Alphabet of Nations

Try this video from You Tube.



Personally I would have said 'West Xylophone' didn't exist but there is a website....
http://westxylophone.com/

Just proves you can't believe everything you read on the internet!

Thanks to Miss Ellis, a Geography teacher in Derbyshire for pointing this out!

Penguins and seals

You can find the webcam for South Georgia by clicking here

Are there any seals or penguins in front of the camera at the moment?

Bhopal - an industrial accident

The following information may help year 10 complete their homework on the Bhopal industrial incident in India in December 1984:

The factory was owned by Union Carbide, a U.S. owned multinational company. The factory produced pesticides (Sevin) which were needed by India to help increase food supplies for a rapidly growing population.

On the 3rd December 1984 a series of events led to a chemical reaction and escaping MIC gas which killed and maimed thousands.

There were several failures in the safety procedures which led to the disaster. If any of these had been in place, the disaster may have been prevented, or the effects may have been reduced:
 Sections of pipelines being cleaned should have been isolated – this was not done
 Gauges in the central control room were not working properly (cost-cutting by the company?)
 For 6 weeks prior to the accident the pressure gauge for the MIC tank was showing ‘no pressure’. This was ignored as a faulty gauge but in fact there was a leaky tank (and if air could get out then water could get in!)
 MIC (the chemical) needs to be kept cool. The cooling system had been switched off (under orders from the Senior Management) since May 1984.
 The vent gas scrubber, which neutralises toxic gases before they are released into the atmosphere, was switched off for maintenance.

The disaster occurred because water used to flush out some pipes found its way through the main pipeline system and into the MIC tanks. Here it mixed with the MIC and the resulting chemical reaction led to the leaking of the toxic gas cloud over Bhopal.

Who was to blame?
You decide……
 Was it Union Carbide for failing to have adequate safety procedures in place?
 Was it the local people for building shanty settlements so close to the factory? (Something that wouldn’t have been allowed with planning restrictions in a MEDC)
 Was it the Indian government for failing to check that safety procedures were in place?
 Was it a disgruntled former Union Carbide employee who sabotaged the plant? (as the company claimed?)

What were the effects?
Death, blindness, breathing problems, birth defects….. and more. Use the information given in class and any additional information from websites to find out more about the effects, including numbers of people estimated to have been killed and injured.

Websites
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bhopal/default.stm is a good starting point.

Cyclone Sidr hits Bangladesh

In the last few days, Bangladesh has been badly hit by Cyclone Sidr. There is some really useful information here including interactive guides, photos, video footage and eye witness accounts. This would make a useful case study for GCSE, AS (Climatic Hazards) and A2 (Coasts - the cyclone caused a 5m storm surge). BBC coverage is here and includes information about the management of the cyclone here . There is also an animated guide to cyclones.

Oil Spill in California

In the news today - oil spill in California. read about the spill and the clean up operation here.

African migrants die in Atlantic

In July 2006 a boatload of African migrants reached the Canary Islands and were helped by tourists on the beach. This week at least 47 migrants were found dead after failing to reach the Canaries and drifting in the Atlantic for two weeks without enough food and water. Read the full story from the BBC website here.

Interactive maps

A superb interactive world map showing data from the world bank can be found here.

Which parts of Africa are richer than others? Click on the map to see!


Ever wondered what some places in Europe are actually like? try the interactive European tourism map here Click on a location to see pictures and short video clips of the places.

Thanks to two Geography teachers from Preston and Woodcote (near Reading) for these links!

East Coast Storm Surge

Earlier today, the largest storm surge since 1953 was predicted for the east coast of England. In 1953 several hundred people were killed by flood waters, as very high tides coincided with a deep depression bringing northerly winds that caused the sea to breach flood defences and inundate the land. Today, there were plenty of warnings to people living along the coast, and many homes were evacuated. This article from the BBC explains what happened, and why people were evacuated. Even though the storm surge was not as bad as predicted, the waves were still impressive - there are some good pictures here.