Well, no, not really.
My only phobia besides heights is unreinforced masonry, because of the whole "falls on head in earthquake" issue. But I am quite sure this is reinforced.
Clearly, it was just a very strong fish.
Friday, July 03, 2009
getting by in Bolivia ... the hard way
We're not going into the heights thing this time.
Seriously.
But this got to me:
The rest of the interview, with the (non-embeddable, dangit) video is at National Geographic.
They have to cross that cable to survive. They put their kids on it, balance carefully, and slide. I guess I'd do it if I had to, but I can't imagine doing it after a fall like that.
The area is rich in coca-based agriculture. The Combatas grow mandarins, and send them off to LaPaz on a journey that begins in a basket hanging from that river cable.
Now I wonder whether the Combatas are growing mandarins in a way that hurts the forest.
The World Wildlife Fund says:
(citations and more information at original link)
Of course, this sort of degradation is common worldwide, in both developing and well-developed nations.
In many cases, that's what "development" is.
But it's not sustainable.
The Combatas and their neighbors have to eat.
Helping them do so without ruining their local ecosystem is part of the overall, global sustainability picture.
Seriously.
But this got to me:
Juana Combata used to cross the valley almost every day with her family-- hanging on to the cable that links her community to the rest of the world. But one day in June of last year, things changed.
A piece of steel holding the plank holding Juana, her husband, and her 3-year-old son, broke, and they plummeted nearly 100 feet to the shore of the river, hitting the rocks below.
Her 3-year-old child died instantly.
Juana and her husband Edwin survived with some injuries.
"Nowadays I don't cross the cable that much, I'm afraid since I fell down. If I have to do it I go alone, I fell with my son, my husband... so now I just grab my baby and go alone with him."
The rest of the interview, with the (non-embeddable, dangit) video is at National Geographic.
They have to cross that cable to survive. They put their kids on it, balance carefully, and slide. I guess I'd do it if I had to, but I can't imagine doing it after a fall like that.
The area is rich in coca-based agriculture. The Combatas grow mandarins, and send them off to LaPaz on a journey that begins in a basket hanging from that river cable.
Now I wonder whether the Combatas are growing mandarins in a way that hurts the forest.
The World Wildlife Fund says:
Although Bolivia has a decent and growing National Parks (NP) system, threats in the form of habitat loss and general degradation due to human activities persist outside protected regions. This ecoregion is threatened because it is easier for local agrarianists to burn this habitat than true montane forest for growing cash crops. In some cases crops and logging have increased due to more intensified road-building efforts. Extensive forest clearance in the Bolivian Andean foothills to cultivate crops has endangered over 70 species of birds, especially in the Departments of La Paz and Cochabamb. Additionally, certain game species from this ecoregion are threatened by over-harvest for protein and/or the wild bird trade.
(citations and more information at original link)
Of course, this sort of degradation is common worldwide, in both developing and well-developed nations.
In many cases, that's what "development" is.
But it's not sustainable.
The Combatas and their neighbors have to eat.
Helping them do so without ruining their local ecosystem is part of the overall, global sustainability picture.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Saraychev Peak is awesome, as are fast-on-the-shutter astronauts
From Bad Astronomy (one of my favorite blogs)
comes a time-lapse series of Saraychev Peak erupting
and wow is this cool. You've seen the photo series, I suppose. This one is run back and forth, looped, run in slow motion, run in slow motion with the pyroclastic flows highlighted .... it's a two-and-a-half-minute video, but I stared at it all the
way through, then ran back over the most compelling bits, then ran it all way through again.
It's worth spending some time with. I just wish the series were longer, that we could watch the
ash bloom further out of the side of the cloud the eruption created as it pushed air into a colder layer.
I guess asking the ISS to stop for a few minutes so the astronauts could take more pictures would have been asking too much.
(Note: It's got some interesting music attached. I'm sure the video won't take offense if you watch it without sound on.)
comes a time-lapse series of Saraychev Peak erupting
and wow is this cool. You've seen the photo series, I suppose. This one is run back and forth, looped, run in slow motion, run in slow motion with the pyroclastic flows highlighted .... it's a two-and-a-half-minute video, but I stared at it all the
way through, then ran back over the most compelling bits, then ran it all way through again.
It's worth spending some time with. I just wish the series were longer, that we could watch the
ash bloom further out of the side of the cloud the eruption created as it pushed air into a colder layer.
I guess asking the ISS to stop for a few minutes so the astronauts could take more pictures would have been asking too much.
(Note: It's got some interesting music attached. I'm sure the video won't take offense if you watch it without sound on.)
Alpha Centauri can finally see Janet Jackson's nipple
The Abstruse Goose comic illustrates where the electromagnetic waves we're flung into space are now.
Sadly, folks on the furthest planets haven't yet seen Gilligan's Island. (I assume this means that Thermians come from somewhere near Formalhaut.)
(The big version's back at Abstruse Goose. It'll take you out past Aldeberan.)
(edited to add: This post led to a huge discussion in my house about how long the Thermians would have been able to see our TV shows, how long it took to build the ship, and whether they might have sent probes nearer to us to collect data, then had them return via hyperspace, faster than light, meaning that they would have more information from our TV shows than we realize.)
Sadly, folks on the furthest planets haven't yet seen Gilligan's Island. (I assume this means that Thermians come from somewhere near Formalhaut.)
(The big version's back at Abstruse Goose. It'll take you out past Aldeberan.)
(edited to add: This post led to a huge discussion in my house about how long the Thermians would have been able to see our TV shows, how long it took to build the ship, and whether they might have sent probes nearer to us to collect data, then had them return via hyperspace, faster than light, meaning that they would have more information from our TV shows than we realize.)
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
India decriminalizes homosexual behavior
In an historic judgment
the Delhi High Court Thursday decriminalised homosexuality by striking down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
That is a huge, big deal.
It's not like the law was always or evenly enforced in India, but it allowed a lot of leeway for abusive police action. And though it's not like the police in India are never corrupt or abusive even within the law, this is still a huge first step.
India managed to shake off the demands of its religious groups to get rid of section 377. I'm glad there are countries that can still pull that off.
the Delhi High Court Thursday decriminalised homosexuality by striking down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
That is a huge, big deal.
It's not like the law was always or evenly enforced in India, but it allowed a lot of leeway for abusive police action. And though it's not like the police in India are never corrupt or abusive even within the law, this is still a huge first step.
India managed to shake off the demands of its religious groups to get rid of section 377. I'm glad there are countries that can still pull that off.
Gravity and I need to have a little talk
I am absolutely sure, indeed, that I have mentioned that I am afraid of heights.
I need to get over it.
I was able to go to the top of the Empire State Building easily, I think because I don't feel like I'm going to fall over, all railings are above my center of gravity. Though "the ledge" at Sears Tower is completely enclosed, the visual sensation of potential gravity-assisted exit from the structure made my toes curl up, quite literally, while I was watching the video.
This is indeed geography. Lots of things are.
(link via NPR)
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
I need to get over it.
I was able to go to the top of the Empire State Building easily, I think because I don't feel like I'm going to fall over, all railings are above my center of gravity. Though "the ledge" at Sears Tower is completely enclosed, the visual sensation of potential gravity-assisted exit from the structure made my toes curl up, quite literally, while I was watching the video.
This is indeed geography. Lots of things are.
(link via NPR)
More than I knew about Washington DC
US News and World Report has a little quizlet on Washington DC. The easy questions were easy for me, the hard ones really made me think, and I missed a couple. There was no in-between.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
"What could possibly go wrong?"
Earth Aurora (Auroral X-ray emission observed from Earth's north polar region.)
Originally uploaded by Smithsonian Institution.
The [Van Allen] belts are a hazard for artificial satellites and moderately dangerous for human beings, difficult and expensive to shield against.
There is a proposal by the late Robert L. Forward called HiVolt which may be a way to drain at least the inner belt to 1% of its natural level within a year. The proposal involves deploying highly electrically charged tethers in orbit. The idea is that the electrons would be deflected by the large electrostatic fields and intersect the atmosphere and harmlessly dissipate.
Besides that I personally can't imagine the risk we'd be taking by making such a huge change to the makeup of space just outside our atmosphere (can some of you more astronomy/science-minded folks chime in?), I wouldn't want to lose the auroras!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Argentina's Coast
Sara K. Smith teaches us some Argentinian geography as inspired by South Carolina's Governor Sanford: "Sanford Taught Us All a Valuable Lesson in Geography."
And I had no idea. I have a rough visual picture of the geography of South America, where the plains are, and the glaciers, and the rain forests, and plateaus, and high Andes, and the Pampas. But I'd never even thought of the coast of Argentina, and whether it is accessible, whether it has a long coast road like California's, or is developed like the French Riviera, or is broken up and swampy like Louisiana's, or an open estuary like South Australia's Coorong, or a series of sand bars and barrier islands like South Carolina.
Now I know a little more, and of course, must read up a bit. I am fascinated.
And I had no idea. I have a rough visual picture of the geography of South America, where the plains are, and the glaciers, and the rain forests, and plateaus, and high Andes, and the Pampas. But I'd never even thought of the coast of Argentina, and whether it is accessible, whether it has a long coast road like California's, or is developed like the French Riviera, or is broken up and swampy like Louisiana's, or an open estuary like South Australia's Coorong, or a series of sand bars and barrier islands like South Carolina.
Now I know a little more, and of course, must read up a bit. I am fascinated.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
I wonder what details he's staring at
This is how I grew up, on my belly over the National Geographic Atlas, or the Times Atlas, noting changes in the various borders of Africa and Europe, or stopping in front of wall-mounted maps to stare.
I still do it. Nothing's changed, in more than four decades now. Maps make me stop and inspect the details.
I still do it. Nothing's changed, in more than four decades now. Maps make me stop and inspect the details.
stretching the bounds of geographilia
I know this blog is about geography. Every so often I grumble about what the outside edges of "geography" are. It's a broad subject, indeed. Human geography is huge and vague around the edges, physical geography is only slightly more concrete. I love the range of the science.
It really doesn't include astronomy, and I battle with that in my brain, because astronomy fascinates me too.
Steph gets around it with her blog title, Adventures in Earth and Space, as she's a geologist who works with NASA.
I throw up my hands here, I don't care, because I want to share with you these children's drawings:
Astronomy des petites - Kids' astronomy
I do not promise I will never say anything about astronomy again.
(click through the photo to see the whole set on flickr)
It really doesn't include astronomy, and I battle with that in my brain, because astronomy fascinates me too.
Steph gets around it with her blog title, Adventures in Earth and Space, as she's a geologist who works with NASA.
I throw up my hands here, I don't care, because I want to share with you these children's drawings:
Astronomy des petites - Kids' astronomy
I do not promise I will never say anything about astronomy again.
(click through the photo to see the whole set on flickr)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
dodge the blast wave!
I saw this wonderful picture of Sarychev volcano (in the Kuril Islands, erupting on June 12) yesterday or the day before, but it's been a busy few days with gardening (I got the rest of the potatoes planted, and damn these cucumber beetles that just don't squish easily) , and my "I need to blog about this wonderful photo" kept becoming, "As soon as I get a minute...." because I intended not just to share the picture, but explain what was happening.
Then Andrew Alden at geography.about.com did what I'd intended to do, and explained the details, so I can quote him gratefully.
(Yes, the title's silly. It's what my husband says every time an action movie hero narrowly escapes being blown up by ducking away from or fleeing ahead of an explosion's blast wave.)
Then Andrew Alden at geography.about.com did what I'd intended to do, and explained the details, so I can quote him gratefully.
The eruption plume consists of brown ash. The white cloud cap formed in the air pushed upward by the rising plume in the cold stratosphere. It is a pileus cloud (named for an ancient Greek hat), now being penetrated by the eruption plume. The big ring of clear air around the island formed as the air around the plume moved downward in response. On the ground, three ashflows are moving down the volcano's slopes. The one on the bottom appears to be white with steam.And here is it, caught on camera by folk in the International Space Station, for science, and for our delight.
(Yes, the title's silly. It's what my husband says every time an action movie hero narrowly escapes being blown up by ducking away from or fleeing ahead of an explosion's blast wave.)
careers in geography
(This is part 32,208,498,408 or so in a series of videos that I try not to post more than once every couple of weeks, because they aren't mind-bendingly interesting, but seem to have some good information.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
