Geography and Science links carefully curated by Carl Lee. Below you find 10 links for each of the following categories:
- National geographical organisations
- Important international organisations
- Geography blogs
- Mapping and GIS websites
- Websites to help you keep up to date with geographical
- Environmental websites
- Websites concerned with equality
- Websites that help you understand globalisation better
10 National geographical organisations
American Geographical Society - Founded in
1851 and another 19th society that cut its teeth exploring. Today
the AGS is a major professional organization with a myriad of on-line
resources.
http://americangeo.org
Geographical Association – Formed in 1893 The Geographical Association (GA) is a subject
association with the core charitable objective of furthering geographical
knowledge and understanding through education.
http://www.geography.org.uk
Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin – The second oldest geographical society in the
world and founded by Carl Ritter and Alexander von Humboldt. All on-line material in German.
http://www.gfe-berlin.de
Indian Geographical Society – Long-standing (1926) organisation based out of the
University of Madras. Some interesting and important material but organisation
and website are still striving to get into the 21st century
http://igschennai.org/
Institute of Australian Geographers – It took until 1958 for Australian geographers to
form an association – this is predominantly a professional body
https://www.iag.org.au/home/
Royal Geographical Society – Founded in 1830 out of the even earlier African
Association. The pre-eminent professional geographical organization in the UK
with a wealth of on-line resources.
http://www.rgs.org/
The Royal Scottish Geographical Society – Another 19th century association (1884)
that has stood the test of time and continues to educate and inform
http://rsgs.org
The Geographical Society of China – Increasingly important national organization who
publish leading geographical academic journals.
http://www.gsc.org.cn
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society - In a country
full of geographical wonder formed in 1930 this is Canada’s pre-eminent
geographical association.
http://www.rcgs.org
Société de Géographie – The
world’s oldest geographical association formed in 1821. Lively and engaged but
only publishing and working in French. Excellent journal.
http://www.socgeo.org
A potentially full list of
national based geographical associations and societies can be found on
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Geographic_societies
10 Important international organisations
Eurostat – As
the site states ‘the key to European statistics’. The EU is very good at
collecting data and here is where you will find nearly all of it.
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
European Environment Agency – Providing information on the environment through the
lens of the European Union. A lot of
data and maps.
http://www.eea.europa.eu
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United
Nations (FAO).- For up to data of
food production, nutrition and hunger the FAO is the first place to start.
http://www.fao.org/home/en/
Information Telecommunication Union (ITC) – The increasingly important arm of the United Nations
concerned with global information and communication technologies. Their data
monitors this expanding facet of human life.
http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/default.aspx
International Monetary Fund (IMF) – Another cog in the system this time concerned with
monetary stability, facilitating international trade and even, so they claim,
sustainable economic growth. They are a well-respected source of data about
trade and financial affairs.
http://www.imf.org/en/Data
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD)– This international
organization founded in 1961 was set up to promote economic co-operation from
34 of the world’s largest economies. The Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA) is one of its more headline grabbing programmes.
http://www.oecd.org
The World Bank – Although this international organisation states that it’s official role
is the reduction of poverty it is in fact a major global cog in the capitalist
system. It’s data and reports remain a key source of information on the global
economy.
https://www.worldbank.org
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Home of Millennium Goals and yearly Human Development
Report with its index of human development. Blogs, video’s the latest
development news. Even though we might haggle over the validity of the HDI
metrics still an essential geography resource.
http://www.undp.org
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)
– The United Nation’s liberal arts
college concerned with culture, co-operation, peace and solidarity and awarding
protected status to all sorts of places that deserve protection for all
humanity.
http://en.unesco.org/about-us/introducing-unesco
World Health Organisation (WHO) – That part of the United Nations specifically concerned
with public health that has presided over the biggest improvement to global
life expectancy ever enacted. Not all their own work but they played a
significant part.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization
10 Geography blogs
Ayona Datta
- A new sharply focused blog with an emphasis on sustainability and the global
south. Senior lecturer in the excellent University of Leeds geography
department.
https://ayonadatta.wordpress.com
Living Geography – A site by Alan Parkinson, a geography educator of great experience.
Very knowledgeable about web based resources for the teaching of geography in
secondary and primary schools and much more besides.
http://livinggeography.blogspot.co.uk
Bradley Garrett
– Lecturer at Southampton University and urban explorer and ‘place hacker.’
Such is the wonderful world of cultural urban geography.
http://www.bradleygarrett.com/blog/
Joseph Stiglitz
– OK not a geographer but geographers should be interested in what this Nobel
prize-winning economist has to say about globalisation.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6426.Joseph_E_Stiglitz/blog
George Monbiot
– Monbiot is a journalist who writes for The Guardian. Often controversial,
rarely boring, Monbiot brings a sharp critical eye to issues of sustainability.
He has a particular passion for re-wilding.
http://www.monbiot.com
Paul Chatterton
– Professor of Urban Futures at Leeds University and social activist who literally
lives his vision at the Lilac housing co-op in Leeds and is exploring a low
carbon future for cities.
http://www.paulchatterton.com
Tim Creswell
– Author of Place: A Short Introduction
one of the most influential geography books of the 21st century. Tim
is also a poet and trans disciplinary geographer.
https://tjcresswell.wordpress.com/major-publications/
National Geographic Education - Wide ranging and beautifully put together blog
covering education, information, beautiful images and interactive games
http://blog.education.nationalgeographic.com/tag/physical-geography/
David Harvey
– The website of the grand old man of Marxist Geography. Still asking the
difficult questions, still important and essential reading in any geographical
education.
http://davidharvey.org
Geolounge –
US based blog from Caitlin Dempsey Morais covering all aspects of geography
from climate to culture. Keen focus on GIS issues.
http://www.geolounge.com
A much fuller list of
geography blogs can be found on the website of Antipode the self styled
‘radical geography community’. Some keep more up to date than others.
http://antipodefoundation.org/links/geog-blogs/
10 Mapping and GIS websites
Worldmapper –
Still going strong with hopefully a new lease of life very soon. Perhaps one of
the most widely used geographical websites in UK geographical education
http://www.worldmapper.org/
Views of the world
– All the latest work by Benjamin Henig with insightful and often pithy
commentaries to accompany the groundbreaking maps
http://www.viewsoftheworld.net
Floating Sheep
– Hard to describe but basically going to the places that few maps go to using
a mixture of geo-tagging, twitter traffic and things geo-demographic.
http://www.floatingsheep.org
Maptube – Online,
free mapping resource with mash up capability hosted by University College
London.
http://www.maptube.org/
Mapmania –
US mapping blog worth a visit.
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.co.uk
Digimap Edina
- UK’s premier map resource. Free to
users within education. Need to register. However, for scales, dates and subjects
(history, geology, marine and environment) the site is unsurpassed and backed
by the Ordinance Survey.
http://digimap.edina.ac.uk
United States Census Bureau Geography site: maps and
data – The go to resource for maps at
all scales for the United States of American.
http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/index.html
The Map Shop –
As yet unvisited but we can vouch for their excellent on-line service.
Difficult to find maps from across the world a specialty.
http://www.themapshop.co.uk
National Geographic Maps – Remember those beautiful and informative maps that
you get in the National Geographic magazine, yes? Then here is there on-line
home. A treat for the eyes.
http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/maps
The British Cartographic Society – Professional organization set up in 1963 that is an
excellent place to start exploring the vibrant community of British map makers.
The second link is to the web links page of the BCS that is far more
comprehensive than anything provided here.
http://www.cartography.org.uk
http://www.cartography.org.uk/default.asp?contentID=610
10 Websites to help you keep up to date with geographical issues
GeoForum –
Over-arching, almost trade organization, of UK geographical societies,
charities and educational bodies.
http://ukgeoforum.org
The Conversation – Wide ranging website whose tagline of ‘academic rigor, journalistic
flair’ is well merited. Economy, energy the environment it is all here and bang
up to date.
https://theconversation.com/uk
Angle Journal
– based out of Imperial College London this new and excellently presented site
is working at the front edge of knowledge creation and the ‘intersection of
science, policy and politics.
http://anglejournal.com
New Scientist
– The weekly international science magazine founded in 1956 on the web since
1996. Plenty of up to date scientific reportage to keep any inquisitive mind
ticking over from
https://www.newscientist.com
New Internationalist – A treasure trove of stories rarely reported in the
mainstream media. A cheap £7 subscription opens up the full NI archive.
http://newint.org
The Guardian –
Possibly the best news media web site in the world, certainly one of the most
comprehensive with features ranging from facts are sacred, data blog,
environment, development, social policy sections and great films, photographs
and the news as well. Free, how do they do it?
http://www.theguardian.com/uk
The Economist – Love it or hate it you cannot ignore it. The site enables the casual
user to access a few news stories before demanding money from you – well it is
called the economist.
http://www.economist.com
The Financial Times – Shouldn’t be only read by the movers and shakers of
the square mile. Very well informed. Similar access set up to The Economist.
http://www.ft.com/home/uk
The BBC – Comprehensive,
fantastically produced, the benchmark by which other news website are judged. We
recommend the science and environment section.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment
One major trend that has
occurred as a result of the global expansion of digital connectivity and the
increasing popularity of English as an international language is that a
multitude of websites for English language additions of newspapers exist all
over the world.
A good example is China Daily, the highest circulation
newspaper in English within China with, so it is said, a slightly more liberal
take on the official government and party line.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn
10 Environmental websites
Mongabay –
An international, contemporary, site concerned with eco-system conservation
particularly rainforest. Up to date reportage and global coverage.
http://www.mongabay.com
Follow the Things – convened by Professor Ian Cook of Exeter University and concerned
with tracking the provenance, labour conditions and environmental impact of our
consumption. Laid out partly like an Internet shop.
http://www.followthethings.com
NASA – Space
is the place said the maverick jazz artist Sun Ra and this is the place for
space, our ultimate environment.
https://www.nasa.gov/about/index.html
GRIST – Independent
US environmental journalism globally respected. Food, cities, climate change
and science sub-sections.
http://grist.org
Skeptical Science – the basis of science is intelligent skepticism. This site addresses climate
change skepticism head on whilst remaining true to the fundamental principles
of science. It is safe to assume Nigel Lawson or Donald Trump does not follow
this website.
http://www.skepticalscience.com
World Resources Institute – As the WRI states ‘we start with data’ and then they
apply data analysis to address the fundamental issue of the relationship
between humanity and the resources that sustain them.
http://www.wri.org
United States Geological Service (USGS) – Set up in 1879 the US government department that
addresses natural resource and landscape issues initially within the nation and
now globally. Very authoritative.
http://www.usgs.gov/aboutusgs/
Environment Agency – The UK government organisation, part of the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), who are responsible for
environmental protection.
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency
Cool Earth – rainforest charity that works with indigenous tribes to protect rainforests.
https://www.coolearth.org/what-we-do/
China Dialogue - With the tag-line China and the world discuss the environment this independent
not for profit organisation is based in London and Beijing. The most
authoritative focus on the multitude of environmental issues impacting upon
China. Bi-lingual.
https://www.chinadialogue.net
10 Websites concerned with equality
Gapminder – The
website of the Gapminder foundation created by Swedish public health specialist
Hans Rosling. To say we are ‘fans’ would be to under-state it. The optimistic
geographers optimist with some of the best teaching videos yet made.
http://www.gapminder.org
Joseph Rowntree Foundation – Working to instigate social change through research,
policy and practice. A comprehensive UK focused resource.
https://www.jrf.org.uk/about-us
Resolution Foundation – Focused on living standards, the world of work and the
welfare system. Strong on data
analysis.
http://www.resolutionfoundation.org
The Poverty Site
- The UK site for statistics
on poverty and social exclusion. Sadly not updated since 2011
http://www.poverty.org.uk
Fawcett Society – Named after pioneering feminist Millicent Fawcett this society remains active
in campaigning for women’s rights.
http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk
Stonewall – Leading UK charity supporting and campaigning for the rights of lesbian, gay,
trans and bi in Britain and abroad.
http://www.stonewall.org.uk
The Equality Trust - Research, data, campaigns and
information all focused on reducing inequality and creating a fairer society.
https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk
Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) – Well respected progressive think tank that is
concerned primarily with social justice and quality of life. Source of much
important research.
http://www.ippr.org
AgeUK – Never has it been more important to campaign for the rights of old people,
never have their been so many old people.
http://www.ageuk.org.uk
Oxfam – This
charity does so much it could appear under other headings but at heart Oxfam’s
mission is to end global poverty. Excellent, eye-catching research is used to
support on the ground interventions both long and short term to multiple global
challenges.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk
10 websites that help you understand globalisation better
Frontline - In
India the news magazine Frontline is known for its investigative journalism –
something not always welcomed in the ‘new’ India. National news coverage and a
window on a fast changing society.
http://www.frontline.in
Janaagraha Centre For Citizenship and Democracy – Bengaluru based organization that aims to improve the
quality of urban life in Indian cities. They have produced interesting metrics
to measure quality of life in their home city.
http://www.janaagraha.org
Azim Premji Foundation – Premji is one of the richest individuals in India and
is currently disbursing himself of that wealth through a huge and potentially
transformative rural education programme in India.
http://www.azimpremjifoundation.org
The Diplomat – On-line news magazine with a strong focus on development, economy and
environment right across Asia.
http://thediplomat.com
Three Avocados – There are many fair-trade companies engaged in developing a fairer
trading system for coffee and cocoa growers worldwide. Three Avocados is a good
example but many others could have been chosen some indigenous to their
countries others developed internationally.
http://www.threeavocados.org
Vessel Finder – Want to know where the MSC Oscar is at the very moment then this shipping
industry website which doubles up as a geography uber-geek favourite is the
place to go. Name a ship and they will find it in real time, where it has been
and where it is going. This is trade.
https://www.vesselfinder.com
Mundoreal – want to find out about the favela’s of Rio and the struggles of the residents
to improve their quality of life then this is a good place to start.
http://mundoreal.org
URBZ –
Described as an experimental urban research and action collective this
organization based in India and Brazil. Has some enlightening and contemporary
material about on the ground developments in India’s largest slum, Dharavi in
Mumbai.
http://urbz.net
F*** for Forest – We’d like to think this was made up but it isn’t – Scandinavian, but
you probably realized that already and committed to raising money to protect
rainforests through the dissemination of pornography. Let the sociologists
unpick that.
http://www.fuckforforest.com/en/about.html
Nepal Action –
In one of the world’s most beautiful, and poorest countries this NGO is addressing
multiple challenges especially post the 2015 earthquake.
http://www.nepalaction.global