Geographical articles from March 2008

Geographical archives from March 2008

Wait and sea.(FROM THE EDITOR, protection of seabed)(Editorial)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The 2012 Olympics Games may well do wonders for London's development, but they could be disastrous for Britain's marine environment. All of the building going on has increased demand for concrete, which, in turn, is increasing the demand for...

Where in the world?(identification of a country)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Identify this country using the following clues: * It aims to reach 'developed country' status by 2020 * The majority ethnic group comprises about half of the population, while indigenous groups make up 11 per cent * It has had a...

Coral decline linked to human activity.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... New research into coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean has revealed a clear link between humans and coral degradation, identifying fishing, agricultural runoff and global climate change as having the most impact. Between 1999 and 2001,...

Are tropical forests really disappearing?(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Evidence that the world's tropical forests are shrinking may not be as clear-cut as previously thought, according to a leading deforestation expert who has trawled through decades of UN data. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dr Alan Grainger,...

Dam threatens Patagonian wilderness.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The pristine wilderness of southern Patagonia in South America, one of the world's most inaccessible regions, could be devastated should a proposed project to dam its rivers go ahead, environmentalists have warned. An international...

Cutting a path through Indonesian forest.(paper industries' highway construction)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... One of the world's largest paper companies and its partners are building a highway that will split an important Indonesian forest in half, according to a new WWF report. Companies working for Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) are constructing a...

Rising groundwater threatens Egyptian antiquities.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Groundwater beneath the Giza Plateau near Cairo, Egypt, is slowly rising and could cause structural damage to the foundations of several ancient sites. According to one Egyptologist, groundwater has already affected...

Increased government spending on healthcare for China's 1.3 billion people has led to a rise in life expectancy and a drop in infant and maternal mortality, claims a report released by the Chinese Ministry of Health.(CHINA)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Increased government spending on healthcare for China's 1.3 billion people has led to a rise in life expectancy and a drop in infant and maternal mortality, claims a report released by the Chinese Ministry of Health. Life expectancy has risen...

Construction work has begun on a 10,000-kilometre submarine cable network off the east coast of Africa that will improve access to high-capacity telecommunications infrastructure for 250 million Africans in 22 countries.(EAST AFRICA)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Construction work has begun on a 10,000-kilometre submarine cable network off the east coast of Africa that will improve access to high-capacity telecommunications infrastructure for 250 million Africans in 22 countries. The US$14.5million...

The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland have applied to the government of Scotland for a licence to release 20 beavers in Argyll next year.(SCOTLAND)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland have applied to the government of Scotland for a licence to release 20 beavers in Argyll next year, claiming they will bring ecological benefits and boost tourism to the...

Authorities in China are cracking down on the use of plastic bags, banning the production of the thinnest brands and forbidding shops to issue free bags to customers.(CHINA)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Authorities in China are cracking down on the use of plastic bags, banning the production of the thinnest brands and forbidding shops to issue free bags to customers. The nationwide ban aims to reduce litter and save valuable oil used in...

A new species of palm, believed to be one of the world's largest flowering plants, has been discovered in the forests of Madagascar by a French cashew plantation owner.(MADAGASGAR)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A new species of palm, believed to be one of the world's largest flowering plants, has been discovered in the forests of Madagascar by a French cashew plantation owner. So unusual that is has been placed in a genus of its own, the plant, which...

'Population emergency' brewing in Africa.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] New demographic research by a French NGO suggests that sub-Saharan Africa is heading for what the researchers describe as a 'population emergency'. Decimated by the slave trade and colonisation, the region's...

Top 10 largest refugee to nationalities ('000).(WORLDWATCH)(Table)
March 1, 2008... TOP 10 LARGEST REFUGEE to NATIONALITIES ('000) 1 AFGHANISTAN 1,908.1 2 SUDAN 693.2 3 BURUNDI 438.7 4 DR OF CONGO 430.6 5 SOMALIA 394.8 6 VIETNAM...

Plate tectonics sometimes takes time off.(WORLDWATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Plate tectonics, the geological process in which large plates of crustal material slowly move around the surface of the Earth, is widely considered to be continuous, with material being created where plates move apart and consumed where they...

Protecting peatlands could cut carbon emissions by 10 per cent.(CLIMATEWATCH)
March 1, 2008... Cleaning, draining and burning peat bogs emits the equivalent of ten per cent of global emissions from fossil fuels, according to a report issued by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). 'Protecting and restoring peatlands is perhaps another...

Looking back to 2007, a year of extremes.(global temperature)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Meteorological records for last year have shown that the average global temperature for the year was 14.73[degrees]C, making it the second warmest year on record after 2005, according to a report published by the Earth Policy Institute in...

California sues government.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... The state of California is suing the US government for not letting the state set its own stricter cuts in vehicle emissions. The legal action comes after the federal Environmental Protection Agency said states weren't to impose clean-air...

Green light for coal-fired power station.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Local councillors have given the green light for a 1 billion [pounds sterling] coal-fired power station to be built in Kent. If the station is built in Kingsnorth, it will be the first coal-powered station to be built in the UK for more than 20...

British coastal waters warming.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... A report generated by a coalition of scientists, government bodies and NGOs suggests that the British coastal environment is already suffering under the effects of global climate change. Issued by the Marine Climate Change Impact Partnership,...

Waxy cuticles to cure climate change?(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Scientists at the University of California, Irvine, have identified a new method of reversing climate change--using shiny crops to reflect heat from the sun back into space. According to the Guardian, experts from the university are expected to...

Biotech could make chemical production carbon neutral.(CLIMATEWATCH)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Using biotechnology to make certain commonly used chemicals could cut the amount of carbon emitted during their production by as much as 100 per cent, according to a new study carried out by a team of scientists led by Barbara Hermann of...

Sir Edmund Hillary: 20 July 1919-11 January 2008.(OBITUARY)(Obituary)
March 1, 2008... Edmund Hillary will always be remembered for being one of the two climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak, for the first time. In the public imagination, this heroic feat ranks alongside Roald Amundsen's trek to...

Uruguay.(Uruguay and Argentinia's economic relations)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An unprecedented dispute has been running for more than two years between two South American neighbours. A new paper mill in the Uruguayan town of Fray Bentos, which is overseen by the Finnish company Botnia, is...

Transportation: international trade, travel and a growing dependence on motor vehicles make transportation one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions.(STATE OF THE WORLD)(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... Passenger car and truck travel, shipping, and air traffic are all increasing. Worldwide, the transport sector emitted 36 per cent more greenhouse gases in 2000 than in 1990. The growing mobility of both goods and people is the primary force...

Causeway coast: the jewel in the crown of this impressive Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the rugged Antrim coast is the internationally renowned Giant's Causeway. But as Christian Amodeo discovers, the road to the provision of adequate protection for the region has been as rocky as the causeway itself.(AREA OF OUTSTANDING NATURAL BEAUTY)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It might be for leprechauns that the Emerald Isle is better known, but in visiting the Causeway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), I've come in search of a giant--or rather, his famous creation of...

Tracing the map girls' wartime journeys.(IN SOCIETY)
March 1, 2008... The contribution to the war effort made by female geographers during the Second World War has been revealed for the first time by new research by Dr Avril Maddrell of the University of the West of England. The research, recently published...

Event of the month.(IN SOCIETY)(low-carbon energy discussion)(Brief article)(Calendar)
March 1, 2008... 26 March, 7pm The future of low-carbon energy with Lord John Browne and Malcolm Wicks MP (21ST CENTURY CHALLENGES SERIES, LONDON) Join Lord John Browne, former group chief executive of BP, and Malcolm Wicks MP, minister of state...

A selection of March's events.(IN SOCIETY)(Calendar)
March 1, 2008... For further information, please visit www.rgs.org/whatsen, email events@rgs.org or call 020 7591 3100 3 March, 6.30pm Limiting harmful climate change: whose responsibility? (LECTURE, LONDON) Join Lord Adair Turner, business...

Captain Scott's provisions: bags of food found at the British explorer's final camp on his ill-fated South Pole expedition.(Robert Falcon Scott)
March 1, 2008... In 1912, Captain Robert Falcon Scott's body was found frozen inside his tent. He had been dead for eight months. With him were two of his fellow explorers, Lieutenant Henry Bowers and Doctor Edward Wilson. They appeared to have died peacefully...

Earthly beauty.(The Earth as art)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] German photographer Klaus D Francke has spent 30 years photographing the Earth from the air. He flies at heights of between 300 and 1,500 metres, largely in a Cessna 1-72, the world's best-selling aeroplane. Each...

Shifting sands: mining the seabed for sand and gravel for use in construction is a major industry in the UK. But while the official line from the government and the mining industry is that damage is inconsequential, environmental groups are voicing concerns about the impact on sea defences, fish stocks and fragile coastal habitats. Mark Rowe dives into the increasingly fractious debate.(Marine aggregates)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Concrete, an alien might reasonably conclude, is as indispensable to life on Earth as oxygen and water. In the UK alone, our annual demand for aggregates, which are a vital ingredient for the production of concrete,...

From fury to terror: Francis Crozier is the forgotten man of Arctic and Antarctic discovery. Despite being at the centre of the three great endeavours of 19th-century polar exploration--the Northwest Passage, the North Pole and Antarctica--this remarkable man has been overlooked by history.(Captain Crozier)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The party of about 40 bedraggled British seamen shuffled wearily across the icy wastes of King William Island in the Canadian Arctic. Exhausted and starving, it took everything they had just to keep going. Then,...

Village of the dammed: the town of Djenne in Mali, home to the world's largest mud building, is facing an environmental crisis. As parts of Africa recover from some of the worst flooding seen on the continent for more than a decade, Djenne is grappling with the inverse problem: a drought, made worse by an upstream dam. And the crisis is even threatening the integrity of its architectural icon.(Djenne drought)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Behind Bocary Kanta's home in Djenne, Mall, is a large, windswept area where donkeys pick at scraps in the dust. 'When I first came here, this area was all a river--now look,' he says. To emphasise his point, Kanta...

Hello sunshine: as the world searches for a clean, renewable energy source to replace our dwindling fossil fuel reserves, the sun is the obvious choice. But harnessing solar energy on a large scale has been complex and largely commercially unviable--until now.(research on solar energy and photovoltaic cells)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The answer to the world's energy problems has always seemed to be blindingly obvious. Shining up above us is the ultimate sustainable energy source--enough sunlight falls on the Earth every day to meet the world's...

A marriage of convenience: Taiwan's indigenous peoples face an uncertain future as young people increasingly desert their villages in search of work and a more modern lifestyle in the cities. But, as Nick Haslam discovers, one tribe has found a unique way of ensuring its cultural practices and traditions maintain a high profile.(Taiwan wedding)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Speeding out through the densely packed suburbs of Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, the sleek train accelerates, and soon a chequerboard of golden rice paddies is blurring past the window. As the speed indicator above...

Voyages of discovery.(Geographical archive)(Image)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Where explorers have gone, scientists have invariably followed. Indeed, in many cases, the two were one and the same: Roald Amundsen may have reached the South Pole first, but Robert Falcon Scott's expedition brought...

Confessions of an Eco-sinner: Travels to Find Where My Stuff Comes From.(Book review)
March 1, 2008... Confessions of an Eco-sinner: Travels to Find Where My Stuff Comes From by Fred Pearce Eden Project Books, pb, pp376, 12.99 [pounds sterling] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] These days, it's easy to be under the impression that you're living...

Across the Tibetan Plateau: Ecosystems, Wildlife, and Conservation.(Book review)
March 1, 2008... Across the Tibetan Plateau: Ecosystems, Wildlife, and Conservation by Robert L Fleming Jr et al. Norton, hb, pp120, [pounds sterling] 28 [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] It seems to be increasingly difficult to distinguish environmental...

The Wrong Kind of Snow: The Complete Daily Companion to the British Weather.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... The Wrong Kind of Snow: The Complete Daily Companion to the British Weather by Antony Woodward and Robert Penn Hodder & Stoughton, hb, pp400, 14.99[pounds sterling] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 'In Britain, there's no such thing as a dull...

The Seventy Wonders of China.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... The Seventy Wonders of China edited by Jonathan Fenby Thames & Hudson, hb, pp304, 24.95 [pounds sterling] [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The arrival of the terracotta army at the British Museum has inspired intense interest in China's history...

Top 10 writer's reads.(Brief article)
March 1, 2008... 1. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Penguin Classics, 6.99 [pounds sterling]) The most fantastic, beautifully crafted construction a writer could ever achieve for a book 2. Mother Tongues by Helena Drysdale (Picador, 7.99 [pounds...

Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know by Sir Ranulph Fiennes Hodder & Stoughton, hb, pp416, 20 [pounds sterling] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The irrepressible Sir Ranulph Fiennes returns, having caught his breath, to reflect on his 63 years of...

Global 200: Places That Must Survive.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... Global 200: Places That Must Survive World Wildlife Fund White Star, hb, pp304, US$29.95 (15.10 [pounds sterling]) [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] If you enjoy extraordinary photos of pink flamingos jostling for room in Rift Valley lakes, or...

From a Persian Tea House.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... From a Persian Tea House by Michael Carroll First published in 1960. Most recent edition published by Tauris Parke, pp210, pb, 10.99 [pounds sterling] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] First published nearly 50 years ago, Michael Carroll's...

Beyond Seven Years in Tibet.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... Beyond Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer Labyrynth Press, hb, pp512, 25 [pounds sterling] [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] The last decade of Heinrich Harrer's life wasn't particularly kind to him. If it wasn't enough that he was played...

Silk Route Adventure.(Brief article)(Book review)
March 1, 2008... Silk Route Adventure by Claire Burges Watson Hale, hb, pp336, 25 [pounds sterling] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It takes a great deal of pluck for a young woman to set off alone on a horseback journey through Central Asia in the face of...

Keeping it simple: for more intrepid adventurers, getting back to nature' means precisely that, as they eschew the technological trappings of the modern world in favour of robust, uncomplicated gear. Bushcraft expert Ben McNutt, a firm believer in the low-tech philosophy, shares his expedition-kit checklist.(ESSENTIAL GEAR)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] All our eyes were fixed, with a measure of urgency, on the impenetrable jungle foliage along the banks of Belize's Macal River, which snakes its way through the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. We were looking for an...

Ten of the best: keeping it simple doesn't necessarily mean that you have to compromise on quality. Here's a selection of low-tech items that will help to make your next foray into in the wilderness a little easier.(ESSENTIAL GEAR)(Buyers guide)
March 1, 2008... [1] Bush knife Ben Orford's Woodlander [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 195 [pounds sterling]/280 grams (including sheath) Each knife is custom-made by Ben. It comes with a choice of design, blade thickness and hardwood handle, so you...

Cottoning on: whether it's the disastrous environmental problems associated with its production or the aggressive trade tactics regularly employed by some of its producers, cotton presents consumers with an ethical minefield. But thanks to a series of new initiatives, says Victoria Lambert, it's becoming increasingly easy to purchase this clothing staple with a clear conscience.(TRADE SECRETS)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Next time you pull on an ordinary cotton t-shirt, think of David and Goliath--and then ask yourself, whose side are you on? For the world's cotton producers are locked in an unequal struggle of huge proportions that...

Nature's colour palette: with warmer weather on its way, the British landscape is about to burst into colour. So it's time to break the macro lens and tripod, find a flower and start snapping.(nature photography)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Geo photo The onset of spring is most visibly announced by the emergence of the first flowers of the new season. Snowdrops are usually first to force their way through a frozen landscape, while the brilliant...

Ice on the equator.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I write to congratulate you on a very informative article on the real reasons behind glacial advance and retreat (Sounding the retreat, December 2007). While I have some experience of glaciers through skiing in...

The scale of the problem.(LETTER OF THE MONTH)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I agree in part with the editorial in January's Geographical (Editor's letter), but it tires me to read again that geography isn't all about facts and figures. It wasn't 40 years ago when I started teaching, and why...

Hamming it up.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I enjoyed your article in the December issue about the Iberian pigs and bellota ham (Free little pigs). Being a little pig myself, I decided that on our annual trip from the sticks to the capital to take in a West...

Inspiring initiative.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I would like to congratulate the initiative of Geographical, the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and Dorling Kindersley in the setting of the task for this year's Young Geographer of the Year competition. I have been marking CSE (now...

A step in the right direction.(MAILBAG)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2008... I was fascinated by the article in February's Geographical about India's stepwells (Step back in time). How is it that I didn't know that these spectacular feats of architecture existed? It's such a shame that so many of them have fallen into...

Nigel Vardy.(IN CONVERSATION)(Interview)
March 1, 2008... Nigel Vardy, 38, mountaineer, recently became the first Briton to climb the highest peaks on the world's seven largest islands (Baffin Island, Greenland, Honshu, Borneo, Sumatra, New Guinea and Madagascar). An electrical engineer by trade, he...