Geographical articles from January 2005

Geographical archives from January 2005

Ewan's long way (a)round.(From The Editor)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... It isn't very often that we can lay claim to having a real live movie star gracing our pages, so you can imagine how much excitement it caused in the normally cool, calm and efficient editorial offices at Geographical Towers when we heard that...

Volunteer now!(Letter Of The Month)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... I would just like to thank Geographical for the fantastic ten-page feature on volunteer work that appeared in the September 2003 issue (So you want to make a difference?). I was a volunteer at the time and was interviewed for the article, so...

British not so wicked.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Having served in Eritrea with the British Army in 1948-49 under the British Military Administration, I have for many years taken an interest in that country. In November 2002, I was able to visit the rebuilt railway. I was delighted,...

What's the damage?(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Michael Palin may have travelled the world (In conversation, November 2004), but I'm sure many people would have found his recent BBC Himalaya series rather trite and politically sanitised. His penchant for cheap jibes, such as the "leg over"...

Rohan Fusion giveaway.(letters)
January 1, 2005... This month, we have three sets of clothing from Rohan to give away. Each set is made up of a pair of Fusion trousers and a fleece top (Vital for men; Angelfleece for women)--a combined value of 78 [pounds sterling]. For more about these...

Preserving partnerships.(letters)(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2005... Paul Harris's article about maintaining the balance of beauty and cultural heritage in the Yorkshire Dales (Yorkshire's green and pleasant land, December 2004) is incomplete without reference to the wider matrix of enabling and supportive...

It's show time.(letters)
January 1, 2005... If it's January, it must be time to start planning the new year's trips. Get some inspiration, pick up some kit and ask for advice at the Daily Telegraph Adventure Travel Show, at London's Olympia, 14-16 January. Geogrophical's going to be...

Lost in the post.(letters)
January 1, 2005... This iconic bird of prey, which is named after a 12th-century Muslim warrior--appears on the flags of several Arab nations, and features in the official emblem of the stamp's country of origin. The country is a union of seven sheikdoms, formed...

Total UK carbon dioxide emissions are almost 30 per cent higher than the figures released by the government.(UK)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Total UK carbon dioxide emissions are almost 30 per cent higher than the figures released by the government because it only counts emissions generated inside the UK, according to WWF.

Work has commenced on a US$9million project to build a permanent electric barrier.(USA)(electric barrier to prevent Asian carp leaving the Great Lakes of the northern USA)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Work has commenced on a US$9million project to build a permanent electric barrier to prevent the introduced Asian carp leaving the Great Lakes of the northern USA. The barrier, in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, which links the lakes and...

World energy demand will grow by almost 60 per cent by 2030.(Global)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... World energy demand will grow by almost 60 per cent by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. Two thirds of the increase will be attributable to developing countries,.

A group of West Nottinghamshire College teachers and students has embarked on a bid.(Antarctica)
January 1, 2005... A group of West Nottinghamshire College teachers and students has embarked on a bid to become the first educational institution to complete an Antarctic expedition. They will ski-trek the 'last degree' to the South Pole. * Info:...

Coastline of England and Wales is getting steeper.(Worldwatch)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The coastline of England and Wales has become steeper, according to the first national study into the subject. Over the past century, coastal steepening--the process by which the low- and high-water marks move closer together--has occurred at...

'Lost city' landmark plan unveiled.(Worldwatch)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... East Anglia is to have a spectacular new coastal landmark, representing in sculptural form the 'lost city' of Dunwich in Suffolk. The project is the result of an international design competition by the East of England Development Agency. The...

CITES cracks down on ivory.(Worldwatch)(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The adoption of an unprecedented continent-wide action plan to crack down on unregulated domestic ivory markets in Africa was one of the highlights of the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Bangkok...

World's largest crater cluster discovered.(Worldwatch)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... A Franco Egyptian team has discovered the largest cluster of meteorite craters, known as astroblemes, ever seen on Earth. Located in the desert in southwestern Egypt, the cluster contains an estimated 100 craters with diameters ranging from 500...

Mapping global air pollution.(Worldwatch)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The European Space Agency has produced a new map of global nitrogen dioxide pollution based on 18 months of observation by Envisat, the world's largest environmental monitoring satellite. As expected, the map shows peaks of pollution around...

Global warming set to threaten humanitarian work.(Worldwatch)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Global warming threatens to reverse human progress, according to a report by the Working Group on Climate Change and Development, a new coalition of 17 organisations including Greenpeace, Oxfam, WWF and WaterAid. The Up in Smoke report,...

The World Bank is set to lend the Peruvian government.(Peru)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The World Bank is set to lend the Peruvian government US$5million to help preserve some of its most important cultural sites.

The 14th International Congress of Speleology will be held from 21 to 28 August 2005 in Athens.(Greece)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The 14th International Congress of Speleology will be held from 21 to 28 August 2005 in Athens. Anyone interested in the exploration and study of karst and caves is invited to attend. * Info: www.14ics-athens2005.gr

The Geographical Association has developed a series of regional professional development courses.(UK)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Geographical Association has developed a series of regional professional development courses for geography teachers. * Info: www.geography.org.uk

The British Trust for Ornithology has launched an appeal to raise 85,000 [pounds sterling] to fund programmes to help Britain's disappearing owls.(UK)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... UK The British Trust for Ornithology has launched an appeal to raise 85,000 [pounds sterling] to fund programmes to help Britain's disappearing owls, including two surveys of the tawny owl, whose numbers are believed to have fallen by a third...

The Earthwatch Institute was named best sponsor of archaeology at the British Archaeological Awards.(UK)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... UK The Earthwatch Institute was named best sponsor of archaeology at the British Archaeological Awards for its 12 year support of the excavation of a 1st 4th-century Roman fort on the River Tyne in South Shields, northeast England. * Info:...

Jane, Lady Franklin (1791-1875): the wife of the Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin, Jane, Lady Franklin was the first woman to receive the Royal Geographical Society's Founder's Medal.(Late Great Geographers #51)(Biography)
January 1, 2005... What was her background? Born in London in 1791, Jane was the daughter of silk weaver John Griffin and Mary Guillemard. Her mother died when Jane was three years old, resulting in a boarding school education for her and her two sisters. In...

50 years ago today ... geographical magazine, January 1955.(Worldwatch)
January 1, 2005... In the first issue of Geographical for 1955, Basil Greenhill, a former member of the UK High Commission in Pakistan reported on progress in the country's east since the 1947 partition from India. When East Bengal became East Pakistan, it had a...

Lizard lifestyle study.(Worldwatch)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... A pioneering four year project to study the lifestyle and habitat of the endangered sand lizard has commenced in Dorset. Southampton University PhD student Helen Fearnley will radiotrack the lizards to find out where and how far they travel in...

Denmark.(Geographical Flags Of The World)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Description Red, with a white cross (the Scandinavian cross) that extends to the flag's edges. The vertical line of the cross is shifted to the hoist side; a design element also used by Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands....

Survival International: helping tribal peoples defend their lives, protect their lands and determine their own futures.(Geographical Organisations On Note)
January 1, 2005... When was Survival International founded? Survival was founded in 1969 after an article by Norman Lewis in the Sunday Times highlighted the massacres, land thefts and genocide taking place in Brazilian Amazonia. Today, Survival works with...

A distinctive 50km-long and 800-metre deep fold within the West Antarctic ice Sheet.(Antarctica)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... A distinctive 50km-long and 800-metre deep fold within the West Antarctic ice Sheet has been discovered by scientists from Bristol University and the British Antarctic Survey, working in collaboration with US colleagues. The formation...

Delacour's langur, a black-and-white monkey endemic to Vietnam.(Vietnam)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Delacour's langur, a black-and-white monkey endemic to Vietnam, is facing extinction due to hunting for the traditional medicine market, says the International Primatological Society. Only around 300 Delacour's langurs are thought to exist...

El Nino: a freak of nature?(Weatherwatch with BBC weather forecaster Helen Willets)
January 1, 2005... What is it? El Nino is a natural phenomenon whereby large areas of the surface of the tropical eastern and central Pacific Ocean are warmed. How does it occur? Essentially, the southeast trade winds periodically weaken to a point that...

Gorillas in the mystery.(Worldwatch)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Evidence is growing that a previously unknown group of apes exists in remote forests in Central Africa. The animals have large, black faces, are up to two metres tall and weigh between 85 and 100 kilograms. Their size, facial characteristics...

Quizzical: this month Chris Edwards explains why the Chicago River flows backwards, the meaning of 'airside' how the USA claimed Guantanamo Bay, how close Americans came to speaking German and why the British drive on the left.
January 1, 2005... When I clear passport control in an airport and go 'airside' have I left the country and, if so, where am I? K Carstairs, Dorchester ANSWER: Having checked in, passed through baggage checks and passport control and reached the promised...

Grant deadlines.
January 1, 2005... Applications for several Society research grants aimed at those planning fieldwork in the summer of 2005 have their deadlines in January. The Violet Cressy-Marks Fisher Travelling Scholarship is a travel award of 350 [pounds sterling] for an...

International conference 2005.(RGS-IBG annual international conference )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The RGS-IBG annual international conference is returning to London and the deadline for abstract submission is approaching fast. The conference will run from 31 August to 2 September 2005 and is expected to attract about 1,000 delegates from...

Letting students take hold of their own education.(In society: a round-up news, wives and recent and forthcoming events the RGS-IBG)(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... EDITORIAL Fieldwork is an integral part of teaching both geography and the Earth sciences, as learning is usually far more effective when processes and landforms are experienced first-hand. Of course, it isn't always practical for classes to go...

New worlds: the photography of exploration.(London's Atlas Gallery)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... London's Atlas Gallery is currently showing an exhibition of photographs by famous explorers of Earth and space, from Scott and Shackleton to Neil Armstrong and the first moon landings. The photographers whose images can be seen in the show...

A selection of January's Society events: for details, please contact the Events Office on 020 7591 3100 or see www.rgs.org/events.(In society: a round-up news, wives and recent and forthcoming events the RGS-IBG)(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... 6 January, 7.30pm Madagascar: A journey from reef to rainforest (LECTURE, OKEHAMPTON) Award-winning nature photographer, writer, artist and environmental educator Duncan Murrell uses a description of a kayaking expedition in Madagascar...

Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves ... Navy League map of the British Empire (1925).(Map of the Month)
January 1, 2005... This impressive wall map was presented the RGS Map Room by its publisher, George Philip & Son, on 14 August 1925. It measures 151 by 200 centimetres and sold for 1 [pounds sterling]/15/-. The history of the Navy League dates back to 1856,...

Antarctica's true colours.
January 1, 2005... THE WHITE CONTINENT remains an intimidating, pristine wilderness, its dangers untamed and its beauty untarnished by the increasing numbers of visitors. Canadian photographers Pat and Rosemarie Keough recently spent two years visiting Antarctica...

Return to the Silk Road citadel: exactly a year ago, the ancient Iranian city of Bam was hit by an earthquake so powerful that it took only 12 seconds to reduce it to rubble, killing 40,000 people. Four months after the event, Alexander Henriksen and Matjaz Krivic went to Bam to cover the progress of the reconstruction effort.(Bam Anniversary)
January 1, 2005... The old man covered his eyes with is hands. At first it seemed he as protecting himself from the dust blowing up from the rubble around him. But then he began to shake, his sobs audible above the surrounding noise. It was four months since an...

Environmental justice.(Geographical dossier)
January 1, 2005... Back in 2003, Tony Blair delivered a speech to the UK Sustainable Development Commission in London in which he promised action on a range of environmental problems, ranging from pollution to climate change. Among his pledges was a promise to...

Pollution and poverty: the idea that poorer communities suffered more from environmental damage has been around for some time, but politicians have been slow to react.(dossier/environmental justice)
January 1, 2005... Residents of Grangemouth, Scotland, call it "living within the glow". The bright lights scattered along the towers and pipes of a network of refineries and chemical plants, coupled with the flares that emerge from the tops of chimneys, give the...

Chasing the evidence: environmental justice policies must be based on hard evidence, but establishing links between social deprivation and environmental damage has proved difficult.(dossier/environmental justice)
January 1, 2005... The drive to make environmental justice a part of UK government policy has steadily gained momentum since the beginning of the decade. At the International Geographical Union Conference in Glasgow last summer, Helen Chalmers, social-policy...

Shifting the blame: while campaigners have begun to focus attention on cross-border polluters, a lack of effective legislation means that prosecuting offenders can be difficult.(dossier/environmental justice)
January 1, 2005... Environmental justice has its roots in local politics. The protests that began in the USA in the late 1970s were aimed primarily at stopping local companies from dumping waste in poor, predominantly black neighbourhoods. However, over the past...

Taking the high road: motorbike-enthusiast actors Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman recently donned their leathers and helmets and rode around the world from London to New York. Jo Sargent discovers that the pair's first port of call was the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).(Interview)
January 1, 2005... Ewan McGregor settles back into his chair and cheerfully announces that "for three and a half months, we were Geographical", It's a lofty claim, but having just completed a 30,395-kilometre motorcycle trek, together with fellow actor and friend...

New hope from old remedies: stigmatised throughout much of the 20th century as witch doctors, traditional healers in Uganda are now playing a valuable role in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
January 1, 2005... The road from Kampala to Jinja in eastern Uganda is pretty good: the markings are freshly painted and potholes are rare. But as soon we turn off, we're faced with red-dirt tracks scarred by deep trenches. It doesn't help that there are no road...

Outriders of empire: when European explorers began venturing into the Sahara in the 18th and 19th centuries, they were doing so the name of geographical advancement. Or were they? Libyan authorities claim that they were land-grabbing imperialists, sent to prepare the way for colonisation and exploitation.
January 1, 2005... Abd al-Khaliq Muhammed Nweji's House for Culture is a large two-storey whitewashed building in a narrow alley on the edge of Tripoli's medina. A smell of fresh bread wafts across the alley from the bakery opposite. To the rear, the...

Taking bushmeat off the menu: over the past 16 years, photographer and 'eco-spy' Karl Ammann has tried to do for the African bushmeat crisis what Bob Geldof did for famine in Ethiopia. He tells Charlie Furniss why he is losing hope and why he increasingly feels cheated by the conservation establishment.
January 1, 2005... Swiss photographer Karl Ammann has almost single-handedly brought the African bush-meat crisis to the attention of the world. But when I meet him in his Chelsea flat, he tells me that after 16 years, he feels like he's banging his head against...

Pilgrimage to the past: the shrine of St James the Apostle in Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, is the third holiest site in Christendom, and has drawn pilgrims to the town for centuries. Octavia Lamb takes a stroll along the pilgrim's way via the archives of the RGS-IBG.(Geographical Archive)
January 1, 2005... For centuries, pilgrims have trodden the various paths down through the Pyrenees to the Spanish town of Santiago de Compostela in order to pay homage to St James the Great and to seek miraculous cures and solace from grief. In recent times,...

Untamed.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Untamed by Steve Bloom, Abrams, hb, pp421, 29.95 [pounds sterling] Yawn. Another day, another portfolio of wildlife images, another photographer banging on about the fragility of nature and how they're using photography to "engender in...

Land of Ghosts.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Land of Ghosts by David Campbell Jonathan Cape, hb, pp260, 18.99 [pounds sterling] David Campbell's objective in Amazonia was to explore how so many species can coexist" in such a small patch of this earthly orb". That might have been his...

Big Cat Diary: Cheetah.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Big Cat Diary: Cheetah by Jonathan and Angela Scott, Collins, hb, pp260, 16.99 [pounds sterling] This, the third companion book to the BBC's Big Cat Diary TV series, is beautifully illustrated with the Scotts' superb photography. Yet this...

Lost Worlds.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Lost Worlds by Michael Bywater Granta, hb, pp296, 12.99 [pounds sterling] While the dominant soundtrack of the brash young millennium is provided by mobile ringtones, there remains an audible counterpoint: a chorus of grumpy old men...

Long Way Round.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman Time Warner Books, hb, pp312, 18.99 [pounds sterling] In April 2004, actors Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman set off from Shepherds Bush with the aim of circling the world on motorbikes....

Consuming Nature.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Consuming Nature photographs by Karl Ammann; text by various authors, Altisima Press, pb, pp200, US$29.95 (Currently only available to UK readers by calling +1 202 912 1208) Consuming Nature is a graphic account of the timber trade's...

The Wide World.(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Wide World edited by Paul Safont, Macmillan, hb, pp192, 12.99 [pounds sterling] To misquote Dickens, it was the best of magazines, it was the worst of magazines. The wonderfully archaic and yet disarmingly modern Wide World--which was...

Earthsong.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Earthsong by Bernhard Edmaier Phaidon, hb, pp232, 35 [pounds sterling] The Earth looks a very different place from the air, and through the camera of Bernhard Edmaier its many forms and nuances have been captured with stunning effect in...

One's Company.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... One's Company by Peter Fleming, First published in 1934. Most recent edition published by Pimlico, pb, pp319, 8.99 [pounds sterling] In recent years, Peter Fleming has been eclipsed by his younger brother Ian, author of the James Bond...

When the Alps Cast their Spell.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... When the Alps Cast their Spell by Trevor Braham, The In Pinn, hb, pp314, 20 [pounds sterling] For centuries, the Alps were considered a barrier to travel, of no economic importance and inhabited by peasants of sub-normal intelligence (the...

Bradford Washburn: a Life of Exploration.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Bradford Washburn: A Life of Exploration by Michael Sfraga Oregon State University Press, pb, pp260, 13.45 [pounds sterling] I've always thought of Bradford Washburn primarily as a great artist; his aerial studies of the Alaskan mountains...

Winds of Sorrow: Travels in and around Transylvania.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... Winds of Sorrow: Travels in and around Transylvania by Alan Ogden Orchid Press, pb, pp359, 12.99 [pounds sterling] All that most people know about Transylvania is that it was the setting for Brain Stoker's Dracula. Stoker never visited...

The Travel Book.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2005... The Travel Book Lonely Planet, hb, pp444, 40 [pounds sterling] The Travel Book is perhaps Lonely Planet's most ambitious publication to date. Packing the entire world into one book is no mean feat, but here each of the world's nations is...

Geographical travel: this month we visit France, taking in both the picturesque Auvergne region and the historic Pont du Gard aqueduct in the south, before speaking to David Horwell if Galapapos Adventure Tours.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... VINALES VALLEY, PINAR DEL RIO, CUBA As dawn breaks over the Caribbean, the mist rises slowly from the floor of the Vinales valley in Cuba's westerly province of Pinar del Rio. Distinguished by its unique limestone formations, known locally...

See San Fran on a Segway.(travel news)
January 1, 2005... Visitors to San Francisco can now take advantage of a new way to view the city, via a tour on the Segway--the world's first and only self-balancing solo electric transport mechanism. The San Francisco Electric Tour Company is offering tours...

End to booze cruise blues?(travel news)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Travellers keen to take advantage of mainland Europe's cheaper alcohol and tobacco prices may be in for some good news. The European Commission has started proceedings against the UK over its application of EU laws concerning tobacco and...

A worsening crisis for Egypt.(Tourism Concern)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The terrorist bombings in Egypt on 7 October last year have again brought home the vulnerability of the country's tourism industry. The explosion at the Hilton hotel in Taba caused the deaths of 23 and wounded approximately 150 people. It isn't...

Responsible Tourism Awards announced.(travel news)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Responsibletravel.com recently announced the winners of the 2004 Responsible Tourism Awards at the 25th World Travel Market. Organised in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical the awards acknowledge companies that...

Earthwatch has launched its 2005 expedition guide.(UK)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... UK Earthwatch has launched its 2005 expedition guide, featuring projects to protect octopuses in Costa Rica and monitor Asiatic black bears in China. * Info: www.earthwatch.org/europe

Pinkpassport.co.uk, in partnership with lastminute.com, has launched the first-ever gay-holiday website.(UK)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... UK Pinkpassport.co.uk, in partnership with lastminute.com, has launched the first-ever gay-holiday website. The site offers listings and online bookings and will shortly launch its own range of tailor-made holidays. * Info:...

Global Vision International is looking for expedition members to join research teams in Costa Rica.(UK)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... UK Global Vision International is looking for expedition members to join research teams in Costa Rica. From April 2005, volunteers will assist scientists working on a variety of long term terrestrial and marine projects. * Info:...

The road to Santiago: Ted Lamb follows a centuries-old path through the Pyrenees on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain.
January 1, 2005... The Santiago pilgrimage has undergone an enormous revival in the past couple of decades, partly thanks to some high-profile publicists, including the actress Shirley MacLaine. Her book retracing the mediaeval hike across northwestern Spain,...

Another world: Jo Sargent visits the Auvergne, France, and discovers a region distinct from the rest of the country.
January 1, 2005... Located in the heart of the Massif Central, the Auvergne region of France has traditionally maintained a degree of insularity that singles it out from the rest of the country. Indeed, the area has been described as an island surrounded by land....

Roman rambling: the World Heritage-listed Pont du Gard in the south of France represents one of the great feats of Roman engineering. It's also the highlight of a 50-kilometre section of the GR6 footpath that follows an aqueduct system linking Uzes with Nimes.
January 1, 2005... Tucked away in a sleepy corner of the south of France, hidden from the bustle of the motorways and the hassle of the coast, there's a stretch of disused waterway that links the picturesque little village of Uzes to the more metropolitan but no...

David Horwell is the founder of Galapagos Adventure Tours, which offers small-group escorted trips to the Galapagos Islands and elsewhere in Ecuador. Sian Wherret talks to him about the company's origins, philosophy and future direction.(Travel For A Living)(Interview)
January 1, 2005... What first led you to the Galapagos Islands? I grew up near Charles Darwin's house in Kent and I'd been fascinated by the Galapagos since learning about them at school; the significance of Darwin's visit there left an impression on me. I...

Emma Richards, at the age of just 29, is already one of Britain's most successful sailors. In May 2003, she became the youngest person to complete the Around Alone race--a solo circumnavigation of almost 50,000 kilometres. Richard Wyllie talks to her about her life at sea.(In Conversation)(Interview)
January 1, 2005... What first sparked your interest in sailing? It wasn't really a conscious decision, it all just kind of happened. I'm the youngest of four in my family and I started sailing with my brothers and my parents. I began racing when I was ten or...