Geography Blog

Author: averslui

  • Super Bowl LXVIII and the Geography of Fans

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    averslui

    If you live in Seattle you’ll likely be cheering for the Seahawks, and if you live in Denver you’ll likely be rooting for the Broncos. But what if you live in Arco, Idaho, equidistant between Denver and Seattle? This New York Times journalist travels to Arco to find out Super Bowl loyalties.

  • Will Metcalf is Wallenberg Scholar

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    averslui

    Junior Geography major Will Metcalf is one of three Wallenberg Scholars from Gustavus who are working in Sweden this January. Will is working at Green Tech Park, a sustainable business park which works on regional and national sustainable development projects. In particular, Will is studying biogas technology in the private sector and renewable energy strategy…

  • Climate and human migration

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    averslui

    What does climate change mean for human migration? Will the world be overrun with climate refugees? Wilfrid Laurier University geographer Robert McLeman, the author of the recent book Climate and Human Migration, provides an interesting interview in the weekly news magazine Maclean’s. “People are already on the move, in the same way they’ve always responded…

  • Geography Publication: Informal Material Aid & the 2010 Haiti Earthquake

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    averslui

    My study of how friends and family provided material assistance to survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and how formal disaster aid groups might learn from these informal sector aid systems, is now available online (for free, for now) from the Overseas Development Institute. A summary of the study is below.   Formal and informal…

  • Earth wind map

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    averslui

    You may remember this very cool map of real-time winds over the U.S. Now here is the same idea for the entire earth. (Click on the word “Earth” to see a legend and change values.) Brrr. Just look at that Arctic air traveling over Minnesota!

  • Study of Gustavus Geography and Film J-Term Course Published

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    averslui

    Many of you will remember Dr. Thomas Sigler who was a Visiting Professor of Geography at Gustavus (2011-12) and is now in the School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Management at the University of Queensland in Australia. The 2012 Gustavus January Term course he taught, The City as Image, the City as Subject, is the subject…

  • Mining the Moon

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    averslui

    Last month a Nevada-based company filed a request with the U.S. government to gain rights to eventually mine the moon. The moon could be source of platinum, titanium, and other rare earth materials. Read more at this National Geographic Daily News article.

  • Student Debt: Where in the U.S. is it Highest and Lowest?

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    averslui

    A recent report by the Institute for College Access and Success provides information on student debt, including data on student debt by state and region. Nationwide, both the amount of student debt and the percentage of students graduating with debt are increasing. In 2013, 71 percent of graduates had debt and the average debt was…

  • How to compost with redworms

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    averslui

    When I lived in a small apartment in southern California, I composted my kitchen scraps in a box of red worms. It really works! Check out the informative redworm composting program offered at the Gustavus Arb this Saturday: Composting with Redworms Saturday, December 7th, 10am Linnaeus Arboretum, Gustavus Adolphus College Got worms?    Did you know…

  • Why do the tropics have the highest biodiversity?

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    averslui

    A long-standing problem in biogeography is to explain the gradient of biodiversity that decreases as latitude increases. Why do the tropics have the world’s greatest biodiversity while polar, Arctic, and Antarctic biomes have lower species diversity? A recent study of mammalian and avian biodiversity compared with weather and climate data, summarized here, suggests that “the…