Room 611: Wednesday, February 17. 2021

Today's classes are:

9:15 - 11:50 A Block Physical Geography

12:30 - 3:05 D Block Legal Studies

A Block Physical Geography - Today....Oh today we look at Tsunamis and the west coast of North America. We'll watch sections of the Discovery Channel documentary "America's Tsunami: Are we Next?" and the CBC video (below) Japan's Tsunami: Caught on Camera. You will have some questions to work on tonight in your week three package which are:

Why can tsunamis cause such damage and devastation? What are some characteristics of the wave that factor into how much damage it could cause? How do coastal or shoreline features factor into the extent of damage? What role could a warning system play? How effective would a warning system be for the west coast of Vancouver Island? Why?

AND wait for it...listen to what Tilly says at 45 seconds into the video here
That's right...geography lessons can save your life. Atta girl Tilly!
For more Check out:
Get Prepared for a Tsunami in British Columbia
Tsunami: When the Ocean Roars
City of Victoria Tsunami Hazard Map
The M9 Cascadia Megathrust Earthquake of January 26, 1700
PBS documentary "The Wave that Shook the World"

From Canadian Geographic...

After shock The devastation of last year's Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia offers vital lessons for the west coast of North America...

By Jodi Di Menna and Steven Fick

In the year since a massive earthquake and tsunami rocked the Indian Ocean, the question "What if it happens here?" has gained urgency in western North America. The geology of the Cascadia subduction zone off the Pacific coast is so strikingly similar to that of Sumatra that scientists in British Columbia have used data from last year's disaster to refine models of how a megathrust earthquake — on the order of magnitude 9.0 — would affect the province's coast.

"The Sumatran earthquake was the type closest to what we expect in Cascadia," says John Cassidy, a seismologist at Natural Resources Canada in Sidney, B.C. "We set out to learn as much as we could from what occurred in Sumatra so that we could be better prepared when our big one happens."

Geological deposits and coastal First Nations lore indicate that large earthquakes have hit the West Coast every 200 to 800 years, and since the last one shook the region 305 years ago (the article is 10 years old so it is 315 now), scientists believe Cascadia could be ready to rupture at any time. In fact, in September (2005), Vancouver Island slid to the west about the width of a pencil, an event that occurs every 14 months and increases pressure along the fault line. "This slipping motion means we're one step closer to a big earthquake," says Cassidy.

The Sumatran experience gave scientists an idea of what to expect when it does happen. Using information gathered from that event, Cassidy and his colleagues plotted the same pattern of aftershocks and crustal deformation onto a map of the North American coast .
Predictions by computer models were largely confirmed by the Sumatran events, but in some cases, there were unexpected variations. Shaking was stronger than expected and felt farther inland, and the tsunami flooded higher up on shore and with more variation from place to place than scientists had anticipated. These insights will eventually make their way into building codes and engineering designs in earthquake- and tsunami-prone areas, but more immediately, the Sumatran disaster has led authorities to adjust their reaction strategies by adding warning systems and by increasing public awareness.

"Educating people to be better prepared is the most important aspect," says Cassidy. "The Boxing Day images were a graphic reminder of what can and likely will happen in the future. The key is to use the information and learn from it."

And from the Vancouver Sun:

Small quakes regularly rattle the west coast, but megathrust quakes are a different beast. Cascadia’s subduction quakes are huge – magnitude 9 or more. The last one stuck Jan. 26, 1700, creating a tsunami that destroyed First Nations villages and swept across the Pacific causing damage in Japan. There is no predicting when the next on will strike. But experts say there is a 12% probability a Cascadia megathrust earthquake will hit in the next 50 years. Because the Pacific Northwest coast is not heavily populated, a Cascadia quake and tsunami is not expected to be as deadly as the Sumatra quake. But it will be a major disaster. Emergency planners in B.C. and the U.S. estimate the number of deaths could exceed 10,000 with another 30,000 people injured. Communities on the west coast of Vancouver Island and the U.S. states will be hit hardest, but aging buildings and infrastructure in Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle and Portland are also at risk of damage and collapse. The economic impacts are expected to be far-reaching with damage from a Cascadia quake and tsunami expected to cost Canada up to $75 billion – almost twice B.C.’s annual provincial budget – and another $70 billion in the U.S.

AND from Hakai Magazine check out the awesome article on the Cascadia earthquake and our Indigenous population at: The Great Quake and the Great Drowning

D Block Legal Studies - Today we will venture off to the learning commons/library to begin work on our introductory unit major assignment that comes from the Toronto District School Board:

Human rights violations are a daily occurrence throughout the world. These violations take place in both the North and the South and affect the civil, economic, political, cultural, social, and equality rights of human beings. These violations are in direct opposition to the universal and inalienable rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Fortunately, organizations around the world work on protecting these rights, partly through education and awareness campaigns

Artists, both visual artists and musicians, often comment on human rights issues through their artwork. Assume the role of the Media Outreach Coordinator for a particular human rights organization (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, etc.) and research a contemporary case of human rights violations somewhere in the world. Based on your research, create a Human Rights Campaign Poster that educates the greater public about the human rights violations and urges them to take action to end the abuse.

Remember...

Human rights are the basic standards human beings need to live life with freedom and dignity. Human rights include fundamental civil and political rights, such as the right to free speech, to freedom of religion, and the right to participate in government. Human rights also include essential economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to education, to work, and to healthcare.
Human rights are the rights that all people have simply because they are human beings. Each of these rights are inalienable; they cannot be denied or taken away from any individual. They are also indivisible; all human rights are equally important and one right cannot be taken away because it is said to be less important than another.
Finally, human rights are interdependent, all human rights are connected and you cannot guarantee one right without ensuring that other rights are protected.

So your task is to...

1. Choose a contemporary case of human rights violations, as well as an organization that is working on ending the abuse.

2. Research your case study using the following websites: Amnesty International (click on campaigns); Human Rights Watch (click on Global Issues); Oneworld (click on In Depth then Human Rights); United for Human Rights; Youth For Human Rights or the BBC "I Have a Right to..." site and complete the following questions to help with your poster Case Study:

What is happening? Where is it taking place? What rights are being violated? Who is having their rights violated? Why are their rights being violated?

3. Create a visually appealing Human Rights Campaign Poster that addresses the human rights violation by incorporating the key information from the questions in point 2 above (in point form) as well as pictures, symbols, and colours. Remember, your poster should seek to draw the attention of the public through the balanced combination of text and visuals in a creative, yet educational manner!

Some examples of Human Rights posters...

Remember you need to create a visually appealing Human Rights Campaign Poster that addresses the human rights violation by incorporating key information (What is happening? Where is it taking place? What rights are being violated? Who is having their rights violated? Why are their rights being violated?) as well as pictures, symbols, and colours. Your poster should seek to draw the attention of the public through the balanced combination of text and visuals in a creative, yet educational manner!
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Illustrated Universal Declaration of Human Rights
So here's an example of a contemporary Human Rights issue...