Maps!

Hey all, lets look at maps! We've heard and read about so many different regions of Australia, I thought it'd be fun to get to know them a bit better by checking out stuff like population distribution and land use:

Here we can see basic agriculture geography. Note how intensity diminishes the further inland you look, which exemplifies the nature of Australia's interior. 

A more detailed look at land use. Grazing, Indigenous and Nature conversations, and minimal use seem to take up the most land somewhat surprisingly.

Here we see Australia's population. Created a few years ago, each dot represents 1,000 people. Areas of high population are found where climates allow for diverse agriculture.

Finally, we see a projection of land dispersion over a decade. The numbers here represent the increase or decrease of number of people per square kilometer. 

For Your Consideration:

I've just stumbled across an article that touches upon a topic frequently brought up in some of my environmental restoration classes; If we decide that it is our duty to return parts of the damaged world to its untouched state, what point of reference should we use to determine our success? I'll shoot you a somewhat relevant example. Restoring and preserving the redwood forests post clear-cutting has been the tireless goal of many environmental groups in the Humboldt area. Some have even gained considerable global recognition for a few major victories. Even still, it is being debated as to what a natural redwood forest even looks like. Should we be thriving to restore this land to pre European settlement? Or much beyond that, before any human intervention? There's evidence out there that suggests that native Americans had been manipulating these ecosystems long before settlers had discovered these lands, particularly with semi frequent fires that redwoods would otherwise seldom experience. So what is it we're trying to bring back? The debate among a suitable target of restoration is quite heated among certain restorationists, and Australia has very similar debates going on within its borders.

This article is full of some very interesting points that must be addressed by policy makers and environmentalists alike. The varying classifications of Indigenous peoples was something I had known nothing about, but determining whether or not they are human or part of the natural environment has been an issue within Australia for quite some time:

"In truth, the Australian ecosystems of 1788 were as much human creations as golf courses are today. Defining them as wilderness relegates Aboriginal people into a sub-human category that the likes of Dr Brown do not feel that they share. The tendency to see Aborigines as part of the Australian ecosystem, rather than part of the human race, can perhaps be seen as a cultural legacy of Aborigines being categorised in some state government Flora and Fauna Acts until 1967. If Aborigines were thought of as human, then wilderness could be defined as any state that the ecosystem was in over the last 60,000 years. This change in thinking would have implications for efforts to re-populate animals like the Tasmanian devil or koalas in mainland ecosystems where they lived 500 or so years ago, but did not exist at the time of European colonisation." 

It is also discussed whether or not the monetary expenses required for some restoration projects can be acceptable, especially if they can't be sure which state of the environment they are trying to recover. The overall tone of the website in which this was found seems to be politically motivated/bias, but much of what is said is nonetheless relevant. I encourage you to explore a little, there's a bit of dirt on just about everything in Australia's culture!

A Preview of What to Come...

The severity, and in some cases the existence, of climate change appears to still be debated among the countries that will not immediately feel the brunt of a relatively massive global shift in our atmospheric composition. But opponents arguing against the legitimacy of climate change seem to have voluntarily blinded themselves to the abundant evidence readily available to anyone with a single moment to waste, evidence that hundreds of thousands of people have no choice to face.

Already the people of the island nation Kiribati plan on a comprehensive evacuation of their homeland in the face of rising sea levels, which is expected to consume their island in the next few decades. The Alps are experiencing above average temperature increases, the Northwest Passage has opened near the top of the world for the first time in recorded history, and the Gulf Coast is under constant threat of increasingly devastating hurricanes are among many alarming examples.

Earlier this week I had managed to find an article that I thought might start up this blog rather nicely, since environmental awareness is essentially the agenda of this blog. LA Times columnist Julie Cart reports primarily on the crippling drought much of Australia's farmland is experiencing, but dresses it as a warning of what is to come to currently unaffected nations. The extension of longer, warmer seasons creates a snowball effect of devastation but most alarmingly is the destruction of Australia's agriculture sector, which is experiencing a veritable modern Dust Bowl in some regions. Reef systems are suffering, wild fires are rampant, water infrastructure is weakening, and the spread of disease from mosquito blooms are steadily climbing.

Essentially, parts of Australia are becoming uninhabitable, be it from crushing temperature or relentless drought. This could mean the relocation of well integrated communities, and the loss of the habitat that fostered the unique cultures found there. One must ask if Indigenous communities can tolerate the rising temperatures, or if they will succumb to yet another burden placed upon them...

Hello World!

Welcome everyone to my very first blog ever! I think I'll have a lot of fun with this...

I chose this course to learn about Australia's cultural history of course, but I was particularly excited to learn about Indigenous and Westerner interaction and manipulation of the environment around them, starting from pre-settlement and up to current day. My goal for this blog is to share this interest to the class via photos, articles, videos, and other media in an attempt to form a comprehensive history on land destruction and alteration within Australian borders, and how specific events may cause or have been causing hardships for Indigenous peoples and settlers alike. All the while, I will attempt competent commentary on my findings, and look forward to expressing my theme in responses to other classmates posts.

Also, I realize the title is both lengthy and uncharismatic! So I will look into adjusting that soon.

Cheers!
Calvin