2002
FEBRUARY 2002
From midday today, the Shipping Forecast will never be the same again. A new sea area is being added: FitzRoy, first change since the addition of N & S Utsire in 1984. Admiral FitzRoy after who the new sea area, (currently Finisterre) is named, helped to found and directed the MET OFFICE and helped develop synoptic charts. (The Times 02/02/02)
MARCH 2002
Interesting story about the upgrading of OS Maps to digital, and the creation of the 'Master Map' by an army of 400 surveyors who have recorded the position of every landmark in the country. This replaces the older system which would take 4 cartographers 2 years to produce a map. (The Times 02/03/02)
A story today suggests MP's want the Census to be scrapped. They feel that it is outdated as an exercise, and that the £254 million cost is too expensive. They want a cost-benefit analysis to be carried out. This follows widespread criticism of the recent census with forms disappearing. ICT is suggested as a better means of gathering the information. Some Scandinavian countries already use date from tax and benefit records to do the Census. (The Guardian 07/03/02)
Keep an eye out for the new Coasts stamps from March the 19th. Excellent aerial images of coastal landforms and features. Also an article in the Sunday Times Magazine on them. (24/03/02)
London due to get more crowded. According to forecasts, will rise from 12,000 to over 13,000 per square mile (New York 22,000). Population likely to be younger, blacker, more foreign, and more dependent on the city for wealth. Net migration out of city at the moment. London will still be smaller than it was in the 1950's, when overspill population was moved out to New Towns (The Guardian, 12/03/02)
First images from the new environmental satellite TERRA have been posted on news sites, such as the BBC, and on the satellite's own website HERE. They include some dramatic images from last week's break up of the LARSEN B ice shelf in Antarctica. (29/03/02)
Interesting story of a couple in Dorset who were flooded 5 times last year, and instead of moving house, they rebuilt their house and garden 4 feet higher than it used to be, after demolishing the 18th century house brick by brick. Apparently the house is now worth more than enough to cover the £100 000 cost of the rebuild - one way of getting over the flooding problem. (Mail on Sunday, 31/03/02)
APRIL 2002
BBC Online story about one of the 3 Gorges Dams which apparently has huge cracks caused by shoddy construction due to the 'endemic corruption' involved in the project - rather worrying. Last chance soon to see the Gorges as they were. Another classic journey I won't be taking... (BBC News Online, 11/0/4/02)
The East Anglian Daily Times and Evening Star have launched an educational WEBSITE, called Eduzone. This has 3 sets of resources: one on seaside holidays and how they have changed, one on increased car ownership, and one on the 1953 East Coast floods, which is particularly useful. Uses archive newspaper clippings from the time. (April 2002)
World's weather hotter than ever. Another Global Warming story makes the news. This one is a forecast of life in Britain in 2080, with wetter winters, drier summers and temperatures to rival the Sahara. Most of East Anglia will be underwater and soil moisture will be in short supply. Lots of useful data for many Geography courses. BBC website has the story HERE. There is also a HOT TOPIC section with lots more detail on Global Warming. It's frightening to think that January, February and March of this year were the warmest January, February and March since records began, and the 2nd warmest consecutive 3 months ever. (Guardian, 26/04/02)
Same paper has a report on how Britain's beaches are cleaner than ever, even though earlier this week a report talked about plastic waste being washed up on the beaches of Antarctica. (Guardian, 26/04/02)
The 100th anniversary of the eruption of Mount Pelee on Martinique is coming up on the 8th of May. The town of St. Pierre was destroyed. In 3 minutes it hit the 'Paris of the West Indies' with a pyroclastic flow, which killed its 30,000 inhabitants. Only one person survived: Auguste Ciparis, who was in prison at the time in the city's dungeon and was horribly burned. (Observer, 28/04/02)
MAY 2002
Apparently the nuclear family is no more and researchers now refer to the family structure as a 'beanpole'. We are no longer mum, dad and 2.4 kids, but parents who 'live together' and have 1.8 children. Britons are living longer, divorce rates are higher and couples have fewer children, so traditional family is giving way to cohabitation and one child. Family groups are getting longer and thinner. With fewer brothers and sisters, children are growing up faster. Individualism is of growing importance. Could lead to greater social isolation and selfish attitudes towards life. Increase also in 'boomerang' children: children who leave the family home, then return at a later date. Middle aged are likely to feel their quality of life is reduced, and have to work to maintain work/home balance. (Observer, 05/05/02)
"Viennabike" scheme in Vienna is going the way of a similar scheme in Cambridge. A fleet of rental bicycles have all gone missing within a few days of the scheme starting. Intended to cut down traffic congestion. A few days later, and the Government announces a plan for a nice new network of toll roads to carve up the countryside. So building new roads reduces traffic does it ? (Independent, 16/05/02)
New independent country from today: East Timor. (19/05/02)
Flag from http://www.worldatlas.com
A disturbing report published today by the United Nations: the Global Environmental Outlook. It looks back at the last 30 years, and looks ahead to the next 30.
In 30 years time:
70% of the earth's surface will be suffering severe impacts of man's activities
12% of the world's birds are threatened with extinction, and over 1000 species of mammal
one third of the world's fish stocks will be depleted or over exploited
concentrations of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will continue to increase - more people will be affected by weather-related disasters
there will be 2 billion more mouths to feed
half the world will be short of water
2 billion people in the developing world will live in slums and shanty towns
two thirds of the world's population live on less than $2 a day
(Guardian, 23/05/02)
JUNE 2002
You can't escape the Jubilee this week, or the usual jingoism around England and the World Cup, but the Times had a story about the Jubilee River. It's been designed to take the pressure off the River Thames by offering an alternative route for the water to take once it gets to Boulters Weir. The river is a 7 mile detour. The river is designed to be as 'natural' as possible. It divides around islands and has river banks and reedbeds. The cost was £100 million, and took 5 years to create. The river runs at just over 1 metre per second, giving it a discharge of around 10 cumecs. It has to cross 26 roads, which presented engineering challenges, and also required over 100 000 cubic metres of sewage contaminated land to be sealed. It has no plastic lining: the river flows over a gravel bed, and its water mingles with groundwater. It drops 7m during its course. Extra water is diverted into the river at times of high flow in the Thames. About 250 000 native trees and plants have been introduced, along with habitats for species such as the bittern. Footpath and cycleway runs along the bank, with bird hides and viewing points. If river flow drops in the Thames however, there will be a danger to all the established river ecology as the Thames will take precedence for its share of the water. (The Times, 01/06/02)
Going on holiday ? You could try a new theme park which has just opened in France, 10 miles west of the city of Clermont Ferrand, in an areas famous for its puys (extinct volcanic domes). It's called 'Vulcania', and is on the theme of volcanoes. It has simulated eruptions. The Auvergne suffers from tourism bypass. The new A75 autoroute (toll-free to try to attract road haulage traffic) takes a lot of tourists straight through the region to the Cote d'Azur. Vulcania opens on June the 22nd, after 10 years of planning. There is a huge volcanic dome, a spiral path descending through 30 000 year old lava. There is a 'Rumbling Gallery' and a Lava tunnel. Information on how volcanoes are valuable are included, plus the theme of risk management and prediction. There are 'before and after' models, and you can make your own earthquake by stamping your foot. Objects belonging to the late vulcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft are included. Some local people fear that the estimated 50 000 visitors a year will damage the local environment. Cost £63 million. The sites website is at VULCANIA. (The Times, 01/06/02) Got a leaflet through at school offering educational trips there.
The latest plan for a different source of energy to eke out the remaining fossil fuel reserves is to set fire to coal seams underground. This has already been used in Uzbekistan. The fears are that it may lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions and may affect groundwater. The technique is known as Underground coal gasification (UCG) 2 seams are sunk, and oxygen and water are pumped down one, and the gas emerges at the other. (The Guardian, 03/06/02)
An interesting article on coastal erosion in SE England in the Times' 'Weekend' section. Looks at land reclamation under the control of Cornelius Vermuyden, the possible disappearance of the Monach Islands just west of North Uist and the increasing cost (about £400 million a year) of coastal defences. It also mentions the village of Hallsands which famously disappeared when its protective shingle was dredged to be used in constructing naval dockyards at Devonport. (The Times, 08/06/02)
200th anniversary of cloud classification developed by Luke Howard. Latin terms he came up with, such as cumulus, cirrus etc are still in use today. (The Times, 08/06/02)
Excellent article on Siberia, and the way it has been abandoned after years of taking wealth from the area. People are leaving the area in droves, and no one has children as they know they'll be unable to feed them. Also goes into the tragic history of the area, and possible ways of regenerating it from its current state of gloom and despair. (The Guardian, 09/06/02)
New satellite called AQUA launched to keep an eye on the world's oceans. Some excellent images released.
Taking a break for summer
AUGUST 2002
Most newspapers have been full of stories concerning the floods which seem to be everywhere, from York, to central Europe to China.
SEPTEMBER 2002
One of the ways in which many people contribute to the contents of landfill sites is the large number of free carrier bags they pick up at supermarkets. In Ireland, a 10p tax per shopping bag has reduced the numbers used dramatically. There is now a move towards bio-degradable bags, and the Co-op is soon to start using it. Each person in Britain apparently gets through 134 per year. Standard bags take over 100 years to start to degrade, the Co-op one will take 18 months. (The Times, 02/09/02)
Researchers are using records of lightning activity in Victorian London to compare it with changes in legislation and air quality. Soot in the air changes the conductivity of the air - the same principle can be applied to smoke alarms. The peaks in pollution were not to do with traffic, but with the times when people lit their fires. When the factories closed down there was a corresponding improvement in air quality. (The Guardian, 12/09/02)
Census statistics released today from National Statistics. The preliminary results from last year's Census 2001. The total population is now 58, 789, 194 (except it isn't of course because it's changed since the day the count took place...)
There are more people over the age of 60 than there are below the age of 16 for the first time ever. Scotland suffered a fall in population. Women outnumber men in all age groups over the age of 20. Men tend to die earlier, and are at greater risk from accidental death or violence.
Population growth was highest in the South East, the East and the South West. The increasingly greying population puts a pressure on pension funds and the welfare system. (The Mail, 01/10/02)
OCTOBER 2002
Congestion charging starting today (1st October) in Durham, from the Market place up to the University green near the Cathedral. Having been there last year, I know the road involved and it'll interesting to see how the system works and what sort of an impact it has.
Butterflies on the way out due to global warming: a quarter will die out. (The Times, 05/10/02)
Queen on a visit to the Inuit nation of Nunavut: she spent 2 hours there. A useful article on the Inuit: 160 000 of them. (The Times, 05/10/02)
Hurricane Isidore hit the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico this week, and as well as the obvious effects of the winds and rain, there was another effect which would be useful for those needing examples of the effects of low pressure on human activity.
The Hurricane has damaged BP's oil and gas production targets for their operations in the area. High winds in the Gulf of Mexico caused the shutdown of dozens of production platforms, and this was followed by the arrival of Hurricane Lili (Kyle didn't visit the area) - Fortunately the Hurricane season is nearing its end as the seas begin to cool down. (The Guardian, 03/10/02)
NOVEMBER 2002
The tragic events in San Giuliano de Puglia in Southern Italy continue to make the news. This would appear to be another case where building regulations have compounded an already large earthquake. There were apparently changes made to the school building, and this was the only building which collapsed during the earthquake. (The Times 2/11/02)
More on the Census. Not only are there big changes demographically speaking, but there's also been problems with the 1901 Census site, and the results of the 2001 Census are flawed as tens of thousands of people have gone missing. People can expect to live longer. All of this is putting pressure on pension funds. Maybe I'll have to continue working until I'm 70! (The Mail on Sunday, 03/11/02)
There was a first for the UK today with the arrival of flood barriers which take the form of fixed metal posts which are then added to by slatted metal sheets which are put in place when required. This means that on most days, there is no obvious defence, but this is put in place when the flood warnings dictate that there is a need for caution. The defences are situated along the River Severn in Bewdley, the Worcestershire town which was flooded in 2000, and has actually been flooded almost 100 times in the last century. The flood system is an experiment, and cost £3m to install. They have also been tested at Shrewsbury. They are called demountable barriers. (The Guardian, 14/11/02)
An interesting story from the BBC Website about the possible reappearance of a volcanic island off the coast of Sicily. This has apparently appeared before - the last time being in 1831 - the island is called Ferdinandea, and divers from Sicily have apparently already planted a flag on it (it's just 8m below the surface) to avoid the disputes over sovereignty which occurred the last time it broke the surface (26/11/02
DECEMBER 2002
The re-emergence of an older story about the effect of using plastic replacements rather than real cork in wine bottles. The story is not about the improvement in taste that they produce, but the environmental effects. The WWF is warning that harvesting doesn't cause damage to the forests. More than 17 billion corks are made for the wine industry each year, but no tree is harmed. If demand for cork slumps due to replacement stoppers and screw tops, the cork woodlands may be replaced by crops which are more profitable, which will affect the wildlife which replies upon the woodlands. (BBC News, 6/ 12/ 02)
Interview with Albert Finney in the Daily Mail's magazine: "I was hopeless at lessons. I only passed one O-Level in Geography, and that was because most of the questions were on Australia, a country I knew about because I loved cricket and I knew where all the grounds were." (Night and Day, 29/12/02)
We're heading for Siberia, and will be there in about 250 million years time. Tectonic movements are taking the British Isles to the North East of its current position, following an earlier 250 million year trip from the South Pole. The Geological Society of London has been retracing the UK's journey, mainly to retrace the development of the UK's petroleum reserves. The journey has been at the rate of around 15cm a year: the rate at which fingernails grow. There is lots of evidence left by palaeomagnetism. Professor Chris Scotese of the University of Texas sees the continents as floating 'like a scum' on the molten magma. (Sunday Times, 29/12/02)
Brighton Pier damaged in bad weather (30/12/02)
Stromboli erupts, and sends a small tidal wave into nearby villages. The activity continued into 2003.