Human Interest

To be honest I feel as though the changing of the new Zealand flag has more to do with outside opinion than their own. Two of the main reasons they wished to change their flag was to first be differentiated from Australia and two please the native population. Unfortunately when you have a long time it is very difficult to change because people identify with it. I personally think they should keep the old flag for they make their identity and culture not the flag. Also if they must choose it should be the second from the left since it looks the closest to the old flag keeping traditionalists happy while adding new elements. Plus the swirl one to be honest looks pretty bad.

Re-scooped from Professor Dixon's page, some of the stats are mind boggling and they are actually portrayed as being good. For example, while 87% of the population is rural, 58% are literate. I figured the literacy numbers would be rather poor in a country where the entire population lives in rural areas, but I didn't think that 58% literacy would be something worth bragging about. Maybe except in North Korea.

It seems as though the volcanos have more of an affect on hurricanes than vise versa.  It is interesting to watch these two natural forces come together and play off of each other in their natural state.

 What happens when a hurricane meets a volcano? Well according to Victoria Jaggard of Smithsonian.com when Hurrican Iselle crosses the big island volcano of Hawaii it will show us a clash of the titans. The scientists do not believe that the hurricane will cause eruption because previous storms and numerous amounts of rainfall has not affected the lava. I assume it will just evaporate when touching lava. Although gasses and particles could make phases of the hurricane more intense.

                This is interesting to see if a change in geography does really occurs when these 2 natural forces meet eachother. 

This was very interesting because I did not realize that a hurricane can clash with a volcano. Hurricane Iselle traveled across Hawaii and clashes with the Kilauea volcano. Hurricanes rarely happen in Hawaii and this is why this was unexpected. Gases and particles from the volcano will make the hurricane worse and more intense. Heavy rain will occur but the volcanic activity may only add more lightening than anything. 

I have enjoyed the emphasis on the human aspect of geography in this course, and how geography impacts us. However, as much as the world influences us, we do have a substantial amount of influence on the composition of the planet, oftentimes for the worse. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the greatest wonders of the world, home to some of the most spectacular sights one can see; as someone who has been scuba diving a handful of times, I can only imagine what it must be like to explore such a world below the surface, seeing all the life that surrounds me. I would love to be able to at some point in my life, but there is a great probability that I might never get the opportunity, as the reef is dying- fast. 50% of the reef has been lost over the past 3 decades, and while Australia has pledged to reserve over a billion dollars to fund conservation efforts, it might be a case of too little, too late. Man-made climate change as a whole is taking a toll on one of nature's greatest treasures, and it might be out of the hands of the Australian damage to reverse the damage that has already been done. I would love to have the opportunity to see this one day, and I hope I get to, but I don't know if I ever will if current rates of reef loss continue. Here's to hoping humanity gets it act together and tries to save the geography we often take for granted; we won't like the ugly landscapes that will follow if we don't.

There may not be may words on this article but a picture can speak a thousands words as I've seen when looking at these pictures. The climate changing is not only affecting the way people live but it is also affecting the structure of the world's atmosphere such as the melting glacier in Peru called Qori Kalis. The ice and glacier has retreated so much that the ice has melted and created a small lake right in the middle where the huge glacier used to stand. What is going to happen to the work if these type of disasters keep occurring? What other types of physical changes will occur? Any type of change in the land can affect how people live, how they find shelter and any other aspect of living.  These type of physical changes are not only happening far from the United States but also in the United States such as California. It is important to look at these 302 photos because it really put life into perspective, showing how something can easily change over time.

Re-scooped from Professor Dixon, pretty cool story on the formation of islands in the south Pacific. A couple of them look like the island visible from the beach in Rincon, Puerto Rico where I stayed. The island is one giant rock so nobody lives there and it's a naval base for the U.S. military. This, however, is a different situation when you realize that not only do people live here, but kind of a lot of people live here.

What causes the death and the caldera in a volcano? One thing that happens in a deceased volcano is the center of the volcano starts to either erode or the inside finally caves in. Once this happen a caldera takes shape and the ocean starts to take over. As the waves eat away at the shores it will eventually create a island that is shaped like a "U". After this happens that island will someday retreat back into the ocean and someday form a barrier reef.

Based on general knowledge, I know that the taller a volcano is, the younger it is and the shorter it is, the older it is. The reason they start to get short is from erosion. Hot spots in the Earth's crust make small islands from molten rock. Young islands can be very dangerous, because if they are inhabited, they have the possibility of erupting, whereas an old island does not since the volcano is lnactice and eroding. Over time the inactive volcano will crumble and a caldera will take shape and after even more time, that caldera will slip under the ocean and become a reef.