Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Seven million people living in 423 square miles (1,096 sq km).
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Global news with a spatial perspective: Interesting, current supplemental materials for geography students and teachers. http://geographyeducation.org
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Seth Dixon
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Scooped by Seth Dixon onto Geography Education |
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Seth Dixon's insight:
These apartments are so small that they can only be photographed from the ceiling. Massive urbanization with limited space means that real estate is at a premium and many laborers will not be able to afford large living spaces. Hong Kong is an extreme example of this and it brings new meaning to the term "high-density housing."
Tags: housing, urban, planning, density, urbanism, unit 7 cities.
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Want to know where the poor live? Look at where the light isn’t. "Satellite photos of Earth’s artificial lights at night form a luminescent landscape. But researcher Chris Elvidge of NOAA and colleagues from the University of Colorado and the University of Denver realized that they could also illuminate something much darker: the magnitude of human poverty. By comparing the amount of light in a particular area and its known population, they realized that they could infer the percentage of people who are able to afford electricity and the level of government spending on infrastructure development. This allowed them to extrapolate levels of human development—a measure of well-being that includes such factors as income, life expectancy and literacy." Delete the scoop?
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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?
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In a world where photoshop has made the unreal seem ordinary, these unearthly seemingly landscapes might seem likely fakes. The world can be that extraordinary. Pictured above is the "Door to Hell" in Turkmenistan. Rich with natural gas, Soviets were drilling in 1971 when the drilling rig collapsed and left a huge (230 feet wide) hole. In an attempt to stop gas leaks they hoped a fire would burn off any discharge, but it is still burning today. Enjoy this gallery of 25 'unnatural' images. 
Sam Capron's curator insight,
March 27, 9:48 PM
These landscape at really breathtaking! I hope to one day be able to visit some of them myself and take pictures of my very own! By the way the photo of the Gullfoss in Iceland is now my computers background image. :) Delete the scoop?
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It is increasingly clear that we already live in the era of human-induced climate change, with unprecedented weather and climate extremes.
I don't delight in sharing the bad news. So is this drought just a freak anomaly or a sign of a new normal?
Seth Dixon's comment,
August 13, 2012 2:28 PM
The graphic was not connected to the article. It was linked on a PBS facebook page and I linked the juxtaposition of the graphic and the NY Times article. Here is the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/EarthTheOperatorsManual.Page Personally, an entire century as a baseline of comparison does not feel like cherrypicking data. True the Earth is an incredibly complex system that controlling for all variables is in essence impossible, but denying that the system has changed seems foolish to me. Why has the system changed? I'm okay with that being a reasonable debate worthy of academics.
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Animated time-lapse video of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in map form, spanning the 18th century until this current first decade of the 21st centur...
This is not a complete data set, but the video still shows the striking connection between CO2 emissions and the historical geography of industrialization. 
's comment, August 2, 2012 12:54 PM
What data did you use? Historical, proxy or climate station? From 1800-1920's, was CO2 derived from historical observations, ice cores? Pre- to post-war had the maximum extent of climate stations, which captured CO2 (broadens extent). Throughout the mid-50's to present, due to lack of funding, climate stations plummeted from over 400 stations worldwide to approximately 80. When we reconstitute all these different types of data, we often get what geographer's call the modifiable areal unit problem... Furthermore, this is compounded not only by extent but also by timeline/data availability.
Seth Dixon's comment,
August 2, 2012 2:21 PM
I'd love to take credit for this, but I didn't create this video, but am simply sharing a resource that I found online with the broader community. Follow the YouTube link to see info about the creator there (Cuagau1).
's comment, September 4, 2012 11:41 AM
Frightening and guilt inducing. The US and Europe the biggest historical violators, plus living in the northeastern part of the country which shows the highest concentrations.
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The second day of India's power grid failures were worse than the first. Nearly 1900 miles of India went dark, an area that is home to nearly half of India's...
How is this issue geographic? What themes are present in this issue and how are they interrelated? Delete the scoop?
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Cambridge University physicist, David Mackay, in a passionate, personal analysis of the energy crisis in the UK, in which he comes to some surprising conclus...
This is a great video to show students the amount of energy they use, both at an individual level and at the national scale (this video is from the U.K.) To 'flip' this Ted-Ed talk, visit it's homepage at: http://ed.ted.com/on/MVwtmMV5 Delete the scoop?
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David Roberts is staff writer at Grist.org. In "Climate Change is Simple" he describes the causes and effects of climate change in blunt, plain terms. On Apr...
This is video is designed to explain climate change in 15 minutes. If you would like see the slides presented, you can see them at: http://grist.org/climate-change/climate-change-is-simple-we-do-something-or-were-screwed/ Delete the scoop?
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What factors lead to high pollution rates in Bakersfield, Los Angeles and Fresno? How are economic, industrial, political and environmental factors contributing to or mitigating the situation? 
Eric Séguin's comment,
June 1, 2012 7:27 AM
Map serves absolutely nothing. Keep the infographic and be done with: "do you know where Bakersfield, CA is". If you actually had the coverage of these types of pollution then maps would be useful.
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New data shows Shell dramatically under-estimated the damage of a 2008 spill that devastated the lives of tens of thousands of people in Niger Delta. Shell has yet to compensate victims.
The volume of oil spilt at Bodo was more than 60 times the volume Shell has repeatedly claimed leaked. This is but one example of a international corporation exploiting the natural resources of a developing country. Via John Peterson Delete the scoop?
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A 3-minute journey through the last 250 years of our history, from the start of the Industrial Revolution to the Rio+20 Summit. The film charts the growth of...
This video is a great primer for discussing human and environmental interactions as related to industrialization, globalization and climate change. Delete the scoop?
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50 Pictures Of Chernobyl 25 Years After The Nuclear Disaster: Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. ...
A haunting gallery that displays the effects of environmental and political mismanagement. 
Matt Mallinson's comment,
October 15, 2012 1:10 PM
It's wild to see this because I saw the movie "Chernobyl Diaries" and it's interesting to see the real place in these photos. It's terrible that this happened.
Derek Ethier's comment,
October 18, 2012 1:17 AM
The most amazing thing about these pictures is how nature is beginning to reclaim the city. People up and abandoned Chernobyl so it looks as if nature is attempting to take it back over. This area will likely be radiated for hundreds of years, so this disaster literally left this land inhospitable.
Elizabeth Allen's comment,
December 6, 2012 10:44 PM
The eerieness of the photographs is so alarming. To see the shoe of a child, or the ferris wheel he or she never got to ride... firefighters who did not now what they were up against, who lost their lives. Many people died and the unknown consequences will be everlasting. Not only did this horrific event take the lives of people, but it effected wildlife, forests, and water resources.
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"Teaching sustainability invariably involves teaching about energy – its use, its sources, its environmental impacts, and its social implications. This paper explores how one renewable energy alternative – biogas – is adapted and applied across scale and culture."
This scholarly article (produced by an outstanding AP Human Geography reader and Penn State Geographer) in the Journal of Sustainability Education has many different applications: development, renewable energy usage and environmental sustainability.
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A TV program about firewood, mostly showing a fireplace in use, has aroused passions in Norway.
Seth Dixon's insight:
In so many countries this would be one of the worst rated TV shows of all time, and yet in Norway, where a rustic, outdoorsman connection to the forest is ingrained in the culture, it's a hit and one that sparks debates and discussion. Isn't it good, Norwegian Wood? 
chris tobin's comment,
February 28, 1:46 PM
So many cultures depend upon using wood and their connection with nature for every day life
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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?
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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.
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A new global survey suggests world's the most wasteful countries feel the least guilty—and vice-versa.
Our consumption patterns, ecological footprint and lifestyle choices have a significant impact on how we feel about sustainability initiatives and human/environmental interactions. 
's comment, September 4, 2012 8:27 AM
This article explains about America being the least green in the world when it comes to transportation, etc. Things are being done which can bring a good impact to our environment like cleaner gasoline or cars that are run on electricity like the hybrid cars that you see in the commercials on TV. But, there's also a few other ways to make a good impact on the environment like riding a bicycle to work for take public transportation or walk to places you want to go to. Not only we can get good exercise by walking or riding a bicycle but you can reduce the emmissions in the air form your own car. When it comes to food, Americans can start eating vegetables to make a good impact on the environment.
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"The final 32 generators went into operation this week, making it the world's largest hydropower project, pictured, built on the Yangtze River in China." This photo gallery has a tremendous video at the end that displays vividly the raw power that moves the turbines. Economically, what are the benefits? Environmentally, what are the costs?
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The new Blackfriars station, which is being built on a bridge spanning the River Thames, is on its way to becoming the world's largest solar bridge after Solarcentury begun the installation of over 4,400 solar photovoltaic panels...
"The solar panels will generate an estimated 900,000kWh of electricity every year, providing 50% of the station’s energy and reducing CO2 emissions by an estimated 511 tonnes per year. In addition to solar panels, other energy saving measures at the new station will include rain harvesting systems and sun pipes for natural lighting." 
Roland Trudeau Jr.'s comment,
July 6, 2012 8:21 PM
Its definitely a step in the right direction to conserve our natural resources. Our future won't be easy without renewable energy, and all of our natural resources expended.
Brandon Murphy's comment,
July 9, 2012 6:43 PM
Finding new sources of renewable/sustainable energy would definitely be a lot easier if more countries were willing to work together.
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By importing goods from polluting factories in Asia, Americans and others in developed countries underwrite carbon emissions...
This is a compelling question: are reductions in greenhouse gases best measured by production or consumption? The question that this article is posing is essentially trying to find blame for greenhouse gas emmision, but thinking geographically, ponders where along the commodity chain should the bulk of the blame be placed. What do you think? Delete the scoop?
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Socks is a online magazine about Media, Art, Architecture, Cities, Design, Technology.
Our society is obviously heavily dependent on oil. Yet we often don't see the environmental impacts of our collective oil consumption on the landscape because the negative impacts have been spatially separated away from oil consumers. This is an excellent compilation of photos by Edward Burtynsky that makes the connection between oil consumption and changes to both the physical and cultural landscapes explicit. For more images by this artist, see: http://www.edwardburtynsky.com/ ; Delete the scoop?
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Conflict and intrigue over valuable energy supplies have been features of the international landscape for a long time. Delete the scoop?
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http://www.ted.com Jaime Lerner reinvented urban space in his native Curitiba, Brazil. Along the way, he changed the way city planners worldwide see whats po...
Jaime Lerner does not see cities as the problem; he sees urbanism as the solution to many global problems. This video outlines practical plans to rethink the city to be more sustainable. To see an trailer for a documentary about the urban changes in Curitiba, Brazil, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swQTTG3NcYY Delete the scoop?
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The carbon emissions produced by electric cars vary depending on how a given region generates its electricity.
If a consumer is trying to assess the environmental impact of their automotive/transportation practices, that answer may vary according to wher they live; the type of driving, the regions energy source and local air quality all need to be factored in. Geography always matters. Delete the scoop?
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Rising gas prices make people unhappy, but the pain is felt most acutely in states where it is unlikely to make an electoral difference.
There are numerous geographic themes that make this article a worthwhile read. The evidence suggests that states the vote more solidly Republican are being hit hardest at the pump. Gasoline expenditures as a share of personal income are higher in pro-Republican states than pro-Democrat states. Understanding the demographic base of each party as well as population density explains much of this issue: states that are very rural drive greater distances with less public transit option, spending more per capita on gasoline. Also, since the most affluent urban centers are Democrat-leaning, they spend a less sizeable portion of their income on gasoline. This article would be a nice resource for a classroom/small group discussion. Delete the scoop?
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The fact that these apartments are in Hong Kong is, to me, very telling. It indicates a cultural difference between East and West. Asian cities tend to be very densely populated, and so anything that can be done to make more room for people is being done. This may have something to do with a lower standard of living in China that makes its people less picky about the environments in which they’re living because they are used to making do with what they have.