Happy 10th Birthday to the BRICs!

(Image source: Reuters)

Last week marked the 10th anniversary of an economist from Goldman Sachs, Jim O'Neill, coining the term BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), to describe how he believed that these four countries would drive economic growth in the future.  It's strange to think that this presumably informal designation of that time has become so prevalent in Geography, especially in terms of how we look at the world's economic and political development today.

India and China have certainly come a long way in the past ten years, and  will no doubt continue to change the face of the world's power structure in the future.  Russia seems to have remained a hydrocarbon-power in the world, whilst Brazil has perhaps developed its regional dominance over South America.  Either way you look at it though, it's been an interesting ten years and no doubt the acronym will crop up even more in the future.  We'll just have to wait and see as to what the next ten candles on the cake will bring.

Mr. R.

Plenty of Environmental Impacts in the Bay of Plenty

When the Liberian-flagged freighter began to leak oil on 11 October, many scientists and environmentalists were worried about the impacts this would have on the environment. Now that several days have passed we are now beginning to see the true extent of the oil spill.

The Bay of Plenty is one of New Zealand’s most prized areas of natural beauty and the estimated 300 tonnes of oil which have been spilt will be extremely damaging. It has been noted that clumps of heavy oil have washed up on beaches such as Mt Maunganui and Papamoa. These affected beaches have been closed, and officials have warned locals not to move the clumps, as this may only make the environmental problem worse.

Many charities and authorities in the local area have reported treating animal and marine life such as blue penguins that have been covered in oil. To care for the animals which have been hurt, the Department of Conservation have created two wildlife rescue centres and dispatched teams to search the beaches and surrounding islands for animals and birds. One of these in in Te Maunga and so far they have reported recovering eight oiled birds. These birds have been covered in ‘sticky black gunk’ which matts their fur. Many birds have ingested this, making them anaemic. So far more than 900 dead birds had been identified, comprising 23 species. These included 458 diving petrels, 198 fluttering shearwaters, 92 Buller's shearwaters, 38 white-faced storm petrels, 20 little blue penguins and 2 shag birds. This could be devastating for species such as the blue penguin, as many of these breed have been affected. For many animals, such as the native birds, the oil spill has occurred in the middle of the breeding season. Also, the oil spill could affect the whales and dolphins that calve in the area, and also the babies which they give birth to.

The damage to the environment will also affect the tourism in the area. The area is known as a particularly good place for fishing, diving and aquatic wildlife. The oil spill has killed and damaged the fish in the area, which will cause the quality of the fish to degrade. If the oil isn’t completely cleaned up, then diving may not be able to done in some areas, as the quality of the water may be dangerous to humans.

Even though the oil spill is occurring as we speak, it is likely that the effects of the oil spill will be felt for many years in the future. This is because many birds which are breeding locally will lose both this breeding season and the next as the birds are likely to be in bad health, damaging breeding ability.

Jane 13Z

Anthropocene - A New Geological Epoch?

You may have heard of the Holocene epoch but have you heard of the Anthropocene, the so-called new epoch of geological time?  The Anthropocene can be defined as the epoch in which human activity has been shaping the earth.

The idea was first proposed in the 1870s by an Italian geologist called Antonio Stoppani but his theory was rejected by other scientists because they thought it was unscientific.  This may have been because the impact of humans at the time was localised and the impacts of anthropogenically caused climate change were not yet known.  In the year 2000, however, Dr Paul Crutzen suggested we are now in the Anthropocene and many scientists took him seriously; the proposal of a new epoch was presented to the International Commission on Stratigraphy, which is the organisation that decides when geological epochs start and finish.

Evidence of the Anthropocene?

Fossils

The main way of identifying periods of geological time is to examine fossils.  Many scientists say that the fossils we leave behind will be vastly different from those of the past.  For instance, because of human land use in the UK, there will be a decrease in fossils of the country’s climax community (deciduous forests) and an increase in agricultural related fossils.  Some scientists suggest there will even be fossils of cities, but others say this would be highly unlikely as cities are built on land, where erosional processes have a greater influence than sedimentation, which normally leads to fossils being created.  Nevertheless, Dr Mike Ellis says that cities may be buried due to sea level rise – he may have forgotten that not all cities are on the coast!

Climate Change

In recent times anthropogenically caused climate change has played a significant role in the shaping of some landscapes.  For example, the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas is now widely believed to have been contributed to by greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming.  This melting has led to increased erosion of the earth’s surface.

Nitrogen Cycle

The Nitrogen Cycle has been severely affected by humans, in particular through the production and use of fertiliser.  This is needed for farming because when crops are harvested, it interrupts the natural recycling of nitrogen (which would normally occur when plants decompose).  Fertiliser leaches into river systems causing algae blooms and this can result in fish being starved of oxygen.  More importantly, the use of fertiliser has allowed the human population of the planet to expand, reaching 7 billion this week. 

However…

Some scientists argue that we cannot just decide when a new epoch has started.  Geology is a historical science therefore an epoch cannot be determined based on predictions.  Moreover, no one can even decide on a start date for the Anthropocene, with different disciplines arguing different dates depending on the particular evidence they have studied.  For example, some ecologists may claim that the Anthropocene began with the development of agriculture around 8,000 years ago; whereas scientists interested in recent climate change may suggest that it began with the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s.

Does it Matter Anyway?

As many of the processes occurring today do not resemble the Holocene (the epoch we may still be in if the Anthropocene does not exist), it may be useful for many scientists to use the word ‘Anthropocene’ to indicate the period of recent time in which humans have had a significant impact on the earth’s surface.  Some even argue that it is important because it helps emphasise the severity of human impacts on the world and may encourage people to change their behaviour.  Personally I do not think that the International Commission on Stratigraphy should formalise the Anthropocene as a new epoch when we cannot yet be certain of whether or when it has actually started.  It is for future generations to decide when all the evidence is present – that is if humans are still around by then!

Imogen 13W

Are Natural Resources a 'Curse'?

In his book ‘The Bottom Billion’, Paul Collier states that ‘about 29% of the people in the bottom billion live in countries in which resource wealth dominates the economy’.  In Nigeria, the largest oil producing country in Africa, the Niger Delta alone provides 80% of the government’s revenue and 95% of export earnings.

Revenues from oil are often far greater than the amount of money countries receive in overseas development aid.  For example, in 2006 Angola’s income increased to over $30 billion because of oil.  This was almost as much as the whole of the African continent received in aid that year.  This may sound like a brilliant solution to the ‘bottom billion’s’ development issues; however, in many countries this has not proven to be the case.

This may seem strange, especially if you consider the benefits natural resources have brought to more developed countries such as Norway and Canada.  Nevertheless, Collier argues that the key difference between these and the ‘bottom billion’ countries is that the ‘bottom billion’ countries lack ‘checks and balances’.  One reason for this is that the resource rich countries have no need to collect taxes from their people, so there is less public scrutiny of government spending in the ‘bottom billion’ nations.  This allows widespread corruption to continue and for the wealth to stay in the pockets of a small minority.  For example, in Angola most of the money has stayed with the richest 5% of the population, with the other 95% living on less than a dollar a day (R. Dowden (2008) ‘Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles’).

You may think that since the spread of democracy to many African countries in the 1990s there will have been better checks and balances so people could benefit from the oil.  However, this is not always the case as resource rich democracies can use ‘politics of patronage’.  This means the governing party bribes people to vote for it because it has the money to do so and can get away with it.  So maybe an autocracy would be better?  Collier argues against this, stating that autocracy only works in societies which are not ethnically diverse. 

Furthermore, an abundance of natural resources can lead to a recurring cycle of conflict because natural resources can motivate and finance conflict.  For example, Nigeria’s Delta region has seen violence occurring since 1998, with militant groups such as the Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force and MEND fighting to gain control of the oil resources which they believe are rightfully theirs.  The unequal distribution of wealth has been a major factor in triggering the violence.

Another reason for discontent is the devastating environmental consequences of the extraction of natural resources such as oil.  For instance in the Niger Delta pollution is a major problem – over 500 oil spills have occurred in the 5 years to 2010.  If this wasn’t bad enough, oil companies have been known to cause damage and then blame local people for sabotaging the pipelines.

Finally, resource exports cause the countries’ currencies to rise against other currencies.  This means exports become uncompetitive.  For example, in Nigeria in the 1970s oil revenues built up so the value of Nigeria’s currency increased, leading to wage increases, so prices of other exports like peanuts and cocoa also increased.  This meant that people in nations like the UK began to buy their peanuts and cocoa from other countries instead.  ‘Bottom billion’ resource rich countries will therefore find it difficult to follow the route to development taken by countries such as China through manufacturing.

Nevertheless there is reason for optimism as ‘bottom billion’ countries can take steps to make natural resources an opportunity rather than a curse.  In 2004, for example, Nigeria adopted the ‘Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’ and this appears to be having some positive results.

Imogen (13W)

Drought and famine in the Horn of Africa

I know that some of you have been following the drought and famine sitaution in Africa over the past few months.  This well constructed infographic gives a succinct summary of the impacts.  

Mr. Revitt

Syria Tracker

Before the summer, I undertook some research in preparation for a presentation about the importance of social media such as ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’ during the Arab Spring - the pro-democracy uprisings currently continuing in the Middle East and North Africa.  Whilst doing so, I came across a particularly fascinating website called Syria Tracker.  As a geographer, my interest in this website was sparked by its innovative use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), similar in appearance to that of police.uk, the UK's local crime and policing website.  

Syria Tracker is a ‘crowdmapping’ website.  Syrians who have witnessed or been affected by human rights and other abuses by the Syrian Government regime can e-mail or Twitter the details to the Syria tracker website administrators who input the information to produce an interactive map.  Furthermore, information is linked onto the map from news reports and other types of social media such as You Tube videos providing an additional spatial dimension. This might be useful, for example, if a concerned relative wishes to find out about all the news and human rights abuses in the area where their family members live: the website will immediately direct them to many news reports and events in the vicinity they are interested in. 

My first impression of this website was that it could bring only benefits for the Syrian people and for outside spectators such as foreign journalists.  For instance the map appears to suggest that the majority of incidents have occurred in the South West of Syria, therefore journalists could be led to conclude that this would be the most appropriate area to target their resources.  However, after a little more consideration I realised that the information cannot be taken on face value.  One reason for this is that the mapping does not take into account the disparities in internet access between different areas.  For instance, it is highly likely that Damascus, which is situated in the South West of Syria, would have a higher level of internet access than the more rural North East.  This may mean that even if there were a higher number of human rights abuses in a small town in the North East of Syria than in Damascus, these might not necessarily get reported and would therefore not be shown on the map. 

More worryingly, there is no way of checking who has provided the information which is used to create the maps or of verifying the accuracy of the information.  For example, the website could potentially be used by a Government to lure protesters to specific locations by ‘faking’ incidents.  Nevertheless the option of anonymity is essential in order to protect the identity of witnesses and victims.

Personally I believe this sort of crowd mapping has many as yet undiscovered uses and will become more widespread in the future.  However, like any statistical information, you need to proceed with caution!

Imogen (13W)

10x10 - Pictures that define the time

 

I recently came across this great site that explores the words and pictures that are most important at a particular point in time.  The excerpt below from the developers' website explains how it works.  This is a great way to see what's happening in the world!

http://www.tenbyten.org/10x10.html

10x10™ ('ten by ten') is an interactive exploration of the words and pictures that define the time.  

The result is an often moving, sometimes shocking, occasionally frivolous, but always fitting snapshot of our world. Every hour, 10x10 collects the 100 words and pictures that matter most on a global scale, and presents them as a single image, taken to encapsulate that moment in time. Over the course of days, months, and years, 10x10 leaves a trail of these hourly statements which, stitched together side by side, form a continuous patchwork tapestry of human life.