Landsat 8, one year later.

The Landsat program has been taking place for almost 42 years. This is the most continuous project of collecting satellite imagery. Last year, 11 February 2013, the Landsat 8 was launched on the Atlas V spacecraft.

To sum this up, this particular satellite has 11 spectral bands, and 2 of those bands will be collecting data related to water quality and the high cirrus clouds. 7 spectral bands will be compatible with sensors found on older Landsat satellites.

For more information, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXMld8nKPiU

Check out page/article

http://geoawesomeness.com/



http://geoawesomeness.com/sochi-vancouver-parallel-olympic-geography/

GDP by state: Comparing US states to nations.

This morning, I found a map by PolicyMic. Here is the link to it: http://www.policymic.com/articles/81177/here-s-how-rich-every-u-s-state-really-is-in-one-eye-opening-map

Basically, it is taking the Gross Domestic Product of the states in the USA, and comparing it to certain nations.

This map leaves alot to wonder. PanGeographic will have a different take on this. In the article by PolicyMic, it mentioned than none of these estimated were adjusted for population. There was a comparison made between Minnesota and Nigeria. It was also mentioned that Minnesota has a population of 5.5 million while Nigeria has a population of 175 million.

PanGeographic will go a bit further. Minnesota, with a population of 5.5 million people, has the same GDP as Nigeria, a nation of 175 million people. North Dakota, next door, has a population close to 700,000 residents, and a GDP the equivalent of Kenya, a nation of 43 million people. GDP is the money value of goods and services being put into the economy. Nigeria and Kenya has large numbers of its population not living in the cash economy. Nigeria has plenty of oil. There are also many people who live a subsistence lifestyle, meaning they grow enough for their own consumption. And there are many who struggle to feed themselves.

In short, if Minnesota and North Dakota has as many people as Nigeria and Kenya,chances are, the GDP of those places would be much higher.

In short, it is better to look at the per capita side of this.

2014 Winter Olympics. Parallels between Sochi and Vancouver.

                                           Sochi, Russia

                                          Vancouver, Canada


The 2014 Winter Olympics and set to begin on Thursday, 6 February. As is known, they will be held in the Russian city of Sochi.

One thing to consider is the fact that these will be the first Winter Olympics to be held in a subtropical climate, at least the indoor events. Some people look at this is very unusual. Although Russia is known for very cold winters, Sochi has a climate similar to southern Japan or the southeastern USA. The average daytime temperature in January is 50 F(10 C) and at night it is 35 F (2 C).

Well, this is to be considered. Vancouver, Canada held the 2010 Winter Olympics. Although Vancouver does not have a subtropical climate, it does have very mild winters in comparison to the rest of Canada. The average January daytime temperature in Vancouver is 45 degrees F(7 degrees C), The average night time temperature is 33 F (1 C). Quite mild for a city at a latitude of 49 N. Canada is known for very cold winters, so Vancouver stands out.

Here are the parallels:
-Vancouver has relatively mild winters. Sochi also has mild winters. Both cities are among the warmest cities in their respective nations. Both nations are known for cold, snowy winters.
-Vancouver and Sochi are located near high mountains. Vancouver held snow-related events in the mountains(especially in Whistler), Sochi will hold snow-related events in the mountains, at Krasnaya Polyana.
-Both cities are coastal cities

                                          Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia

                                          Whistler, Canada



If Vancouver could do it, then Sochi could pull this off too. One way to look at this is from a perspective of geography. While indoor events will be held in Sochi proper, the skiing, luge, and bobsleighing events will be held in Krasnaya Polyana, a town in the mountains, where it will be colder and there would likely be more snow.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina tourism commercial: Looks good, but incorrect in meteorological terms.

Before watching a youtube video, a Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce commercial played, geared for Valentines Day. There were scenes of beaches, and people walking and frolicking on the beach, the typical warm beaches commercial.

Well, there is something very incorrect about this commercial. The commercial is geared for Valentines Day, which is in mid-February. As far as it can be known, February is winter in the Northern Hemisphere. And this is Myrtle Beach. The average February high temperature is 58 degrees F, and the average low is 40. This does not sound like beach weather. It would not be warm enough to play on the beach as if it were summer.

The commercial paints a very good picture of Myrtle Beach, but it isn't geographically correct. One cannot use summer scenes to market a place to people planning to go to that place in winter. That is misrepresentation. One important feature of tourism is geography. All the more reason to known one's geography. 

Where to grow coffee in the USA?

The most valuable food commodity in the world is coffee. And the USA is a major consumer of coffee. Being a nation with a thirst for coffee, one might think "why not grow our own coffee"?

Well, let's break this down geographically.

To grow coffee, a warm climate, with little risk of frost is needed. Well, there are maybe a few places in the USA like that, specifically far southern Florida and parts of southern California. Hawaii is another place to consider.

For regions between 16 and 24 degrees latitude(both north and south), An altitude between 1800-3600 feet above sea level is right for growing coffee. This leaves out California and Florida. Southern California's temperatures aren't right for coffee planting at those altitudes, and California, even the southernmost point of it, is at too high of a latitude for that. Florida has no places at high latitudes. Also, a moderate amount of rainfall is necessary. Both Florida and California are either too dry or too wet for coffee. Only Hawaii's Kona region is suitable for growing coffee. Remember, all of this is for Arabica coffee beans. Robusta beans can be grown at lower altitudes, from sea level to 2000 ft above sea level. It grows in warmer temperatures

Could robusta coffee be grown in Florida? Well, even Florida gets a bit cool for growing such a plant. It could grown at low elevation areas in Hawaii.

Well, on a commercial level, growing coffee on the USA mainland does not appear likely, given the geography and climate of the mainland USA. Hawaii is the only place where commercial coffee growth is done, and for a reason. Puerto Rico grows coffee, but it is a Commonwealth of the USA, not a state.

Map of tea drinking per capita.

Map of pounds of tea consumed per person each year, from QUARTZ


A map is like a picture, but in geographic form. It tells a thousand words. This map well, it tells many things, and reveals some surprises when one thinks about it.

According to this map, Turkey consumes the most tea per person per year. In a way, this does make sense. Tea is a major part of the Turkish culture, and has been this way for centuries. Tea is consumed for so many occasions. It is part of the hospitality of Turkey to offer tea to guests. It is consumed with meals, and it is part of social occasions. Tea is also grown in Turkey, so it makes sense to drink it.

The United Kingdom is the next largest consumer of tea on earth. Makes sense given the tradition of drinking tea in the UK, which goes back to the days of the British Empire. It is ingrained in the British culture.

Russia is next on the list. No surprise there. While Russia is widely known for the fiery vodka, tea is the most popular non-alcoholic drink in the nation. It has been part of the Russian culture for a long time.

However, there were also some surprises to this. One might think China and Japan would have more consumption of tea, considering the amount of tea grown in this region, and considering how ingrained tea drinking is in these culture. There are many varieties of tea in China, and tea drinking started in China. Japan has the elaborate tea ceremony and it is common to consume green tea with meals. Well, this is tea consumed per person. China has 1.8 billion people. And Japan does rank somewhat higher than China in tea consumption per capita, considering the much smaller population. One theory could be that while tea is consumed often, less of it is consumed.

One particular surprise was South America. One might think that the largest consumer of tea in South America would be Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, or Paraguay, considering yerba mate is consumed in these nations. Chile has the largest consumption of tea per person per year in South America. There is no data available for Uruguay and Paraguay. With the gaucho culture being part of the culture in both Paraguay and Uruguay, perhaps tea consumption might be higher in those nations. Actually, in Uruguay, 22 lbs of yerba mate is consumed per capita. However, perhaps when tea is spoken of, yerba mate is not what people are thinking of.

A map can tell many things, it can also reveal surprises.