Volcano erupts in Japan

Fantastic footage on the BBC website here
and an article here

Key points:

• Mount Asama volcano erupted at 1:51 a.m. Monday 2nd Feb 2009
• Situated 145km NW of Tokyo.
• Mount Asama is 2,568m (8,425 ft) high, with snow-covered peaks.
• No lava flows could be seen.
• Smoke billowed about 2,000 meters into the air and caused ash to drift over parts of the capital, Tokyo.
• Rocks were thrown more than 1 km from the crater
• There have been no reports of injuries or serious damage.
• The meteorological agency issued a crater proximity warning Sunday after detecting swelling at the top of the volcano, which is seen as a precursor of an eruption. It also raised the alert level from level 2 (do not approach the crater) to level 3 (do not go within four kilometers of the crater).
• Traffic in the area has been restricted and 45,000 local people warned to be ready to leave their homes should the danger intensify.
• It last erupted in August, 2008, causing no major damage.
  The last major eruption of Mount Asama took place in September 2004, when it spewed ash and rock as far as 200km away.
  
  Questions:
  What is 'ash'?
  This volcano lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire. What type of plate boundary exists here and can you name the plates?

Rainforest razed so cattle can graze

Read the full article in the Independent

What is the cause of deforestation?

Who benefits? who loses?

What is the scale of deforestation?

What are the economic causes and effects?

Are there any social effects?

What are the local issues?

What are the global issues?

Who is responsible?

Plans for Severn Barrage

Severn barrage details unveiled

The great divide: Green dilemma over plans for Severn barrage - Independent

Global warming is 'irreversible'

A team of environmental researchers in the US has warned many effects of climate change are irreversible.
Read the BBC article here

Follow the link to see how the greenhouse effect works

Flooding in India and Bangladesh Sept 08

Hundreds of thousands of people made homeless by the floods in the northern Indian are panicking over the high risk of disease in the camps where they are sheltering.

There is a big threat from water-borne diseases and measles, and many people are suffering from snake bites.

More than 700,000 people have been to camps, but there are still tens of thousands of others who remain stranded. The government are asking for more medicines to be rushed to the area, particularly anti-venom, which is in high demand.

The River Kosi which flows down from the Himalayas burst its banks and levees in Nepal on August 18. It then changed course and surged down the centre of Bihar state in India - one of the poorest areas of the country. The water flooded more than 700 villages and affected around 15 districts, home to around three million people.
The rescue and relief operation has been consistently criticised for being slow and poorly organised.

An Oxfam representative said "Women and children are bearing the brunt of the disaster, whether huddled in cramped camps or exposed to heat and the rains under the open sky.
"Thousands of people are without safe water and are having to defecate in floodwaters. There is a serious risk of diseases breaking out."
"Hygiene and sanitation facilities are urgently needed to prevent the spread of a water-borne epidemic. More food and shelter is also needed immediately."


Times

Bangladesh flooding story

Article from Guardian here

Population hits the headlines...

Figures released can be viewed from the National Statistics site here

1. Ageing population - The population timebomb
Independent
BBC
Times Online
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20080821/tuk-over-60s-outnumber-children-in-uk-6323e80.html

2. Boom in births brings UK population to almost 61m
Useful article from The Guardian

3. Immigration and births to non-British mothers pushes British population to record high
Read this article here

4. Reduced immigration from Eastern Europe into UK
Read more from Daily Mail here
Independent
Times Online
BBC

Should we lose land and homes to the sea?

Is this stretch of coastline affected by erosional processes or deposition?

What evidence is there to support this?

What are the wooden structures shown on the sands and what purpose do they serve?



Read the article from the Independent here



Why are 'stretches of Britain's coastline doomed'?

Lord Smith suggests that the government is not taking environmental issues seriously and cites three projects to support his view. Explain the reasons for the proposed projects and state why these are not necessarily the best from the environmental perspective.



Some parts of the British coastline are so badly eroded they are not worth protecting from the sea, the new head of the Environment Agency has said.
Lord Smith of Finsbury said work was already under way to identify areas of the east and south coast most at risk.



The threat to low lying areas from rising sea levels is highlighted, especially in parts of East Anglia, and Lord Smith refers to 'engineering solutions' being offered in some places. What are 'engineering solutions'?



Lord Smith suggests that the environment agency will have to identify "priority areas" and he warned: "We are almost certainly not going to be able to defend absolutely every bit of coast – it would simply be an impossible task both in financial terms and engineering terms."

How might some communities react to this statement? Who benefits? who might lose out?



For more information and the views of people affected by the issues of coastal erosion, look at the Happisburgh website by clicking here

Population paradox: Europe's time bomb

Article from Independent

Canadian Arctic sheds ice chunk

Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures.

Loss of ice in the Arctic, and in particular the extensive sea-ice, has global implications. The "white parasol" at the top of the planet reflects energy from the Sun straight back out into space, helping to cool the Earth.

Read the full article from BBC news here