Year 11 - DME

Those of you resitting the DME might like to have a look at the resources that Mr Rackley from Framingham Earl High School has put together http://geoggers.x10hosting.com/dme/.

(Remember, as with the mock paper you did in January, the practice paper is only a suggestion of what MIGHT come up - NOT a copy of the paper you will get on 12th June!!)

The Amazon in Graphics

Those of you resitting the DME might like to have a look at The Amazon in Graphics - an excellent set of maps, graphs, etc. from the BBC, looking at the Amazon Rainforest, deforestation, and the future.

There's also a number of articles worth looking at, including the Amazon Paradox Q&A and a lot of links on the right hand side of this page.

Yr11 - DME and Sustainable Development

The blog post I mentioned earlier, with the link to the story about the logging company using GPS technology and working with tribes in the Congo is here.

There's also a story from the BBC about the Amazon which is useful reading for those of you resitting the DME.

The website of Excellent Development - the organisation we looked at in the morning's lesson - is here and is well worth you having a look at.

Good luck!!

Just a little message to wish Year 11 luck for their DME exam tomorrow afternoon... I am sure that you will all do brilliantly (including those of you who've been busy falling off walls, painting roses or sword-fighting with feather dusters!!) ...

Remember...

- SUSTAINABILITY... from Social, Environmental and Economic (SEE) points of view...

- STAKEHOLDERS... be specific

- EVIDENCE - refer to the resources... and use your own knowledge...

GOOD LUCK!!

Birmingham Airport...?

I don't think that I have ever spent my Sunday lunchtime watching the Politics Show before. However, today I did - and the Midlands section had an interesting piece on the expansion of the main runway at Birmingham Airport, which you can watch again here.

This article is worth reading, and there is also an interesting selection of comments in response to the programme - you can read them here.

Airport Expansion...

An interesting debate about airport expansion, particularly concentrating on Heathrow, here. It starts about 4 minutes in, and is well worth a listen for Year 11 (and anyone else!). Thanks to Dan Raven-Ellison for pointing it out.

Year 11!!

Just watching on Central News about Ryanair's announcement today that they will be operating 22 new routes from Birmingham Airport, starting in April.

The new routes will mean an extra 5 million passengers a year through Birmingham Airport, and will bring with them new jobs and increasing numbers of visitors to the West Midlands...

More from the BBC if you click on the picture above.

YEAR 11 - DME

As promised, a selection of websites with more information about the proposed expansions of Birmingham and Coventry Airports, tying in with Resources 5 and 6. These are only a few of the great many websites and news articles available - if you find any other useful sites, leave a comment with the URL, or add them to the Google Docs we set up.

Birmingham

BBC article about the government go-ahead for a second runway (inc readers' comments)
Birmingham Airport Guide, with various bits of information about the expansion and a suggestion that it will bring an increase, rather than a decrease, in house prices.
BANG! - website of Birmingham Anti-Noise Group
Birmingham Friends of the Earth - various press releases about "Spaghetti Junction in the Sky" and a range of links about other airport expansions.
Article about the expansion from Cheapflights
Birmingham Airport website includes information about the planning application that has been submitted. It's worth having a look at their Community and Environment page as well!

Coventry

Selection of news stories about Coventry Airport - mostly about the proposed expansion - dating back to 2005.
Coventry Airport Supporters Website - various interesting bits and pieces, including a media statement from the airport following their failure in June to gain planning permission for the expansions. Have a look at the Misunderstandings section as well.
Against Coventry Airport Expansion
The News section of Coventry Airport's website. Again, it is also worth looking at their Environment and Community pages.

Also, some information about the Airbus A380

DME - Antarctica

Those of you in Year 11 who are sitting/re-sitting the DME will know that it is about Antarctica, and will have already done lots of research... However, the following websites (which are in no particular order) might still be of use to you! Let me know if you find any more that are good!

Discovering Antarctica
Cool Antarctica
International Polar Year
British Antarctic Survey
Australian Antarctic Division
Classroom Antarctica

More to come about the DME after I've been to a brainstorm meeting tomorrow...

GOOD LUCK YEAR 11!

I doubt any Yr11s will be reading this now - they'll all be too busy swotting up on sustainable transport and watching BBC2 about airport expansions and whether or not we should give up flying...

However, if you are reading - good luck for tomorrow afternoon! And remember, that most important piece of advice - READ THE QUESTION! (And answer the question that is being asked...).

Visit Old Harry by rickshaw! (Yr11 take note!)

Whilst looking for more information about the Bournemouth beach story, I came across a story about plans to introduce a rickshaw taxi service to Swanage in Dorset. Motorised rickshaws imported from India were introduced in Brighton in July last year, and now Purbeck District Council will be discussing extending the idea.

The tuk-tuks, which run on compressed natural gas and can travel at 35mph, are described as being a "fresh transport system" and according to Mark Self who is the managing director of the taxi company behind the plans says that the vehicles are "novel, environmentally-friendly and quick".

Sustainable transport Yr11??

Click on the picture for the full story from the BBC.

Yr11 - Get reading!

I've just come across this page from the Guardian website which has loads of articles on travel, transport and the environment - lots here that will be useful preparation for the DME.

Chris Prettejohn has an excellent list of links on his website, including the websites of the Thames Gateway and BedZED. The Global Eye article is where Resources 1 and 2 came from, and is well worth a look. My group will be seeing some of these links in lessons in the next couple of weeks...

Also, don't forget about Unlimited Spurt!

Or, if you don't fancy reading, go here to listen to Pauline telling you about NET - Nottingham Express Transit System...

Sustainable Development...

Well, with Christmas out of the way and forgotten, Yr11 will all be keen to start preparing for their DME exam in January, I'm sure...

As well as the sustainable transport links I posted before, some of you might like to have a look at this document - "Sustainable Development - What on Earth does it mean?". (Thanks to Imogen Smith for pointing this out.) Although it is primarily written for people working in local government, it is fairly straightforward and easy to read.

Year 11 - Sustainable Transport...

...is the very exciting topic for January's DME exam!

Although you are not allowed to see the Resource Booklet until January, you can start to do some background reading/research.

Don't forget, the DME is all about sustainability - if you are not sure what this means you had better get looking it up!!

A good place to start your reading would be the Sustrans website (click on the logo on the right)... A Google Search for "sustainable transport" will keep you going with reading all through the holidays!

If you find any sites that would be useful for all of us to have a look at, let me know!