A New National Park for England

Today the Government confirmed that the South Downs are to become the 10th National Park in England. You can read about why it is being protected and the implications of it becoming a National Park here.

There are some pictures of the area here.

Birth and deaths in real time

Look at www.breathingearth.net which shows birth and death rates by country in real time. It also shows CO2 emissions. Its quite hypnotic really!

Why are there 3000 abandoned cars at the airport in Dubai?

This article from the New York Times details the mass exodus of foreign workers (who make up 90% of Dubai's population) due to the global economic downturn. Definately worth reading for an up-to-date example of migration!

The Future of the Maldives

The Maldives are a group of low lying coral islands in the Indian Ocean that rely on tourism to keep their economy going. The islands and the people who live their are likely to be some of the first casualties of global warming - it will create many environmental refugees here. The President of the Maldives is trying to plan for the future. You can read about what he is trying to do here. You can listen to his proposals here.

Our Increasing Life Expectancy

I found these maps on the BBC website which show how longevity (people living for a long time) has spread north throught he UK. You can see the article and the maps here. What implications does this have for our society in the future?

Snippy

I've mentioned this little handy tool to a few people.....snippy. Lets you copy a selection of a web page or document easily.
Click here for more information and to download it.

Atlantic Hurricanes

2008 was forecast to be a busy hurricane season. You can see the predictions that were made in August here. The hurricane currently wreaking havoc in the Caribbean and threatening Texas, is Hurricane Ike - this one has already hit Cuba and Haiti, and is now heading for the USA. You can see the damage it has already done in the Caribbean here, and video footage of the enormous waves lashing Texas as the hurricane approaches, here. Accounts of the devastation that Ike has caused in Haiti, the poorest country in the Caribbean, can be found here. Haiti has already been hit by several tropical storms this season. You can follow the progress of this season's hurricanes on the National Hurricane Center website.

Global Food Crisis

All this week, the Guardian newspaper has been doing special reports on the global food crisis. There are some excellent case studies, and useful information for A2 students - Year 11 should look too, as this is all relevant to the Food and Water Supply unit. The website is here - there is a particularly good interactive guide here.

Barcelona Water Shortage

Barcelona, Spain's second city, is suffering from a chronic water shortage. This week, they have announced how they are dealing with this. You can read about it here. This will be a useful case study for Year 10s who will be doing the Food and Water Supply unit soon.

Cyclone and Earthquake Update

The BBC now has in depth areas on its website for both of the natural disasters that have hit Asia this month. There are many useful links from these pages.
Cyclone Nargis
China Earthquake

Earthquake in China

More bad news from Asia - a magnitude 7.9 earthquake has struck the SW of China. A day after the quake, the death toll stands at 12 000, but this figure is likely to rise. You can read about this disaster here and here. There are some pictures from China here - the BBC warns that you may find some of them disturbing.

There is an interesting article here about the contrasting responses to this disaster and the cyclone in Burma.

Cyclone Nargis

It is now over a week since Cyclone Nargis hit Burma in South East Asia. The death toll is likely to be the highest from a tropical storm for many years, and the disaster is far from over. You can look at an interactive explanation of what happened here. For an explanation of the causes of tropical storms, look here. For general information about the disaster, there are up to date news stories here and here. If you want to find out how you can donate to the disaster fund, click here.

Are we ready for the Effects of Global Warming?

The vast majority of scientists now believe that human activity is the cause of global warming, but until recently, they have expected that the effects of this warming will happen gradually over a number of decades or even centuries. This week, scientists have identified a number of tipping points which could be reached soon - these will begin a process of positive feedback, and speed up the warming process. Read about it here.

Images of Global Warming

This website contains lots of pictures which show evidence of global warming. There are a number of different sections, but the Glaciers section has some particularly stark images.

Weird Weather

For an unusual weather story, click here!

Nuts!

Here's an interesting film about globalisation and fair trade, as explained by an American peanut! Enjoy!

Divorce rises because of One Child Policy

A news article from the BBC today says that China's divorce rate has risen by over 20% in the last year. Some people suggest this is a result of the One Child Policy which has produced a generation of adults unable to sustain relationships. Click here to read the full article.

China's One Child Policy

Two excellent short films about the impacts of China's one Child policy can be found
here and here

Adopt a granny?

How will Italy cope with its ageing population?
Have a look at the three articles from the BBC below
Italians fear a poor old age

Adopt a granny

Italy's pensions timebomb

How are European countries encouraging women to have more children?

Click on this BBC article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4837422.stm to see how different European governments are encouraging women to have more children.

Click on the link below for more information about Italy paying 10,000 Euros for each child....An article from the Guardian
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/europe/story/0,,1081021,00.html

and here is an alternative way to increase their population