patrick Schoettinger's curator insight,
March 20, 9:56 AM
What we don't learn from the past is bound to repeat itself-over and over again. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
"77 Photos of the mass production of the Earth's natural resources. In the picture above, a Tibetan villager works in a salt field. Salt has been the most common food preservative, especially for meat, for thousands of years." Tags: consumption, agriculture, resources, labor, industry, economic, unit 6 industry.
Seth Dixon's insight:
Coal, steel, gold, iron, copper, aluminum and oil are all incredibly important commodities. Agricultural products such as rice, cotton, corn, wheat and coffee all travel far beyond their area of origin. Where do these resources come from? How are they produced? This gallery of 77 pictures is a fantastic tour of the resources that are key cogs in the global economy. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/where-we-get-our-fresh-water-christiana-z-peppard Fresh water accounts for only 2.5% of Earth's...
Seth Dixon's insight:
How much of the Earth's water is fresh water? How much of that is used for industrial, agricultural or domestic uses? Why is groundwater becoming increasingly utilized? Enjoy this TED-ED video for the answers. Tags: water, environment, consumption, resources, environment depend. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
PULL a spring, let it go, and it will snap back into shape. Pull it further and yet further and it will go on springing back until, quite suddenly, it won't.... Via Joel Barker
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is an interesting article discussing the limits that the Earth's physical systems have and the importance not exceeding any tipping point that could destabilize the planet if we "overstrech the springs." 
Angus Henderson's curator insight,
February 11, 11:49 AM
An interesting counter-balance to the work of the Planetary Boundaries group. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
While city lights at night serve as a good proxy for population density, North Korea provides a dark exception.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This image is appears to be a regional inset of the classic Earth at Night composite image however this nighttime remote sensing image was taken from Sept. 2012. The Earth at Night image is typically used in classrooms to discuss what this actually means for human geography (Population density? Development? Consumption? Where? How come?). However, this particular portion of the global image focused on the Korean Peninsula highlights two other specific issues:
Tags: economic, political, resources, water, sovereignty, coastal, territoriality, states, unit 4 political, remote sensing. 
Ju Hui Judy Han's curator insight,
January 7, 12:22 AM
This cliché image of "North Korea in the dark" reinforces preconceived ideas about the "totalitarian" state and how terrible life must be without electricity. Well, one aspect of this political geography is the effect of US-backed sanctions against North Korea and the severe ecological and energy crisis under which it has struggled for the last two decades. Just as electricity is not simply a "natural" resource, neither is energe consumption nor shortage.
Ju Hui Judy Han's comment,
January 7, 12:26 AM
It also regurgitates troubling metaphors of darkness as backwardness.
Dawn Haas Tache's curator insight,
January 8, 1:14 PM
This image is appears to be a regional inset of the classic Earth at Night composite image however this nighttime remote sensing image was taken from Sept. 2012. The Earth at Night image is typically used in classrooms to discuss what this actually means for human geography (Population density? Development? Consumption? Where? How come?). However, this particular portion of the global image focused on the Korean Peninsula highlights two other specific issues: the impact of a totalitarian state can actually be seen from space as South Korea has a per captia income level 17 times higher than that of North Korea. the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) can be seen in the Yellow Sea as fishing vessels form a line approximately 200 nautical miles off the coast of South Korea.Tags: economic, political, resources, water, sovereignty, coastal, territoriality, states, unit 4 political, remote sensing. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
CFR experts examine the science and foreign policy surrounding climate change, energy, and nuclear security.
Seth Dixon's insight:
Most everyone knows about the importance of Middle Eastern oil to the global economy and how that impacts geopolitics. What isn't well-known is that the Middle East's own demand for oil has been increasing as their wealth and standard of living has been rising. This chart does not show the amount of oil consumption, but the "energy intensity." This is the amount of energy (often oil) used to produce a unit of GDP for a country's economy. Questions to Ponder: How will this change oil-producing countries economic development in the future? How does this make us re-assess these economies? Does this impact how we think about climate change issues?
Tags: energy, resources, Middle East, development. 
Seth Dixon's comment,
December 12, 2012 3:07 PM
In essence, this is measuring "how many miles per gallon" your economy is getting.
geofoodgraz's curator insight,
December 15, 2012 4:37 AM
Seth Dixon, Ph.D.'s insight:
"Most everyone knows about the importance of Middle Eastern oil to the global economy and how that impacts geopolitics. What isn't well-known is that the Middle East's own demand for oil has been increasing as their wealth and standard of living has been rising. This chart does not show the amount of oil consumption, but the "energy intensity." This is the amount of energy (often oil) used to produce a unit of GDP for a country's economy.
Questions to Ponder: How will this change oil-producing countries economic development in the future? How does this make us re-assess these economies? Does this impact how we think about climate change issues?" Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
In an impoverished country, elephant poaching is a quick way to make big money. A pair of poachers explain how they track and kill elephants in one of Africa's top game reserves. The illegal sale of ivory in places such as Asia drive the elephant poachers to prey on Elephants in protected game reserves and national parks. The Selous Game Reserve is larger than Switzerland and yet they only have 10 rangers to protect and patrol the wildlife. Tags: biogeography, poverty, globalization, Africa, consumption, resources, ecology, podcast. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
Today, a country’s marine economic area is defined by its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), a 200-nautical mile-wide (370 km) strip of sea along the country’s national coast line (hi-res image). This regulation, which was installed by the ‘UN Convention on the Law of the Sea’ in 1982, grants a state special rights to exploit natural (such as oil) and marine (for instance fish) resources, including scientific research and energy production (wind-parks, for example). Questions to ponder: how does this series of buffer zones around the Earth's land masses impact politics, the environment and local economies? Where might the EEZs be more important to the success of a country/territory than other regions? Tags: economic, environment, political, resources, water, sovereignty, coastal, environment depend, territoriality, states, conflict, unit 4 political. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
After making an infographic depicting how much space would be needed to house the entire world’s population based on the densities of various global cities, Tim De Chant of Per Square Mile got to thinking about the land resources it takes to support those same cities. Tags: consumption, development, resources, energy, density, sustainability. 
Michelle Carvajal's comment,
September 18, 2012 6:23 PM
Its very interesting that the United Arab Emirates would need more land mass than lets say China and the US. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the common misconception of people is that China has the greatest population. I definetely will rescoop this because people could actually see how hard it must be to house people who in essence would need all this land mass to live comfortably.
Thomas D's comment,
April 22, 4:13 PM
I thought that this was a very interesting graph and article to read. It shows that if the rest of the world lived like us Americans we would need four times the world’s surface, which is pretty substantial to think about. Although the United Arab Emirates is the leading this graph it’s hard to believe that America is in second. This goes to show that our way of living is out of hand, that the only reason we haven’t consumed everything is because the rest of the world is living of more reasonable amounts of resources or no resources at all. That we need to be as a country more conservative of our resources before we have to rely even more heavily than we already do on other countries. I was surprised to see that India has such a small percentage of resource consummation considering it is such a highly populated country.
Brianna Simao's comment,
April 30, 10:23 PM
Countries with a more advanced and urbanized way of life clearly would need more space to survive but if everyone lived like these more developed countries then natural selection dies and survival of the fittest takes over. Eventually all the natural resources would be used up. If they all continued to use the same amount and reproduce then the fertility rate would rapidly increase making the area overpopulated and the quality of life decreased. It is a good thing the entire world lives differently and has a diverse ecological footprint because it creates a balance in the world. As one country’s consumption is out of control another is holding down the fort because they lice more reasonably. It is interesting to see that even though China and India have the largest populations they don’t consume as many resources as the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
Steel is strong, versatile and 100% recyclable. Learn how old steel shipping containers are given a new lease on life as liveable spaces.
Reusing resources is a critical part of sustainability. This video looks at the recycling of steel including the creating of container homes. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
|
Scoop.it!
By Neal Lineback and Mandy Lineback Gritzner, Geography in the NewsTM and Maps.com KEYSTONE PIPELINE AND CANADIAN TAR SANDS CONTROVERSY Supporters and protesters continue to lobby both the White House and U.S. Via Neal G. Lineback 
Neal G. Lineback's curator insight,
May 17, 7:51 AM
This is a Geography in the News dealing with the background of the Keystone pipeline proposal and Canadian tar sands. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
Africa may have achieved independence, but the old colonial ties are still important as France’s decision to send troops to Mali to fight Islamist extremists shows.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is a very intriguing infographic (download high-resolution image here). How are old colonial patterns a thing of the past? How do old colonial patterns continue to affect the African continent? Tags: Africa, states, language, infographic, historical, colonialism. 
Magnus Gustafsson's comment,
April 18, 4:25 PM
This is a useful information for history studies. Let the students discuss the colonial era.
Jennifer Kopf's comment,
April 19, 9:48 AM
Also interesting--airline flight routes. Alitalia goes to Ethiopia and Libya, Air France to West African countries, etc.
Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
Thousands of workers have flooded into the town. But they're reluctant to call it home.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This oil boom is visible from space; it has created a real estate market where a one-bedroom apartment goes for $2100 a month (census map showing population increase -slide 4). Still, the overwhelmingly male population that works here is not willing to move their families with them and truly put down some roots. Some fear a potential "bust" on this economic prosperity and others don't see the amenities that encourage lasting settlement growth (schools, parks, cultural events, etc.). The city of Williston, North Dakota "feels like a frontier town" and will build a huge recreational center and other things to entice these temporary workers to become permanent residents. More than just jobs are needed to made a city attractive to potential migrants.
Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
A new study using data from a pair of gravity-measuring NASA satellites finds that large parts of the arid Middle East region lost freshwater reserves rapidly during the past decade. "[This] data show an alarming rate of decrease in total water storage in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, which currently have the second fastest rate of groundwater storage loss on Earth, after India," said Jay Famiglietti, principal investigator of the study and a hydrologist and professor at UC Irvine. "The rate was especially striking after the 2007 drought. Meanwhile, demand for freshwater continues to rise, and the region does not coordinate its water management because of different interpretations of international laws." Tags: water, environment, consumption, resources, environment depend, Middle East, Iraq.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is a perfect example of geospatial technologies can lead to a better understanding of how the Earth's physical systems are changing because of human geography. Teaching geography is about showing how these systems are interconnected. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
Oil-rich, velvet-rope-poor Azerbaijan, a country about the size of South Carolina on the Caspian Sea, would very much like to be the world’s next party capital.
Seth Dixon's insight:
Azerbaijan has limited cultural prestige and international recognition, but it has great quantities of oil, and they are parlaying that wealth into an important geopolitical position in Central Asia. It appears that Baku has ambitions to become the next Dubai. Tags: Azerbaijan, political, development, Central Asia, unit 4 political. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
If you are up in space looking down on America west of the Mississippi, one of the brightest patches of light at night is on the Great Plains in North Dakota. It's not a city, not a town, not a military installation.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This patch of light is baffled me since clusters of light on this image almost always are connected to high levels of urbanization and North Dakota has no major population center of that magnitude. This is the Bakken formation, a new oil and gas field that is producing over 600,000 barrels a day. The lights are oil rigs that are lit up at night, but even more because many gas flares are burning leading locals to call the area "Kuwait on the Prairie." Oil men from far and wide are flocking to the rural, lightly populated area raising rents sky-high. This has caused a huge localized gender imbalance, changing the demographic and cultural character of the region because of the drastic the economic and environmental shifts in the area (see the national gender balance here). This is a great reminder that the physical and human geographies of a region are fully intermeshed one with another. Tags: resources, gender, environment, economic, migration. 
Heidi Zumbrun Bjerke's comment,
February 12, 9:52 PM
Use google earth and you can compare the two images.
Mary Patrick Schoettinger's comment,
February 12, 11:55 PM
that's an excellent idea, especially to have students suggest what the light might be in the photo. The question is , is the bright light a one time occurrence or does it continue?J
Mary Rack's comment,
February 13, 6:08 AM
I'm having trouble installing GoogleEarth on my iMac. Looking forward to the comparison. Big adjustment after years in the PC world.
Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
Jeffrey Gettleman, The Times’s Nairobi bureau chief, reports on how Kenya’s wildlife conservation corps is learning from a reformed poacher how to counter the growing threat to elephants.
Seth Dixon's insight:
In Somalia, former pirates are helping to patrol the coasts to prevent piracy. This idea of reforming and recruiting past criminals is also seen in Kenya as former poachers are trying to protect elephants that are essential to the local ecology as well as the tourism-driven economy. In addition to the attached video is this article which expands on these issues. Tags: biogeography, tourism, Africa, consumption, resources, ecology, Kenya. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
Energy conservation starts at home.... This interesting National Geographic article emphasizes how consumption patterns in the home are connected to some of the serious global issues that we currently face. This article becomes an exploration into how to go about creating a more environmentally sustainable home. 
Teresa Gallego Navarro's curator insight,
December 18, 2012 9:50 PM
The best energy is the one we don´t consumpt!! Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
This interactive map documents where 443 million people around the world get there water (although the United States data is by far the most extensive). Most people can't answer this question. A recent poll by The Nature Conservancy discoverd that 77% of Americans (not on private well water) don't know where their water comes from, they just drink it. This link has videos, infographics and suggestions to promote cleaner water. This is also a fabulous example of an embedded map using ArcGIS Online to share geospatial data with a wider audience.
Tags: GIS, water, fluvial, environment, ESRI, pollution, development, consumption, resources, mapping, environment depend, cartography, geospatial. 
Nic Hardisty's comment,
October 15, 2012 9:01 AM
I was definitely unaware of where my drinking water came from. This is nice, user-friendly map... Hopefully it gets updated regularly, as it will be interesting to see how these sources change over time.
Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
Until now, there has been a lack of solid, comprehensive spatial data about African groundwater resources. Researchers have now done so. For a more academic article on the subject, here are their findings in Environmental Research Letters. Tags: water, Africa, resources, physical, environment, environment depend. Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
Scoop.it!
link to part 2 http://youtu.be/I5t9wpEzKRc or http://youtu.be/myNxTaW5z3w link to part 3 http://youtu.be/7mJK4Sgxrbw...
This video clip shows the historical background of the political and economic factors that have lead to competing claims in the South China Sea. The Exclusive conomic Zone (EEZ) with projected oil fields is the main prize and China has been flexing it's regional muscles. 
Roland Trudeau Jr.'s comment,
August 9, 2012 10:28 AM
An interesting project, that may cause a great deal of problems in the future I would hope that the resolution can come peacfully and quickly
Kim Vignale's comment,
August 12, 2012 2:09 PM
I didn't realize there was a conflict in the South China Sea between these Asian countries until this project was presented. I learned a great deal from the points and information relayed through this project. It is a great issue between these countries because the ocean provides a huge source of income for these countries and fighting for it is important for these countries.
Delete the scoop?
Are you sure you want to delete this scoop?
Yes
|
