Jul

03rd 2008

Happy Countries

Filed Under Current Events, World | Leave a Comment

Denmark is the most happy and Zimbabwe is the least happy country as determined by the latest survey from the World Values Survey.  According to MSNBC, the survey has been conducted since 1981 and asks two questions “Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?” And, “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”  The top happiest countries in order are:

Happiest Countries:

  1. Denmark
  2. Puerto Rico
  3. Colombia
  4. Northern Ireland
  5. Iceland
  6. Switzerland
  7. Ireland
  8. the Netherlands
  9. Canada
  10. Sweden

The United States ranked 16th.  The results were gathered from survey 350,000 people.

Jun

04th 2008

Geo-censorship in China

Filed Under Asia, Current Events | Leave a Comment

Some readers of National Geographic in China had trouble reading the May issue (dedicated to China) because some of the pages were glued together.  A couple of the maps (on pages 44-45) showing disputed border areas with India and Pakistan and distribution of ethinic minorities (pages 126-127) were apparently glued together by a local distributor in China. 

Beth Foster, the magazine’s director of communications, says, “It appears that someone connected with local magazine distribution in Asia glued together a few pages of the May English-language issues of National Geographic magazine that were shipped into China. We have not gotten to the bottom of the specifics of this isolated activity, but we have had no communication from or with the Chinese government about this matter.”

Read more: Glued Geographic - China Journal at the Wall Street Journal

Jun

04th 2008

Matt’s Olympic City Poll

Filed Under Current Events | Leave a Comment

With today’s announcement of the final four cities for consideration for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Matt Rosenberg has launched a poll on his About Geography site. The four cities in the running are: Chicago (United States), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Madrid (Spain). Matt asks, “Which city would you like to see as the host city for the 2016 Summer Games?”

Place your vote - Poll: Four Cities Finalists for 2016 Olympic Games

May

09th 2008

48 States in 106 Hours

Filed Under Current Events | Leave a Comment

Joshua Keeler, Joey Stocking and Adam Gatherum blasted through the 48 continental states in 106 hours in order to break and old Guinness records.  After the trio reached Four Corners (the point where New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Utah intersect, they posted the following:

Well, we made it. And we decimated our goal. We covered 48 states in 7,008 miles and did it in 106 hours and 43 minutes.

The planning of the trip originated over 16 years ago when Joshua Keeler’s father started planning out the route using paper and pencil.  For the modern day upgrade, AAA’s Trip Tik Travel Planner and Google Earth were used to fine tune the route.  For the actual trip, a GPS unit and AAA paper maps were brought along.

Visit the Great American Roadtrip Blog.

May

02nd 2008

Santa Monica Mountains BioBlitz

Filed Under Current Events | Leave a Comment

If you live in the Southern California area, this is a fantastic event to participate in:

Grab your backpack and join National Geographic and the National Park Service on May 30–31, 2008, from noon to noon.

The Santa Monica Mountains BioBlitz, presented and sponsored by National Geographic and the National Park Service in collaboration with Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and California State Parks, is a 24-hour inventory of the species in the Santa Monica Mountains. Teams of scientists and naturalists, along with volunteers, will comb the mountains’ more than 150,000 acres, observing and recording as many species as possible.

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US! Bring your family and friends to the Santa Monica Mountains, and help the experts count species of bugs, birds, bats, and other organisms that reside there.

The goals of the BioBlitz are to add to species lists for as many taxonomic groups as possible and to increase public awareness about biodiversity in an urban environment.

Group and individual registration available. Classes, clubs, Scout troops encouraged.

One adult required for every four children.

Children ages 8 and up are best suited for expedition teams, but age-appropriate opportunities will also be available for younger children.

Friday, May 30.
Check-in begins at 10 a.m. 
Free; Advance registration required
Opening ceremony 11:30 a.m.
BioBlitz begins promptly at noon

Saturday, May 31
BioBlitz count concludes at noon with
closing ceremony and announcement of species count.
Celebrate BioDiversity Festival*: 1–6 p.m.
Free; No advance registration required

For more information and to register, visit nationalgeographic.com/bioblitz. 

*Ongoing activities, including lectures and interactive displays, will take place at Paramount Ranch throughout the 24 hours and afterwards at “Celebrate Biodiversity”.

Celebrate Biodiversity Festival

Saturday, May 31
1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Paramount Ranch
2903 Cornell Road
Agoura Hills, between Kanan Road and Mulholland Highway

Featuring music by the Banana Slugs String Band, Billy B, and Culver City Dub Collective; live-animal demonstrations; noted scientists; and special guests

Apr

23rd 2008

Five percent of the population, twenty-five percent of the prisoners

Filed Under Current Events, United States | Leave a Comment

The NY Times takes a look at the substantially higher number of inmates in America versus any other country.  With 2.3 million criminals behind bars, the United States incarcerates people for certain crimes that rarely receive prison sentences in other countries.  For example, China, which has a population four times that of the United States, has only 1.6 million people imprisoned.  The rate of incarceration in America means that roughly 1 in 100 adults are behind bars.  The NY Times points to a variety of reasons provide by experts to explain the higher rate of incarceration: “higher levels of violent crime, harsher sentencing laws, a legacy of racial turmoil, a special fervor in combating illegal drugs, the American temperament, and the lack of a social safety net.”

Apr

08th 2008

Foreclosures Mapping

Filed Under Current Events, Map Servers | Leave a Comment

Hotpads.com has mapped out foreclosures based on property data from RealtyTrac. House icons mark the locations of foreclosures with an underlying “heat map” layer showing the intensity of foreclosures over a given area. The Heat Map layer can be shown for a range of density types including population density, median income and median rent.

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