The Aberfan Disaster

On the 21st October 1966, in a small industrial town called Aberfan in South Wales - a catastrophic disaster hit.

For 50 years leading up to the event mining debris from the Merthyr Vale Coillery built up, millions of cubic metres of excavated debris was tipped into a pile directly above Aberfan. The loose debris was tipped onto very porous sandstone which contained numerous underground springs, causing immense downward pressure.

And, after several days of heavy rain - disaster struck. On Friday 21st Oct 1966 at 9.00am a subsidence of about 3–6 metres occurred on the upper flank of waste tip No. 7, and by 9.15am more than 150,000 cubic metres of water-saturated debris broke away and flowed downhill at high speed. As the mass picked up speed the front soon became liquefied and caused viscous surges downhill. 120,000 cubic metres of debris was deposited on the lower slopes of the mountain but a 12m high slurry formed in the village with a mass of over 40,000 cubic metres.

20 houses were destroyed as well as an entire farm but the worst damage of all was the loss of life caused. Pantglas Primary School suffered an inconceivable loss of life - killing 116 children. Those children had just left their assembly on the south side of the school to return to their classrooms on the north side of the school, and yes, it was the north side that was hit. Rubble 33ft deep filled classrooms and the playground. There were also 28 adult fatalities. The disaster struck out a whole generation of children and so the disaster is still poignant in the memory of those still alive in the village today.

By the next day, 2,000 emergency services workers and volunteers were working on the scene (some for more than 24 hours continuously). Rescue work had to be temporarily halted during the day when water began pouring down the slope again, and because of the vast quantity and consistency of the spoil, it was nearly a week before all the bodies were recovered. Chapels acted as mortuary's and 2 doctors were given the role of carrying out the post postmortems - most fatalities were found to be caused by asphyxiation although some were caused by multiple crash injuries or crushed skulls.

There was an investigation carried out later on the 26th October 1966 and the inquiry was published later on the 3rd of August 1967 which found the National Coal Board (NCB) to be at total fault for the tragedy, most notably, Lord Robbens - chair of the NCB at the time.

The only positive to come out of such a disaster was the change in legislation - the law now required the industry to be much stricter on regulations on tipping and general mining activities. There is little doubt that had this disaster not occurred at that time and at that place, it would have happened elsewhere just at a later date. Yet, this tragic land slide was caused by human error and is still very agonising in the memories of many.

Cheap Labour

A recent Panorama programme that aired on the BBC on Monday 23rd September 2013 brought to light (again) the ever-present issues of cheap labour in low-income countries (LIC's). The programme focused on Dhaka, Bangladesh where the recent tragedy occurred at the Tazreen Fashion Factory killing at least 117 people but seriously injuring more than 200.  But why and how did this occur?

Firstly we should address the issue of cheap labour, not solely in the Tazreen Fashion Factory, but globally across LIC's. In Dhaka, workers are paid the equivalent of £1-2 a day, not acceptable in the present day by most peoples standards. Further to this; the conditions the workers work in are often poor and below safety standards, and the fact that the workers are forced to work over time - with some workers starting at 7.30am and finishing at 2.30am, an 18-hour shift. They then have to start work again at 7.30am, giving them very little time for sleeping, eating or spending time with their families. Possibly the worst factor, and the main factor contributing to the Tazreen Factory Fire and many more factory fires is the fact that the number of fire escapes are limited in the factories and the doors to the factories are regularly locked to stop the labourers from stealing the goods, this not only results in an over-heating, stuffy room for the workers, but leaves all those inside vulnerable to fire risk. It is not uncommon for fires to break out within these factories, so the locking of the gates just further increases the chances of the workers being burnt alive.

But do the large Western Transnational Corporations (TNC's) know about this labour? Well, they all, for obvious reasons, claim they have no knowledge of such conditions and labour. And many don't believe them, but they may well be telling the truth. It is commonly believed that these factories keep two log books for the hours which workers work, one of the books shows normal working hours (7.30am-4.30pm) and this is the book shown to the large TNC's. However, they also keep their own log, showing how much time the workers are actually working.

But should the TNC's be held responsible if they are mislead? This question divides opinion amongst many, but, I believe that the TNC's should be encouraged to 'do more digging' around their suppliers legitimacy, one firm that is well-known in the UK for it's excellent fair trade status is British high-street staple Marks & Spencer. Their suppliers go through rigorous checks before M&S choose to do business with them, thus resulting in very high working standards for the workers.

One further point should be made - these TNC's provide the workers with a wage, many of these workers may otherwise not receive any income at all, so some is better than none. It should also be noted that many TNC's work legitimately, and in a fair manner resulting in high quality factories.

In conclusion, I believe that a global collaboration amongst buyers, suppliers, governments, charities and the media is required to form an effective attack on this type of labour. It will require enforcement and funding but a collaboration from across the globe should help to tackle the issue significantly. The only question is...How long will this global collaboration take to form?

Sources; Panorama - dying for a bargain. Reporter; Richard Bilton. Aired; Mon 23 Sept. 8.30pm

The Standardisation of Boxes

In the ever-changing modernised world, everyone is looking to gain an advantage over fellow competitors when it comes to business. In this blog, I will examine how the standardisation of large shipping containers has given those businesses an advantage over rivals, and why rival company's will now follow suit.

The recent acceleration of Globalization has allowed for many people to purchase foreign goods, for instance, the Chinese have become very fond of Scotch Whiskey, obviously, only made in Scotland. So in order for the Chinese to purchase this product, it needs to be transported all the way to Asia, from Europe. But how has the standardisation of shipping containers allowed this to occur so efficiently and quickly? Well, the simple answer is; the containers are standardised. If all the containers are standardised it means the ship, or the train, or the crane that lifts the boxes, can all be standardised, therefore there is little need to have different ships for different containers as all ships and all containers are standardised for the specific requirements, thus reducing costs of companies, and therefore either increasing profits for those companies that have reduced their costs, or reducing the price for consumers, if the business passes on the reduction in cost to the consumer.

But what does this mean to the consumer? Well, as aforementioned, the company may well reduce the price of the good to the consumer and therefore creating savings for the consumer. It also means that the goods are more efficiently transported as no time is wasted on ensuring the correct crane is in the docks at the right time for the correct containers etc. So consumers gain the benefit of having Scotch Whiskey in China all the time, with little chance of supply issues.

So why will rival companies follow suit? In my opinion, this is fairly obvious, it will make them more attractive to those who want their goods exported as it will be more efficient and will also be more economically viable as costs should be reduced through the standardisation.

So, the standardisation of container shipping boxes has resulted in many benefits for the consumer and businesses around the globe and has helped to accelerate Gloablization as those large companies look to exploit all areas of the globe to turn over more and more revenue each year.

Digital Divides

The Digital Divide (originally used to describe inequalities of access to the Internet between households in the USA or UK) usually refers to the uneven development of Internet access within a country. A more appropriate term to match those theories that go with globalisation, such as most in the modern day, is the term 'Global Digital Divide' (GDD) which, as you may have guessed, refers to unequal Internet access between countries.

Currently only one third of the worlds 7 billion people are online. Leading experts believe that, in 2011, only 35% of the worlds entire population were online. However, a rather shocking statistic from a recent report called The World in 2011: ICT Facts and Figures, published by the International Telecommunication in Geneva shows that of the 35% of the world who are online, the majority of Internet users are from Developing Countries, with China and India making up 47% of the total share of those developing countries. But is this really that shocking? Thinking about it - no. Because those countries are the ones which are developing the fastest, those are the countries that push technological boundaries and as a result, they use the Internet far more than expected. Furthermore, these countries that are developing understand the importance of technology and the Internet so therefore provide the necessary education to use the web efficiently and effectively. This has proven to be a key reason as to why the number of people who use the web is so high in developing countries. Recent studies show that those who understand how to use the Internet and its facilities are more likely to use it (hence why younger people generally use the Internet more than those in the elder generations) which proves that teaching the skills required is all part of providing access. The sooner those Internet-poor countries realise this, the sooner the GDD will fall to a level that is far more acceptable in today's society.


Sources;
The World in 2011: ICT Facts and Figures, International Telecommunication Union
www.digitaldivide.net

Globalisation and the expansion of global ideologies.

Globalisation has become what many believe to be a recent phenomenon of the last decade or so (although this has caused divided opinions amongst experts). It can refer to either political, social, economic, ecological or ideological globalisation, but here, I will discuss the Ideological aspects of Globalisation. Ideological Globalisation can be defined, although not limited to, 'the expansion and integration of concepts and ideologies across the globe'.

As Manfred B. Steger put it nicely in his book 'Globalization - A Very Short Introduction' (printed by the Oxford University Press), jihadist globalism has certainly been on the rise recently. And as he also detailed in his book, at the heart of it is Osama bin Laden, the man behind 9/11 and the old-leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Throughout his time as leader of arguably, the world's most prolific terrorist group, he constantly contradicted himself - claiming that the West were invading Middle-East, not physically invading with troops (although this did happen when President Bush sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan), but in an ideological sense. He saw the US and its allies as planting ideas and innovations in the minds of those around him, in those of the Middle-East. So, as a result, he retaliated and set up al-Qaeda in 1988. But despite the retaliation, he did contradict himself.





















 Here, as he can be seen talking to the camera, making threats to the US in 2001; he is seen wearing a Casio f-91W watch, made by the Japanese computer firm Casio Computer Co., Ltd. It is also designed and manufactured in Japan, yet is sold globally, so technically, this f-91W watch is a global phenomenon, much like Globalisation and is a symbol of Globalisation, but why is he wearing that watch, if he is against the Globalisation Phenomenon?

We can also see in the background of the image AK-47, a global weapon of choice for many who would need one. The Islamic Extremist is also using a video-camera and microphone to get his message across the Globe, he wants to be seen and wants to be known around the World. But yet he is against Globalisation? Furthermore, to relay this message, it was broadcast on the Al-Jazeera network based in Qatar, yet this is a global network. There's also a high chance that his clothes have been made elsewhere, it's unlikely those clothes were made using local 'threads', so yet again without realising, he's contradicted himself and everything he is against. This is the power of the Globalisation trend, and although he represented those against the expansion and intensification of global ideologies, he constantly and repeatedly contradicted himself. The power of Globalisation is now, more evident, and more prominent than ever.

Sources;
Manfred B. Steger, 'Globalization - a very short introduction', Oxford University Press
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13296443
AP source; AAP
www.aljazeera.com
James Ball (April 25, 2011). "Guantánamo Bay files: Casio wristwatch 'the sign of al-Qaida'".

Clouds

On a recent trip to Southern Spain, I observed some of the most wonderful and interesting cloud formations I have ever seen - this left me and my inquisitive mind to wonder, how do these fantastic silhouettes form in the skies above?

 

Defined as "a visible mass of condensed water vapour floating in the atmosphere, typically high above the ground", terrestrial clouds often form from water vapour in the air due to evaporation or transpiration of water, wind convergence over water (or moist ground) into areas of upward motion, precipitation and also when cool or dry air moves over warmer water which will become more humid. As the air rises from the surface of the earth towards space, the warm air begins to cool which reduces the capacity of the air to hold the water vapour so some of the vapour condenses onto very small particles of dust that are floating in the atmosphere and form a tiny droplet around each dust particle. When billions of these droplets come together and agglutinate, they become a visible cloud.

 

Clouds are often classified into 3 groups according to their height in the sky. Clouds above 18,000 feet are known as 'Cirrus' clouds (high clouds). Clouds that form between 6,500 feet and 18,000 feet are known as 'Alto' clouds (middle clouds). Finally, low clouds that form below 6,500 feet are known as 'Stratus' clouds. These variations can often prove helpful in predicting future weather conditions and the type of clouds that form have, for centuries, been used by farmers and agricultural workers to predict tomorrow's weather patterns.

 

Now, there is much more detail and information on clouds and their formation on the web and it is well documented in books - I have merely scratched the surface on the science and geography of clouds but I hope I have provided you with a simple insight on clouds and their formation.

Image from http://www.flightlearnings.com/2011/10/30/methods-by-which-air-reaches-the-saturation-point-part-three-clouds/

Sources;

1.      Steve Horstmeyer (2008). "Why don't clouds fall?". Graz University of Technology. Retrieved 2012-04-06. 

2.      David R. Dowling and Lawrence F. Radke (1990). "A Summary of the Physical Properties of Cirrus Clouds". Journal of Applied Meteorology 29 (9): 970–978 (977).

3.      Glossary of Meteorology (June 2000). "Adiabatic Process". American Meteorological Society. Retrieved 2008-12-27.

Geomorphology

What is geomorphology? In this post I aim to explore and explain what exactly geomorphology is and the way in which it links into the discipline of geography as a whole. 

Geomorphology refers to the study of the  Earth's surface and the processes in which it is shaped, both in the present and in the past. Geomorphology has many sub-topics that refer to specific locations or areas of similar geomorphology. For instance, geomorphology in arid environments such as near the Tropics (of Capricorn and Cancer). The underlying features of all the sub-topics is that they contain similar core principles, which are most likely to be climatic or tectonic processes. 

Geomorphology is studied under a number of different titles- most notably Physical Geography, but it can also be practised under the larger topics of archaeology or geology. The wide base of interest results in varying research methods, as well as different conclusions from the results of data collection.

They often aim to predict future changes in the Earth's surface through a number of methods including field observations, physical experiments and numerical observations. The latter known as Geomorphometry. 

Such processes that may be included within the Geomorphology field include eolian processes such as wind erosion or fluvial erosion such as corrosion. 

We should end with the name of a notable geomorphologist, William Morris Davis, who has been dubbed 'the father of American Geography' and he paid important attention to geomorphology as a key aspect to his research of Physical Geography. Thus proving the importance of this sub-field to the discipline as a whole. 

References: 

'International Conference Of Geomorphology', Europa Organisation. 

Tinkler, Heith J. A short history of geomorphology. Page 4. 1985