Geography of Food

Make A difference (WWF)

BLOG ACTION DAY-15 OCTOBER 2009

Hi boys...

If you all are bloggers, do consider doing this since it is also after your examinations...=)

Everything you throw comes back

Below are three pictures of witty education about not throwing stuff unnecessarily.

Enjoy!

Photo sources from: http://www.bedifferent.it/scheda_blog.php?id=79

Dust Storm in Australia (Sydney)

Hi guys,

Though examinations may be over, but do look through the video and see how just like the haze problem, dust storms can also cause problems, in terms of visibility, health and environment.

CO2 emissions could fall due to recession

Below is an interesting article read from AFP related to what you are revising and studying, do take a read if you have time.

BANGKOK (AFP) - – Carbon dioxide emissions, the main driver of global warming, could fall three percent worldwide in 2009 due to the global economic crisis, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.

This would be the steepest drop in CO2 emissions for 40 years, chief IEA economist Fatih Birol said at a press conference in Bangkok, adding that the average annual growth in global carbon output until now has been three percent.

Birol said this silver-lining drop in carbon pollution was a "unique window of opportunity" for the world to put itself on a path to limit the increase in global temperatures to two degrees celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the scientific threshold for dangerous global warming.

The recession-driven fall would lead to CO2 emissions in 2020 being five percent lower than the IEA forecast from just a year ago, even if no further action is taken to curb global warming, he added.

The IEA estimate is part of its World Energy Outlook report, an excerpt of which was released at UN climate talks underway in the Thai capital.

It outlined how steeply countries would have to cut their carbon emissions over the next 20 years in order fix the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere at a level that would ensure the two degree threshold is not crossed.

That level, measured in parts per million, is 450 ppm, according to a benchmark scientific report issued in 2007 by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

"By reducing emissions, the financial and economic crisis has created a window of opportunity to transition the global energy system to a 450 ppm trajectory," said UN climate chief Yvo de Boer in a preface to the new IEA report.

"This gives us a chance to make real progress toward a clean energy future, but only if the right policies are put in place promptly," added IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka in a statement.

"Every year of delay adds an extra 500 billion dollars (340 billion euros) to the investment needed between 2010 and 2030 in the energy sector," he warned.

The climate talks under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have been stymied for months, and are running out of time to deliver a new global climate treaty at a December conference in Copenhagen.

Rich and poor nations are divided over how to share the burden of cutting greenhouse gases, and who is going to pay for it.

A steel factory belching smoke in the western suburbs of Beijing, 2008. The International Energy Agency said that carbon dioxide emissions, the main driver of global warming, could fall three percent worldwide in 2009 due to the global economic crisis

Developed nations are willing to take the lead, but expect emerging giants such as China, Brazil and India to commit to mitigation measures as well -- pledges these countries have fiercely resisted.

Rich nations created the problem and should bear the brunt of the responsibility to fix it, the developing countries say.

Economist Birol confirmed that China surpassed the United States as the world's top carbon polluter in 2007, adding that "it will be the same in the future"

Source: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20091006/tts-climate-warming-energy-economy-iea-c1b2fc3.html (AFP)

Time to be spent on EOY and tips for each section

MCQ (8 minutes)

Read the questions carefully. Highlight/Underline key words that might help you find the correct answer. E.g “not”, “most”, “least”

Take note of words that are in bold/italic/underlined.

Always choose the BEST answer that is available. Many answers in MCQ can be correct, but always choose the BEST.

Mapwork (7 minutes)

Remember the skills learnt for topography:

1) Always read the legend first, look at what each symbol signifies or represents.

2) Read the title of the topography map. (Which sometimes can give you the clue on what the map is about)

3) Identify the north arrow.

4) Identify the physical features: E.g. Relief, water bodies, and vegetation.

Relief-determine the highest height of the place with the trigo station (A triangle with a dot in the middle)

Contours-look at how each contour is spaced apart: Nearer to each other means steep gradient, further from each other means gentle gradient.

Water bodies: Rivers, lakes, ponds, seas, look for floodplains, dams, irrigation canals or any water body related feature that can be found near or at the water body.

5) Identify the human features: Settlements, railways, roads, electrical lines, factories, industries, school, place of worship.

Settlement pattern: dispersed, linear, nucleated (Know the characteristics and remember to use EVIDENCE from the map if questions about settlement patterns are asked.

6) Four-grid reference, e.g. 0623, Six-grid reference, e.g. 062234. Always read the easting (x-axis) first, then the northing, y-axis. Always read the left hand bottom corner of the box of where the feature is located.

Normal Mapwork:

Got to know the continents, oceans, prominent countries and places learnt. Any map that can be found in the textbook can be tested

Basic Techniques (8 mins)

Always STUDY and ANALYZE at the photograph or graphical representations (pie chart, table, x-y graph etc) carefully and in detail. Spend at least 1 minute on this.

Photograph: Key words that you should use when describing a photograph or identifying features found on a photograph.

Foreground, middleground, background.

Left, right, top, bottom

North, south, east, west.

ALWAYS USE EVIDENCE SEEN FROM THE PHOTOGRAPH OR PICTURE TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER (for both basic technique questions and structured)

e.g from what year to what year, how much have increased, decreased, stayed constant, fluctuating, started, ended etc. Whenever, there are numericals, please use them.

Gradient of slope-best to use if there are no numerical to help support how much something have changed. But if there is numerical data, it is better to use the number data that you can analyze and interpret with to support your answer.

Structured (52 minutes, one question, approximately 13 minutes)

Always elaborate, your answers with explanation /or with examples.

Follow the sequence below when answering structured questions, especially when the question is of a 3 marks or above kind of weightage.

1) Topical sentence

2) Explanation/Elaboration

3) Example

Earthquake, Tsunamis, Haze

Hi guys,

As we are finishing off Chapter 10, and how I keep stressing from time to time the very real effects of our actions and pollution that we humans create that would lead to an increased occurrence of disastrous phenomena or natural disasters that would eventually hit back on humanity.

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/samoa/6247891/British-toddler-swept-out-to-sea-among-Samoa-tsunami-victims.html

Recent natural disasters seen around the world is clear as crystal, like where Tsunami hit in the South Pacific, Samoa.

Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6992499.stm

Near to home, at Padang, Indonesia a 7.6-magnitude quake toppled buildings and led to fires, leading to quite a number dead and the death toll is still climbing. Even back in Singapore, some parts of Singapore could feel the tremors.

Source:http://www.singaporemotherhood.com/forumboard/messages/578191/2506855.html?1243388040

And at home, the haze problem is creeping back,with the very dry weather, causing the fires in Indonesia to be persistent. The Pollutant Standard Index is at 53 (at a moderate range), but visibility has significantly dropped.

The environmental problems or natural disasters the human race face is very real and could be triggered or worsened by the pollution we have created, increasing global warming and also ozone depletion.

As you guys study for your EOY, you can use such examples in your answers if need be.

And remember, what you are studying now are not for your grades only, the knowledge you gained through the classes with should EMPOWER you to make better, wiser and conscious choices that help the environment, and of course for a better future for your generation on this Earth.