The Darién Gap is the southernmost section of Panama that is part Panamanian rainforest and national park, part indigenous land, and part ungoverned space in which a variety of gangs and smugglers have long held sway. The "gap" refers to a gap in the Pan-American Highway: there is no road through the Darién Gap to connect Panama with Colombia. Over the last few years, the Darién Gap has become a route for Venezuelan and other migrants heading to the U.S. (many of whom fly into Ecuador from around the world to take advantage of Ecuador's liberal visa policy). This article from The New York Times chronicles the hazards of the Darién Gap: www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/world/americas/venezuelan-migrants-us-border.html
1 Comment
The U.S. has five territories -- American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands -- and all five have been losing population to the mainland. This recent article from The Washington Post profiles why residents of each territory have been moving and where, on the mainland, they have been moving to: www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/09/23/american-territories-population-loss/
Over the last two decades, China has built a vast ocean fishing fleet that has depleted China's own fishing stocks and now spends most of its time in and near the territorial waters of other countries. This recent article from The New York Times includes a series of maps profiling the journeys of a Chinese-owned refrigerated cargo ship that offloads catches from fishing vessels in South American waters, including in waters adjacent to the protected marine sanctuary of the Galapagos Islands: www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/26/world/asia/china-fishing-south-america.html
The second major named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season has just made its way across Cuba and Florida. This map, based on the INFORM Risk Index, looks at the risk of hurricane-related humanitarian crises in Latin America and the Caribbean: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/28317.jpeg
Western Europe is one of the world's most rapidly aging regions. This geo-graphic looks at the anticipated increase in dementia rates by 2050 in a sampling of Western European countries: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/28310.jpeg
Using data from a recent study published in Nature, this map from VisualCapitalist shows country-by-country population vulnerability to 1-in-100-year coastal and inland flooding events: www.visualcapitalist.com/countries-highest-flood-risk/
Persistent drought has exacerbated wildfire damage in the American Southwest, but more housing continues to be built in areas vulnerable to wildfires. The maps in this article from The New York Times compare housing developments in 1990 and 2020 in the areas around Sacramento, CA, Denver, CO, and San Antonio/Austin, TX. www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/09/climate/growing-wildfire-risk-homes.html
This map looks at the geography of Chicago shootings in which a parent was killed. (Map from www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2022/kids-witness-parents-shot-killed/.)
The Economist (UK) ranked 172 cities around the world for livability, based on more than 30 factors related to stability, education, health care, infrastructure, culture, and environment. In North America, the four most livable cities were all in Canada this year, with Calgary edging out Vancouver. In the U.S., this year's most livable city was Atlanta, followed by Washington, D.C. and Honolulu. www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/08/05/the-best-places-to-live-in-north-america
This geo-graphic compares per capita spending on pharmaceuticals in the U.S. to that in a sampling of peer-group (OECD) countries: www.statista.com/chart/3967/which-countries-pay-the-most-for-medicinal-drugs
According to a new report from the United Nations, global population is projected to hit 8 billion on November 15 of this year, India is expected to surpass China as the world's most populous country in 2023, and more than half of global population growth between now and 2050 will be concentrated in just 8 countries (alphabetically): the DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Tanzania. For all the details, you can download the report here: www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/wpp2022_summary_of_results.pdf
It was announced earlier this week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering a request from the Irish-headquartered pharmaceutical company Perrigo to sell its over-the-counter birth control pills in the U.S. This map from Statista compares country-by-country policies on the regulation of birth control pills: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/27764.jpeg
In 2021, the European Union exported 33 million tonnes of waste to non-EU countries, a 77% increase in exported waste since 2004. Where did it go? This geo-graphic from Statista shows the top eight destinations for EU waste in 2021: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/24716.jpeg (China which, as recently as 2009 received more than 10 million tonnes of EU waste, now takes virtually none.)
This is one of several compelling graphics from a recent report in The Economist (UK) about slavery in the U.S. prior to the Civil War. (Map from www.economist.com/interactive/graphic-detail/2022/06/18/slave-trade-family-separation.)
World Refugee Day was earlier this week. Although Ukrainian refugees -- now numbering 5.2 million -- have dominated the news this year, this map from Statista is a reminder that Ukrainians are just a fraction of the world's refugees: www.statista.com/chart/18436/total-number-of-refugees-by-origin-country
This article from Geographical (UK) profiles the world's 10 fastest-growing cities -- chances are you've heard of relatively few of them -- and looks at new additions to the list of the world's megacities (population 10M+): geographical.co.uk/culture/the-fastest-growing-cities?
Reporters Without Borders has released its 2022 assessment of press freedom in 180 countries and territories. Notably, Central and South America saw serious declines in press freedoms over the last year, with Honduras, Nicaragua, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Colombia, and Venezuela all dropping at least 11 (and as many as 39) positions in global rankings. Users can mouse over the map for details or click on the "Analyses 2022" for details: rsf.org/en/index
Roughly a quarter of all weddings in the U.S. are in the months of May and June. Depending on the state, though, up to 35% of all weddings are second or third (or fourth or fifth) marriages. This map, based on Census data, shows where re-marriage is most and least common in the U.S. compote.slate.com/images/c6f1ae40-6e32-414b-bec7-f3664e3e2ffa.png
Data collected by the Pacific Group and analyzed by Statista finds that water-related conflicts have escalated sharply in the last decade, particularly in Asia and Africa, as this geo-graphic shows: www.statista.com/chart/27272/water-conflicts/ (The full data set is worth exploring to understand the growing range of ways in which water is being weaponized or spurring violence: www.worldwater.org/conflict/list/)
Earth Day is next week. This map shows (in green) the parts of the world's terrestrial surface least impacted by humans. The darker the green, the less human activity in that region. www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/where-people-arent
Where are Ukrainians taking refuge? For now, primarily in neighboring countries. Poland has taken in more than half of the roughly 4 million people who have left Ukraine. This map (like last Thursday's geo-graphic) is from Statista based on data from the UN High Commissioner on Refugees: cdn.statcdn.com/Infographic/images/normal/26960.jpeg
As of late last month, an estimated 4 million people had left Ukraine, 9% of the population. This geo-graphic from Statista, based on data from the UN High Commissioner on Refugees, puts Ukraine in the context of previous refugee crises since 1960: www.statista.com/chart/27151/largest-refugee-crises-since-1960-by-peak-number-of-refugees
World Water Day was earlier this week. This map, developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit based on projections from the World Resources Institute, shows anticipated stresses on world water supplies by 2040. The UN defines a territory as water stressed when it has withdrawn 25% of its freshwater resources. The EIU report includes a number of other interesting maps related to too much or too little water around the world. (Map from impact.economist.com/sustainability/project/water-optimisation/download/water-opt-report-EIU-version.pdf.)
Students in my geography classes learn about the Cascadian subduction zone and why it's considered a major threat to U.S. security. The maps in this article illustrate the reach of a tsunami triggered by a 9.0 earthquake in the Cascadian subduction zone -- an event scientists consider a one-in-nine probability in the next 50 years -- in a handful of communities in the Pacific Northwest. A major earthquake in the Cascadian subduction zone would likely kill tens of thousands along the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California. www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/us/tsunami-northwest-evacuation-towers.html
The anti-corruption NGO Transparency International has released its latest report. The interactive map shows 2021 corruption perceptions scores around the world. Click on a country to see the current corruption score, the corruption trend line since 2012, and news about anti-corruption initiatives. www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021/
|
Blog sharing news about geography, philosophy, world affairs, and outside-the-box learning
Archives
December 2023
Categories
All
|