Tag: Cartography

The Ecologically Destructive Technique of Blast Fishing and Cyanide Fishing

2 Comments

Blast fishing was introduced in Southeast Asia post World War II, by American soldiers who threw grenades into bodies of water to yield a large cache of fish, a technique which is used  during the modern day to produce fish as a food resource in local markets. Dynamite is often used but any explosive will perform the task effectively, even improvised devices which utilize an explosive chemical within a glass drinking bottle with an improvised wick lit by a cigarette. Cyanide fishing is an ecologically destructive method of catching fish in which a diver takes bottled cyanide and pumps it into reef areas where fish reside, stunning the fish and making them easier to catch, so that they can be extracted for the pet and live fish trades. These techniques result in coral reefs losing their color and ultimately dying, eliminating a major food source for marine life within the region. Both methods are extremely damaging to the ecosystem and left unchecked, can decimate entire ecosystems within a few short years. Portions of and entire coral reefs which have slowly built over thousands of years can be destroyed in a matter of seconds by using either of these harmful techniques. Fortunately, both methods of fishing are illegal in most of Southeast Asia

The Symbolism of the Islamic Garden

Leave a comment

Islamic gardens act as symbolic representation of the archetypal eternal heavenly garden, an attempt to provide a small peak into what could potentially wait for a person in the afterlife. Repetition of geometric shapes in Islamic gardens help to emphasize the link between the physical world and thereafter. Circular fountains represent Jannah, the Islamic representation of heaven, as the circle is symbolic of heaven. The square is always utilized as a symbol of the Earth, with circular fountains often found within square indentations to act as a metaphor for heaven and Earth meeting. The term “Jannat-al-Firdaws” which means “Garden of Paradise” in Arabic, is mentioned many times throughout the Quran, with Chapter 55 of Surat al-Rahman (pronounced “suu-rat al rack-man”), which means the “all merciful” in Arabic, holding the best and most descriptive accounts of what this garden truly would look like if experienced. Water plays a crucial role in these accounts, with multiple layers of symbolism for life present which is why water is the most important element within an Islamic garden as it is symbolic of the soul. Rain was and continues to be viewed as a merciful gift from heaven within Islamic culture as Islam stems from one of the hottest regions in the world. Water is essential to Islam and an Islamic paradise garden cannot exist without the incorporation of water to some degree. Islamic gardens are separated into 4 specific quadrants because of the “chahar bagh” (pronounced “cha-harr bahh”) which means “4 gardens” in the Persian language of Farsi, directly related to the 4 rivers of paradise, including a river of milk, honey, wine, and water, an order and harmony which underlies everything within an Islamic garden

The Reason the World Clock Starts in Greenwich, England

1 Comment

The reason the world clock starts in Greenwich, England is because during the 19th century, the majority of sea charts used Greenwich, England as the Prime Meridian for the 0° coordinate. In addition to this, during the early advent of the British railway network, trains could end up in accidents if the timing of coming into and/or out of stations was off by even a small margin of error. Because the sun rises earlier in some parts of Britain and later in the rest, these variables needed to be compensated for which was accomplished by introducing more accurate clocks and the concept of time zones. Up until this point, horsepower was the fastest way to travel and because of that, sundials which had been invented in and used since the 9th century A.D., were satisfactory. It was only with the emergence of locomotives that this system of time keeping became antiquated

The Canadian Government Forcing the Relocation of First Nations Persons to Expand Canadian Territory

1 Comment

During the 1950’s, the Canadian government sent a ship into Nunavik, Canada and forcibly confined 87 Inuit residents relocating these individuals much farther north into the territory of Resolute Bay, not for the benefit of the people affected as no one had ever lived this far north in Canada prior, with the sole objective being for the Canadian federal government to justify Canada’s sovereignty and territorial claim within the High Arctic. The Canadian government believed that if gravesites of Inuit persons were found in this region, it would formally and legally solidify the land as Canadian territory. Migration took 3 months by ship and when the Inuit arrived, they were provided no provisions, forcing them to setup tent shelters in the one of the most formidable and domineering landscapes of North America. The Canadian government fraudulently assured those affected that living conditions would be better with an abundance of animals to hunt and fish for despite few wild animals being present. This event was referred to as the High Arctic Relocation. The term for “Resolute Bay” within the In Inuktitut (pronounced “ee-nook-tee-tut”) language is “Qausuittuq” (pronounced “ko-so-ee-took”) which means “Place of Darkness” and/or “Place Where the Sun Does Not Rise”