Physical Geography Event Log

During the semester you should record environmental events: weather events (heavy rain, drought, winds, freezes), earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and coastal inundation, tsunami events (seismic waves), biodiversity issues and species extinctions, landslides, record icebergs, Antarctic ice-shelf disintegration, stratospheric ozone updates, air pollution occurrences, or other significant events related to the physical elements of the environment. 

Your event log must include at least twelve events. Your log must include the date the event happened, the source from which you found the information, the type of event it is, and a brief paragraph about the event. Your list of events must be typed and put in chronological order.

You can use print media (newspapers, magazines, newsletters) or the internet as a source of information for learning about the latest occurrences. If you choose to use internet sources they must be legitimate news sources, not somebody’s blog. 

The purpose of this exercise to show you how much of physical geography is actually occurring out there in the “real world”. Only record events that occurred this year – do not record events that happened in prior years.

Example

Date: September 24th 

Source: Los Angeles Times

Event: Air Pollution 

San Pedro is one of the busiest ports in the United States. Environmental justice activists are gaining influence, taking on the San Pedro Bay ports over contamination of the neighborhoods along transportation corridors. Soot and nitrogen oxides from ships, trains, and trucks are linked to asthma, cancer, and heart disease. Last year, 5,339 ships docked at the two ports. The new rules are forcing ships to switch to low-sulfur fuel within 24 miles of the coast and to plug into electrical outlets while they are docked. The ports pledge to cut pollution by 45% by 2012.