Changes to the African Landscape

1972 2005

There are some amazing new photographs here of the changes which have happened in recent years in Africa. The atlas was compiled by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Here you can see the effects of dam building on the river Nile. The erosion at the coast is quite dramatic. Other great changes included tree loss and land degradation caused by refugees in the Sudan and the loss of Cameroon's rainforest to rubber and palm plantations. The biggest factor contributing to the changes is the rise in Africa's population to 965 million. You can see these photos here in the Guardian and also read about it here in the Times.

Little Boxes

OK Just listen, cringe and then listen to the words. Can you work out what this has to do with Geography? Thanks to Miss Ellis for this one.

Manchester congestion charge

The government has approved a peak-time congestion charging scheme for drivers entering and leaving Manchester. The scheme needs to be approved by councillors. If the scheme goes ahead, Manchester will become the first major British city outside London to introduce large-scale congestion charging.
In 2002, Durham became the first city to introduce a road charge, which controls access to its cathedral and castle area. Not everyone approves of this though and an MP said "The truth is the government is telling Manchester: 'If you say 'yes' to congestion charging you get money to improve transport. If you say 'No', you do not.
"That is bullying, pure and simple."

Rice shortage

The global rice shortage has prompted one leading supermarket to ration sales to shoppers. Rice is as much a staple of the modern British diet as bread and potatoes.
So the news that supermarket chain Lidl has decided to ration sales to 20kg per family has sent ominous rumblings through the nation's stomachs.
Read what the alternatives are here

Bioenergy: Fuelling the food crisis?

Biofuel uses the energy contained in organic matter - crops like sugarcane and corn - to produce ethanol, an alternative to fossil-based fuels like petrol.
But campaigners claim the heavily subsidised biofuel industry is fundamentally immoral, diverting land which should be producing food to fill human stomachs to produce fuel for car engines.
But all experts are at pains to highlight that the biofuel situation in Brazil and the US is very different. Find out how and why here.

Malaria

A miracle in the making offers hope to millions worldwide
The lives of more than a million children who die each year from malaria could be saved by a new technique for making a drug based on an ancient Chinese herbal remedy first used more than 2,000 years ago. The drug, artemisinin, is based on extracts from the Chinese plant Artemesia annua, or sweet wormwood, which is known to have been used in China as a remedy for malaria fever since at least the second century BC. Taken with other anti-malarial drugs, treatment with artemisinin is said to be almost 100 per cent effective in blocking the life cycle of the malaria parasite within the human body. Read the rest here

Don't Look Down!

If you are brave enough watch the video below and then we will discuss the fieldwork I've got planned for next year's timetable!

Thanks to several other Geography bloggers for highlighting this one.