Monday, November 18. 2019

Today's schedule is A-AG-BCD

A Block Physical Geography - Okay so I get it when you think about deserts normally this comes to mind:

Those cartoon backgrounds were inspired by this:


Today we will look at deserts and desert environments. We'll see the different types of deserts. I'll show you the Namib desert and the Skeleton Coast and then you'll define alluvial fan, playa, yardang, and sand dune. You'll have a question on desertification and there are some good websites to help. For desertification watch this:

 For the websites look here:

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
USGS Desertification page
Green Facts Scientific page on Desertification


Great Sand Dune National Park Colorado, U.S.A.

Do you know what used to be under the Saharan desert sands? Nope not candy. Check out the image and article on Smithsonian about ancient riverbeds below the Saharan sands  (or IFL Science here or Ecowatch here). And you could watch this fascinatingly poor dub of an article on a really good video about the sub Saharan river systems:


B Block Human Geography - Today we'll finally move on to our next key question, "Why Do Religions Have Different Distributions?" Universalizing religions have diffused from specific places of origin (or hearths) to other regions of the world, while most ethnic religions have generally remained clustered in a defined area. Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism all originated in Asia and diffused the world over from there. So we'll try to find out how and why religions spread the way they do. To help:



Don't forget the three major universalizing religions of Christianity, Islam and Buddhism diffused from specific places of origin, or hearths, to other regions of the world, while most ethnic religions have generally remained clustered in a defined area. Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism all originated in Asia and diffused the world over from there. You'll have a chart to fill in and then some questions to answer about about the diffusion of Christianity and Islam...From Bridging World History (Annenberg Media)

Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam alike were proselytized by their followers, adapted to different cultural settings, and used to provide religious sanctions for rulers. Unlike Buddhism, however, both Christianity and Islam used military power to conquer and convert peoples and created their own governments. 

From its origins in sixth-century B.C.E. India, Buddhism was transmitted through central to east Asia by the beginning of the first millennium C.E. to become one of the great proselytizing, universal religions of world history. Emerging from the Sumerian and Judaic traditions of early West Asia, both Christianity and Islam were, by the close of the first millennium C.E., institutionalized universal religions with large populations of adherents in lands that stretched from northern Europe to North Africa and from the Mediterranean to East Africa and the Himalayas. As all three of these religions were introduced into different cultures and societies, they underwent significant adaptations to indigenous belief systems at the same time that they dramatically altered the religious ideals and values of peoples around the globe. 

All three early universal religions—Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam—were further expanded by those who held the reins of power in the areas where they took root. Although Buddhism interacted with political authority in various cultural settings, lending its sanction to some rulers, it did not become the engine of empire that Christianity, and especially Islam, did. Just as political forces shaped the growth and spread of these religions, so Christianity and Islam both played powerful roles in legitimizing political authority. 

C/D Blocks Environmental and Social Sciences - The Salish Sea is an inland sea that encompasses Puget Sound, the Georgia Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca (It received its official name back in 2010). The area spans from Olympia, Washington in the south to the Campbell River, British Columbia in the north, and west to Neah Bay and includes the large cities of Seattle and Vancouver. It measures 17,000 sq km and has 7470 km of coastline, with 419 islands and 8 million people calling the region home, including us. In addition, there are 37 species of mammals, 172 species of birds, 247 species of fish, and over 3000 species of invertebrate in the Salish Sea. From the Shaw Center for the Salish Sea:

A bio-rich inland sea and coastal land area of British Columbia and Washington State named for its original habitants,  the Coast Salish Peoples, and known for its keystone animals – the Southern Resident Orca and the Grizzly Bear. The Salish Sea Bioregion is a place where the deep Pacific Ocean meets the nutrient laden waters of the great watershed of the Coast Mountains and its largest river, the Fraser, and where rapidly flowing tidal currents create rich ecosystems supporting substantial animal and plant life.
This is a place of significant heritage and culture where people have interacted with the ocean and watershed for thousands of years and a place now home to 8 million people, including over 70 First Nations. It is a place of competing priorities, intricate ecosystems and compelling stories at the crossroads of ancient pathways and new directions.

Today we'll start with a brainstorming session on what you know about the people, places, and environments of the Salish Sea. Next we'll watch the first 10 minutes of the Living Salish Sea video below:

This Living Salish Sea from Oceanus on Vimeo.

After this you'll get an outline map of the Salish Sea (the map above from Stefan Freelan) and Benton and I will have you fill in some data on it, including the First Nations of the Salish Sea bio-region. If there's time you may finish the herring work that you started with Benton and/or the social media campaign project on plastics in the ocean that you began with me on Friday.