G8 Meeting Earthquake Plan
Wednesday July 8, 2009
The G8 begins a meeting today in L'Aquila, Italy, which was the site of a magnitude 6.3 earthquake last April. Due to safety concerns to protect the world's top leaders, an earthquake evacuation plan has been developed to helicopter out Prime Minister Stephen Harper, President Nicolas Sarkozy, Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister Taro Aso, President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and President Barack Obama in the event of another earthquake.
The End of an Era
Sunday July 5, 2009
Take a look at this photo essay from The New York Times that records the situation in America's cities where major construction projects have been stopped suddenly due to the economic situation.
New Orleans Was Fastest Growing City in 2008
Friday July 3, 2009
Recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that New Orleans was the fastest growing city in 2008, as it grew by 8.2% as it welcomed home residents who evacuated from Hurricane Katrina. Four of the ten fastest growing cities in 2008 were in Texas and all ten can be considered part of the Sunbelt:
1. New Orleans, Louisiana
2. Round Rock, Texas
3. Cary, North Carolina
4. Gilbert, Arizona
5. McKinney, Texas
6. Roseville, California
7. Irvine, California
8. Raleigh, North Carolina
9. Killeen, Texas
10. Fort Worth, Texas
Suez Canal
Friday July 3, 2009
Egypt's Suez Canal is a 101 mile (163 km) long canal that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez, a northern branch of the Red Sea. Learn all about the Suez Canal and its fascinating history in this latest article from Amanda Briney.
New Additions and One Subtraction from World Heritage List
Wednesday July 1, 2009
UNESCO has added thirteen new sites and has deleted one site to the much coveted World Heritage List. The deletion of the Dresden Elbe Valley in Germany from the list is the first European deletion from the World Heritage List in the nearly 40-year history of the list. The World Heritage Committee removed Dresden from the list due to the start of construction of a four-lane bridge, the Waldschlösschen Bridge, in the heart of the cultural landscape.
Geodesy
Tuesday June 30, 2009
Geodesy is a branch of science responsible for measuring the Earth's size and shape with surveys and mathematical calculations. Learn all about geodesy and the size and shape of our planet from Amanda Briney.
New Museum in Athens Hopes to Pressure UK
Monday June 29, 2009
The New Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece is said to be "the ultimate showcase of classical civilization." However, most notable is the lack of a complete collection of the Elgin Marbles, most of which are on display in the British Museum in London. London has been unwilling to give the artifacts back but now that Athens has a beautiful location to display them properly, there might be more diplomatic pressure to return them. Read the fascinating story in The New York Times.
Orienteering
Monday June 29, 2009
Orienteering is a great geographical family sport using navigation with maps and compasses to find various points in unfamiliar and often difficult-to-follow terrain. Learn about orienteering and how to get involved in this great sport from this latest article on orienteering from Amanda Briney.
Geographical Careers Video
Thursday June 25, 2009
I don't usually post videos because there are so many, I would just clog up the blog but this professional video from the Royal Geographical Society is worth watching. It includes interviews with people who studied geography at university and are now working in related fields. It's inspirational and might get you thinking about various career options in geography.
The Presidential Map
Thursday June 25, 2009
In the above fantastically geographic photo, we see President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, looking at a map donated to the White House by the National Geographic Society. The photo was taken on June 10, 2009 by Pete Souza, White House photographer. It's great to see the Commander-In-Chief using a map and thinking geographically about the issues at hand. Thanks to Geographile for pointing out this great photo.