This is a long release because it’s been a few weeks.

All issues can be found at: https://geocraic.com/

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World

Doomsday Glacier

“The Thwaites Glacier may be on the brink of collapse…”

BBC: https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/doomsday-glacier-prevent-flooding
Thwaites Glacier Facts: https://thwaitesglacier.org/about/facts
NPR stories on melting ice:
- https://www.npr.org/2024/05/21/1252727848/antarctica-thwaites-glacier-climate-change-sea-level-rise
- https://www.npr.org/series/1168056854/beyond-the-poles-ice-melt

Carbon Footprints

A footprint comparison of total carbon dioxide emissions by nation and per capita shows there's plenty of room for smaller countries to reduce their carbon footprints. By Stanford Kay

I liked this infographic. Originally from Saving Nature.

Seen in this post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/unbiodiversity_fornature-biodiversity-activity-7218841785500930050-YrR4/
How climate change affects extreme weather around the world: https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how-climate-change-affects-extreme-weather-around-the-world/

Battle maps

If you’re a fan of history and geography, this is a great site for you. History Maps has released new Battle Maps worth checking out.

History Maps: https://history-maps.com/
New Battle Maps (text in English, voice-over in Japanese): https://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2024/07/battles-of-world-war-ii-american-wars.html
War of 1812: https://warmaps.vercel.app/warmap/battles-of-the-war-of-1812

Global Farming

Map of mean agricultural area by subnational administrative unit in three global regions. Incorporates 2412 subnational units in 83 countries. Units are clipped to agricultural extent, incorporating both cropland and pastureland. Administrative units are defined by IPUMS and/or the GADM database of administrative areas. Urban classification indicates mean population density greater than 1000/km2.

Subnational distribution of average farm size and smallholder contributions to global food production.

From IOP Science: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/11/12/124010
The State of Family Farms: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X15001217?via%3Dihub

Tasman Sea - Australia / New Zealand

Orange Roughy Overfishing

Deep Sea fishing also has major overfishing problems. The Orange Roughy is a prime example. You may know I’m a fan of Rewilding, but if we would just back off our overuse of the ocean, we wouldn’t have to address this problem in a marine environment.

Cautionary Tale of Deep Sea Extraction: https://www.themarinediaries.com/tmd-blog/the-story-of-the-orange-roughy-a-cautionary-tale-for-deep-sea-resource-extraction
Seafood Watch is a great tool to monitor your purchases of sustainable seafood:
- Orange Roughy (Avoid): https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendations/search?query=%3Afree%3Borange%20roughy%7Cspecies
- There are smart phone versions on iOS and Android: https://www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendations/download-consumer-guides

First Dog cartoons from The Guardian.

Cartoons disparaging overfishing: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/jul/17/orange-roughy-are-at-risk-from-overfishing-but-there-is-money-to-be-made

Bahamas

Sustainable Fisheries in The Bahamas

From TNC: https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/caribbean/bahamas/stories-in-the-bahamas/sustainable-fisheries/

US

TFCA (and TFCCA) at 25 years

We should definitely recognize and celebrate things like the 25th anniversary of the TFCA (now TFCCA with the addition of Coral). Back in 1999 we had a Republican Senate (Trent Lott R-MS) and Republican House (Newt Gingrich R-GA) and a Democratic President (Clinton). There was still a lot of fighting (Clinton was impeached). The TFCA wasn’t even major legislation but has been re-authorized and expanded (to include coral environmental protection beyond the orginal forests). Look how much good it has done for the planet. It’s a small drop in the bucket of what is truly needed to solve our planetary problems but we couldn’t even come close to passing something like this now. Nixon signed the Clean Air Act. But vetoed the Clean Water Act. Congress overrode the veto. Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act. We need a functioning US government that solves real problems and stops caring who is going into which bathroom. And we need it NOW!

Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act: https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/who-we-are/how-we-work/policy/tropical-forest-conservation-act/

The Power of Where, by Jack Dangermond

Despite my complaints, and the actual fact of, the poor quality of ESRI software, there is no question they are the 800 lb. gorilla in GIS (though there is real OSS competition). And there no question that ESRI GIS has helped transform the world. Jack is obviously a main driver and while I used to be in the cult of Jack, I am no longer. However, He does have a tremendous knack for identifying compelling stories from his users and I think that skill is on full display with his new book. You can get to most of the user stories via the website and avoid the price of the book. Or use your library. If you look beyond the obvious marketing ploy, there are some very interesting stories, visualizations, and information.

Power of Where website: https://www.powerofwhere.com/
He must be trying to sell it as a textbook. Only college kids are forced to pay this much: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+power+of+where+jack+dangermond&crid=TY4IS1S3R45B&sprefix=power+of+where%2Caps%2C161&ref=nb_sb_ss_pltr-xclick_3_14

Data Center Water Use

Maybe we should compare water usage for alfalfa versus water usage for bits? Just as there are many options for thermal heat there must be lots of options for thermal cooling. Why do we make it so cheap to use fresh water?

From the University of Tulsa: https://utulsa.edu/news/data-centers-draining-resources-in-water-stressed-communities/
73 Data Centers in Phoenix: https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/arizona/phoenix/