Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Australia "returning to Asia"

The continent of Australia broke off from Asia over 150 million years ago, but in a cultural sense Australia is "returning to Asia" today. Waves of immigrants from South, SE, and East Asia as well as the surrounding islands are arriving in Australia today, both legally and illegally, changing the complexion and demographics of the country. Australia has always been "immigration nation," but for most of modern history it was immigrants from Europe, specifically the British Isles. Today however, Australia faces a culture clash as increasing numbers of Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu immigrants call Australia home.

One thing is certain: Australia has plenty of space. It is a country with vast tracts of unused land. But sheer space is different from public services, which are more scarce.

Big picture: Whether it is the current crisis of Central American children arriving on the US-Mexico border, African refugee "boat people" washing up on Spanish or Italian islands, or the Tamils arriving in Australia, the enormous-and-still-exploding populations of the tropical developing world are seeking to find a way by any means necessary to a better life in the "developed world", the world of health care, free water, accessible food, and paved roads.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Rockall Island: great example of a tiny island that carries major implications for ocean rights

Rockhall island is a good example of a tiny rock island with major implications for oil and natural gas. The island and its surrounding waters are disputed by several countries. To make matters more interesting, a guy lived on the island for 60 days for charity.

In Asia, the South China Sea has many such tiny disputed islands but they are highly clustered together whereas Rockall lies isolated in the North Atlantic between Ireland, Iceland, and Scotland.




Rockall UN oilfields
Oil billions at stake as UN examines British claims to Rockall
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jan/01/oil-un-british-claims-rockall




Sunday, July 27, 2014

Monday, July 21, 2014

Laos wants to become the "battery of SE Asia"

Laos wants to become the "battery of SE Asia"
http://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/laos

BBC News - New Nam Theun 2 hydropower dam in Laos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxtnTHSQwfc

US largest dam removal project: the Elwha Dam, Washington State

US largest dam removal project: the Elwha Dam, Washington State

NOAA - Restoring the Elwha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP9z5S5oivo
PBS Newshour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gglUMR-AelM

Lower Elwha Fish Hatchery & Dam Removal Feature Story 
Northwest Indian News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gYtHUYWyHs

Green New Zealand

New zealand: Green haven for biotech?

Technology Review, 108, 28-30. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/195344440?accountid=8289

Great interview: Jared Diamond on Papua New Guinea (PNG)


Great interview: Jared Diamond on Papua New Guinea (PNG), one of the places that led to the bestselling book Guns, Germs, and Steel.

London Real - Jared Diamond:  Guns, Germs, & Stell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rP8vkG3dmQ

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

See the Andes in Proof of Life

The Andes Mountains feature prominently in the movie Proof of Life, one of my favorites.

This final scene shows the valleys around Quito, Ecuador where much of the movie was filmed. The Van Morrison song is on point.


Final scene - Proof of Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcBQq8bGdo8

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Good book: The Privileged Planet

On the way back from a trip to the Carolinas I heard one of the authors of this book "The Privilged Planet" on a radio show. Sounds like a good introduction to the idea of intelligent design. He mentioned many unique attributes of Earth including how it lies in the "Goldilocks zone" where it is just hot enough to have liquid water but not too cold to freeze. He also mentioned that if the universe was in fact a result of many random, chance accidents with no design, as some would argue, then it would seem virtually impossible for humans to comprehend it at all--and yet we do. He quoted Einstein: "The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible."

Richards also has a suggestion: before engaging in a argument about intelligent design, ask another person "if the universe had a design to it, how could we tell? what kind of evidence would there be?" and go from there.

If the universe was free of any sort of intelligent design, how is it that humans can pick up on so many patterns, theories, and laws of the universe? If life is just a billion random, chance, events, each with no common pattern or design with the others, how could a human mind make sense of the world?

The Privileged Planet by Jay Richards et al.
http://www.privilegedplanet.com/

Jay Richards has more good ideas at his site on the American Enterprise Institute
http://www.aei-ideas.org/author/jrichards/

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Get to know the world's largest wetlands

Get to know the world's largest wetlands. (Wetlands = areas which spend over half the year underwater.) Historically wetlands have been dried up by humans to create settlements, but now they are valued for their critical role in ecosystems. Wetlands can be coastal or inland and often found in river deltas.

Wetlands are a prime location to see biodiversity--often better viewing than rainforests because you can see farther and species are out in the open.

WWF World's Major Wetlands
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_freshwater/intro/majorwetlands/

A unique school: The American Farm School in Greece

A unique school: The American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece
http://afs.edu.gr/page/default.asp?id=13&la=2



A unique place: Mt. Athos, Greece

Mt. Athos is a peninsula off northeast Greece which is totally isolated from the rest of Greece. It is occupied by Greek Orthodox monks and zero women are allowed on the peninsula -- not even female animals! Now that's strict. Tourists can view life on the mountain from afar in boats with binoculars and telescopes.

60 Minutes took a video visit
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mt-athos-a-visit-to-the-holy-mountain/

and National Geographic has an extended essay and photo tour
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/12/athos/draper-text