New Zealand moves closer to Australia!

A massive earthquake last week has brought New Zealand closer to Australia, scientists say. The 7.8 magnitude quake in the Tasman Sea has expanded New Zealand's South Island westwards by about 30cm (12in). New Zealand frequently suffers earthquakes because it sits on the meeting point of the Australian and Pacific continental plates.



See the full BBC report here.

Tower block adverts

Two adverts featuring tower blocks which could be useful for lessons based on housing issues in MEDCs.

Another mobile phone fact!

Following my earlier post about the changes in mobile phone technology, here's a video with a warning about charging your mobile phones overnight...



Thanks to Alan Parkinson.

Geography and technology: The evolution of mobile phones

The Geography department is soon going to be working together with the Technology department on a project that covers both subjects (cross curricular). One direction we might go in is the idea of technology and the throw away culture. I just checked my Twitter and MFCowan, one of the teachers I'm following, had just 'tweeted' a link to this excellent YouTube video showing the evolution of the mobile phone from 1985 to the present day. Look out for the statistics of how many phones are discarded every year - shocking!

New Year celebrations around the world

Happy New Year!!

The Animals Save the Planet

Created by Aardman, The Animals Save the Planet are a series of funny animated short films that feature tips from animals on how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.



The Animals Save the Planet website hosts the videos in a high quality version. The cows is my favourite!

The Day After Tomorrow

8x2 have finished their assessment one week before the next rotation, so we are wrapping up the Sustainability unit by looking at the depiction of climate change and the potential effects in the film 'The Day After Tomorrow'. We are ultimately deciding whether it is scientific truth, environmental pressure, or just a disaster movie. Here's the YouTube trailer for the film...



We discussed whether the hailstorm scene in Tokyo is realistic or not. Check out this YouTube video...


Now what do you think?

Youtube videos on climate change

Year 8 have been studying Sustainability this term. As part of the unit, we looked at various youtube videos connected to climate change.

Here's the most recent Act on CO2 advert...

Here's a couple of your favourites