Brazil government gives go-ahead for huge Amazon dam

The Brazilian Government has agreed to build a major Hydroelectric Dam on one of the main tributary rivers to the Amazon. The dam will provide jobs, provide energy from an abundant renewable resource and help in the development of the country improving th lives of milions of people.

On the other hand, the Dam will damage the local envirnonent and ecosystem, killing many species of animals and plants. As well as forcing 50,000 indigenous 'local' people from their homes, livelhoods and communties-forcing them to migrate to the major cities.

Read the following article:


BBC News - Brazil government gives go-ahead for huge Amazon dam


What do you think? Do you agree that the dam should be built or not? Leave a comment below on what you think?

Would it better for the country if the dam was built, providing jobs and helping develop the country?

or, Would it be if the dam was not built saving the local environment and stopping thousands of people migating to the shanty towns of the major cities?

China traffic jam stretches nine days!!

Amazing News in China about a traffic jam that lasted almost 9 days!! Traffic consisting mostly of trucks was heading for Beijing!

Compare this to traffic jams in you City! Click on the link, watch the clip and read the article

BBC News - China traffic jam stretches 'nine days, 100km'

Ask yourself these questions:

What was causing the traffic jam?
What is this an indicator off?
What measures can be introduced to preventthis from happening again?

Deserts and Desertification

Attached is a great multimedia resource about the causes, effects and solutions to desertification. Can be used as an introduction to the topic or a revision tool.

The resources is produced by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to highlight deserts ecosystems around the world and the problems caused by incresing desertification.

Go to the link below, scroll down to the link called 'Deserts and Desertification', click on English to watch:

http://www.unep.org/NewsCentre/multimedia/?ct=anim

Illegal logging of tropical rainforests down by up to 75%

Report says governments, pressure groups and private sector all share credit for protecting extra 17m hectares of tropical rainforest. Efforts to tackle illegal destruction of the world's rainforests have been a success, according to a new report that details a significant fall in unauthorised logging.

The Chatham House study, released today, says that illegal logging has dropped by between 50 and 75% across Cameroon, Indonesia and the Brazilian Amazon over the last decade; globally it has dropped by one-fifth since 2002. The study credits actions taken by governments and pressure groups for the improvement, as well as greater responsibility across the private sector.

Sam Lawson, associate fellow at Chatham House and lead author of the report, said: "Up to a billion of the world's poorest people are dependent on forests, and reductions in illegal logging are helping to protect their livelihoods."

The fall in illegal logging, if continued, could save billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and help the fight against global warming, the report says. The change over the last decade has seen 17m hectares of forest saved from degradation, preventing the release of 1.2bn tonnes of CO2 emissions. Viewed another way, if the trees saved were legally logged and sold, this could bring an extra US$6.5bn in additional income to the forest nations.

Stephen O'Brien, international development minister, said: "In the world's poorest countries, illegal logging fuels corruption and results in billions of pounds in lost revenue every year. For the hundreds of millions of people across the globe who depend on forests for their livelihood, curbing illegal logging means vital sources of income remain protected. This groundbreaking report sets out the success stories brought about through international efforts in reducing illegal logging, which encourages us all to pursue these efforts further."

In 2000, the UK, US, Japan, France and Netherlands imported more than 20 million cubic metres of illegally logged timber. By 2008, that dropped to 17m cubic metres. Although illegal logging has declined, it remains a major problem, the report says. Where progress has already been made, additional gains are likely to be increasingly hard to achieve. A new approach will be needed to halt completely the illegal timber trade, it adds.

The report, which compared records of wood imports to legal exports, says: "If they are to be effective, mechanisms to encourage developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation will require secure control and sound governance of forest resources. Efforts to tackle illegal logging and improve forest governance have already proved to be successful and cost-effective, and it is essential that the climate change agenda for forests serves to reinforce this response, rather than distract from it."

David Adam guardian.co.uk, Thursday 15 July 2010

EffienCity

A good online interactive resource from GreenPeace UK's website. EffienCity is a fictional city in the UK that is 100% self-efficient and provides information on renewable energy sources that are available. Learners can access loads of inforamation regarding making decisons to reduce carbon emissions and our dependancy on fossil fuels.

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/efficiencity/index.html

Can you cut UK Carbon Emissions?

National carbon calculator: Can you cut UK emissions? Play UK prime minister and set the policy on energy, transport and other sectors and measure the carbon emissions generated.


• The tool shows the UK as it is today

• Move the sliders and aim to reduce emissions by 80%

• You must supply enough electricity to meet demand. Make sure the scales are balanced


http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2010/apr/21/national-carbon-calculator

The World's Disappering Forests

The Earth was once covered in ancient forests, 80% of which have been either destroyed or degraded, according to conservationists. Half of that has been in the last 30 years

Check out the link below for further information:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2007/dec/13/forests

Welcome to Expand your Horizons!

Hi my name is Gary and welcome to my Blog, Geography: Expand your Horizons! The aim of this blog is for learners of Geography to visit, browse, find information relating to their learning, seek out advice and support and to leave comments.

So for all you new learners to Geography who are wanting to know what it is all about, this is the site for you! Therefore, What is Geography? and What is the point in studying it?

I think the video link below is a good starting point on what broad elements Geography as a discipline covers:

Can Geography make a difference? A bit about me........

My first experiences of learning about Geogrpahy came in primary school where most pupils had a book which they read during their free reading time. For me I 'read' an Atlas. I used to look up countries with funny names of countries like Chile (for some reason I fond that funny), find major cities lite London and New York, Learning capitals cities, flags of countries, populations and probably most importantly my place in this world, where did I live? where was I on the map?

During my Secondary school experience Geography as a subject became a priority over most subjects (Art came a close second). I loved learning about different parts of the world, their climates, how people lived in those places and how people, us, can have a dramatic impact on our environment which we depend on. This lead me to go onto university to study Environmental Science, and i went the full hog and added Education to my degree, what best way to express my passion for Geography but to teach it. My degree came at a time of increased global awareness of environmental issues such climatic change, environmental degradation, and the human impact on the environment and my studies has had a lasting influence on my perception of the world and world events. After graduating i taught in Glasgow and had the chance to practice my skills as a teacher of Geography. During my probation year I did the most impulsive thing i have ever done (to date) i went in to a travel agents on a soaking Thursday after school and booked and paid for a round the world ticket! I don't know what drove me to do it, it wasn't anything to do with the day I had (i had a particular good day, maybe i was in high spirits). So there i was sitting on the bus with a world ticket in my hands!

After months of preparation on the 9th of August 2009, I lost my bottle and questioned what i was doing! I was planning to visit 15 counties, 3 separate continents, for 10 months....all by myself. What was i doing!! But i did it!

After arriving in Thailand i visited Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Chile (what a laugh!), Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil! Only 13 i know, I missed out Paraguay and Uruguay do to lack of money! But i managed it, with a little help along the way, and after this experience my passion for the world and the study of it grew and grew. I visited those places i found funny at primary school, those places at Secondary I learned about and the places I taught. Below are some of my favourite pictures i took along the way:

Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Favela, Rio De Janerio

<><><><><><>

<>

<><><><><><>

<><><><><><>

<>

<><><><><><>

Rice Field Chiang Mai, Thailand

These places and experiences brought to life what i had learned and was a fantastic opportunity for me. Now that i am back home i want to bring these experiences into the classroom and inspire future travellers and explorers into the understanding Geography can bring new opportunities in life and give young learners a chance to become good learners with an understanding of the wider world making them responsible citizens for the future and to expand their horizons.


"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover".

-Mark Twain