Standard of Living versus Scale of Living

Long time readers may have noted I never have used the term "standard of living." The reasoning behind the reason why I instead use the term "scale is living" is something all human geographers should understand.

The way "standard of living" is used is almost always in averages. People have 2.5 children, 1.4 televisions per household and other examples give a "standard" that people live under. While standard of living gives a nice benchmark for people or societies to aim for it is unrealistic. Almost rarely is anyone "average" in the sense they have the exact "standard" (who can have .5 kids?). The presence of outliers can spoil standards. If seven people make $10 a month but three people make $100 a month the standard of living is $37 a month. No one is close to the standard then.

Instead I use "scale of living." Scale of living creates a range which a majority, usually two-thirds but it can vary, can be expected to live in. For example, the average family will have between two and four kids or a dozen to sixteen paid vacation days gives a more accurate picture of quality of life enjoyed by most. It is much harder for outliers to skew data. Going back to the first example the scale would be "$10 to $100 a month." The large scale difference also class shows gaps better.

Oceandots: An Atlas of Islands

Great cartographic work and beautiful satellite imagoes are pieces of art to me. They rank right up there with the classics by Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Poussin. Oceandots serves as a great example of such.

Oceandots is an atlas of images of various islands around the world. Each island page features various satellite images of the island along with information. It is a fascinating page for reference and enjoyment.

Kosovo Not on Online or Newspaper Maps

It has been almost five months since the Republic of Kosovo was declared and since recognized by a current total of 44 countries.

The mapping world is slow to recognize the change though. The big online three: Google Maps, Microsoft's Live Maps, Yahoo Maps; do not have a free Kosovo. National Geographic, MapQuest (has pre-2006 Serbia), and Maporama also have lack Kosovo. The Weather Channel gets the nod for the worst mapping with not only a pre-2006 Serbia (plus Montenegro) but for some reason West Berlin as well.

Newspapers such as USA Today, Washington Post, and the International Herald Tribune all have Kosovo as part of Serbia both on their maps.

The only places to find Kosovo maps online are Geography at About and MultiMap. However, depending on the zoom there is a free Kosovo, no free Kosovo, or a pre-2006 Serbia and Montenegro!

So what is to blame for no Kosovo on maps? The still lacking neigh-on-universal recognition for the new state? Somesort of Serbian conspiracy that owns all popular mapping businesses? Or is it just computer jockeys using software with no knowledge of geography? I think it is ten percent of the first and ninety percent of the latter. Geographers and cartographers are desperately needed in today's world. It is no wonder why kids cannot find countries on the map if are educational tools are wrong.

Note: The Weather Channel's maps are really bad. Two Yemens: those united in 1990.

Geography of French Wines

Wine geography has been mentioned on this blog before but I have received requests for more information. The Ventura County Star does a much better job than a mere observer like me can do with its French wine geography story. The lesson points out that French wine is labelled by region unlike Californian wine that is labelled by grape type. There are six regions of France's wine making country and each one is unique. Check out the story to find out more.

Interesting note on Franco-American cooperation: The Great French Wine Blight nearly destroyed France's wine industry. In a last ditch effort to stop the blight French vines were grafted on America roots that were immune from the disease. It worked. So if you like wines drink French and enjoy the cross-Atlantic cooperation!

The Return of Global Dimming

A while back the theory of global dimming made many afraid of pollution cloud caused global cooling. However, fears of global warming and the desire for clean, breathable skies have pushed global dimming out of mind. Well, its back.

The American Geophysical Union recently published Aerosol and cloud effects on solar brightening and the recent rapid warming. The paper uses evidence to theorize that the recent drive to clean our skies of pollution aerosols has increased the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth and has aided the greenhouse effect in warming the Earth.

This, if true, is a prime case of good intentions pave the road to Hell. No one can deny that the Earth is a massively complex system and ideas that tinker with processes like climate cycles need to be fully weighed before initiated. Clean skies seems like a simple, noncontroversial idea. However, it serves as a warning from jumping to conclusions.

Map of Income Spent on Fuel, Food, and Drink

Click to Enlarge

After seeing the above map from The Economist one must think the rest of the world views Western Europe and North America as a bunch of whiny babies. With gas prices so high there are news stories in the United States about people cutting back on vacations, luxury items, eating out, and even medicine to afford the high cost of fuel. It is hard to have much sympathy though when there are food riots around the world because people cannot afford to eat.

Baghdad's Landscape after the War

The War in Iraq is still on going but there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. If the Iraqi government and allies manage to defeat al Qaeda's axis then the long road of recovery can finally be attended to with full attention. One question that, while on one hand seems trivial yet does have implication, is how Baghdad's landscape and "culturescape" memorialize the fighting. How it does will have an impact on future generations.

Before we continue on about Baghdad's path let us look at some possible routes.

• Berlin and other West German cities: World War II was hard on German cities. Many of these cities suffered complete destruction. The Nazi Era was so shameful and the war so hard for Germans that the landscape was rebuilt pre-1933 (new building was modern, though) while the people became progressive, always trying to avoid the past.
• Berlin and other East German cities: Cities in the east were destroyed too. Instead of looking back on the past the landscape was meant to bear the marks of the war. Old cathedrals were left damaged as monuments to Nazi/Ally aggression while monuments were dedicated to the common bond of the Russian and German worker. The people gobbled up a new propaganda looking to place blame on others. Eastern Germany remains a mess today.
• Northern Ireland has a unique route. With the Troubles over the war landscape has become on of adaption, not avoidance or destruction. The Euro party scene has taken over the infrastructure of war and murals fight the battle between past and future.

Baghdad is not completely in ruins. There are some hard hit neighborhoods, the relatively untouched Green Zone, many places with some damage but not alot, then there are the outskirt slum shantytowns that are in need of basic infrastructure. Obviously modern-style, building up is in needed for a major capital city with so many people so keeping things the in ruble ala East Germany is a very unlikely possibly unless al Qaeda wins and wishes to make Baghdad an example of Western aggression against Islam. Going back to the past is not an option as neo-Babylonian style reminds the Shia and Kurds of its use by Saddam's Baathist Party.

The only real question left then is what to do with the walls. Walling off neighborhoods helped keep rival groups out of sight and mind. There presence has impacted how people get around the city and how they think of the city itself i.e. separate communities rather than one giant, collective mass. The walls may stay to serve as security, they may remain but become art pieces like the Berlin Wall, or they may remove as Baghdadis learn that they are all citizens.

Landscape of a city does not make culturescape but there is a interrelationship. If Baghdad improves to a good but not well state a Northern Ireland-style of adaptation but keeping walls in place "just in case" is probable. If things turn out well though the landscape and culturescape will be like West Germany where the war is over in all regards.