|
Japan
Spectators Banned From Olympics
Last Friday, Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and the western Japan prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo, anticipated to continue through August 22nd. The state of emergency encompasses increased restrictions but not a hard lockdown. Today, Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa announced that The 2020 Olympics Games in Japan are continuing without spectators to prevent a Delta COVID-19 surge. These decisions follow widespread demands for the games to be postponed or even canceled as COVID-19 infection rates accelerate with a death count of around 14,900 across the country.
This map depicts the the number of new COVID-19 cases over the past 7 days per 100,000 in Japan’s Olympic prefectures. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
Iraq
Two Injured in Rocket Attack
Two U.S. military members were injured in a rocket attack on al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq at 12:30 p.m. local time Wednesday. At least 14 rockets were fired toward the base with two landing in the perimeter. U.S. forces have been targeted almost 50 times this year, and the number of attacks have been increasing within recent weeks as the U.S. moves its troops out of the region. A Pentagon spokesperson said the bombing was meant as a “clear and unambiguous deterrent message.”
This map depicts the most recent attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq and Syria, including the al-Asad air base where two U.S. military members were injured early Wednesday. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
United States
Elsa Makes Landfall
Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall at 11 am local time yesterday in Taylor County, Florida. The highly anticipated storm has been moving up the Southeast coast in the last day, causing strong winds, heavy rains, and even a tornado. The storm has been weakening as it moves up the coast and away from the Gulf of Mexico, but the severe weather has still caused at least one death, and tens of thousands of power outages. As Elsa makes its way up the coast, the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions are expected to experience strong winds, heavy rains, and flooding.
This map depicts the projected trajectory of Tropical Storm Elsa across the East Coast. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
Maps have the power to clearly illustrate ideas to improve comprehension of complex themes across space. However, when made incorrectly, some maps may create confusion or misrepresent the phenomena they attempt to explain.
This map tries to show the class divide in Europe, however, it does a poor job of defining scale, sources, and data. The reader has no concept of what “rich” or “poor” means in this context. Those ambiguous terms do not even disclose if the author is talking about finances- they could be talking about other metrics of being “rich” such as rich with natural resources, national pride, or really anything.
|
|
|
|
This map also does not take scale into account. Are these “rich” and “poor” terms based on country-wide data? Although the secondary or tertiary administrative boundaries are displayed on the map, the data does not seem to display any intra national variation (except, inconsistently, in the case of Italy). While sometimes measures such as GDP are displayed at a national level, it is important to remember the choice of scale can obscure the variation of the data and paint an incomplete picture.
When data is not clearly defined, there can be negative implications that misrepresent populations. For example in this map, labelling a generic “poor” with the color red can create a negative connection in the reader’s mind. As visual storytellers we need to make sure the narrative we are portraying is fair and based on clearly defined data.To improve this map, the author should consider displaying countries by GDP, average household income, percent of population below the poverty line, or even something more creative, such as “percent of homes with private swimming pools.” These metrics are clearly defined and a standard of consistency can be set amongst all areas that the author is trying to map.
|
|
|
|
|
Q: Reaching an elevation of over 16,000 feet (4,900 m), which mountain is the highest peak on any island on earth?
A: Puncak Jaya
Located in Indonesia’s Papua province, Puncak Jaya is the tallest point in Oceania and one of the few tropical or equatorial mountains in the world with glaciers. Puncak Jaya is part of the Seven Summits Challenge in climbing, where experienced climbers try to scale the tallest mountain in every continent. However, some climbers dispute that Indonesia is considered part of Oceania, and include Mount Kosciuszko in Australia, at 7,310 feet (2,228 m), in the Seven Summits challenge instead.
|
|
|
|
|
Q: Covering nearly 250,000 square miles (647,500 km2), which desert is considered the largest in North America?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
|
|
|
|
|
AGS is accepting DailyGeo GeoQuestion suggestions.
Write to ags@americangeo.org with any ideas!
Please include GeoQuestions in the subject line, along with your answer and source.
|
|
|
|
DailyGeo is a daily digital communication created by AGS for the geography community. Feel free to share and encourage others to become part of the community too!
Copyright © 2021 American Geographical Society, All rights reserved.
We understand this might not be for everyone. Although we would hate to see you go, you can unsubscribe here.
How are we doing? We want to hear your feedback on the DailyGeo – what are we doing right and what should we be doing differently. Talk to us by emailing ags@americangeo.org.
|
|
|
|
|
