Philippines Flood Death Toll Nears 1,000

2011 ends with yet another natural disaster. This one has claimed the lives of 1000 people in the Philippines. The flooding was caused by tropical storm Washi, which swept through the southern Philippines on Friday evening, dropping a month's worth of rain in 24 hours. About 143,000 people were affected in 13 southern and central states.

Conditions remain chaotic at the evacuation centres, mainly schools and gymnasiums, and with no running water fire trucks were being used to deliver supplies. Officials warned that the crowded conditions could lead to outbreaks of leptospirosis, diarrhoea, cholera, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and dysentery, with children and pregnant women the most vulnerable. 

"The problem is we only have one or two toilets per school, and they have to cater to 3 000 or 4 000 users," said Iligan health officer Levy Villarin.

Click on the headline to read more on the story or click here to be taken to the recent Channel 4 documentary "The Year the Earth went wild"

Year 13 Unit 4 Pre-release, 2012

The pre-release EXPLORE and FOCUS themes are now available on the Edexcel website. Remember, the explore idea is about the theme that you should now focus on and the research is more about the examples and case studies that you need to find.

Click the heading to be taken there, although this the information relevant to us......


OPTION 2: Cold Environments – Landscapes and Change
• Explore the processes which shaped the landscape during the Pleistocene within a
region such as the British Isles.
• Research the wide variety of landscapes and landforms created at differing scales by
glacial and periglacial processes within a chosen region.

OPTION 3: Life on the Margins – the Food Supply Problem
• Explore the need for, and effectiveness of, different strategies that are designed to
improve food security.
• Research a range of food security strategies, including ‘sustainable’ ones, at differing
scales and locations.


OPTION 5: Pollution and Human Health at Risk
• Explore the relative health risks from incidental and sustained pollution, and how and
why these vary both spatially and over time.
• Research locations at varying scales and levels of development, that have experienced
or are experiencing health risks from different types of pollution

Kenilworth Geography department on Twitter

There are now two twitter accounts - one aimed at Year 12 students http://twitter.com/#!/KenilworthGeo12
and one aimed at Year 13 students http://twitter.com/#!/KenilworthGeo13

Make sure you start following for the latest news that relates to the course, exam information and general updates.

Britain spends £10m to fight deforestation in Brazil

Britain is spending £10m to tackle deforestation in Brazil in an effort to protect wildlife and reduce carbon emissions.

The environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, said the money would help farmers in Cerrado, central Brazil, restore natural habitats, reduce forest fires and ease the pressure for more deforestation to provide land for agriculture.

Speaking at the International Forest Day conference in Durban, South Africa, where the latest round of UN climate talks are being held, Spelman said: "The Cerrado is rich in biodiversity and yet, alarmingly, it has almost halved in size, because of wildfires and the demand for agricultural products.

"If we're going to stop the loss of biodiversity, we need to protect our forests, which house the majority of the world's wildlife. We won't succeed in tackling climate change unless we deal with deforestation."

Click on the headline to read the whole story from the BBC.

HS2 decision is delayed until new year

A final decision on whether to go ahead with the controversial HS2 high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham is being delayed until the New Year, it was disclosed.
Transport Secretary Justine Greening is understood to be considering whether a £500 million tunnel should be bored to minimise impact on the Chiltern Hills landscape.
The 100-mile rail link, due to be built between 2016 and 2026, aims to cut the London-to-Birmingham journey time to 49 minutes.
However, the £32 billion project has provoked fury among many Tory MPs - including Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan, who has reportedly threatened to resign over the issue.
Ms Greening had been expected to make a final announcement before parliament rises for its Christmas break.
But the decision has now been delayed until January as she has asked for a feasibility study to be carried out on a £1.5 million tunnel near Amersham, as well as an environmental probe.

Toads can predict earthquakes!

Scientists believe they have an explanation for Italian toads' apparent ability to sense the earthquake that struck the city of L'Aquila on 6 April 2009. Animals may sense chemical changes in groundwater that occur when an earthquake is about to strike and this could be the cause of bizarre earthquake-associated animal behaviour.

By chance, Dr Rachel Grant of the UK's Open University was monitoring a toad population at San Ruffino Lake, around 74km from the quake's epicentre. Five days before the 6.3 magnitude shake, "the number of male common toads in the breeding colony fell by 96 per cent", while "most breeding pairs and males fled" three days before the earth moved.


click on the title for more information