In this issue: PHYSIC

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CONTENTS California Dreaming...................2The Forgeotten River.................2Renewable India .......................3Snow hope for Nepal.................3Country of the term....................4Message from the Editor............4

EDITORS NOTESWe welcome you to our first issue of the Geography newsletter, this month focusing on the theme of physical geography events throughout the world. You can find out about the damage caused through the snowstorm in Nepal and the hopes for India’s future as it pushes for renewable energy. Check out our countries of the term on the back page, if you think you can guess them, drop us an email. Hopefully we will be able to educate you and provide an exciting read, see you next term for more events.- Kieran Bull

California lies on the San Andreas Fault, which is one of the only trans-form margins inland. It connects the divergent East Pacific Rise in the south, and with the Juan de Fuca boundary in the North. Along this fault, the North American plate and Pacific plate have been moving against each other for 10 million years.The Pacific plate moves north-west-erly at about 5cm/year; the North American plate moves in the same direction at 2-3cm/year.Even the plates are moving the same direction, they are exerting the same amount of force as if they were moving in opposing directions.As a result, low magnitude earth-quakes are frequent; 20 per day is common.High magnitude earthquakes occa-sionally happen.The Wallace Creek was created in 1857 after an earthquake, which ruptured the surface of the crust. The San Andreas fault is a strike-slip fault, where the plates are mov-ing horizontally. And after a quake on this fault it bent roads, fences and train tracks. The motion caused buildings to collapse.

Californian Earthquake Smashes through Country

25th August 2014:Californian earthquake strikes San Francisco Bay areaMagnitude 6.0 on the Richter scaleApproximately 50 seconds longStruck at 03:20 local time (USGS)Depth of 6.7 milesAt least 87 people have been taken to hospital in the Napa areaDestroyed 4 mobile homesMade 16 buildings ‘uninhabitable’Caused approximately 50 gas main breaksAround 30 leaks from water mainsAt least three of those injured are in a serious condition 3 historic buildings in the town had been hit and two commercial build-ings were ‘severely damaged’Immediate aftermath of the earth-quake left 70,000 people without powerAt least 33 buildings out of 77,000 have been ‘red-tagged’, meaning that they are unsafe to enterA red cross evacuation centre was set up in a churchNumerous small aftershocks were reported

For an MEDC, that can experi-ence many earthquakes per day, the amount of injured people in hospital is high for California and the numerous numbers of damaged and unsafe buildings is huge. The preparedness should have been higher as they have the money and technology to be able to predict when the earthquake will strike, as well as the buildings being built in a way that means they can withstand movement from earthquakes.

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Everybody always remembers the winner and the runner up, but never takes notice of the third step of the podium. Take for instance the tallest mountain in the world. We all know very well that it’s Mount Everest and a lot of people would be aware that K2 is second, but would you know that Kangchenjunga is third, even though it is less than 100m shorter. We had to google it. It’s the same with rivers, it is a very well-known fact that the Nile is the longest river in the world, followed by the mighty Amazon. We feel that the River Yangtze, which is third, doesn’t get the recognition that its awe inspiring length merits.

Yangtze, the Forgotten River

So where is the Yangtze and what’s all the fuss about? The River Yangtze, also called the Chang Jiang, is situated in China and is one the world’s most important rivers because of the benefits it brings to the country and its people. As the longest river in Asia, with the length of 6,300km, it would take you over 11 hours by plane to get from one end to the other if it was in a straight line. The source of the Yangtze is Geladaindong Peak, Qinghai, in North Western China and it flows all the way to its mouth in Shanghai, into the South China Sea. However this rivers journey is unlike that of any other river in the world. As well as being one of the world’s most sacred religious locations The Yangtze provides precious resourc-es and industrial possibilities. For Chinese people it has been a major factor in the rapid industrialisation of the Yangtze Basin

(which covers 20% of China). Its effects are felt much further afield and the river has become the fore-front of China’s production boom. The Importance of the Yangtze

The Importance of the Yangtze The river is an important source of transportation. It is one of the busiest shipping lanes in terms of traffic in the world. Ships use it to transport coal and manufactured goods in their millions. Passenger ships also use the river and Yangtze River cruises have become a massively popular tourist attraction, increasing injection into the Chinese economy. This makes it a little less reliant solely on the manufactur-ing industry which would cause a huge depression if failure occurred. Things need changing to maintain the attractiveness for tourists and sustain and increase visitor num-bers. During the Chinese industrial revolution levels of pollution have become an increasing headache for the Chinese government to have to tackle. Policies on waste disposal were absent for many years, leading to mass pollution of the Yangtze River. Only now have the govern-ment begun to take action, many years too late, leaving some parts of the river stricken with pollution.

The Three Gorges Dam is the single biggest power station in the world, producing hydro-electric power which fuels China’s industri-al heart land with clean and renewable energy. It took 15 years to complete and displaced 1.2million people from their homes. In total the dam cost $6billion in government money, but this was seen as a small price to pay for long-term benefits that China would reap in years to come. The reservoir behind the dam is 185 meters deep with water and the power has increased China’s energy output by over 10%. This has allowed massive advancements in production making China a world super power. If you bought clothes from a high street clothing store there is a good chance the energy used to produce them came from this dam and subsequently the Yangtze. It is far more important than you would ever expect. The Three Gorges Dam is one of the finest examples of human engineering known to man. Not only does it provide power, but benefits over 20 million residents along the river by protecting them from the mass flooding of the Yangtze, which has claimed the lives of 320,000 in the three previous floods.

Where would China be without it?Nowhere. Chairman Mao was a controversial figure to say the least, but it was he who thought up the idea for the super dam on the Yangtze which is now oh so important to his country and he would be in awe of his vision becoming a reality if he was alive today to witness it. Without the Yangtze, China’s infrastructure may not have taken on the form that it has today and the nation of over 1 Billion may not have experienced the number of years and extent of prosperity which it has. This prosperity was fully reliant on the transportation of manufactured goods and fuels such as coal, provided by shipping on the Yangtze.

India is facing a large deal of pressure from other countries to improve their actions on climate change, even in spite of the minis-ter of power and energy’s promises to enhance the energy supply in the country, a difficult task due to the huge population of 300million people currently without electricity.The Modi government has pro-posed a set of ambitious renewable energy goals, led by Piyusg Goyal, the minister of power and energy.One of the aims is to add 10,000 megawatts of capacity to the wind turbine sector on an annual basis. (Around half of the country’s current installed capacity. Additionally, a statement was made by the minister, that the govern-ment would go ‘far beyond’ the previous regimes goal of installing 20,000 megawatts of solar energy by 2022. Large scale collar programmes have helped India to boost its solar capacity, between the years of 2011 and 2014, however much work remains to be done with both the wind and solar sector alike. A plan for the world’s largest solar plant in the Thar Desert towards the west has been delayed over con-cerns relating to the wildlife of the area, as there is potential damage that could be caused to migratory birds of the nearby wetlands.

Despite large scale solar and wind power programmes having assisted in the improvement of the energy production, investment is still required for power stations and lines for the distribution to small residential areas.Some organizations have been working to advance a smaller-scale approach: the environmental group Greenpeace recently led a so-lar-powered electrification project, solely in the village of Dharnai.A senior energy campaigner with Greenpeace, said that small-scale renewables are a quicker way of addressing rural energy needs in India than building larger plants.

Commitment to CoalDespite the multi-pronged effort to boost renewables in India, energy minister Goyal has made it clear that coal will not be going away. Goyal's comments seem to confirm that India is far more focused on fixing its coal industry than on phasing it out.To move its domestic coal, India relies on a few overburdened rail lines that travel from production centres in the east of the country to consumption centres in the west and south. Because of that bottle-neck and other factors, notably a continually mounting demand, gov-ernment-owned Coal India (which

produces 80 percent of India's supply) has consistently fallen short of production targets. That has left power plants chronically short of coal stocks and producing less electricity than they're capable of.The sluggish production, found-ering railroad projects, and high transport costs have contributed to driving up the country's reliance on imported coal from Indonesia and South Africa. All of this urgent de-mand for electric power production in India, looks set to lead to a large increase in coal-powered electricity, and a corresponding increase of coal imports.Funding for Renewable ResourcesEven as India increases renewable energy production and distribution, it needs to ensure that state-owned electricity companies actually purchase that energy. The state of Tamil Nadu, has about 40 percent of the country's installed capacity for wind power. It's actually less ex-pensive there than coal power. But state-owned distribution companies often don't buy much of it for a vari-ety of reasons - including their fear that the rise and fall of winds, which they lack the ability to forecast well, will destabilize the grid.

India set up mandatory minimums in 2010 for how much renewable energy distribution companies and large power consumers must purchase. The national government has set a minimum purchase goal of 15% by 2020, however it’s the state regulatory commissions that actually carry out the policy, proving problematic as many of them have been decreasing their targets lately. Also notable is the fact that compa-nies are not penalised for failure to meet the goals.India’s government has set out to raise clean energy funds by taxing coal, however it is not clear that those funds are being used to pro-mote renewable energy initiatives.It was reported in June that only one percent of the collected tax funds had been allocated to the Ministry of New and Renewa-ble Energy during the previous government’s term. The Indian government has now announced its intention to divert it to its own non-clean energy related flagship programs, like a plan to clean up the heavily polluted River Ganges.Until that time however, coal will continue to encompass a significant portion of India’s energy.

Is India’s push for renewable energy enough?

The tourist industry will be hit – the snowstorm hit the Annapurna Circuit, a very popular hiking trail, in the middle of the ‘safest’ month (October) to walk the circuit, which may put tourists off, meaning the villages that rely on passing trade from the tourists could be hitThe Nepalese Prime Minister, Sushil Koirala, announced that weather warning equipment will be improved, meaning more people will be better prepared for such conditions, making the area safer and encouraging more tourists to comeMany new procedures will be introduced, including a trekkers registry, checkpoints, GPS tracking units and mandatory use of trained local guides. These will be costly to implement, but will encourage more tourists, as people will see that the government is taking action to prevent further incidents of the same nature, so will be encouraged to return and spend more money, boosting the economyHowever, the loss of life has been great, meaning people may be put off visiting such a potentially

dangerous area, and the families of those killed will have to live with this disaster, thanks to freak weath-er and a lack of protection for the trekkers, for the rest of their lives

Impacts of Nepal SnowstormFebruary 18, 1979 in the Sahara Desert was snowing.

Until the end of the 1980s, there wasn’t a single phone in Bhutan (landline or mobile)

Of the 25 highest peaks of the world, 19 are in the Himalayas.

Unlike most African nations, Ethiopia has been never a European colony.

The Amazon rainforest produces more than 20% the world’s oxygen supply

Siberia contains more than 25% of the world’s forests.

Spain literally means ‘the land of rabbits.’

There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, every one is man-made.

Istanbul, Turkey, is the only city in the world located on two continents.

Monaco is the most densely populat-ed country in the world. (Population – 36,371, area – 1 sq. mi)

South Africa has 11 official languag-es, 9 of them are native.

Finland has about 60,000 lakes.

Iceland, the “Land of Fire and Ice” has more than 200 volcanoes and 120 glaciers

Brazil got its name from the nut, not the other way around

Canada is an Indian word meaning 'Big Village'.

Australia is the only country that is also a continent.

French was the official language of England for over 600 years.

Europe has no deserts - it is the only continent without one.

For every 10 successful attempts to climb Mount Everest there is one fatality.

Hawaii officially became apart of the US on June 14, 1900.

The only continent without reptiles or snakes is Antarctica

The world's smallest independent state is the Vatican City, with a population of about 1,000 - and a zero birthrate.

Ten percent of the Russian govern-ment's income comes from the sale of vodka.

Random Facts

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Country of the Week Challenge: Year 7-9 GNI per capita: US $2,750

Currency: PiastresArea: 185,180 sq. km (71,498 sq. miles)

The president recently admitted he aspired to become an optician prior to his brother dying.

All pet hamsters are descendants from hamsters of this country.

Think you know the country?

Email 8croskella@queeneliza-beths.derbyshire.sch.uk

With your guesses.

Country of the Week Challenge: Year 10-13 This countries name means “calf-land”One of the most crowded nations in Europe (58,126,212 by July 2009)

The longest river in this country is called the Po.

Its longest border is with Switzer-land.

The average person from this country consumes 26 gallons of wine a year.

Think you know the country?

Email 8croskella@queeneliza-beths.derbyshire.sch.uk

With your guesses.

Thanks for reading Geography in the News Issue #1, See you next term From the Geography in the News team.