Holiday stuff to peruse & use
Here are a number of resources to peruse and ruminate over for the holidays
Interactive Maps , Spatial Journals & other Story Maps
Most walkable cities map of the USA
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/transportation-infrastructure/walk-to-work-cities-map.html
Accompanying article
The Most Walkable Cities and How Some Are Making Strides
Nationally,(USA) only a small fraction of people walk to work. But some cities' policy and planning efforts are making walking an everyday means of commuting. View data and maps for dozens of U.S. cities.
How much of our "food" is food? Map shows where crops used as human food (green) vs. animal feed & biofuels (red).
Air Pollution in Asia: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map
Other maps for differing regions are also available
Air Pollution in Canada: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map
Outbreak! Watch How Quickly An Epidemic Would Spread Across The World
A new model can predict the spread of any disease across the planet. All we need to do is reorganize our thinking of time and space.
Teacher pay state by state:
Fascinating map shows New York educators get biggest salaries and are paid almost DOUBLE their South Dakota counterparts Comes with Data
The Myth, History, and Mystery of Petra
A journey through the passageways and open spaces of Petra, with a close look at the myth and history of the Nabataen civilization and the rise and fall of this ancient city.- Great Story Map
http://maptia.com/shannon/stories/the-myth-history-and-mystery-of-petra
Mapping food insecurity in big cities of the world
"Scientists map food security and self-provision of major cities."
http://www.examiner.com/article/mapping-food-insecurity-big-cities-of-the-world
Mapping tool pinpoints countries at most risk of water stress
A global mapping exercise has highlighted that 37 countries across the world are currently experiencing high levels of water stress, making them vulnerable to climate pressures.
http://www.edie.net/news/4/Mapping-tool-pinpoints-countries-at-most-risk-of-water-stress-/
Who Owns the Arctic
Territorial claims of countries in the Arctic are being spurred by the presence of large caches of oil and natural gas, melting ice and dwindling energy reserves in other regions.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/07/sunday-review/who-owns-the-arctic.html
Toronto Underfoot
Archaeology from New World Archaeology, Royal Ontario Museum
Great Spatial Journal of Toronto archeological artifacts
The Earth’s Next 100 Years, Visualized
Take a look at this amazing visualization that explains how we’ve treated the Earth over the past 100 years and what the next 100 might hold
http://www.upworthy.com/the-future-of-the-earth-s-next-100-years-visualized
Global Wind Conditions
Exceptionally well done current wind speed map of the earth (interactive)
Death penalty statistics, country by country
After the execution of Kim Jong-un's uncle, the brutality of North Korea's regime has once again come under the international spotlight. In a broader context, is the attention warranted? Find out who uses the death penalty today - and see how it compares to 2007
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/mar/29/death-penalty-countries-world
The AT.las of human Struggle (Beta)
Interesting Spatial journal on human struggles – Also good for History classes. Very current
Map: All the Countries That Contribute to a Single Jar of Nutella
Popular hazelnut and cocoa spread Nutella has become such a global product that the OECD decided to use it as a case study in its latest report on global value chains. ( super for grade 8 Classes)
World Stats Interactive Maps
This index lists over 400 interactive world maps covering areas such as health, education, drugs & crime, economy, environment, gender and population for all countries.
http://www.statsilk.com/maps/world-stats-interactive-maps-index#Digital%20Divide%20&%20ICT
Plastic fishing in the Southern Ocean
In one of the remotest places on Earth, a scientist is measuring for the first time the concentration of plastic particles that can float on the sea surface for hundreds or even thousands of years
Other interactive – graphs & charts
Population Pyramids of the World from 1950 to 2100
Awesome interactive on population pyramids from differing countries over time Check out UAE.
The World's Biggest Cities Over Time Since 4000 B.C
The folks at Goldman Sachs just published a massive special report with their analysts' 100 favorite charts. Here's an interesting chart going way back to 4000 BC showing the population of the biggest cities in the western and eastern worlds
UNFORTUNATELY global warming continues. 2013 had warmest November since measurments start 1880_ Hans Rosling
Facebook –Newsroom – year in review
Very interesting and student engaging statistics
http://newsroom.fb.com/Trends/770/2013-Year-in-Review
One third of babies born in 2013 are expected to live to 100
The latest ONS ( office of National Statistics) statistics look at the chances of people living in the UK surviving to their 100th birthday. According to the principal projection, around 1 in 3 babies born in 2013 will live to celebrate their 100th birthday. The total number of centenarians is projected to rise from 14,000 in 2013 to 111,000 in 2037.(though British it is still quite applicable)
What is most likely to cause your untimely death?
Urban Topics
THE EVOLVING URBAN FORM: GREATER NEW YORK EXPANDS
http://www.newgeography.com/content/004095-the-evolving-urban-form-greater-new-york-expands
Forecasting the Growth of Cities
It’s no shocker that the world is rapidly urbanizing. The World Health Organization estimates that 70 percent of the global population will live in cities and towns by 2050, up from just 50 percent today. Predicting exactly where and when those urban migrations will occur, however, has proven difficult in the past, because they’re guided by millions of personal decisions based on factors such as employment opportunities, cost of living, security and politics.
http://nextcity.org/culture-livability/entry/forecasting-the-growth-of-cities
How does immigration affect crime?
Researchers at the London School of Economics and University College London have studied the effect on crime of two large migration flows to Britain.
Today's #TED: Inside the industry that brings you 90% of everything you own:
Almost everything we own and use, at some point, travels to us by container ship, through a vast network of ocean routes and ports that most of us know almost nothing about. Journalist Rose George tours us through the world of shipping, the underpinning of consumer civilization. Also terrific book
Geographer’s and others doing Geography
What if the Flood Maps Are Just Plain Wrong?
Google’s Road Map to Global Domination- (how they are going to control the WHERE)
A Frenchman who has lived half his 49 years in the United States, Vincent was never in the Marines. But he is a leader in a new great game: the Internet land grab, which can be reduced to three key battles over three key conceptual territories. What came first, conquered by Google’s superior search algorithms. Who was next, and Facebook was the victor. But where, arguably the biggest prize of all, has yet to be completely won.—DON’T ASK ME WHY ASK ME WHERE!!
I am a shoe!
A closer look at how a sports shoe is manufactured and distributed in what is a multi-billion dollar industry. (interesting Interactive focus of a topic – Fresh voice with Aljazeera) Has the ability to be full inquiry unit
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2013/12/i-am-shoe-20131215123830416166.html
Oil and Water:
Tar Sands Crude Shipping Meets Great Lakes?
Report cites gaps in region's oil-spill prevention, response
http://www.greatlakes.org/tar-sands/report
Toxic 'e-waste' dumped in poor nations, says United Nations
Millions of tonnes of old electronic goods illegally exported to developing countries, as people dump luxury items
The social price of gold: child prostitution
Global demand for Peruvian gold has led to illegal mining that has fuelled unprecedented levels of child prostitution. Filmmaker Guillermo Galdos reports for Channel 4 News.
http://www.channel4.com/news/the-social-price-of-gold-child-prostitution
If your Geography Homework is on Nike…
If you’re interested in what it life and work can be like for the people who make sports clothing, we have some other recommendations that aren’t on our sire. The first film is on Nike and could be a vivid and useful source. But other students in other schools may have been given Adidas to research. We have a couple of films for you too, if that’s what you’ve been asked to research. And, at the end, we bring things right up to date: with a way to compare these two companies / brands.- A number of good video’s and other stuff
http://iwanttodiscussthat.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/nikegeoghomework/#followtheteachers
Canada to make territorial claim for North Pole after mapping complete
Vast freshwater reserves discovered under the oceans
Scientists have discovered huge reserves of freshwater beneath oceans off of Australia, China, North America and South Africa.
http://earthsky.org/earth/vast-freshwater-reserves-discovered-under-the-oceans
The Importance Of geography
Advocating for Geography Education
A recent opinion piece by Kirk Goldsberry, visiting scholar at Harvard University, gained a good deal of attention because it advocated for a return of a geography department to that august institution. Sensors & Systems (S&S) special correspondent Matteo Luccio spoke with Goldsberry about his background, about the need to reveal spatial patterns, and about the importance of geography. - See more at: http://www.sensorsandsystems.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32547&catid=52&Itemid=1180#sthash.Aq7anPMW.dpuf
How Geography Paved the Way for Women in Science and Cultivated the Values of American Democracy
“The revolution has been favorable to science in general, particularly to that of the geography of our own country,’ wrote the Reverend Jedidiah Morse. In 1784, when Morse published his first geography textbook, he dedicated it ‘To the Young Masters and Misses Throughout the United States,’ signaling its appropriateness for females. Highly popular among boys and girls alike, Morse’s Geography Made Easy ran through numerous editions at least until 1820, when the twenty-third edition appeared. Geography was the first science to appear widely in girls’ schoolbooks after the American Revolution.
Teaching Geography in 19th Century America
The study of geography is now, much more than at any former period, an essential element in education. It is second in importance only to reading, writing, and rudimentary arithmetic. The newspaper is and must continue to be the chief source of that knowledge of current events which is indispensable to every intelligent person. Its telegrams and other items and articles necessarily assume that the reader possesses a knowledge of certain geographical facts. It is the aim of this work to present and impress these-facts.
Geography Careers
What to do with a degree in environmental science/physical geography
Catastrophes, such as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, not only serve as a reminder of how unpredictable the Earth can be, but also lead many to wonder why such natural disasters have become so prevalent. These are just some of questions that students of physical geography and environmental science will have grappled with.
And Finally some Santa Trackers ( It is important to know the WHERE of the sleigh)
Tracking Santa With Google Earth 3d at noradsanta.org
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK2gDlw5hHA
http://www.google.ca/santatracker/
NEW WAYS TO HAVE FUN WITH GOOGLE'S SANTA TRACKER, FOR KIDS AND PROGRAMMERS ALIKE
Happy Holidays
Mark Lowry
Geography and Geotechnologies Instructional Leader
Social World Studies and Humanities
Toronto District School Board
1 Civic Centre Court
Toronto , On ,M9C 2B3
Tel; (416) 394-7269
Cell; (416) 576-4515
Fax; (416) 394-6420
http://tdsbweb/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=63&menuid=63&pageid=63
http://geographysites.blogspot.ca/
twitter @geogmark
