Copenhagen Conference on Climate change ends

The 2 week conference on Climate Change has finally finished. There have been some agreements reached, but also so disappointment that not enough has been done. At the moment, the agreements are NOT legally binding and need further discussion.

Here is a summary of what has happened:

President Obama said a "meaningful and unprecedented breakthrough" had been reached between the US and China, Brazil, India and South Africa.

Reports suggest the following points were agreed

• A commitment from wealthy and key developing nations to limit global warming to 2C

• Between $25bn and $30bn in climate funds for poorer nations over the period 2010-12, with an annual sum of $100bn envisaged by 2020

• A way to check each country's compliance with its commitment to curb greenhouse gas emissions

Five countries agreed the deal - what about the rest of the world?

The 193 nations gathered in Copenhagen are due to vote on the agreement shortly. It is not clear how many will back it. Tuvalu delegate Ian Fry, whose country is one of those most at risk from rising sea levels, said the deal sounded like "30 pieces of silver to sell our future" and rejected it. Venezuelan representative Claudia Salerno Caldera described the US-brokered deal as a "coup" against the UN

Click the headline to find out more answers to common questions about the conference

Copenhagen Conference: Discussions not going too well

The hour of truth loomed Thursday at the UN climate talks where countries had to draw a line under squabbles to nail down a deal ahead of one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in history.
With just hours to go before some 120 leaders are called to seal an agreement to roll back the rise in Earth's temperature, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was receiving "bad news" from Copenhagen.
"At the moment, the negotiations do not look promising but I of course hope that the presence of more than 100 heads of state and government can give the necessary impetus to the event," Merkel said in Berlin.
Wealthy nations pledged some 22 billion dollars late Wednesday to help bankroll the war on global warming, with Japan leading the way by promising to stump up a whopping 1.75 trillion yen (19.5 billion dollars) to developing nations on climate change if a comprehensive deal is reached at Copenhagen.
But the announcements could not mask the huge differences still dividing rich nations and the developing world over how to shoulder the burden.
Some of the bitterest exchanges at the 12-day conference have been between the United States and China, the world's two biggest polluters.
"It's proceeding at a snail's pace right now," Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said after talking into the small hours with Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi on funds to help developing nations.

Eruption at Mayon Volcano imminent say experts

The Mayon volcano in the Philippines, which has blown its top nearly 40 times in 400 years, menaced nearby residents with small eruptions of ash and lava on Wednesday as Philippine authorities moved more than 30,000 people to shelters in case of a larger eruption.
Trickles of lava rolled down the 8,070-foot mountain towering over the Albay Gulf in the central Philippines, while five new ash explosions, one of them reaching 550 yards in the air, shook Mayon's steep slopes.
During the day, the summit (the top of the volcano) is shrouded in white clouds of dust and ash, and dark orange lava becomes clearly visible in the nighttime. Residents of Legazpi city on the foothills of the cone-shaped mountain converge in a downtown park at night to watch the spectacle from a safe distance.

Look to the left to see video footage of the volcano

Will there ever be a way of preventing HIV?

Hopes of a breakthrough that would allow women to protect themselves from HIV have been dashed with today's revelation from a large, British-funded trial that a promising drug has turned out to be ineffective.

Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC) and the department for international development (DfID) had backed the trial in four African countries, involving 9,385 women. But after four years and significant investment, scientists have been forced to conclude that the PRO 2000 gel does not prevent HIV/Aids. Dr Sheena McCormack of the MRC, chief investigator of the trial, said they were deeply disappointed, but that the search must go on.

A microbicide, in the form of a cream or gel that kills the virus, would give women in Africa and Asia the power to defend themselves against HIV given the refusal of many men to wear condoms. The trials in Africa showed that both men and women found its use acceptable.
Expectations were raised in March when a smaller US-led trial of PRO 2000, involving 3,099 women, found a 30% reduction in infections, but the actual numbers of people who became HIV positive were not large enough to give conclusive results.
"I have to say then we got quite excited," said McCormack. "But in a big trial you get closer to the truth, and unfortunately the truth is it didn't work. It is bitterly disappointing for us, but it will inform the way we go forward."
Half the participants were given PRO 2000 while the other half got an inactive gel. There were 130 infections among those who used the real thing and 123 among those who had the inactive gel. The UK Government £14m to the MRC, Imperial College and five African countries in 2002. The final cost to DfID of the PRO 2000 trial has been £40m, with £2m from the MRC – a substantial sum, but tiny compared with the cost of pharmaceutical company trials.

About 2.7 million people were infected with HIV last year. A number of African countries have run out of money to put newly diagnosed people on drugs to keep them alive and will struggle to continue to treat those already taking them if donations fall because of the economic crisis. There is a danger, said McCormack, that it is "going to go wrong again for Africa".
If PRO 2000 had worked, it could have been made available cheaply over the counter to any woman who wanted it.


What is HIV? Click here to find out more

For the latest ews about HIV and AIDS click here

Philippine volcano fears force thousands to evacuate

More than 20,000 people have evacuated homes in the Philippines after lava and ash flowed from one of the nation's most active volcanoes.
Soldiers and police directed the evacuation from around the foothills of Mayon volcano amid concerns that a big eruption could occur at any moment.
Philippine officials raised the alert level for Mayon on Monday.
Mayon, 330km (206 miles) south-east of the capital Manila, has erupted 48 times since records began.
The head of the disaster relief operations in the region, Cedric Daep, said the authorities aimed to evacuate nearly 50,000 people from villages within eight kilometres of the volcano by Thursday.

In pictures: Filipinos flee
He said that after a series of ash puffs and ash explosions up to 1,000m high, a major explosion could not be ruled out.

Copenhagen Conference: Signs of progress after talks with African group lead to proposals for climate fund

Gordon Brown became the first world leader to fly into Copenhagen tonight, aiming to break through one of the greatest obstacles to a climate change treaty: who should pay to tackle global warming.
With the UN talks balanced on a knife edge, the prime minister said they had three days to "shape the future of humanity".
As the high-level political part of the summit began, its Danish president, Connie Hedegaard, said: "In these very hours we are balancing between success and failure. Success is within reach. But I must also warn you: we can fail."
Delegates at the summit are nervously awaiting fresh versions of the draft treaty (agreement) which more than 115 world leaders will want to finalise by Friday.
The first sign of progress could come tomorrow with the Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, expected to announce proposals for climate change funding that some rich and poor countries have agreed on. Developing countries say they need billions of dollars to cope with rising sea levels and extreme temperatures, and to move to clean energy technologies

Copenhagen Conference Day 5: EU agrees climate pledge, led by UK and France

EU nations are set to commit more than €2bn (£1.8bn) a year to help poorer countries cope with global warming, the leaders of Britain and France indicated today as they sought to bolster UN climate talks in Copenhagen.
The UK prime minister, Gordon Brown, and president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, said their two countries would contribute the bulk of that sum and were trying to persuade smaller members of the 27-state European Union to pledge more.
EU leaders failed on Thursday to come up with a firm figure for the fund, an embarrassing setback for a bloc that has seen itself as a trailblazer in the fight against global warming. Smaller eastern European states are reluctant to donate as they struggle with public sector debt and rising unemployment in the wake of the financial crisis.
The climate aid is intended to go towards a global $10bn (£6bn) annual fund for short-term help to poor countries, particularly in Africa. It would begin in January and run for three years, when any new climate treaty emerging from Copenhagen would come into force.

Click on the title for more information and to see a press conference by Brown and Sarkozy

Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change, Day 4: Vulnerable and poorer countries clash with the richer countries

More than half the world's countries say they are determined not to sign up to any deal that allows temperatures to rise by more than 1.5C, as opposed to 2C, which the major economies (richer and powerful countries) would prefer.

But any agreement to reach that target would require massive and rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions combined with removal of CO2 in the atmosphere. An extra 0.5C drop in temperatures would require vastly deeper cuts in carbon dioxide and up to £6.5 trillion extra in energy-related investment by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency.

Today the Alliance of Small Island States (Aosis), a grouping of 43 of the smallest and most vulnerable countries, including Tuvalu, said any rise of more than 1.5C was not negotiable at Copenhagen. They are backed by 48 of the least developed nations.

But the UN conference chief, Yvo de Boer, implied this morning that the proposal had little chance of being adopted. "It is theoretically possible that the conference will agree to hold temperatures to 1.5C but most industrialised countries have pinned their hopes on 2C," he said.

Click here for photos of the conference and more information

25 year anniversary of the worlds worst industrial accident (Bhopal, India)

People in the Indian city of Bhopal have been marking 25 years since a leak at a gas plant killed thousands and left many more seriously ill. Activists and survivors marched through the city, chanting slogans against the government and Union Carbide - the US firm that owned the plant at the time.

The incident was the worst industrial disaster in history. Forty tonnes of a toxin called methyl isocyanate leaked from the factory and settled over slums on 3 December 1984.

Campaigners say at least 15,000 were killed within days and that the effects of the gas continue to this day.

The site of the former pesticide plant is now abandoned. The state government of Madhya Pradesh took it over in 1998, but environmentalists say poison is still found there.

Campaigners say Bhopal has an unusually high incidence of children with birth defects and growth deficiency, as well as cancers, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

No-one has ever stood trial over what happened at Bhopal.

Twenty years ago, the American company, Union Carbide paid $470m (£282m) in compensation to the Indian government.

Click on the headline to see a short video of the effects of the disaster

Nepal Government hold cabinet meeting on Mount Everest

Nepal's cabinet met on Mount Everest today to highlight the threat of global warming to the glaciers and mountains of the Himalayas.

The government, represented by ministers wearing thick jackets, woolen hats and in some cases oxygen masks, endorsed a resolution on climate change in the bright sunshine of a Himalayan morning before flying back.

The 20-minute meeting, which took place under the shadow of the peak of Mount Everest, comes in advance of next week's key climate change summit in Copenhagen. The political stunt comes after a cabinet meeting held underwater in October by Maldivian ministers which drew attention to the risk the Indian Ocean island-state faces from rising seas.

On the Himalayan slopes, ministers posed for pictures, signed a commitment to tighten environmental regulations and pledged to expand the nation's conservation areas.

"Due to global climate change and its effects, the entire human civilisation is faced with additional challenges for their survival" said the prime minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal told reporters.

Nepal, which sits between China and India, is home to Everest, the world's tallest peak, and eight more of the world's 14 highest mountains. Global warming, say many experts, could see glaciers on the roof of the world melt away – threatening the water and food security for 1.5 billion people downstream in south Asia.

Dark roads will lead to brighter future says pollution commission

Street and motorway lights should be dimmed or switched off to save energy and let people see the stars, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution says.

It says there is little evidence that such lighting significantly cuts accidents or crime. It recommends the removal of thousands of motorway lights, possibly even at junctions. The report says that since 1993 most of the UK has become brighter, obscuring the stars, and it backs a recent paper in the scientific journal Nature that said: “Without a direct view of the stars, mankind is cut off from most of the Universe, deprived of any direct sense of its huge scale and our tiny place in it.”

The commission proposes “dark- sky parks” all over Britain, with planning restrictions on outdoor lighting. The Galloway Forest Park in southern Scotland this month became Britain’s first official dark-sky park, with 7,000 stars visible there, compared with 500 in Glasgow.

It says that the planned replacement of 2.3 million of Britain’s 7.4 million road lights in the next two years is “a real opportunity for local authorities to think about minimising the negative impacts of stray light”.

It says motorway lighting reduces crashes by about 10 per cent and that this may be too low to justify the costs. It welcomes the Highways Agency’s trials of switching off lighting on six stretches of motorway between midnight and 5am. The trials began in March and have so far reduced carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 230 tonnes, equal to 100 cars’ annual emissions

Satellites to monitor countries for climate change under Gordon Brown plan

Last night at a meeting in Trinidad Gordon Brown reached agreement with Commonwealth leaders and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, to put forward a new £10 billion fund to tackle what Mr Brown said was “a climate emergency.”

He said the Launch Fund would allow the world to break the “deadlock” over a deal at Copenhagen (the conference starts next week) and “get moving on climate change as quickly as possible”.

Mr Brown said: “'Together the collective power of the Commonwealth must be brought together to tackle a new historic injustice, that of climate change.”

Ahead of the UN-sponsored climate change conference in the Danish capital, Mr Brown proposed a £10 billion rich-world fund - to which Britain would contribute £800 million - to give incentives to developing countries to halt deforestation, develop low-carbon energy sources and prepare for the effects of a warmer climate.

To police the new deal satellites would monitor countries, like Papua New Guinea, Guyana and Indonesia, responsible for deforestation. Any country found not to be abiding by the deal would have their funding halted.

But some countries, not least China, are likely to be very wary of allowing international satellites to spy on their country.

Floods in Cumbria: Army could build WW2 Bailey bridges

An emergency meeting is being held by the County Council this afternoon to discuss ways of bridging the Derwent at Workington, where residents currently face a 40-mile detour if they want to get from one side of the river to the other.
Structural engineers have told the council that prefabricated bridges could be built over the Derwent in a matter of days, if necessary, as they are strong enough to cross the river in a single span. Bailey bridges, named after their inventor, Donald Bailey, have been in use since the Second World War, when their light, modular design enabled soldiers to piece together bridges in a matter of hours without the need for cranes or specialist equipment. They are designed to hold the weight of a tank, and were credited by Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery as being one of the most important inventions of the war

Revision - Mind Maps

Year 11 - see if you can use the mind map technique to help you revise for your mock exams. Mr Bains' Year 10 group - remember you have a piece of homework to draw a mind map about Coastal Defences.

Look at the example provided here and remember the key ideas:

1. Use different colours for the arrows - a different theme should have a different colour (in the example you can see the light blue arrows are all to do with things that can be done in the home to reduce global warming, the green arrows are things that people can do as individuals and the black arrow is all about transport and climate change)

2. Have different size writing - make the more important information larger in size than the less important information

3. Use pictures and few words - only have the key facts and key words on your mind map. They should trigger memories and thoughts and help you remember the important information

Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in Cumbria after flooding of 'biblical proportions'.

Record rainfall of 12.3 inches fell in the area in just 24 hours, causing rivers to burst their banks and flood waters to rise to 2.5m in some streets.
Hundreds of stranded residents have been rescued from their homes, roads have been blocked and four bridges have collapsed.
Workington MP Tony Cunningham said the flood was "of biblical proportions" and seen "once every 1,000 years".
The Environment Agency has six severe flood warnings in place - all in Cumbria - 29 flood warnings, and 65 less serious flood watches. More rain is expected on higher fells in Cumbria and across areas of the UK later today.
Flooding has also been reported in north-west Wales, Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland and other parts of north-west England.

Click on the title to go to photos of the floods and more information

Copenhagen Conference on Climate change - 4 weeks to go!

There are just over four weeks to go before the Copenhagen conference intended to agree a new international framework for controlling greenhouse gas emissions. The final round of preparatory talks in Barcelona has revealed deep divisions between some of the key participants.

What is the Copenhagen Conference?
It will run between December the 7th and 18th
192 countries will be represented
There will be 15,000 officials from around the world


What are they hoping to achieve?
They want to agree targets for the richer and poorer countries to cut greenhouse gases (which cause Climate change)
They want to agree funding for poorer countries to help them cut their greenhouse gas emissions


Click on the title to see a table of the differing viewpoints from around the world.

More information can be found by clicking this link

91 die in El Salvador floods

At least 91 people have been killed in El Salvador by flooding following days of heavy rain, the government says.

Authorities have declared a state of emergency in five regions

Journalist Juan Carlos Barahona told the BBC that San Vicente had almost been completely cut off by landslides and collapsed bridges.

Mr Barahona, of the El Salvador daily La Prensa Grafica, told the BBC that the other worst affected areas were La Libertad, La Paz and Cuscatlan.

60 people are still missing, and about 7,000 more are in shelters.

Environmental issues in China - Year 13 homework

Use this website on China to help you with your Superpower Geographies homework (due Tuesday 10th November). Have a look at the interactive map, videos and article (it's a bit long at 6 pages, but useful) and make a list of all the environmental problems that China have as a result of their rapid growth and emergence as a superpower.

ps - go down to the "Slideshare" widget on the left hand panel for past exam papers if you need some for the re-takes. Mark schemes are there as well.

Deadline for fieldtrips this week

A quick reminder to Year 10 and Year 12 students.......payments and slips are due for the fieldtrips by the end of this week. It is essential that slips are back and your parents should contact Mr Bains at school is they have any issues.

Ask your teacher if you have lost your letter.

Interactive Atlas of the Millenium Development Goals

Have a look at this resource. It has been produced by the World Bank and shows how each country around the world fares against the Millenium Goals. This Online Atlas of the Millenium Development Goals takes each goal and resizes the world map to show the inequalities that currently exist.just click on one of the development goals on the right hand side of the screen, select a map and then resize it by clicking 'play'. The results are fascinating.

Copenhagen (Denmark) Summit, December 2009

You may have heard of the Copenhagen summit (a meeting) that is due to take place in Decemember. What's this summit all about? Well, basically 192 countries will be getting together in order to discuss climate change and set targets for CO2 reductions. It is a very important meeting and chance for the world to take action on Climate change before it is too late. Keep an eye out for news of the summit. There are some useful links below that will keep you informed of the latest news.

This BBC page has lots of really useful information about the summit and will keep you up to date on what is going on

This is the Guardian newspapers special site dedicated to what is happening in Copenhagen

Click here for a 5 minute clip from the BBC about the lead up to the summit

Plan to freeze the world's coral

Scientists reckon the world's coral is disappearing so fast they should freeze samples of it for the future.
They say that climate change is causing coral reefs to die off really quickly, because of changes to the water temperature and acidity.
The plan would be to freeze the coral, store it and then put it back into the oceans later on.
Coral is really important because loads of fish and other animals live in and around the reefs.
Millions of people also need the coral reefs to make money.
In a meeting in Denmark, scientists said that most coral reefs will not survive, even if tough rules to try to stop climate change are put in place.

BBC report about the same story

Click here to take a BBC sea and oceans quiz

Click here for an older story about coral from May 2009

'Day after tomorrow' map produced

This map has been produced by the Met Office and basically says Britain faces rising sea levels, floods and drought unless more is done to stop climate change. It predicts temperature rises may reach the dangerous tipping point by 2060 unless more is done to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Click on the map to see a larger version

Bosses call for later pension age

The UK state pension age should increase to 70 as soon as possible because people are living longer, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has said. The savings should be used to raise the basic state pension, it suggested.

A spokesman said:
"In 1950, somebody who retired at 65 was projected to live another 12 years. Now it is 19 years and by the middle of this century it is going to be between 20 and 22 years."

Women's retirement age is already being gradually increased from 60 to 65 to bring them in line with men. The Government want to delay pensions until 66 by 2026, while the Conservatives have proposed making people work until 66 by 2016

Another suggestion is that income tax should increase so that the Government could get enough money to help fund pensions and look after the elderly.

Why did the Maldives Government hold a meeting underwater?

The government of the Maldives has held a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the threat of global warming to the low-lying Indian Ocean nation.
President Mohamed Nasheed and his cabinet signed a document calling for global cuts in carbon emissions.
Ministers spent half an hour on the sea bed, communicating with white boards and hand signals.
The president said the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen this December cannot be allowed to fail.
At a later press conference while still in the water, President Nasheed was asked what would happen if the summit fails. "We are going to die," he replied.
The Maldives stand an average of 2.1 metres (7ft) above sea level, and the government says they face being wiped out if oceans rise.
"We're now actually trying to send our message, let the world know what is happening, and what will happen to the Maldives if climate change is not checked," President Nasheed said.
"If the Maldives cannot be saved today we do not feel that there is much of a chance for the rest of the world," he added.

Click the title to watch a video

A video and artcle about how sea level rises have affected the Maldives

A video and article on how the Maldives have tried to become carbon neutral

Arctic heads for ice-free summer

The Arctic Ocean near the North Pole could be ice-free in the summer in around 10 years time, a top polar specialist has said.
Professor Peter Wadhams, who took part in a massive ice survey in the area, said for the first time it might be possible for ships to cross the area.
The team found floating ice that was around 1.8m thick, which means it's probably 'first year' ice.
That means it's more likely to melt again in the summer months.

The team brought their own equipment to dig into the ice but that quickly froze up so they had to do everything by hand. Where the ice had melted they had to swim.
Further investigation

Travelling to the North Pole and working in temperatures as cold as -70C is the only way scientists can really find out how the area has been affected by climate change.
If these ice sheets do melt it's not clear what the effects could be, so it looks like these results are the start of even more work in the Arctic.

Test yourself with a BBC interactive environment quiz

Africa's Food Crisis

Tens of millions of people across more than half the states in sub-Saharan Africa need urgent food aid, but the causes are often complex and varied.

Food crises were once primarily triggered by natural disasters like droughts. But according to research by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, man-made causes are increasingly to blame. These include conflict and poor governance, as well as HIV/Aids. Rural poverty, international trade barriers, overpopulation, deforestation, poor use of land and environmental problems can also be factors.

Find out more about Africa's food crisis now

The moon belongs to no one, but......

LAST week, NASA crashed a satellite into the moon's south pole in a bid to discover reserves of water and other resources.

This was the latest in a flurry of Moon missions: between 2007 and 2011 there will have been eight: one from Japan, two from China, one from India, one from Russia and three from the US.

The race back to the Moon has been prompted by the realisation that exploiting it may now be within reach. And it poses the question: who gets to use the moon's recoverable resources, such as oxygen or water?

Read more about this story by clicking the title.

For the attention of Year 9!

In your Geography lessons you should be working on, or about to work on presentations about your news stories. To make sure your group work is the best it can be you should try to make sure you do ALL of the following:

•Say what is the story about.
•Answer as many of the questions that you thought of as you can. Get the scrap book where the questions are written and find the answers through your research. Split the questions up so that for homework you all try to find answers for different aspects of the story.
•Relate the story to Geographical theories and ideas – for example Migration stories can be related to Push and Pull factors – ask your teacher and they will direct you to information.
•Try to cover differing viewpoints in your work (and don’t forget to include your own)
•Try to mention the idea of sustainability. This means whether something can keep going without doing damage.

If you include all of this then you are more likely to get a high grade for your work.

Remember, this work is also about teamwork. .You must learn how to work with others.....this means having good comminication skills, sharing the workload and cooperating!

What is teamwork??

Houses that float?

After the floods that destoyed so much of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (see further down the page for footage and more information), American designers have come up with a solution. They have designed houses that are meant to float should a flood arrive.

Click the headline to read more about this story.

There is an interview with the designer that you can listen to as well further down the page under the footage of Katrina.

Click here to learn more about flood management

Storm-Battered Philippines Struggles to Clean Up

More than a week after Typhoon Ketsana devastated the Philippines, large areas of the Manila metropolitan area and nearby provinces remain flooded, and residents face a host of other problems, including disease and ruined crops, according to relief and government officials.
Nearly half a million people were affected by flooding caused by Ketsana, with many of the displaced now in evacuation centers, while others remain marooned in homes surrounded by floodwaters. Several areas will probably have no power for weeks, officials say.

Click the title to read more about this story.

How can I revise?

• Flashcards: On small cards, summarise a case study into one (or both) sides of the cards and refer to it regularly. Make sure that you include key facts and number as you condense the case study to fit the card.
• Colour coding: colour code large pieces of text into sections. For example, it could be the social, economic and environmental impacts of the Cardiff Bay redevelopment.
• Memory tests: You could look at an important diagram (eg the cross section of a meander) for 20 seconds, then cover it over and draw what you remember. Then give yourself another 20 seconds to see what you missed and add it in. Eventually, you will be able to draw the sketch without looking at a copy.
• Key words test: You could ask someone to read out 10 definitions and you have to say what the key word is. Then you could try it the other way around which is harder with someone giving you a key word to define.
• Spider diagrams (mind maps): Write a key theme in the centre of an A3 piece of paper. Write the sub-themes around it with important ideas and case studies to back them up. Stick your finished spider diagram somewhere visible where you will be able to refer to it often (e.g. fridge door, bedroom wall).
• Practice exam questions: Look at the examples of past case study questions. Practice writing responses to these questions using the flashcards or colour coded case studies you have created.
• Summarising: Condense a section of text into a set number of bullet points.
• Reading aloud: Read a case study summary aloud, then try to say aloud all the facts and figures you remember without the summary. You could also read your keyword lists aloud.
• Repeated writing: Copy out pieces of information more than one time (five times would be appropriate). The repetition will help you to fix the facts in your memory.

For more revision and study skills tips use the links on the left hand panel.

India floods leave 240 dead, 1.5 million homeless

New Delhi - Heavy floods in southern and western India have killed 240 people and left more than 1.5 million homeless, news reports said Monday.

Days of heavy rains led to the worst floods in southern Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states in 60 years, inundating hundreds of villages in the region. Karnataka accounted for 178 deaths and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh registered 37 deaths, the PTI news agency reported. At least 25 people were killed in flood-related incidents in western Maharashtra state, the report said. In the worst-hit northern regions of the state, an estimated 1 million people were rendered homeless, officials told the NDTV network.

More than 300,000 flood victims were lodged in 1,200 relief camps in the state. The Government pledged to rebuild 200,000 homes that had been destroyed in the floods, with help from the private sector(businesses). NDTV reported that the river Krishna had turned into a sea in Andhra Pradesh, flooding thousands of homes and forcing residents to leave all belongings and take refuge in government relief camps. Government officials said 500,000 people had been evacuated from their homes across the state.

More than 1,400 people have died across 19 of India's 28 states during the monsoon rains this year. The monsoon season usually begins in June and wanes by September. Heavy cloud formations over the Arabian Sea to the west of India's southern peninsula and a depression over the Bay of Bengal in the east have caused the unusually heavy rains, according to the Meteorology Department.

Click the title to read more

International rescue teams arrive in Indonesia

Rescue teams from all over the world are arriving in the Indonesian island of Sumatra to help search for survivors of Wednesday's earthquake.
Workers arriving in remote areas three days after the quake are finding villages completely destroyed.
So far more than a thousand people are known to have died, but now that number is expected to rise.
British, Australian and South Korean rescuers have arrived and the EU and Russia are also sending help.
The city of Padang, which is very close to the coast, is among the areas hardest hit by the tremors. Up to 3,000 people are believed trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
Charities like the Red Cross say more help is needed.
"We need drinking water and clothes because many people's clothes were burnt in fires," said one Red Cross worker.
"We also need medicines to stop infection."
It's quite difficult for search and rescue teams to work their way through to the worst affected areas, so it's going to take a long time to help people.
The earthquake, which measured 7.6 on the richter scale, and a really strong aftershock brought down hospitals, schools and shopping centres as well as causing landslides across the island.

Click the title to go to an animated guide about earthquakes

Kids for Sale: Stacey Dooley Investigates (click title to watch programme)

Stacey Dooley, from the BBC Three series Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts, returns with a two-part series exploring the issue of child labour in Nepal and the Ivory Coast. In 2007, fashion fanatic Stacey Dooley's life took an unexpected turn when she travelled to India for Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts to live and work alongside the people in the Indian fashion industry making clothes for the UK high street. In the cramped backstreet workshops of the Mumbai slums she came face to face with child labour and what she saw there changed her life. Stacey realises that this is a global issue and embarks on two separate journeys taking her into the heart of the child labour issue. She begins her journey in Nepal where tens of thousands of children, many under 10, are forced to leave their families to work in factories or within a form of domestic slavery. Stacey's mission is to try and find out how and why this can happen and if it's possible for her to make a difference. In Kathmandu it is estimated that thousands of children work for wages. As the government clamps down on child labour in India more children are crossing the border to work in Nepal's embroidery and carpet factories. Stacey discovers children working in terrible conditions and for very little pay. She befriends a young boy who is beaten by his factory manager and helps him escape to the safety of a children's hostel. Stacey meets children who have been sold into domestic slavery by their families, including a girl in her teens who was rescued three years ago and is now being looked after and educated in a hostel. With the aid of a charity Stacey joins her as she tries to save her 13-year-old sister from the same situation.

Broadcast on: BBC Three, 11:50pm Thursday 1st October 2009, available until Thursday 8th October

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n4fd2

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Welcome to the blog of the Geography department at Kenilworth school. We hope to have lots of useful information on the blog, from the latest news reports from around around the world, to videos, links to other sites and useful information for each year group.

Thursday, 1 October 2009

Indonesian Eartquake death toll reaches 1000
Latest reports this evening on the BBC News website state that at least 1,100 people have died in the earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday, the UN humanitarian chief has said. John Holmes said many hundreds more were injured and both figures were set to rise further. Rescuers are working into the night to find survivors in the rubble of hundreds of collapsed buildings. The 7.6-magnitude quake struck close to the city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province. The earthquake brought down hospitals, schools and shopping malls, cut power lines and triggered landslides. For more reports, video and audio clips select: BBC News Indonesian earthquake reports