# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
PhysicalGeography.net is an educational web portal that focuses on a specific area knowledge known as Physical Geography.

What is physical Geography?

Physical Geography is a sub-discipline of two much larger fields of study - Geography and Earth Sciences. The main purpose of Physical Geography is to explain the spatial characteristics of the various natural phenomena associated with the Earth's hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere.

Geography Chapters

Introduction to Physical Geography
Geography Revision
Maps, Remote Sensing, and GIS
The Science of Physical Geography
Introduction to Systems Theory
The Universe, Earth, Natural Spheres, and Gaia
Energy and Matter
Introduction to the Atmosphere
Introduction to the Hydrosphere
Introduction to the Biosphere
Introduction to the Lithosphere
RVing

Resources
Excel High School is a State recognized, accredited high school offering programs for high school aged students and adult learners.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Physical Geography is a sub-discipline of two much larger fields of study - Geography and Earth Sciences. The main purpose of Physical Geography is to explain the spatial characteristics of the various natural phenomena associated with the Earth’s hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere.

# data[].attributes.body
You need to select relevant pages from this on a weekly basis and print for your directed study time.

# data[].attributes.body
Landslides examples

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
GEOCASES: Case Study: Landsliding in Great Britain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Britain experiences a large number of landslides each year. The causes of the landslides vary, but typically include the interaction of geological control and marine or climatic input. Increasingly, human activities are affecting the occurrence of landslides and their distribution. The human response to landslides varies too, from the 'do nothing' approach to the environmental-modification approach.

# data[].attributes.headline
EQ2: Consequences of our increasing demand for energy.

# data[].attributes.subject
EQ2: Consequences of our increasing demand for energy.

# data[].attributes.headline
Water insecurity - consequences - Middle East/ Turkey

# data[].attributes.subject
Water insecurity - consequences - Middle East/ Turkey

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene are vital for living a dignified, healthy life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It turns out that the only drop to drink in the Murray-Darling basin is in private irrigation channels surrounding NSW's Barwon River. But the scandal unfolding there is not an isolated failure in the system, but a symptom of something much more fundamentally wrong with how we protect our environment. And it's time for the Australian government to lead us in a national plan to fix this.

The community was rightly shocked this week by allegations of widespread water theft, meter tampering and what looks very much like corrupt dealings between public servants, politicians and certain irrigators in the Murray Darling basin.

People from southern NSW to South Australia are wondering how in the hell wrongdoing at this scale could go undetected and unchecked for so long. How could a multi-billion dollar program, overseen by the federal government, the NSW government, local governments and the Murray Darling Basin Authority, fail to catch such widespread problems? In response to the allegations, downstream users and political leaders are calling for independent inquiries and new independent bodies to ensure this doesn't happen again.

That's fair. From the 2014 Icac coal scandals in NSW, government-run clearing of threatened species in Perth's Beeliar wetlands and the continued logging of Leadbeater's possum habitat, despite years of federal and state recovery plans, the need for an independent watchdog for our environment and our communities has long been evident.

But what's being lost in the furore over the Murray-Darling is that this problem is much bigger than the potential corruption in the system. This is just the latest in a long line of similar failures in our system of environmental protection and governance.

The community rightfully expects a clear and achievable national plan for how we will meet the demands of the 21st century as our environment cracks under the strain of climate change and 200 years of exploitation of natural resources. We expect that our laws ensure all Australians have access to transparent information about the true environmental costs of big developments. We expect leadership to sort out the overly complex and impenetrable soup of federal, state and local bodies that make up our system of environmental oversight.

Unfortunately, we have none of this.

It is a tragic reality that in 2017 our nation still allows the clearing of tens of thousands of hectares of koala habitat and logging of old growth forests full of wildlife. More and more threatened species edge toward extinction each day. Water tables are being irreparably damaged by poorly regulated resource projects, and at the same time 3,000 Australians die each year from air pollution.

In fact, even as the scandal in the Murray-Darling broke this week, we saw yet another chapter in what is arguably the biggest environmental failure in Australia.

Despite Unesco naming water quality as one of the biggest threats to the Great Barrier Reef, widespread clearing of forests and bushlands continues in Reef catchments dumping tonnes of soils across corals already stressed by heat and repeated bleaching.

As a world heritage site supporting 63,000 jobs, the Reef is supposedly protected by both the federal and state governments. The World Heritage Centre singled out stronger clearing laws as a key measure needed to improve the health of the Reef and the federal government has assured Unesco that it will do what it can to control the clearing threatening the future of this national treasure.

But, despite this, the clearing just keeps happening. There are potentially 7,000 properties in Queensland that have or are planning to clear nationally "protected" bush. However, a recent WWF report has found that 99.9% of of those properties are going ahead, despite being required to refer to the federal department before clearing can begin.

To date, the federal department will not reveal how many properties it has investigated. We know there has been zero prosecutions, and it's estimated that less than ten properties have been referred to the department under our national environment laws.

Even worse, this clearing is largely happening because the previous Queensland government was ramming through laws that went against long standing policy and the Australian government didn't do a thing about it.

As with the Murray-Darling, our greatest natural assets are caught between self-interested state governments desperately holding on to a mantra of "jobs and growth equals votes" and an utterly disinterested Australian government that is trying its best to rid itself of its responsibilities. The system is broken and needs a complete overhaul. We need a national plan to protect our environment, we need a strong and independent watchdog, a national EPA, with teeth to deliver the plan and we need governments of all levels to stop the buck passing and get on with the job.

It's time for the Australian government to step up and lead the country in a national environment plan that coordinates the states and territories in a truly national effort to protect the environment. Because the simple truth is that without fundamental change, these scandals will keep happening. Threatened species will face extinction. The Reef will continue to suffocate under tonnes of soil. And our environment and our communities will continue to suffer for years to come.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Murray-Darling basin scandal: a symptom of how we fail to protect our environment | @SueMilthorpe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It turns out that the only drop to drink in the Murray-Darling basin is in private irrigation channels surrounding NSW's Barwon River. But the scandal unfolding there is not an isolated failure in the system, but a symptom of something much more fundamentally wrong with how we protect our environment.

# data[].attributes.body
use this and/or the south-north water transfer project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
christ the king moodle: log in to the site

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Christ the King Moodle: Log in to the site

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Not sure what you should enter as your username and/or password? Your username for Moodle is your full College email address ending with@ctksfc.ac.uk and your password is your network password - the same one that you would use when logging onto a College computer.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Design and share beautiful flyers just like this one!

Spread the word with an online flyer. They're easy to make and impossible to mess up :)

Formation of Fossil Fuel

Fossil Fuel Formation
Fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas. They are non-renewable forms of energy that are commonly used to provide energy to meet our needs. Forming fossil fuels requires very specific conditions.

Coal is one type of fossil fuel. It was formed very slowly, a very long time ago from trees and other plants that were submerged under water. Instead of rotting, the wood and plant matter was covered with layers of mud and sand. Over time, heat and pressure turned the material into coal.

Oil is sometimes referred to as petroleum. It formed from the deep burial and decomposition of dead plants and animals. Heat and pressure, in the absence of oxygen, changed the decomposed material into crude oil. Petroleum, or oil, is used for energy and many products.

Millions of years ago, the remains of plants and animals decayed and built up in thick layers. Over time, the sand and silt changed to rock, covered it, and trapped it beneath the rock. Pressure and heat changed some of this matter into coal and oil. Some of it was trapped as pockets of gases known as natural gas.

Because fossil fuels take such a long time to form, the supply we have on Earth today will one day run out. Our current way of life relies heavily on the use of fossil fuels. We must be wise in our use of this energy source (conserve energy) and develop other energy sources (alternative energy) to meet our current and future energy needs.

Fossil Fuel Small Group work
With your partner answer the questions below. Use your reading passage to help you.
Coal 1. 2. 3. 4. Natural Gas 1. 2. 3. 4. (Oil) Petroleum 1. 2. 3. 4. What do we use (Oil) Petroleum for in our lives? Where does the energy from (Oil) Petroleum originate from? How does (Oil) Petroleum form? List the steps and you can add illustrations beside the steps (Oil) Petroleum is a fossil fuel formed mainly from what type of organic material? What do we use natural gas for in our lives? Where does the energy from natural gas originate from? How does natural gas form? List the steps and you can add illustrations beside the steps Natural Gas is a fossil fuel formed mainly from what type of organic material? What do we use coal for in our lives? Where does the energy from coal originate from? How does coal form? List the steps and you can add illustrations beside the steps Coal is a fossil fuel formed mainly from what type of organic material?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Design and share beautiful flyers just like this one! Spread the word with an online flyer. They're easy to make and impossible to mess up :) Fossil Fuel Formation Fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas. They are non-renewable forms of energy that are commonly used to provide energy to meet our needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As the worst-polluting coal plants near the end of their life, the focus must turn to tackling gas dependency, says analysis firm

British wind farms generated more electricity than coal plants on more than 75% of days this year, an analysis of energy figures has shown.

Solar also outperformed coal more than half the time, the data provided by website MyGridGB revealed.

Overall, renewables provided more power than coal plants on 315 days in 2017, figures up to 12 December showed. Wind beat coal on 263 days, and solar outperformed the fossil fuel on 180 days.

Between April and August inclusive, coal generation exceeded solar on only 10 days.

In total, renewables generated more than three times the amount of electricity as coal over the year to 12 December.

The figures - provided by BM Reports and Sheffield University - reflect a year in which a number of green records have been set for the power sector, including the first full day without any coal power in the system, record solar generation and tumbling prices for new offshore wind farms.

The government has committed to phasing out coal power that does not have technology to capture and permanently store its carbon emissions by 2025, as part of efforts to meet targets on greenhouse gases.

The focus now turns to gas, with daily output from wind outstripping gas on only two days of the year, and renewables overall - including wind, solar, biomass and hydropower - beating the fossil fuel on just 23 days.

Dr Andrew Crossland from MyGridGB and the Durham Energy Institute said: "The government has focused on reducing coal use which now supplies less than 7% of our electricity. However, if we continue to use gas at the rate that we do, then Britain will miss carbon targets and be dangerously exposed to supply and price risks in the international gas markets.

"Clearly, refreshed government support for low-carbon alternatives is now needed to avoid price and supply shocks for our heat and electricity supplies."

Emma Pinchbeck, executive director at industry body RenewableUK, said the decision to phase out coal was being made possible by a homegrown renewables industry "coming into its own".

She added: "We want to see more boldness from the Conservative government. In 2018, the government should move to allow onshore wind, now the cheapest form of power for consumers, to be developed in parts of the UK where it is wanted, and agree an ambitious sector deal with the offshore wind industry.

"The new year could be the first in a golden age for UK renewables."
Topics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Renewables generated triple the power of coal in 2017, UK figures show

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As the worst-polluting coal plants near the end of their life, the focus must turn to tackling gas dependency, says analysis firm British wind farms generated more electricity than coal plants on more than 75% of days this year, an analysis of energy figures has shown.

# data[].attributes.body
Kobe documentary (seconds from disaster)
Explains liquifaction at 40 mins 40 seconds

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Natural disasters frequently occur across the world, affecting both developed and developing countries. However some populations are clearly more vulnearable than others. Different communities and countries are more susceptible to the impact of these hazards. The vast majority of lives both lost and affected by natural disasters come from developing countries, underlining the link between poverty and vulnerability to disaster.

At the root of this disparity is poverty. Simply put, people in wealthier countries have better access to the kinds of resources that help both prevent natural disasters becoming crisies and to cope with them when they do occur.

The earth is a hazadous place and natural disasters will continue to occur, but it is mainly in poorer countries that they lead to humanitarian disasters. The vast majority of lives claimed by natural disasters are in such countries and survivors often lose their livelihoods in the aftermath and are forced into more extreme levels of poverty.

This is not purely down to economics, but also 'age' and 'gender' play a large part as does the environment that people live in.
Industrialised Countries

Suffer higher short term economic losses

Have mechanisms in place to avoid or reduce loss of life, e.g early warning systems and building regulations to ensure development in high risk areas is designed to withstand forces

Have immediate emergency and medical relief infrastructure available which reduces casuality numbers

Insurance against property and infrastructural losses

Cause setbacks to long term economic and social development of the country

Lack of resources for early warning systems; unplanned squatter developments are not designed to withstand natural forces

Inflicts massive casualities due to lack of relief infrastructure and resources

Forced to divert funds from development programs to emergency relief and recovery

The last mile
Disasters are triggered by external hazards, but they also stem from vulnerability; people being in the wrong place without protection. It is therefore vital that information extends to communities to help them adopt protective actions and engage people living outside of the early warning systems. This is commonly known as 'the last mile', which means that warnings often don't reach those who need them most.

Poorer people are often marginalised socially, politically and geographically and often may not receive early warning of hazards. The relationship between underdevelopment and disasters is made clear in the International Federation Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) World Disaster Report 2009.
Why does poverty mean vulnerability?
If an area prone to natural hazards such as flooding or earthquakes. there are various measures that can be taken to prepare. Early warning systems can be adapted; well organised evacuation proceedures can be put in place; buildings can be designed and built to withstand hazards; protective barriers can be built to insure against rising water levels.

However, such projects require adaquate financial resources, effective government and strong community links. A protection that developed countries across the world benefit from, but a safeguard rarely possible for poorer nations.

Each year natural disasters occurr across the world and in recent years countries including Haiti, Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, USA, China, India, Iran, Turkey and Chile have all suffered severely, with the loss of hundreads of thousands of lives. The highest casualties can be seen in the poorer nations of both Haiti and Indonesia.

Rapid urbanisation has led to poorer people being marginalised from safe and legal areas in many of these countries, forcing many to live in high risk locations, such as flood plains, river banks, steep slopes and reclaimed land.

In these unplanned squatter settlements, homes are not built to withstand such natural forces. Many of these settlements lack even the most basic infrastructure, such as health and fire services and fresh water and sanitation. This leaves communities extremely at risk following a natural disaster.
Women
Folloing the Asian tsunami crisis in 2004, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) argued that women are more vulnerable during disasters because they have less access to resources, are victims of gendered division of labour, and are the primary caregivers to children, the elderly and disabled.

This results in women being less able to mobilse resources for recovery, more likely to be left unemployed and overburdened with domestic responsibilities stopping them from earning an income. There is also the risk of sexual violence and exploitation including trafficking in the aftermath of a disaster.
The elderly
As a group, the elderly are often among the most neglected in disaster relief programmes, even though they are among the most at risk. Relief charity HelpAge International reports that the vulnerability of the elderly is increasing, with the proportion of older people in developing countries set to double to 850 million by 2025.

Following a natural disaster, the elderly's isolation from family friends and community support greatly increases their vulnerability. Up to half of the people who lost their lives in the 1995 earthquake in the Japanese city of Kobe were elderly. This was disproportionately high given that they only made up 14% of the population.
Sources: IFRC World disasters report, HelpAge International report , More women die than men as a result of natural disasters (RGS-IBG Annual Conference paper, 2006)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Who are most vulnerable to natural hazards?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Natural disasters frequently occur across the world, affecting both developed and developing countries. However some populations are clearly more vulnearable than others. Different communities and countries are more susceptible to the impact of these hazards. The vast majority of lives both lost and affected by natural disasters come from developing countries, underlining the link between...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Disaster Risk and Age Index | Disaster risk reduction and climate change | HelpAge International

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Disaster Risk and Age Index captures the collision of two trends:ageing populations and the acceleration of risk in a world which is increasingly exposed to natural and technological hazards.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Landforms of coastal erosion - Examples from East Yorkshire