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United States
Nation-wide Housing Market Risks
Economists and real estate professionals are struggling to predict the future of home prices as the United States economy faces a unique mixture of competing pressures. With the new work-from-home culture and low mortgage rates, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a buying spree in the housing market. Two years after the first full year of the pandemic, there is not enough supply of housing to meet demand. Despite the looming threat of a global recession, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates to fight exploding cost inflation, causing mortgage rates to jump from 3% at the beginning of this year to around 6% currently. As mortgage loans have become more costly, home sales have recently slowed as homeowners resist the pressure to drop their prices to maintain affordability of overall mortgage payments.
This map depicts regions in the U.S. where housing prices are believed to be either overvalued or undervalued. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Fortune
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Afghanistan
Taliban Fighting Panjshir Rebels
After a year of claiming control of Afghanistan, the Taliban reported eliminating 40 members of resistance fighters from the Panjshir Valley in a tweet sent out on Tuesday. The Taliban has denied widespread fighting in the country and characterized recent activity as a “clearance operation.” However, the National Resistance Front (NRF) continues its fight against the Taliban, and claims the number of resistance fighters killed or captured is inflated. A video that went viral shortly after the announcement appears to show Taliban members summarily executing rebel fighters, leading international condemnation for human rights violations by the Taliban.
This map depicts the location of Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley, where the Taliban claims to have recently eliminated a number of resistance fighters. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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World
Cautions on Shallow-Water Mining
A new study published in the journal, Trends in Ecology & Evolution, by researchers from the University of Helsinki raises concerns about the environmental impacts of shallow-water mining projects. Shallow-water mining takes place in coastal waters in depths of less than 650 feet (200 m). Researchers found the processes for extracting mineral-bearing sediments could trigger local extinctions for organisms inhabiting the seafloor. Namibia and Indonesia have already already been engaged in shallow-water mining projects, while Mexico, New Zealand, and Sweden have been exploring potential mineral deposits in adjacent shallow-water territories. Shallow-water mining projects have been advanced as alternatives to deep-water mining projects, which are more challenging and for which there has been no broad international consensus on environmental safety.
This map depicts the locations around the world of various kinds of mineral deposits which could be extracted through shallow-water mining projects. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: In which state can you find an underground entertainment venue as part of an extensive cave system?
A: Tennessee
With over 10,000 known caves, Tennessee has more caves than any other state in the country. Caves have been used for the last 25,000 years by both Native Americans and settlers for various purposes including shelter, mining, and to conceal fugitives and various illegal activities. Most unique to Tennessee’s underground bedrock is its live music scene. The Caverns, located in Grundy County, is a world-renowned destination for subterranean live music. The Caverns have some 8,000 feet of cave passages, however the underground shows are hosted in a section historically known as the Big Mouth Cave, due to its large archway entrance and natural acoustics.
Source
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Q: The Pyrenees mountain range forms a natural wall between what two countries?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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