Geographical articles from June 2007

Geographical archives from June 2007

The whys of whaling.(FROM THE EDITOR)
June 1, 2007... A couple of months ago, we sat down to try to decide on a topic for the June Dossier (page 46). It occurred to us that the issue would come out just before the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and we decided that...

World's first underwater observatory.(WORLDWATCH)(Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A US$ 12million (6million [pounds sterling]) underwater observatory containing robots, video cameras and scientific instruments is to be immersed to a depth of 900 metres off the Californian coast. Managed by the Monterey Bay Aquarium...

Did Cook really discover Australia first?(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A new book, Beyond Capricorn, has cast doubt on the widely accepted claim that James Cook was the first European to map the coast of Australia in 1770. Australian author Peter Trickett claims that, in 1522, Portuguese seafarer Christopher de...

Life returns to outback lake.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A giant lake in South Australia that has been nothing more than a salt-encrusted dust bowl for the past seven years has sprung to life following heavy rain during April. Lake Eyre, the largest lake in Australia when full, almost...

World population to exceed nine billion by 2050.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The latest figures from the UN Population Division suggest that the current global population of 6.7 billion will surge by 2.5 billion over the next four decades, taking it above the nine billion mark by 2050. Steady growth in Africa, Asia...

GIS boosts Brazilian leprosy monitoring.(WORLDWATCH)(geographic information system )(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Detection and monitoring rates of leprosy in Brazil have doubled, thanks to geographic information system (GIS) technology. Using handheld GPS units and ArcMap software, the British Leprosy Relief Association (LEPRA) can now pinpoint areas...

British walker Karl Bushby has resumed his 12-year 58,000-kilometre around-the-world walk after being arrested in April last year for illegally entering Russia via the partially frozen Bering Straits from Alaska.(RUSSIA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... British walker Karl Bushby has resumed his 12-year 58,000-kilometre around-the-world walk after being arrested in April last year for illegally entering Russia via the partially frozen Bering Straits from Alaska. He will now continue the...

British geologists are leading a project to collate and present the world's geological knowledge online.(UK)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... British geologists are leading a project to collate and present the world's geological knowledge online. The project, called OneGeology, aims to improve access to geological maps and data for project planning, earthquake prediction, resource...

Torrential rains across northern Queensland, Australia, brought relief to the Great Barrier Reef from scorching summer temperatures at the end of March, causing ocean temperatures to drop to the coolest levels for five years.(AUSTRALIA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Torrential rains across northern Queensland, Australia, brought relief to the Great Barrier Reef from scorching summer temperatures at the end of March, causing ocean temperatures to drop to the coolest levels for five years. Rises in water...

Residents of Springhill in the US state of Montana were forced to take up pitchforks and employ a snowplough after a cul-de-sac became blocked by tumbleweed.(USA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Residents of Springhill in the US state of Montana were forced to take up pitchforks and employ a snowplough after a cul-de-sac became blocked by tumbleweed. Some residents blamed strong winds that caused the weed to be blown in from a nearby...

Chinese authorities are proposing to introduce a dog tax in a bid to control numbers and fight rabies.(CHINA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Chinese authorities are proposing to introduce a dog tax in a bid to control numbers and fight rabies. State-owned news agency Xinhua reported that the tax would fund clean up operations of dog faeces throughout China's major cities and help...

As Geographical went to press, Australia's first commercial wave-generated power station and desalination plant was preparing to supply homes in Sydney with electricity and fresh drinking water.(AUSTRALIA)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... As Geographical went to press, Australia's first commercial wave-generated power station and desalination plant was preparing to supply homes in Sydney with electricity and fresh drinking water. The AUS6million (2.5million [pounds sterling])...

Top 10 tea consumers.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... TOP 10 TEA CONSUMERS ('000 tonnes) 1. INDIA 671 2. CHINA 558 3. RUSSIA 171 4. TURKEY 165 5. JAPAN 155 6. UK 129 7. PAKISTAN 120 8. USA ...

Marine cyclone alters nutrient balance.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A 200-kilometre-wide marine equivalent of a cyclone has been identified 100 kilometres off the coast of Sydney, Australia. The swirling mass of water is altering the region's sea temperature and ecology, according to scientists from the...

Of mites and men: Inca history revealed by fossilised dung-eaters.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... They say you can tell a lot about a society by looking at its waste, and a team of scientists from Britain, France and the USA has added support to this truism, having gained insights into the rise and fall of the Inca Empire by analysing tiny...

Buffer zones for UK's greatest treasures.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... New policies to be introduced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) will see protective buffer zones placed around Britain's 27 World Heritage sites in an attempt to prevent them from being degraded by unsympathetic developments...

Guinea.(HOTSPOT)(Country overview)
June 1, 2007... Earlier this year, President Lansana Conte of the Republic of Guinea came under renewed pressure to relinquish power. At least 129 people were killed and 1,379 injured during January and February as security forces clamped down on violent...

Urbanisation: the proportion of people living in cities looks set to grow from 40 per cent in 1980 to 60 per cent in 2020.(STATE OF THE WORLD)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Richer countries tend to have a larger proportion of city dwellers than poorer countries. In some countries in South America, however, more people are packed into cities than the average for North America or parts of Europe--without the same...

North Wessex downs: areas of outstanding natural beauty: Jo Sargent visits the historical landscape of the North Wessex Downs AONB as it celebrates the 35th anniversary of its designation.(NATURAL BEAUTY)(Travel narrative)
June 1, 2007... Driving into the market town of Marlborough on a sunny spring morning, I'm confronted with a view so quintessentially English, that it could have been plucked from the imagination of a tea-crazed Anglophile who's read too much Jane Austen....

Safer adventure holidays and field trips for British abroad.(IN SOCIETY)
June 1, 2007... A new British standard has been launched at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) in response to calls to improve safety on overseas adventure activities, whether it's exploring the Amazon, attempting to scale Mount Everest or taking part...

Online lectures.(IN SOCIETY)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Two thousand people have now registered on the RGS-IBG website, many of them because they are keen to view the Monday-night lectures online. By signing up, you will have access to lectures going back to spring last year. Each lecture...

Earth's final frontier.(LECTURE OF THE MONTH)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... 19 June, 8pm (REGIONAL THEATRES PROGRAMME, SOUTHAMPTON) Hot on the heels of Steve Leonard in the spring, the latest Regional Theatres Programme lecture at the Turner Sims Concert Hall in Southampton will be given by the double act of...

A selection of forthcoming events in June: for details, please contact the Events Office on 020 7591 3100.(Calendar)
June 1, 2007... 7 June, 8pm Libya awakens (REGIONAL THEATRES PROGRAMME, BRECON) Join Chris Bradley on a richly illustrated tour of a mysterious and hidden part of the globe to discover the treasures that are emerging from this unique, isolated...

Chocolate and tripe de roche: emergency provisions left behind by the first expedition to search for Sir John Franklin's missing party in the Canadian Arctic.(FROM THE COLLECTION)
June 1, 2007... When Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin and his crew went missing during an attempt to discover the Northwest Passage, it sparked one of the largest manhunts in British history. The expedition was last seen in 1845 at Melville Bay, Canada, and...

Magical beans.(FAIR TRADE COFFEE)(Kagera, Tanzania)
June 1, 2007... Situated on the northwestern tip of Tanzania, between Lake Victoria and the mountains of Rwanda, the green hills of Kagera are peppered with thousands of tiny coffee plantations. Although the majority of the plots are no longer than half a...

Conventional weapons.(CITES)
June 1, 2007... CITES, the world's foremost environmental treaty, has been protecting the planet's threatened wildlife for more than 30 years. As delegates from all over the world converge on Geneva for the next meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the...

Out with the old: Tasmania's old-growth forests are home to some of the largest and most ancient trees on the planet. But they are being turned into woodchips at an alarming rate, denting the island's clean, green image.(TASMANIAN FORESTRY)
June 1, 2007... Tasmania has an enviable reputation. Government tourism campaigns with taglines such as 'Island of Inspiration' and 'The Natural State' have sold the world a vision of dramatic dolerite cliffs, pristine snow-white beaches and fairytale forests....

Geographical dossier: at the end of May, a crucial meeting will decide the fate of the world's whales.(SPECIAL REPORT)
June 1, 2007... ... so why do they want to continue the hunt? * In 1986, with whale populations pushed to the brink of extinction, the IWC called a halt to commercial whaling * Since then, Japan, Norway and Iceland have killed more than 26,000 whales...

One world is not enough: they may have embarked in search of souls to save, but the Jesuit missionaries and explorers returned with a wealth of geographical knowledge.(JESUIT EXPLORERS)
June 1, 2007... It's 1685 and you're about to embark on a prestigious scientific expedition to Southeast Asia. So, what do you take with you? This was the knotty dilemma facing a party of French Jesuits, sent by Louis XIV to pay his respects to the king of...

Lake of the floating gardens: the Intha have lived, worked and prayed above the waters of Myanmar's Inle Lake for generations. These inventive people expertly go about their business from a fleet of small wooden boats, rowing with one leg along the channels that separate their floating farms. Leanne Walker visits the Sons of the Lake.(INLE LAKE)
June 1, 2007... With an acrobat's agility, Ingkongeh stands upright with one leg locked around a long oar. His other foot firmly grips the fiat stern of his boat as he sculls along, all the while keeping an eye out for fish in the clear, shallow waters of Inle...

The first resort: in one of the remotest parts of Australia, a new kind of tourism is growing. This is ecotourism with a difference--100 per cent Aboriginal-owned enterprises that measure their success not in profits, but in creating wealth of spirit.(KOOLJAMAN RESORT)
June 1, 2007... A tense silence fell over the beach. The last rays of the sunset created a vivid, many-hued backdrop to the scene. We waited. Was that a movement? In the darkness, the bushes seemed to creep towards us. Suddenly they were flung aside to reveal...

End of empire.(GEOGRAPHICAL ARCHIVE)(Photograph)
June 1, 2007... Between April 1910 and March 1911, photographers Morgan Philips Price and Douglas Carruthers travelled through Siberia, Mongolia, Western China, Russian Turkestan and Armenia. Their expedition coincided with the collapse, after almost 300...

The seeds of change.(The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History by David Beerling Oxford University Press, hb, pp288, 14.99 [pounds sterling] At last the role of plants is recognised in the great events of Earth's history. David Beerling's...

Nature's Calendar.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... Nature's Calendar introduction by Chris Packham Collins, hb, pp256, 17.99 [pounds sterling] Published to coincide with the television series of the same name, Nature's Calendar would make an excellent investment for any budding amateur...

International Migration: A Very Short Introduction.(Book review)
June 1, 2007... International Migration: A Very Short Introduction by Khalid Koser Oxford University Press, pb, pp140, 6.99 [pounds sterling] As a primer in the tangled webs of international migration, this book works very well. It is straightforward,...

Shameful Flight: The Last Years of the British Empire in India.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... Shameful Flight: The Last Years of the British Empire in India by Stanley Wolpert Oxford University Press, hb, pp238, 16.99 [pounds sterling] The partition of British India during the 1940s was the most emotive episode in the disbandment...

Feeding People is Easy.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... Feeding People is Easy by Colin Tudge Pari Publishing, pb, pp186, 9.99 [pounds sterling] One summer morning in 1974, Colin Tudge had an epiphany: "That all the official lore from on high, from government approved high-tech industry, was as...

Top 10 writer's reads.(John Pilkington)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... John Pilkington is a travel lecturer and the author of three travel books, including An Englishman in Patagonia. He has also produced several programmes for BBC Radio 4 1. In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin (Vintage Classics, 7.99 [pounds...

An Afghan Journey.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... An Afghan Journey by Roger Willemsen Haus Publishing, hb, pp220, 20 [pounds sterling] "I'm going to a country without choices," Roger Willemsen informs us on the aeroplane to Kabul. "Next to me a man is seriously nonplussed because they...

Isle of Cloves.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... Isle of Cloves by FD Ommanney First published in 1950. Currently out of print Time has not been kind to FD Ommanney or his Isle of Cloves. A mere 50 years after the book's publication, few remember this extremely likeable study of the...

Mountains: Wonders of the Natural World.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... Mountains: Wonders of the Natural World by Kevin Kling and Paul Tapponnier Abrams, hb, pp319, 29.95 [pounds sterling] Some things are inordinately difficult to photograph, and mountains must come close to the top of the list. How can one...

City of the Sharp-Nosed Fish: Greek Lives in Roman Egypt.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... City of the Sharp-Nosed Fish: Greek Lives in Roman Egypt by Peter Parsons Weidenfeld & Nicolson, hb, pp258, 20 [pounds sterling] One of Peter Parsons' tutors used to straighten papyri by sitting on them while drinking Guinness, a detail...

The Last Roman: Romulus Augustus and the Decline of the West.(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2007... The Last Roman: Romulus Augustus and the Decline of the West by Adrian Murdoch Sutton, hb, pp224, 18.99 [pounds sterling] Picture this. The year is 477 AD, the place, Ravenna, Italy. A delicate boy of 13 commands the largest empire in...

Lost in space: essential gear: climbing 'big walls' requires skill, strength and stamina, not to mention a whole pile of kit. Andy Kirkpatrick offers advice on mounting these vertical expeditions.(BIG WALL CLIMBING)
June 1, 2007... I grew up in a tower block, so the normal fear that people experience when exposed to height was removed at an early age; tiptoeing along concrete banisters five stories up and climbing behind garbage chutes was an early rite of passage. ...

Ten of the best: hanging from a rope hundreds of metres up a sheer rock face is no time to discover that your gear is substandard. Avoid that sinking feeling by choosing from our selection of some of the best kit on offer.(ESSENTIAL GEAR)(Buyers guide)
June 1, 2007... [1] Helmet Petzl Meteor III 60 [pounds sterling]/235 grams If you fall off with a tonne of protection clipped to you then it'll always be a head-first tall Not good. I always wear a helmet. The Meteor keeps your head cool thanks...

Walk away with a pair of Raichle boots.(OUT AND ABOUT)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... With 95 years of experience under its belt, Swiss company Raichle has established a solid reputation for walking boots. Its new Mt Trail XT GTX boot achieved rave reviews across the outdoor community, thanks, in part, to a wealth of new and...

So light, you won't know it's there.(OUT AND ABOUT)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Hot on the heels of its Prolix Delta Jacket, The North Face has released a sleeveless version--the Prolix Delta Vest (52 [pounds sterling]). Featuring abrasion resistant, breathable, water--and wind-resistant fabric (known as Apex Alpha...

Propelled into pole position.(OUT AND ABOUT)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Your humble walking poles can now be turned into high-tech monitoring devices thanks to Silva's new Pole Mate (19.95 [pounds sterling]). This ingenious digital gadget can be lashed to any model of walking pole or stick using a simple rubberised...

Kayaking Canada's islands.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Kayaking Canada's islands During July and August, British kayaker and filmmaker Justine Curgenven will be navigating her sea kayak 1,000 kilometres through Gwaii Haanas National Park in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii), an archipelago...

'Corporate knighthood' for Aquapac.(Queen's Award for Enterprise)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Aquapac, the company that makes resealable waterproof packs for watersports enthusiasts, marine researchers and emergency service providers, has been awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise. The award is considered to be the corporate...

Ultimate Antarctic microlight challenge.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... In December, a team from the UK and USA will attempt a 2,400-kilometre microlight flight--the first ever--from the Patriot Hills on the edge of the Ronne Ice Shelf to the South Pole and back. Mike Thornewill, David Hadley (both from the UK) and...

Staying safe and healthy: medical advice from Barry Roberts of Wilderness Medical Training.(Expedition health)
June 1, 2007... This is the first in a new series on expedition health, written by experts from Wilderness Medical Training (WMT), an organisation that has offered expedition medical training for lay people, nurses and doctors in the UK since 1991. Antarctic...

Explorer's essentials: Robin Hanbury-Tenison, explorer, author and advocate of lightweight travel.(OUT AND ABOUT)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... I don't do cold, high or sailing, so I don't need much specialist kit. I enjoy travelling light and unencumbered, living as close as possible to the same way as the locals. Greater security comes from not being dependent on modern equipment and...

Culture smart!(The Geographical Good Guide Guide)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Helping you choose that vitally important, but often rather confusing, item of kit: the guidebook What are they like? Published by Kuperard, these pocket-sized books take readers through the customs and cultures of a range of...

Nature in flux: geophoto: with global warming rapidly reshaping the planet, a new breed of photographer is documenting our changing world.(PHOTOGRAPHY)(Recommended readings)
June 1, 2007... Who would have thought that a former occupant of the White House would one day make an Oscar-winning film, and without having to take acting lessons? Earlier this year, Al Gore, the US vice president under Bill Clinton for eight years, won...

Tea time.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... I thoroughly enjoyed your piece on puer tea (Puer gold) in the May Geographical-so much so that by the time I finished reading it, I was gasping to get a taste of this unusual delicacy. I apprehensively powered up my PC to search for a...

Portrait of a troubled man.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Nick Smith (Reviews, May 2007) hints that readers of EC Coleman's Captain Vancouver will end up craving more in-depth insights. They would do worse than keep company with Jonathan Raban's Passage to Juneau. Essentially a record of the author's...

Removing Tibet's riches.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... I read with interest your short article in May's Geographical about the Chinese government's intention to start mining the Qinghai--Tibet plateau after spending a lot of time and money surveying the area in question (Worldwatch). However,...

Hard rock.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... I would like to draw your attention to an error in the article about the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (May 2007), in which the author claims that the Whin Sill is made of dolomite. It is in fact the igneous rock...

Habits are thicker than water.(LETTER OF THE MONTH)(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... The brief note in Worldwatch about a new GIS database of water supplies in Kenya (May 2007) caught my eye because I am proud to Say that I am one of the Earthwatch volunteers who had the privilege to work, not once but twice, with the...

Time on our side.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... So WE Bennett thinks that there's a time unit missing from the phrase "6.7 megawatts of energy each year" (Mailbag, May 2007). What is a year if it isn't a unit of time? If he or she is desperate to see the figure in megawatt-hours, the...

Finding an identity.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Why does the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) think that geography has an identity crisis? Why is it necessary to label anything geography-related in the media as 'geography' and how exactly is this going to help promote the discipline (In...

Jo Sargent in conversation with ... David Dimbleby.(Interview)
June 1, 2007... David Dimbleby has been presenting current affairs programmes documentaries on the BBC since 1962. He wrote and presented the award winning TV series An Ocean Apart, and more recently, he presented A Picture of Britain, which explored the way...