To understand this map, think of Denver as the center of the universe. Created during World War II when airplanes were becoming common. It was an “air age” that shrunk the world down to flyable chunks, and new maps were created to show distance – in one tank of gas or two. From Mapping the …
Continue reading “Historical World War II air map – Denver as the center of the universe”
From Mapping the Nation: A beautiful–and extremely controversial–map made by John Wesley Powell…best known for his insistence the west must be understood as an arid region, one that demanded irrigation and management rather than a reliance on rainfall. In the late 1880s, Powell undertook a large-scale survey of the far west to demonstrate that the …
Continue reading “Alternative map of the American West – as sustainable water regions”
I always thought that forests were huge and covered large swaths of the planet…guess not. Makes sense then why climatologists say each one is so important. Pulled from a fascinating interactive – Changing Forests – from the N.Y. Times.
I’ve got two maps for you. The first is the slippy map above from London Town: I like the…hand-drawn feel of the map. Venues are shown in indicative locations rather than being geographically correct, as the details of London between the venues are missed out. This makes it a very poor map for navigating …
Continue reading “A brochure from the Olympics – the map from the London Tube”
On Friday, a historic, record-setting heat wave covered a sprawling region from the Midwest to the Southeast. All-time high temperatures records of 109 were established in Nashville and Columbia, South, Carolina and tied in Raleigh and Charlotte which hit 105 and 104. Here in Washington, D.C., the mercury climbed to an astonishing 104 degrees (breaking …
Continue reading “Ring of Fire Derecho – travelled 600 miles from Iowa to D.C.”
Owning a plug-in electric car means a new way to fuel. The convenience of charging at home can reduce or even eliminate your trips to the gas station, but it also comes with choices. Get a lower rate We offer 2 rate plans specifically designed for people with electric cars. These plans provide lower …
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The most dominant social network for each country: Facebook clearly dominates, but a few countries have other favorites: – VKontakte and Odnoklassniki remain strong in Russian-speaking countries – Tencent’s QZone is still king of the hill in China – Vietnam’s most popular social network is Zing – People in Iran seemingly prefer Cloob over Facebook – Drauglem is the top dog in Latvia …
This app organizes the vast and varied library of Rick Steves’ audio content into geographic-specific playlists so that travelers can enjoy ready access to the information that relates specifically to their travel plans. Many tracks provide general cultural and sightseeing information gleaned from his public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. Other tracks are self-guided …
Continue reading “Rick Steves’ Audio Europe – as an iPhone app”
If you’ve ever wondered what type of tree was nearby but didn’t have a guide book, a new smartphone app allows users with no formal training to satisfy their curiosity and contribute to science at the same time. Scientists have developed the first mobile app to identify plants by simply photographing a leaf. The free …
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The United States recently went through the hottest 12 months ever, since record-keeping began in 1895. National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration said that for the period from May 2011 to April 2012, the nationally averaged temperature was 55.7 degrees, 2.8 degrees higher than the 20th century average. The national average temperature for April was 55 …
Continue reading “U.S. global warming affects Texas, Midwest, and Northeast – the most”