Geographical articles from January 2008

Geographical archives from January 2008

Telling geography's stories.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
January 1, 2008... While we were putting together this issue of Geographical, a flurry of those 'Oh woe is geography teaching' stories appeared in the national press. As usual, they were reporting the results of a survey into children's geographical knowledge,...

Wildlife spectacle under threat.(WORLDWATCH)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] One of the world's most spectacular wildlife attractions could be under serious threat if the government of Tanzania approves plans for a USS400million soda ash plant to be built close to Lake Natron, an important...

Chinese birth defects on the rise.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] China has seen a 40 per cent increase in birth defects since 2001, with the highest rates occurring in areas suffering high levels of poverty and environmental degradation, according to a recent report by the...

Mantle plume minimising earthquakes.(WORLDWATCH)(Juan de Fuca tectonic plate)
January 1, 2008... Seismic surveys of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, located off the northwest coast of the USA, have revealed that a giant magma chamber may be helping to reduce the rate and magnitude of earthquakes in the region. Geologists from the...

Tokelau to remain New Zealand's last colony.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... A mere 16 votes have kept the three tiny atolls of Tokelau a colony of New Zealand, after a five-day referendum--the second time in 15 months the South Pacific territory has failed to agree to decolonise. The islanders already effectively...

Cameras capture secret life of previously exploited forest.(WORLDWATCH)(Zoological Society of London's installtion of cameras)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Motion-sensitive camera traps deployed within a large area of unprotected Indonesian forest have demonstrated that even areas that have previously been logged are important habitats for vulnerable and endangered species. The cameras were...

New York is the latest city to join the campaign to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags.(USA)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... USA New York is the latest city to join the campaign to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags. Under new proposals, stores larger than 5,000 square feet (464 square metres) will charge for reusable plastic bags and offer in-store recycling...

In a bid to boost dwindling fishery stocks, officials at Taiwan's Fisheries Agency are set to ban the export of young eels between November and April a key eel-harvesting period.(TAIWAN)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... In a bid to boost dwindling fishery stocks, officials at Taiwan's Fisheries Agency are set to ban the export of young eels between November and April a key eel-harvesting period. Japan is a significant importer of Taiwanese eels and it's feared...

Glasgow is to have its flood defences overhauled to the tune of 18 million [pounds sterling] during the next four years, Scottish ministers recently announced.(UK)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Glasgow is to have its flood defences overhauled to the tune of 18 million [pounds sterling] during the next four years, Scottish ministers recently announced. The funds will be put towards various defences along the White Cart Water River,...

The prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has announced the creation of the world's largest freshwater protected area.(CANADA)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has announced the creation of the world's largest freshwater protected area. The designated area, the first of five, will encompass more than 10,000 square kilometres of Lake Superior, the largest...

A 750-tonne church has completed a 12 kilometre journey on board a flat-bed truck from Heuersdorf to Borna in eastern Germany.(GERMANY)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... A 750-tonne church has completed a 12 kilometre journey on board a flat-bed truck from Heuersdorf to Borna in eastern Germany. The wooden Emmaus church had stood in the town for more than 700 years, but was moved at a cost of more than 2...

Malaria left in loggers' wake.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Remote communities in the Amazon forest are feeling the effects of a malaria epidemic, despite having been free from the mosquito-borne disease for decades. The highest concentration of cases is occurring in areas where logging and...

Ice cap collapse triggered agricultural shift in Europe.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The collapse of a massive ice sheet 8,000 years ago caused a dramatic rise in sea level and triggered an agricultural revolution across Europe, according to new research by geographers at the universities of Exeter and Wollongong, Australia....

Isle of Wight aims for carbon neutrality.(CLIMATE WATCH)(green energy)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The council in charge of the Isle of Wight, located off the Hampshire coast, has announced plans to power the island entirely by locally produced green energy. The waters surrounding the island have great potential for tidal energy...

In an attempt to cut congestion on the roads and reduce emissions, Tesco has become the first UK retailer to transport freight within the UK by canal.(UK)(Tesco PLC)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... In an attempt to cut congestion on the roads and reduce emissions, Tesco has become the first UK retailer to transport freight within the UK by canal. Using barges and tugs, the retailer has started to transport six-metre long containers of...

According to the US Department of Energy (USDE), electrical devices left on standby account for five per cent of the USA's total electricity consumption.(USA)
January 1, 2008... According to the US Department of Energy (USDE), electrical devices left on standby account for five per cent of the USA's total electricity consumption. The energy lost through these so called 'vampire electronics' has an estimated annual...

Internet surfers can now calculate the size of their carbon footprint by visiting Google's latest website, www.google.co.uk/carbonfootprint.(UK)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Internet surfers can now calculate the size of their carbon footprint by visiting Google's latest website, www.google.co.uk/carbonfootprint. The website, built in collaboration with the Energy Saving Trust and RSA using a carbon calculator...

Energy saving light bulbs will begin to replace standard incandescent bulbs on shop shelves this year as part of a nationwide effort to cut carbon dioxide emissions.(UK)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Energy saving light bulbs will begin to replace standard incandescent bulbs on shop shelves this year as part of a nationwide effort to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Following Prime Minister Gordon Brown's announcement in March of a complete...

Fossil record predicts mass extinctions ahead.(CLIMATEWATCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Half of all plant and animal species could be forced into extinction by rising global temperatures, mirroring five climate-triggered mass extinctions of the past, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B....

7,000-year-old trees revealed by glacial retreat.(CLIMATEWATCH)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Preserved tree stumps have been revealed by a glacier in retreat, providing further evidence that global temperatures are rising. Johannes Koch, a Canadian geologist from the College of Wooster in Ohio, USA,...

Nagorno-Karabakh.(HOTSPOT)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LOCATED IN THE South Caucasus, Nagorno-Karabakh is a geopolitical oddity. Officially part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, it's actually a de facto independent republic, located close to the border of, and with...

Trade: more than US$6trillion worth of merchandise is exported worldwide each year.(STATE OF THE WORLD)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... Some countries are so dependent upon exports and imports that the value of their international trade exceeds that of their Gross Domestic Product. And with globalisation, many of the wealthier countries have experienced a major increase in the...

Area of outstanding natural beauty Wye Valley: as the only AONB to straddle the border of England and Wales, the Wye Valley's trustees strive for cohesion to safeguard its picturesque beauty. Christian Amodeo follows the Wye's majestic, meandering course.(NATURAL BEAUTY)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sheer wooded cliffs and stunning limestone gorges may be indisputable evidence of the Wye River's hard work over millennia--and the reason for its valley's great renown--but today this natural border between England...

'There is no doubt there is a new scramble for Africa under way'.(IN SOCIETY)(Kofi Annan and Bob Geldof for Century Challenges )
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan and humanitarian campaigner Bob Geldof have kicked off what is planned as a series of flagship events for this year--all placed under the umbrella of our new 21st Century...

Examining the forces that have shaped the British Isles.(global warming)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Global warming is rarely out of the headlines, yet the changes the Earth is now experiencing are a mere blip in the sometimes cataclysmic climatic changes that have occurred even in the past few thousand years. ...

The lighter side of polar life: nightcaps on the ice cap.(IN SOCIETY)(With Scott to the Pol)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... The majesty of the Antarctic the world's fast true wilderness--continues to inspire generation after generation. And so, back by popular demand, and as a contribution to the International Polar Year, comes the Society's With Scott to the Pole...

Join the Society--get the magazine.(IN SOCIETY)(Royal Geographical Society )(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Often called the 'Home of Geography', the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) promotes an enjoyment and understanding of our world. Membership is open to anyone. You may use geography in your profession, have a...

Captain Speke's artificial horizon: the army officer and explorer used this navigational aid during his search for the source of the River Nile.(FROM THE COLLECTION)(John Hanning Speke )
January 1, 2008... Born in Devon in 1827, John Hanning Speke was commissioned into the British Indian Army in 1844, going on to travel in the Himalaya. However, he is best known for his subsequent African voyages and discovery of the source of the River Nile. ...

Amazon adventure: a-level student Oliver Russell recounts his incredible expedition into the Amazon rainforest on a conservation exercise--his prize for winning the 2007 Geographical Young Geographer of the Year competition.(COMPETITION)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 'WE WERE WALKING along the transect when we saw paw prints in the mud. When we got to about 200 metres from the end, there was a jaguar, staring right back at us. It was the most intense, incredible experience of the...

Stuck in the mud.(Mud volcano in East Java, Indonesia)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In May 2006, hot water and mud began gushing through cracks in the dry earth of East Java, Indonesia, apparently triggered by careless gas-drilling through the porous and permeable rock below. Since then, the mud...

That sinking feeling: a miscalculation by salt-mining engineers 200 years ago almost sounded a permanent death knell for the Cheshire market town of Northwich, but a remarkable rescue plan has now saved it from subsiding into the source of its own wealth.(Cheshire salt mines)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 'Northwich is a dream town, a fanciful creation of a disordered brain. The streets swagger at eccentric angles, and the houses lurch forward drunkenly. I entered the library and experienced sensations usually...

A people divided: the break-up of the former Soviet Union has given Armenia's largest minority, the Yezidis, new freedoms. But this has proven to be a mixed blessing, as geopolitical and historical concerns have riven the small community.(Armenia's Yezidis)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nestled at the foot of Mount Aragats, Armenia's highest peak, the villages of Riya Taza and Alagyaz hardly merit more than a passing glance from motorists heading north towards the border with Georgia. Elderly women...

Saving Mawson's Hut: almost a century after explorer and geologist Douglas Mawson established an extensive scientific research programme at Cape Denison in Antarctica, another team of Australians has battled blizzards and the hostile polar environment to complete the first stage of a ten-year programme aimed at preserving Mawson's iconic hut.(Mawson's Hut)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The lights are barely visible from the outside, as a 150km/h blizzard batters the Sorensen Hut, an Antarctic summer base at Cape Denison. But the five expeditioners cooped up inside aren't even aware of the howling...

Aggroin the Andes: in a remote pocket of rural Bolivia, the indigenous communities have kept alive the tinku, an ancient annual festival to honour the Inca earth goddess Pachamama. It's a three-day fiesta that involves drinking, dancing and fierce ritual dust-ups, and often results in spilt blood--and even death. David Atkinson takes a rare look at this colourful and combative ceremony.(Tinku festival)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] It starts with a shot of local moonshine and ends in a huge, alcohol-fuelled punch up that is often deadly. This is the strange world of tinku, a highly ritualised, highly violent folk ceremony held in Bolivia's...

Tourism of duty: the fair trade bunting has been taken down, the leftover programmes are in the recycling bin and the dregs of the organic fizz have been drunk. The Responsible Tourism Awards are over for another year, but what do the 2007 winners tell us about the state of environmentally friendly travel? Roger Fulton speaks to those at the vanguard of the movement.(Responsible Tourism Awards)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The trouble with labelling a holiday 'responsible' is that, like 'moderate drinking', 'sensible eating' and 'safe sex', it smacks of finger-wagging killjoys and government advice that takes the enjoyment out of an...

The call to arms.(Geographical archive)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Troops practise cavalry manoeuvres in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1900. Argentina's national army was established at around the same time as the Independent Republic of Argentina was created after dictator General...

Mapping Colonial Conquest: Australia and Southern Africa.(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Mapping Colonial Conquest: Australia and Southern Africa edited by Norman Etherington University of Western Australia Press, pb, pp220, 19.95 [pounds sterling] Maps have always revealed the ways in which...

Palestinian Walks: Notes on a Vanishing Landscape.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... Palestinian Walks: Notes on a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh Profile, pb, pp212, 9.99 [pound sterling] There can't be many walking books as impassioned as Raja Shehadeh's latest. Its title seems to promise something gentle and...

The Sleeping Buddha.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Sleeping Buddha by Hamida Ghafour Constable and Robinson, pb, pp320, 8.99 [pounds sterling] 'Every inch of the country shook with pain,' explains Hamida Ghafour, describing her return to her homeland in...

Great British Journeys.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Great British Journeys by Nicholas Crane Weidenfeld & Nicolson, hb, pp256, 20 [pounds sterling] In recreating some Great British Journeys for the BBC, Nicholas Crane follows an eclectic bunch of people who had...

Solomon Islands: A South Seas Journey.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Solomon Islands: A South Seas Journey by Michael McCoy Zipolo Habu, hb, pp176, 47.50 [pounds sterling] You might wonder how a single journey could do justice to the Solomon Islands, an amazing archipelago that...

Disappearing World: The Earth's Most Extraordinary and Endangered Places.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Disappearing World: The Earth's Most Extraordinary and Endangered Places by Alonzo C Addison Collins, hb, pp272, 25 [pounds sterling] You would think the designation of 'World Heritage site' would bestow some...

Japan Through the Looking Glass.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Japan Through the Looking Glass by Alan Macfarlane Profile Books, hb, pp256, 16.99 [pounds sterling] Nihonjinron is the study and debate of the essence of Japaneseness; a reaction to the Western 'ethnocentric...

Touring Libya: The Western Provinces.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Touring Libya: The Western Provinces by Philip Ward First published in 1967. Currently out of print There can't be many 40-year-old travel guides that are as useful today as they were when they were first...

Top 10 writer's reads.(Iain Stewart'a favorite books)(Brief article)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dr Iain Stewart is a geology lecturer and earthquake expert who has presented two Horizon documentaries for the BBC. His latest book, Earth: The Power of the Planet, is out now 1. The Myth of Solid Ground by...

Row, row, row your boat: with ocean rowing growing in popularity, Olly Hicks, the youngest person to row solo across the Atlantic, explains what's needed to take on the seven seas with your oars.(ESSENTIAL GEAR)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I was only 16 kilometres outside New York harbour when things began to go wrong with my attempt to row west to east across 'The Pond.' On my port side, about eight kilometres distant, Long Island stretched out into...

Ten of the best: if you're spending months alone at sea in a rowing boat, you'll need more than a map and your thoughts to keep you company. Here are some state-of-the-art items that will keep you warm, dry and on course.(ESSENTIAL GEAR)(Buyers guide)
January 1, 2008... [1] Survival suit Guy Cotten TPS Suit [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 480 [pounds sterling]/3.5 kilograms This survival suit is easy to put on, not too cumbersome and inherently buoyant. No lifejacket is needed, so the wearer can swim...

Growing pains: with 85 per cent of the UK's cut flowers being reported from overseas, ready-made bunches in your local supermarket often come with the caveats of carbon footprints, pollution and low wages for growers and workers. Victoria Lambert explains how the ethical consumer can buy carnations with a clear conscience.(NEW TRADE SECRETS)(United Kingdom's horticultural industry)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Not content with being a nation of gardeners, Britain, it seems, is now addicted to the heady quick fix of cut flowers. While the slow and gentle pleasure of sowing seeds and cajoling plants into life still has its...

The low down on low light: as the days grow shorter and the temperatures drop, most of us will be trying to stay warm and snug indoors. But the winter months offer landscape photographers ideal Conditions for getting out and practising their art.(PHOTOGRAPHY)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The bleak Northern Hemisphere midwinter may not seem like an ideal time for photography. The further north you live, the fewer the hours of daylight and even then, the skies may be picked with grey cloud set to burst...

Designer landscapes.(LETTER OF THE MONTH)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... The news that Wallasea Island, an island of productive farmland in Essex, is being flooded to create a sanctuary for birds is more than a matter for the birds. This action once more raises the question of what the countryside is for and who is...

Grow your own.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's often the smaller articles that contain the most potent messages, such as the news that a global food crisis is looming (Worldwatch, November 2007). Believe it or not, the UN has designated this the Year of...

The cult of celebrity.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... Like Pauline Bunce (Mailbag, December 2007), I was somewhat disappointed by your decision to put Brace Parry on the cover of the October issue of Geographical. I think it's rather sad that documentary film makers now seem to think that the...

What about the wildlife?(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thank you for the excellent, if rather disturbing, Dossier on glacial melting (Sounding the retreat, December 2007). The one element that seemed to be missing was the impact that the loss of so many glaciers will...

A new year's resolution.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2008... In 2007, once again, our splendid Geographical magazine faithfully carried details of forthcoming Society events from around the UK. Activities located outside the M25 territories accounted for a mere 20 per cent of coverage. The...

Correction.(Correction notice)
January 1, 2008... An error was introduced into November's 'Expedition health' column (Out and about) during the editing process. The text stated that hand-cleaning gels should be used for cleaning some types of contact lenses if water is scarce. However, it was...

Tim Cope.(IN CONVERSATION)(Interview)
January 1, 2008... Tim Cope, 28, is the first person in more than 800 years to ride 10,000 kilometres between Mongolia and Hungary in the footsteps of Genghis Khan. Travelling on horseback across the Eurasian Steppe, Cope was forced to rely on the hospitality and...