Geographical articles from December 2003

Geographical archives from December 2003

Surrounded by maps ...(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... This month I conducted a small--and admittedly not very scientific--experiment. I was curious to know how much I relied upon maps to achieve the everyday business of getting about. In the event, they became more crucial that I'd ever thought...

Sherpa eye-shields.(Prize Letter)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... This isn't a question, but a supplementary answer to "What did people do to shield their eyes before sunglasses?" (Quizzical, November 2003). On the way to Everest base camp in 1953, we experienced a heavy fall of snow followed by bright...

Smoking glass.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... Further to the Quizzical query about sunglasses, on a recent trip to Norway I met a sled-dog handler who had a permanent squint caused by years of intense light reflected off the snow. He told me that as a child he had routinely ignored the...

Highway to heaven.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... November's Quizzical insight into the world's most dangerous countries in which to drive, where Dr David Maunder of the Transport Research Laboratory suggested that developing countries are bringing in measures to improve road safety, got me...

Thesiger remembered.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... I read with interest Robin Hanbury-Tenison's description of his last meeting with Wilfred Thesiger--a reminiscence of a great man (Obituary, November 2003). The piece mentions Wilfred's famous meeting with Eric Newby, at the end of the latter's...

Rohan giveaway.(letters)
December 1, 2003... WIN ONE OF TWO ROHAN CITY BLOCK COATS WORTH 140 [pounds sterling] We have a City Block coat for women and a City Block jacket for men to give away to two lucky readers. The coats in the Rohan City Block range look great--and perform...

World Heritage hero.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2003... In your recent article on the history of World Heritage sites in Australia (The politics of preservation, September 2003), you mention that in 1984, the Commonwealth government of Bob Hawke received from the Australian Heritage Trust a...

Incorrect crossword clue.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2003... In October's crossword, the clue for 24 across was: "Bear--not I--that is back in east Malaysian sultanate." The answer, of course, is Brunei; however Brunei isn't an east Malaysian sultanate. It is an independent sultanate surrounded by the...

African glaciers in retreat: Christian Amodeo reports on recent research into the extent of two glaciers in Uganda.(Short Report)
December 1, 2003... Glaciers located in the Rwenzori Mountains of western Uganda, a World Heritage site, are in rapid decline, according to an international team of scientists. Observations showed that one has receded more than 300 metres in the past decade alone....

David Hempleman-Adams has become the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in a hot-air balloon with an open wicker basket.(UK)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... David Hempleman-Adams has become the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in a hot-air balloon with an open wicker basket. His sleepless 83-hour crossing from Brunswick, Canada, to a field in Hambleton, Lancashire, was his second...

An adult male human jawbone found in 2002 among fossilised bones in a bear cave in Romania's Carpathian Mountains has been dated to between 34,000 and 36,000 years old, making it Europe's oldest known human bone.(Romania)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... An adult male human jawbone found in 2002 among fossilised bones in a bear cave in Romania's Carpathian Mountains has been dated to between 34,000 and 36,000 years old, making it Europe's oldest known human bone. The team that dated the...

Ordnance Survey (OS) and Yeoman Navigation Systems are to bring Britain's most detailed maps to mobile phones.(UK)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Ordinance Survey (OS) and Yeoman Navigation Systems are to bring Britain's most detailed maps to mobile phones. The latter's TravelM8 service will feature OS's MasterMap data, with more than 440 million features of the British landscape, and...

Underwater find in the North Sea.(UK)(prehistoric Stone Age settlements)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A team of archaeologists from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne has discovered the first evidence of prehistoric Stone Age settlements in the North Sea. One site, off the coast of Tynemouth, dates back to the late Mesolithic period...

Mapping technology soars to new heights.(UK)(3-D digital maps)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... An ambitious project to create accurate 3-D digital maps of much of the British Isles has been completed by Intermap Technologies, which carried out the project using airborne radar and a Learjet. Nextmap Britain features England, Wales and...

Motorists to be taxed via satellite.(Europe)
December 1, 2003... Long queues at motorway toll booths in continental Europe could soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new project sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA). In response to a new EU proposal that tolls should be electronically payable by...

Watershed protection vital for world's cities.(Global)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A third of the world's largest cities, including Tokyo, Jakarta and Rio de Janeiro, are almost entirely reliant on protected forests for clean drinking water, according to a study by the World Bank and WWF. New York was also deemed to be...

The government of Madagascar has announced that it will more than triple the area of habitat under protection.(Madagascar)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The government of Madagascar has announced that it will more than triple the area of habitat under protection from 1.7 million hectares to 6 million hectares over the next five years.

Forty-three per cent of Africa's most important conservation areas have no legal designation.(Africa)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Forty three per cent of Africa's most important conservation areas have no legal designation, leaving a fifth of the continent's threatened species at even greater risk of extinction, according to a Birdlife International survey of 1,230...

British cavers explore Subterranean China.(China)(Hong Meigui Yunnan expedition)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... An 11-strong British led team of speleologists has explored and surveyed a number of caves in China's Yunnan Province as part of its bid to go farther beneath the Earth's surface than anyone before. The Hong Meigui Yunnan 2003 expedition...

Elephants facing extinction.(Asia)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Conservation efforts are failing to halt the decline of the Asian elephant, according to a report commissioned by new charity Elephant Family. The study by Oxford-based group Conservation Direct assessed ten Asian countries and 21 NGO...

Contrary to what the Rolling Stones have traditionally said, rock 'n' roll isn't always a gas.(UK)(tour supports reforestation project)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Contrary to what the Rolling Stones have traditionally said, rock 'n' roll isn't always a gas. The band is to fund the planting of forests on Skye and Easter Ross, Scotland, in conjunction with Future Forests. The move is aimed at offsetting...

Countries it the southern Caucasus have lost much of their Russian population since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.(Southern Caucasus)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Countries it the southern Caucasus have lost much of their Russian population since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Between the last Soviet census in 1989 and the 2002 census, numbers of ethnic Russians in Azerbaijan, for example,...

The fossilised remains of what is thought to be a 700kg guinea-pig like rodent have been found in Venezuela.(Venezuela)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The fossilised remains of what is thought to be a 700kg guinea-pig like rodent have been found in Venezuela. The buffalo-sized creature, which lived eight million years ago in marshland--has been named Phoberomys pattersoni, but has acquired...

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859).(Late Great Geographers #38)
December 1, 2003... A Prussian naturalist and geologist who explored much of South America, studying nature, climbing mountains and observing astronomical phenomena, Humboldt was one of the first to move geographical studies from the ancient into the modern era...

20 years ago today ... Geographical Magazine, December 1983.(worldwatch)
December 1, 2003... The final Issue of Geographical for 1983 reflects the political and economic upheaval of its time. Two articles focus on political change in the Caribbean, after St Kitts and Nevis gained independence from Britain m September, and US forces...

Global population watch.(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The world population at the time of going to press was According to: the United Nations 6,385,758,659 the CIA 6,329,023,967 the US Bureau of the Census 6,333,168,366

Why is north always depicted at the top of maps?(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... P Banks, Stoke It took until the mid-16th century for the north to start hogging the tops of maps. And to this day not everyone agrees. Some Australian mapmakers are putting south at the top to avoid being from down under. While...

How accurate is the Global Positioning System?(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... L Shepherd, Weymouth The short answer is: it depends. For most cases, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is the most accurate way to determine where you are. For a long time, only the US military could get an accurate position using...

Uruguay never seems to appear in tour brochures? Is it unsafe or is it just boring?(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... B Robinson, Essex Uruguay, along with Paraguay, is one of Latin America's neglected corners, at least among European tourists. It isn't particularly unsafe in Uruguay, especially compared with trouble-spots such as Colombia. The...

There are numerous points where three countries meet. Are there any with four?(Quizzical)(Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe)
December 1, 2003... J Nolan, London There is only one place in the world where four countries meet at a single point. You'd be hard pressed to find a marker stone for it, as it's in the middle of a river, but the world's only quadripoint is in Africa--between...

Which is the windiest place on Earth?(Quizzical)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... W Frize, Warwick Cold and high up, Antarctica is already pretty inhospitable. But these two characteristics are also responsible for it achieving the accolade of windiest continent on the planet. (Incidentally, the geographical centre of...

Science in the treetops: it's home to a vast collection of plants and animals and acts as the planet's lungs, yet we know surprisingly little about the forest canopy. Christian Amodeo heads into the treetops to meet some of the scientist studying the final terrestrial frontier.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2003... High up in the treetops, above the shadowy stillness of the rainforest floor is a vast network of highways and cities. This teeming metropolis is home to an incredible diversity of plants and animals, but to us earthbound primates, it remains...

Whose land is it anyway?(Geographical dossier)(impact of conservation on indigenous peoples)
December 1, 2003... During the past 30 years, we've become increasingly aware of the state of the environment and the extent to which man has affected it. In the 1980s, the buzz words were acid rain and ozone layer. More recently, they've become greenhouse gases...

Focussed on faith: since smuggling himself into Afghanistan to take some of the first pictures of the Soviet invasion, Steve McCurry has become one of world's best-known photographers. Keith Wilson caught up with him in New York to discuss his new book, The Path to Buddha.(Interview)
December 1, 2003... For Steve McCurry, the path to Buddha has been a long and eventful one, covering the breadth of the Asian continent. One of the world's top photojournalists, McCurry has made Asia his stamping ground since he spent two years travelling through...

How Rome polluted the world: we tend to think of industrial pollution as a modern phenomenon but, as David Keys reveals, the ancient Romans were already contaminating the air, land and sea with toxic metals two millennia ago.(lead and copper)
December 1, 2003... Under the relentless desert sun of southern Jordan lies a poisoned landscape that looks for all the world like a vast shattered mass of black volcanic lava. But the nearest active volcano is in Sicily, almost 2,000 kilometres to the west and...

The house of maps: the world of geography owes an incalculable debt to the several Edward Stanfords who first founded and then managed the 'house of maps'. As Stanfords celebrates its 150th anniversary this month, Peter Whitfield traces the company's early history.
December 1, 2003... During the winter of 1887, John Ruskin, art critic, moralist and sage, now descending into madness, dashed off a cry for help to a well-known London shop: Gentlemen, Have you any school atlas or any other sort of atlas on sale at...

Paper or pixels: where to next for maps? What is the future of the printed map? Will digital mapping eventually push out the paper product? On the eve of the publication of the new edition of The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World, its editor and president of the British Cartographic Society, Mick Ashworth, examines the issues.
December 1, 2003... Walk into any good bookshop or specialist map shop today and you'll find a vast array of maps of different types, formats, prices and designs. But for how much longer? Maps, and geographic information in general, lend themselves well to digital...

Old world pictures.(Geographical Archive)(maps)
December 1, 2003... In addition to reflecting the science and art of cartography and the extent of knowledge about the world at any given point in history, maps can reveal a great deal about the opinions and motives of those who created them, as well as those for...

Extremely normal: he's made a name for himself by reporting back from some of the world's most extreme environments, but TV presenter, author and geographer Nick Middleton is reassuringly normal, as Christian Amodeo, discovers.(Long Live Dreams[TM])(Interview)
December 1, 2003... Nick Middleton's visit to a remote indigenous group in New Guinea had been planned months in advance. But things weren't exactly going to that plan. In fact, as the Kombai tribe's 'welcome party' deliberated over whether or not to put their...

A geographical Christmas.(gifts for geographers)
December 1, 2003... As the festive season rolls around again, the question of what to buy the geographer in your life raises its head once more. In the hope of reducing the last-minute grief, we've compiled an insider's guide to the what, why, who and where of...

Geographical inspiration.(Geographical Promotion)(Advertisement)
December 1, 2003... Don't leave your Christmas shopping until the last minute this year. Let this special seasonal Geographical directory inspire you to find the perfect gift for that special person in your life Tog 24 Established in 1958, Tog 24 now has...

Earth.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... edited by James Luhr Dorling Kindersley, hb, pp520, 30 [pounds sterling] Dorling Kindersley is a rarity among publishers in that it has a distinct identity. When you pick up a DK book you already know what to expect. Strong on design and...

Wildlife Walks: Great Days Out at Over 500 of the UK's Top Nature Reserves.(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... edited by Malcolm Tait, Think Publishing, pb, pp450, 9.99 [pounds sterling] A few years ago, I took a revelatory, two-month walk from one end of England to the other. Wildlife had been expurgated from vast tracts of 'countryside', and yet,...

The Rough Guide to the Music of China.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
December 1, 2003... Various artists. Playing time: 64:25 (Rough Guide, 9.99 [pounds sterling]) Another of the Rough Guide's 80-odd plays around the world, this chaotic but not displeasing collection is less a comprehensive guide to China's musical heritage...

The Rough Guide to Chicago Blues.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
December 1, 2003... Various artists. Playing time: 76:12 (Rough Guide, 9.99 [pounds sterling]) When the Delta blues of the USA's rural south travelled north to the windy city, it took on a new sophistication. Given that Chicago blues is a pretty specific...

Pageantry & Performance.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... By Henry Dallal Henry Dallal Publishing, hb, pp144, 45 [pounds sterling] Henry Dallal spent six years compiling the images in this glossy tome and, from the outset, his love for his subject is clear. High-quality pictures adorn almost...

Tall Tales & Tittle-Tattle from around the World.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls Cadogan, hb, pp196, 10 [pounds sterling] The primary purpose of a miscellany is to increase the reader's store of useless knowledge, always less painful than augmenting the useful stuff. And this one...

Captain Scott.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Ranulph Fiennes Hodder and Stoughton, hb, pp508, 20 [pounds sterling] Ranulph Fiennes is the first of Captain Robert Scott's many biographers to have also "walked a thousand miles on poisoned feet" He thus sees himself as uniquely...

Pilgrims: Becoming the Path Itself.(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Lena Herzog, Arcperiplus Publishing, hb, pp177, 25 [pounds sterling] Lena Herzog's collection of photographs seeks to present two Buddhist pilgrimages, one to and around Tibet's Mount Kailash ('the spiritual and physical centre of the...

The Adventure of English: the Biography of a Language.(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Melvyn Bragg Hodder & Stoughton, hb, pp325, 20 [pounds sterling] The story of the language is the story of the people. Just as the English assimilated their invaders, so their language swallowed its influences whole, usually with the...

Around the World in 80 days.(Video Recording Review)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... DVD reissue. Running time: 395 minutes. (BBC, 19.99 [pounds sterling]) The problem with Michael Palin's travel shows is that you can't stagemanage television and make it look spontaneous. So you can't have him pretending tO be...

StyleCity: Barcelona.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Phyllis Richardson Thames and Hudson, pb, pp192, 14.95 [pounds sterling] Sleek, stylish and hip. This travel guide isn't just about all those 'must-see' museums and cathedrals. Nor does it give the usual listings of budget to top-end...

Arabian Sands.(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Wilfred Thesiger First published in 1959. Most recent edition published by Penguin, pb, pp347, 10.99 [pounds sterling] Wilfred Thesiger has often been described as one of the last true explorers, largely on the basis of the travels...

Oxfam Arabia.(Sound Recording Review)
December 1, 2003... Various artists Playing time: 67:03 (World Music Network, 9.99 [pound sterling]) This collection of contemporary Arabian sounds shows that the myriad musical traditions of the Arab world are alive and kicking in the hands of a new...

Rumba sin fronteras.(Sound Recording Review)
December 1, 2003... by Pancho Quinto Playing time: 48:33 (Riverboat Records, 13.99 [pounds sterling]) Rumba sin fronteros (Rumba without Borders) is an apt title as legendary Cuban percussion innovator Poncho Quinto gets together with generations of musicians...

Sahara.(Sound Recording Review)
December 1, 2003... by Javier Ruibal Playing time: 63:05 (Riverboat Records, 13.99 [pounds sterling]) A Cadiz-based singer songwriter who blends flamenco and other styles with North African sounds, Javier Ruibal is a secret no longer. With Sahara--a...

Hemingway in Africa.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Christopher Ondaatje, Berry Books, hb, pp237, 24.95 [pounds sterling] In Hemingway's Africa, the fiat-topped acacia trees stand as icons across the great savannah plains. If, elephant-like, you shake the trunk of one of these, the...

Vital Signs 2003-2004.(The State of the World Atlas)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... Vital Signs 2003-2004 by The Worldwatch Institute, Earthscan, pb, pp160, 14.95 [pounds sterling] The State of the World Atlas by Dan Smith Earthscan, pb, pp144, 11.99 [pounds sterling] If you want information about the state of the...

Pocket First Aid and Wilderness Medicine.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
December 1, 2003... by Dr Jim Duff and Dr Peter Gormly Treksafe, pb, pp198, 5.95 [pounds sterling] The definition of wilderness used in this book is anywhere "more than two hours from medical help". Although the current state of the NHS suggests that this...

Spotlight on global London.(In society: a round-up of news, views and events taking place at the RGS-IBG this month)
December 1, 2003... The international geographers who flocked to London for this year's RGS-IBG annual conference heard that culture--not conferences--is increasingly London's global calling card. Although London has long been a global city in terms of its...

Play the field: Sam Weiss, coordinator of the RGS-IBG's World Register of Field Centres, explains how it can help you find exciting new fieldwork locations.(In society: a round-up of news, views and events taking place at the RGS-IBG this month)
December 1, 2003... Imagine your workplace is a forest teeming with life--the ground crawling with insects, the trees inhabited by odd-looking mammals and the sky thick with birds of all sizes and colours. Or picture yourself being part of a team that discovers a...

Society events in December.(In society: a round-up of news, views and events taking place at the RGS-IBG this month)(Calendar)
December 1, 2003... For further details, please contact the Events Office on 020 7591 3100 (unless otherwise stated), or see full listings at www.rgs.org/events At the Society 1 December, 6.30pm THE CHANGING FACE OF GLOBAL CITIES Professor Chris...

Iceberg, Northern Greenland.(Geographical travel)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
December 1, 2003... This month we bring you the results of the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, talk to the founder of India-based tour company Ibex Expeditions, discuss the ins and outs of responsible tourism and present 25 ways you can reduce your...

Tour operators to earn their stripes.(travel news)(funding tiger conservation projects)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... A UK-based tour operator has launched a campaign to help India's tiger population. Travel Operators for Tigers (TOfT), which was unveiled at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in October, is the brainchild of Julian Matthews of Discovery...

TourismConcern: heeding good advice.(travel news)(travel advisories)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provides advice on potential risks to travellers. The advice is aimed at protecting UK citizens but it can be devastating for destinations. As part of our campaign for equitable tourism, Tourism Concern...

The Ice Factor.(travel news)(indoor climbing)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... For those who like to experience the cold inside as well as outside, the Ice Factor climbing centre is opening on 27 December in Kinlochleven in the Scottish Highlands. The 2.4million [pounds sterling] centre is the largest indoor climbing...

Tourists flock to nature's hotspots.(travel news)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Tourism has more than doubled in the world's biodiversity hotspots since 1990, says a report by Conservation International and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Two years of research has shown that those regions with the highest numbers of...

First luxury Subaqua hotel.(Travel update)(underwater lodgings)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... The world's first luxury underwater hotel is being built in Dubai. Hydropolis will cost more than 330million [pounds sterling] and cover an area of 107,700 square metres, at 20 metres beneath the surface off Jumeirah Beach. It will contain...

Walking tall: British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.(Travel News)(responsible tour operators, attractions honored)
December 1, 2003... An Oxford-based walking company was one of five category winners in this year's prestigious British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards. ATG is an independent tour operator that specialises in walking holidays and takes 7,000 people on...

Should I stay or should I go?(Responsible Tourism Special)
December 1, 2003... Taking a holiday is no longer a matter of just packing your sunhat and heading for the beach. From transport pollution to impacts on indigenous communities, today's tourist is faced with a litany of ethical concerns that must be considered...

25 practical ways to make a difference.(Responsible Tourism Special)
December 1, 2003... 1 Shop and eat locally According to Tourism Concern, 70-85 per cent of tourist revenue 'leaks' abroad because it's Captured by foreign-owned hotels or tour companies. Only 1.2 per cent of mountaineering-expedition expenditure remains in Nepali...

Positive-impact travel.(Responsible Tourism Promotion)(Directory)
December 1, 2003... In whichever continent you travel, make sure that your money goes into the right pockets and that your presence doesn't harm the environment you've gone to enjoy. One way to ensure your visit has a positive impact is to enlist the expertise of...

Have we had enough of mass tourism?(avoiding package holidays)
December 1, 2003... While many people enjoy their 2 week package holiday in the sun with familiar beer and food from home, and reps to lay on the entertainment, a significant and growing number of people are now questioning whether this is the type of holiday for...

Sailing the Nile on a traditional felucca.(Top Responsible Travel Pick Of The Month)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... On this holiday you will see some of the most spectacular sights in the world, experience local cultures first hand, and benefit the environment and local people. Enjoy the romance of 3 days sailing on the Nile on traditional feluccas with a...

Travel for a living.(Mandip Singh Soin)(Interview)
December 1, 2003... Mandip Singh Soin is an internationally recognised leader in responsible tourism. He has made first ascents in the Himalaya and was an instructor on Robert Swan's UN Ice Walk to the North Pole. In 1979, he co-founded Ibex Expeditions, which has...

In conversation.(Simon Winchester)(Interview)
December 1, 2003... Simon Winchester is the best-selling author of The Map that Changed the World, which tells the remarkable story of William Smith, a man of humble background who made the world's first geological map. Christian Amodeo recently spoke to him at...