Geography Blog

Category: Geographic research and news

  • Illegal Clearings in ‘Isolated Indigenous Peoples’ Reserve – Peru

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    rbergstr

    Photos released by the Peruvian government confirm the presence of illegal clearings in the Kaguapakori-Nahua-Nanti Reserve (KNNR).  The KNNR was created in 1990 in an effort to protect the territorial rights of the Nahua and Nanti, who had limited contact with the outside world.  The creation of the Reserve was based primarily on contact between…

  • Salary data and trends for careers with a geography degree

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    averslui

      There are many different occupations that require knowledge of and skills in geography. Using information from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Association of American Geographers (AAG) has compiled data on a broad list of occupations related to geography. Using this online careers database, you can explore the diversity of career opportunities available to…

  • Monitoring environmental impact: The satellite revolution

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    averslui

    Here’s an article in the Washington Post that features SkyTruth, an organization that is using satellite technology to monitor environmental impacts of mining and other extractive industries. “This is the world we’ve built for ourselves — the modern world runs on hydrocarbons — but you have to wonder, floating in a little metal box thousands…

  • Why geographic knowledge is more important than ever

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    averslui

    Michigan State Geography Professor Kirk Goldsberry makes the case for the importance of geographic education and spatial thinking: “In its 375 years, Harvard has only ever eliminated one entire academic program. If you had to guess, what program do you think that was and when was it killed off? “The answer: Harvard eradicated its Geography…

  • China signs deal to farm 5% of Ukraine

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    averslui

    Earlier this year, China signed a deal that will allow China to lease and farm 3 million hectares of agricultural land in Ukraine, or five percent of Ukraine. With fertile plains and a climate similar to the wheat-growing regions of Manitoba, Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain-producing countries. According to Mandy Zuo of…

  • “Overpopulation is not the problem”

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    averslui

    This recent op-ed piece in the New York Times by geographer and environmental scientist Erle Ellis sums up perfectly last week’s lesson in GEG/ENV-250 Nature & Society. Here’s an excerpt: “Unable to explain how [human] populations grew for millenniums while increasing the productivity of the same land, I discovered the agricultural economist Ester Boserup, the…

  • An island disappears from GoogleEarth

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    averslui

    Jura, a small island off the Atlantic coast of Scotland with a population less than 200, disappeared from GoogleEarth in early July 2013. Instead of showing the 144-square-mile island, GoogleEarth depicts Jura’s single road running through the ocean. The loss of the island is not due to sea level rise but a glitch in digital…

  • Online cartography class enrolls nearly 30,000

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    averslui

    Geography Professor Anthony Robinson of Penn State is offering an online digital cartography course called Maps and the Geospatial Revolution. Nearly 30,000 have enrolled. Wired.com recently featured Dr. Robinson and his course in an interview here. Robinson says “I started my undergraduate education as an electrical engineering major. Then I just randomly took a human…

  • The Tour de France

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    mbjellan

    The route of this amazing bike race always confused me. Here’s a map to help you follow the stages of the race. I found this at: http://mapsontheweb.tumblr.com/

  • Maps of the world’s urban bike share programs

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    averslui

    Many cities around the world have bike share programs. Here, the bike docking stations for 29 of these cities are mapped, all at the same scale. “The geographic footprint of a city’s bike-sharing system can reveal both the municipality’s level of commitment to transportation alternatives as well as the topography of the surrounding area,” writes…