Putting the CUP in World Cup

As the EarthView team has been discussing with students all year, the World Cup football (or "soccer" tournament) provides a lot of opportunities to learn about geography. Teams from all over the world have come to Brazil to compete, and they are doing so in about half of the states of that country.

Among the opportunities this has provided for learning about geography, the Rainforest Alliance has created one of the most interesting for its Frog Blog. For each pair of competing teams, a scorecard compares several measures of forest protection, including some statistics related to beverages that come from forests: tea, cocoa, and coffee.

In addition to the scorecard, an article about each pair discusses the kind of forests within the two countries, how well they are protected, and connections to protected forests elsewhere. Browse the entire World Cup Archives, and then explore the rest of the Rainforest Alliance blog to learn more about forest protection throughout the world.

Mapping the Changing Land

Among its other duties, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains topographic maps of the country, mostly at a scale of 1:24,000. These topographic maps are detailed enough to follow even the smallest streams, calculate the slopes of hills, and identify the positions and shapes of buildings. Because most areas have been mapped several times over decades -- and some more than a century -- they are very useful for describing changes in the land and human use of the land.

Blogger/journalists at the Washington Post recently created GIFs of some maps in the Washington DC area, with a link to the entire collection.

Geographers often use their expertise in the interpretation of topographic maps as they work with other professionals to describe the historical development of places. This can be especially useful when examining the environmental history of a site to see if it is likely to contain pollution or other hazards.