What's going on here??

The reason that Google has "turned the lights out" on its homepage is that today is the day of Earth Hour. Last year Sydney took a stand against climate change and switched off the lights for an hour... This year, it is a global event, with cities across the world switching off their lights for an hour at 8.00pm local time.




Will you be joining in? Leave a comment and let us know!

Planet Earth Explorer

Not sure why I have not seen this one before! Planet Earth Explorer is an interactive globe linked to some stunning video footage - including aerial footage of Erta Ale, sandstorms in the Sahara, the Yucatan Cenotes, and lots of impressive wildlife.

Unscramble the Clouds

How well do you know your clouds? This Nasa puzzle is harder than it looks!

And if you want to find out more about all things cloud-related, don't forget about The Cloud Appreciation Society.

Coastal Manager

Just having a look at the website for the BBC2 Coast series...

Lots of interesting bits and pieces on there, but I particularly liked the Coastal Manager game... "How easy is it to balance the needs of the economy, the environment, and the population living by the sea?"

The World Without Humans...

I think I have posted this before, but was reminded about it yesterday when someone asked me what would happen to the world if all the humans disappeared...

Click on the picture to link to the original version from The Times.

Mass Exodus by City Poles...

... is the headline on the front page of today's Derby Evening Telegraph - an interesting article about the hundreds of Polish people who came to Derby for jobs and are now returning home.... and the effects that the "mass exodus" is likely to have on Derby and the surrounding area.

Read the article, and some interesting reader's comments here.

You also have 4 days left on BBC iPlayer to watch The Poles are Coming - an excellent programme that was on the other day as part of the BBC's White Season. Well worth a watch for GCSE and AS groups.

Where does your stuff come from?

Three nice parcels arrived for me at school today... a birthday present for my dad which has tenuous geographical links... the "Earth: The Power of the Planet" DVD, and a very interesting looking book called "Confessions of an Eco-Sinner", by Fred Pearce.

Ordered the book after spotting it on Alan's blog last week and reading this article from the Telegraph... Will have to try and find some time between marking and lesson-planning to actually read it!

Beechenhill Farm...

Looking for information and inspiration for Yr11, I've just found the excellent Beechenhill Farm website, via Alan Parkinson's GeographyPages...

Beechenhill Farm is near Ilam and Ashbourne, and is an organic dairy farm. The farmers, Sue and Terry Prince, have set up a really useful and interesting website, with lots and lots of information, and particularly good is the Virtual Farm Tour. The site also has a Beechenhill timeline, looking at the history of the Peak District, and looking at the farm and farming practice in the context of the Peak District, Britain and Europe.

It is essential reading for Yr11, who need to know about a specific example of a farm as a system (inputs, outputs, stores and transfers), and to consider issues of sustainability, diversification, etc. but well worth a look for everyone else as well.

6 hours of Geography!

Dan Raven-Ellison and a team of Geography students, teachers and academics are the next act to take part in BBC3's Upstaged... Click on the picture to find out more about their ideas...




Dan and the team will be entertaining the nation with 6 hours of Geography, starting at 3.30pm tomorrow (Tuesday)... You can watch - and rate their performance, send in questions, etc. online, and there will be a highlights show on BBC3.

Prince Charles visits Montserrat...

Yr9 and Yr11 should recognise the Soufriere Hills volcano, on the Caribbean island of Montserrat...

As part of his tour of the Caribbean, Prince Charles visited Montserrat yesterday, and saw the long-term economic, social and environmental impacts of the 1997 eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano.

There's a video clip here of Prince Charles' visit, and an excellent article from the BBC which is well worth a read, particularly for Yr11.

As part of his tour of the Caribbean, Prince Charles visited the island of Montserrat yesterday.

The Planet

Thanks to Dan Raven-Ellison for pointing out The Planet - a superb site looking at our planet... Particularly good, I think, is the Earth's History in One Year (in The Big Picture section).

Fairtrade

A reminder that this week is the second week of Fairtrade Fortnight...

There will be a Fairtrade Stall in H5 at lunchtimes this week, and tickets for the Fairtrade Raffle are on sale every break and lunchtime this week in Humanities... Some very nice prizes to be won!

If you want to find out more about Fairtrade, have a look at the website of the Fairtrade Foundation http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/

Place Spotting

If you're doing so well on the "How many countries can you name in 5 minutes?" game that you need a new challenge, check out Google Place-Spotting...