Who Are We? Why Are We Here? What is Geography?- July 1, 2007

What do geographers study? This- and everything that happens there.

Hello everyone! After nearly two months, we’re finally approaching the end of our time in Vietnam. We just arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) early this morning after a week spent underwater in the oceans near Nha Trang. Our time there was nothing short of incredible. We were exposed to an entire world we’d only heard rumors of, full of bizarre life forms, vivid colors, and strange shapes, all intricately linked to each other and to our world on land. While we’ve been brainstorming the post describing the aquatic events of the past week, we’ve realized something very important. In order to adequately explain the relevance of the things we’ve seen, we need to backtrack for a moment. From the beginning of this excursion, our primary goals have been to not only give our readers an outlet to improve their basic understanding of place-specific geography, but to also teach people about the field of geography itself- who are we, why are we here, what is it that we do? The first part is easy- we simply go places and tell you about the things we observe. The second part is a little more difficult, and we know that we’ve probably left a few of you shaking your heads in bewilderment, still wondering what it is we’re doing over here. That’s what we’d like to answer now- what is a geographer? What do we really do? Why is geography important? We hope this will make the next post, and all that have preceded and will follow it, a little clearer.

Let’s start by asking the question “What is a geographer?”

Walking into a geographers’ convention is like walking into an AA meeting. “Hi…ummm…My name’s Tom and ummm…I’m a geographer.” Round of hesitant applause. “Hi Tom! How long have you been a geographer?” “Ummm, well, I just found out last semester.” “Why don’t you tell us about it?” “Ok, well, I started out majoring in geology, but then I took a class in political science, and got hooked. I switched majors the next semester, but then I realized I really had an interest in anthropology. Before the end of the spring semester, I switched majors again. But then, one day over summer break, I was lying in the grass looking at the clouds and thought ‘Man, I should really look into atmospheric sciences.’ And that’s how it went for five years. Now I’m 24, and just found out our school has a geography program. I thought it sounded silly, but then I looked at the classes they offered and realized it was perfect.” And that’s how it goes for nearly every geography student- Faye perhaps being the only one on record to have actually declared it as a major before her first semester of university.

We thought about posting Ben's academic transcripts to illustrate this point, but that would have taken 10 extra pages. After majoring in Fire Science, Criminal Justice, Geology, History, and Political Science, Ben finally figured out he was a geographer. The crazy hair came later.

We’re short-sighted astronomers. We’re the poster-children for academic attention deficit disorder. We’re curious about everything, and therefore can be irrationally indecisive. We’re the jacks of all trades, masters of none. We think soil science is fascinating, but could never dedicate ourselves to that entirely. Likewise, political science, international relations, forestry, and agriculture can all get us excited, but none can claim our full attention for long. What really makes a geographer tick are the connections between all these disciplines. But before we get to the connections, let’s look at the most fundamental component of geography- space.

Faye's an anomoly. She figured out that she wanted to be a geographer well before university. She knew before most that geography was the best place for the perpetually curious academic who could be as easily amused by a cow as by the rigged elections in Transdniestria.

Geography is anything you want it to be, as long as that anything can be placed within a spatial context. Everything happens within a spatial context, so basically, everything is geography. The soccer match that just took place in Sao Paolo? That’s geography. The election that just occurred in East Timor? That’s geography too. A sockeye salmon swimming up the Gulkana? Geography. The nor’easter that just dumped three feet of snow on some poor New Englander’s driveway? Yep, it’s geography. And that tasty bowl of sheep fat a Mongolian family just woofed down? You guessed it- geography. This is geography at its most rudimentary level. You don’t really need to analyze these events in any more detail to be thinking geographically. They’ve all happened within a spatial context, and therefore can all be considered geographically relevant. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, more an exercise in building your Trivial Pursuit skills than hardcore geography. It’s when you start looking for and analyzing the connections between disciplines and events (doing so, of course, within a spatial context) that geography becomes really interesting. Why did the soccer match just take place in Sao Paolo? Why did the elections in East Timor turn out as they did? Why does East Timor exist in the first place? Why isn’t the Mongolian family munching on something a little more palatable? How does a good geographer go about answering these questions?

Why is Faye making mutton dumplings instead of ravioli al'funghi? Because of geography!

Different geographers will give you different explanations on this, but here's what we think: Geography is like a pillar with multitudes of equally important, interdependent parts. This illustration is probably most relevant to regional geography, the branch of the field that focuses on a specific geographical area (a continent, a country, a valley, a city block- any defined geographical space) and analyzes that area from top to bottom- all the aspects of that space. Thematic geography is a little bit different, and we'll discuss that later. Literally translated, geography means "to describe the Earth." So, the base of our pillar needs to be a specific place on the surface of the Earth. Again, this can be anything- a city, a watershed, a province, a mountain range, the entire planet, etc.

Our geographical pillar. Geography is the study of the links between a defined space and all of the physical, biological, and human aspects of that space.

After determining the spatial context in which you’ll be working, the next step is to examine the physical and environmental make-up of that space- its geology, geomorphology, weather, and climate. Is it mountainous or flat, and why? Does the location have distinct rainy seasons or is it perpetually dry, and why? What are the topographic features like? What type of rock dominates the landscape? Where do the prevailing winds originate? It's amazing how, once you start to notice and understand patterns in physical geography, you can trace everything (politics, sports, religion, agriculture, biological distribution and diversity) directly back to it. But we're getting ahead of ourselves- the important point here is to simply understand that physical geography is the base of our geographic pillar- the point that all of the other dots are connected to.

Physical geography is the base of our geography pillar. For instance, to understand Tibet, you first need to understand the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan Mountain range, and how these affect local weather and regional climate patterns. Everything else will follow.

From here, you begin to understand the next few rocks in our pillar. In our illustration, we've used soils and hydrology as examples, but we could just as easily have used any number of others that directly follow from physical geography. In fact, these are technically still components of physical geography- but we thought they deserved specific mention because of the distinct intermediary role they play between the physical and human side of the discipline. For instance, soil type and quality are determined by geology (rocks provide the minerals necessary for plant development) and climate (for example, an area with a lot of rain will generally have poorer soils because the rain leaches nutrients into lower, unreachable levels of the soil). Watersheds, stream patterns, and hydrology are similarly tied to basic geologic and climatic factors. Streams will more easily erode weak rock, aquifers will more readily develop in specific types of rock, and (the most profound statement you'll ever read) more water will be available in locations with wetter climates.

Soil type and quality are determined by geology and climate (among a few other things). This Vietnamese soil is relatively poor because persistant precipitation leaches vital nutrients into its lower layers, and organic material decomposes in the hot tropical heat at a rate too fast to facilitate the growth of humus.

The next logical step in the progression up the pillar is to biology. After all, soil wouldn't be all that important if it weren't for the fact that it supports plant life- which in turn is necessary to support our lives. Same goes for water. The type and quantity of plant and animal life depend directly upon physical geography, climate, soil quality, and water availability. Human habitation patterns and lifestyles will depend directly upon the type and quantity of plant and animal life a specific environment can support. See how the dots are beginning to connect?

STARTING TO CONNECT THE DOTS... Mongolia's Gobi Desert is consistently dry, prone to extreme diurnal and seasonal climatic changes, and in possession of really poor soil...

...which determines the type and quantity of vegetation available. This saxual shrub is drought adapted and particularly rugged...

...and so are these guys. Bactrian camels are one of the few species that thrive in conditions as harsh as the Gobi's. They can survive on little water, and can digest the dense, spiny saxual...

...which in turn determines this man's lifestyle. He utilizes the camels for food and transportation, and would find life very difficult if he instead chose to use water buffalo (like the Vietnamese) for these purposes.

Our friend from the Gobi has brought us up to the second half of our pillar- the half devoted to human geography. You'll often hear geographers say that ours is the field that bridges the gap between the hard sciences and the social sciences. You'll also hear a lot of people making a distinction between physical and human geography- separating the two into distinct sub-fields. We're not sure if we agree with this separation. In our opinions, the thing that makes geography special is that it doesn't make this distinction. The physical side and the human side are inseparable. Geologists look at rocks. Geographers look at the rocks and tell you what they mean to the people who live on them.

The next step on the ladder is anthropology and ethnicity. In our Gobi example, we've shown that the man's lifestyle is determined by the physical geography of his home. Living in this place, he must be a nomadic herder- no other livelihood is sustainable. Looking then at his family and social life, it becomes clear that the limits of the landscape discourage large extended families or settlements, as the land can support so few. The Mongolian customs of living in traditional gers (which can be easily moved depending on season and available vegetation) or celebrating horsemanship (critical for life on the steppe) also go hand in hand with the place they originated. Just as in the Gobi, anthropological developments the world over are directly determined by physical geography.

One of our Mongol friends and his horse. Mongolians developed proficiency in horsemanship because their physical environment necessitated it. This allowed them to conquer much of the Eurasian landmass. Genghis' proficiency in the bedroom made the Asian ethnic landscape what it is today.

And how about the Mongols’ extreme proficiency in horsemanship? We've all heard of Genghis Khan and his expansive Eurasian Empire. How did that come about? Mongolian armies were the scourges of their era because they could advance and attack with lightning speed and remarkable efficiency while on horseback. As we stated above, they developed these skills because of their nomadic, herding lifestyle- which developed due to the limitations placed on them by their unforgiving physical environment. The expansion of the Mongol Empire has had a profound impact on the ethnic make-up of Asia. The Mongols were influenced by cultures as far away as Turkey, and they spread their own culture (and seeds) throughout the entire continent. Our notorious friends on Olkhon, although speaking Russian and living in Siberia, held a stronger allegiance to Mongolia than to their own motherland. Ethnicity is one of the major issues of our time, indeed, all time. The development and spatial distribution of different ethnicities are the direct results of geography.

Connecting the dots again. The Mongols developed extreme equestrian skills due to their physical environment, which allowed them to spread their seeds all over Asia. Our Buryat friend here is more closely related to the Mongols than to any Russian ethnicity, despite the fact that he lives in Russia and speaks Russian. History, as determined by geography, influences the spatial distribution of global ethnicities.

From the examples above, we can clearly see how history- the next stop on our pillar-influences and is influenced by geography. We'll use another example from our travels to illustrate this point. Shanghai is one of the contemporary world's most important cities. It is certainly one of China's, yet its very existence is due to the British. During the early 1800s, as world trade expanded and merchants searched for new materials and new markets, China attempted to remain isolated. Western powers, urged on by powerful trading companies, went so far as to fight a war for the right to sell their goods in the Middle Kingdom- actually more than one war, known collectively as the Opium Wars. As victors, they claimed a series of treaty ports where they could establish their own governments on Chinese soil. The British, as main members of the western coalition, quickly claimed a relatively small backwater at the mouth of the Yangtze River, recognizing its potential for controlling trade to interior China. They built the small port up into a monumentally important city- Shanghai. The city's modern geography, as a major port and a gateway for trade into China, is a result of its history. Knowing about this history, most geographers will want to go all the way back down the pillar and try to determine exactly why the Yangtze flows as it does and why it’s deep enough to allow the passage of large container ships.

Modern Shanghai by night. The city's geography is determined by its history, and vice versa. Geography (physical, economic, political, etc) determines history, which in turn influences current events and modern geography.

It's a pattern that's repeated throughout history. Tito's Partisans were able to harass the Nazis so effectively in large part because of the karst topography in the Western Balkans. Tito came to power because of these wartime successes. Yugoslavia was unified because of Tito's authoritarian, cult-like leadership. When Tito died, so did Yugoslavia. The wars that were fought throughout the 1990's and the current fiasco in Kosovo are the result of historical geography. Geography shapes history shapes current events. Connecting the dots.

Those of you who've been keeping up with the blog are intimately familiar with the next step on our pillar. Cultural geography is fascinating and fun to talk about- and really fun to explore. Who wouldn't want to eat their way through the Mediterranean, play soccer with a group of kids on a Vietnamese Island, or sing along with Genghis to a bad Russian pop song? Yet again, you can trace all of this back to physical geography. You eat what you can grow, raise, or trade for. What you can grow or raise, or your ability to trade is, as we've already shown, directly dependent upon physical geography and climate. Geography makes the difference between eating scrumptious seafood pasta in southern Italy or lake fish and black tea in Siberia.

A typical meal on Olkhon Island- soup made from locally grown potatoes (well adapted to cold climes) and fish from the lake, served steaming hot to ward off the chilly weather. Clearly, the climate and ecology of a region determines what food is available, and how it is served.

Another aspect of cultural geography, and one that we've encountered on the trip, is religion and ceremony. The spread and transformation of religions, while geographically fascinating, are just too involved to break down right here. Instead, we'll look at how geography is tied to the direct ways in which religion is expressed. Two places where we saw very direct relationships between place and religious practice were Olkhon Island and Tibet. On Olkhon, where much of the population practices Shamanism, individual sites take on spiritual significance. Shamanka Rock, for example, is an inherently captivating physical phenomenon that has come to symbolize the power of the natural world. To residents of Olkhon, Shamanka is a direct link between the physical and metaphysical. Tibet offers some really interesting examples as well. White, for instance, is a sacred color in Tibetan Buddhism. Why? White is the color of snow. The amount of snow directly determines the available water supply- in a low snow year, crops can fail and people will starve. So now, stupas are painted white, and white prayer scarves adorn nearly every cairn, mark every pass, and are given as spiritual gifts on special occasions. The number and significance of major festivals and ceremonies are also tied to geography- the Tibetan landscape, with arable, livable areas separated by huge mountains and treacherous passes, leads to physical isolation. In circumstances like these, people appreciate any excuse to come together- hence Tibetan Buddhism incorporated many of the indigenous Bon religion’s major festivals.

Shamanka Rock- one of the clearest examples you can see of the relationship between physical geography and religion. Most geographers will appreciate the religious and cultural significance of Shamanka, then wonder what geological processes made it look the way it does.

Why do Alaskans salivate when the latest snowmachine is unveiled, rush their kids to hockey practice at 5 a.m., and stay glued to the newspaper during the Yukon Quest, while Vietnamese people hover around T.V. screens to watch badminton and take to the streets to play soccer? Because Alaskans live in an incredibly cold climate, in a resource rich state, in the wealthiest nation in the world- meaning we have the money to buy a brand new 700 RMK, or purchase a $450.00 pair of hockey skates for our 12 year-old child, or own 25 energetic and hungry huskies, and the snow and ice to use all three. Our Vietnamese contemporaries, however, live in a warm climate in relative poverty. Badminton rackets and soccer balls don't cost as much as a new Polaris or an Easton Synergy, and it’s hard to harbor ambitions of NHL stardom when the only ice you’ve ever seen has been floating at the top of your glass of lemon juice. Geography (climate, natural resources and the resultant wealth) dictates what kind of sports we play or follow. For another clear example of geography in sports, take a look at the stars of the NBA. The majority comes from inner city neighborhoods where sport options are limited by money and by space- pick up soccer games aren't so feasible on a narrow back alley in the projects. But there's one sport that takes up very little room, costs almost nothing to play, and works great on pavement: basketball.

Why is soccer the most popular game on the planet? Because you don't need much to play it- any open area, a ball, and maybe two t-shirts to mark the goals. In poorer regions of the world (geography again- physical and economic) kids still have an opportunity to play the game. In places like Alaska, enough people can afford the expensive gear required for hockey or dogsledding that these sports can become popular. Also, it's pretty hard to kick a soccer ball around in a foot of snow.

That brings us up to the next level of the pillar (almost to the top now!): economic geography. Just as with all our other levels, this one can be brought right back to the landscape. Economists talk of stocks and bonds, equity and liquidity, bears and bulls, markets and capital. Good geographers know, however, that economics boil down to something far less abstract- you guessed it- geography! Take the United States for instance. How have we become so affluent and wealthy? A lot of it has to do with ingenuity, creativity, and good old fashioned hard work. But just as much of it is directly related to our fortunate geographic situation. We are a large country- meaning we have at our disposal a plethora of natural resources. We're also fortunate enough to be located at a mid-latitude location, meaning we've generally got a favorable climate to work with. We can also give thanks to the Canadians, who were generous enough to give us most of their best soils via glaciation (typical of the Canadians to be so giving, eh?).

From the fisheries of New England...

...to the oil of Alaska, the United States is an enormous country blessed with a plethora of natural resources.

How about Saudi Arabia? Talk about a country that's benefited from physical geography! The House of Saud is in possession of ungodly wealth- enough for Prince Bandar to have his own Airbus for personal jet-setting. Of course, some of that wealth is the result of kickbacks from British and American arms deals, but most of it comes via the nation's vast oil reserves. That's also true of one of the countries we've visited on our trip: Russia. Moscow is one of the world's most expensive cities, a glowing, neon caricature of affluence and wealth. Why is that? We've said it before, and we'll say it again- Moscow IS Gazprom. Russia's been blessed with vast oil reserves, and they've used them to bolster their economy and their geopolitical prowess.

Russia's also been blessed with natural resources, including the oil that's funding the growth of increasingly posh cities like Moscow.

Let's look at the flip side of the coin- how can physical geography render a country economically disadvantaged? Western China, for instance, has basically nothing. Southwest China (namely the Tibetan Plateau) has few resources, and the ones it has are nearly impossible to develop due to the rugged topography. Northwest China- Xinjiang Province- is a vast desertscape that lacks both natural resources and arable land. Collectively, these areas are exceptionally poor and dependent on the central government for things like road building and basic infrastructure.

It's rough going in Tibet. The few natural resources that exist are difficult to extract due to the prohibitive topography. Thus, the region is incredibly impoverished.

The final tie between economics and geography comes from the fundamentals of supply and demand. This pair of concepts lies at the very heart of economics, and is directly influenced by geography. As we've described above, physical geography determines the resources available to any given area- whether it is suitable for mining, farming, herding, or fishing- in short, the supply of goods originating in that space. It also determines much of the demand for a given commodity. In Mongolia, for instance, horses are very much in demand. In Siberia, heating fuel is a critical commodity, and is likely to remain so for some time (despite global climate change).

In frigid Siberia, heating fuel is a hot commodity. Supply and demand are fundamental concepts in economics, and a fundamental link between economics and geography.

Of course, nations no longer have to rely solely upon the resources found within their borders to sustain their economies. Globalization and the rapid improvement of global transportation infrastructures have made it so that nearly every country has access to the resources found in other countries- as long as they can provide a good or service in return. It's still geography, however- we've simply found a way to expand the spatial context within which we all operate.

OK- we've reached the pinnacle of our geographic pillar- political geography. Political geography can be any number of things- examining political boundaries, looking at how international relations work, formulating policy, or simply identifying the type of political systems in action in specific locations. In this example, we’ll use China and show how all of the factors on the pillar have led to the rise of the Communist Party of China (CPC). China is an incredibly large country, with many different climatic zones and landscapes. For this exercise, let's focus on the landscape. Almost all of the lands, aside from the eastern seaboard, are somewhat inhospitable- either jutting hills, towering mountains, or forbidding deserts. The soil situation is, predictably, equally as diverse. The river basins possess decent soils, but a lot of the rest of the country is lacking in arable land. The Tibetan Plateau is obviously not blessed with good soil, nor are the deserts of Xinjiang. The Gobi Desert is creeping ever southward, so a good portion of the north is also lacking quality soils. The areas in possession of decent soils are obviously going to be the places where civilizations spring up- they facilitate biological diversity, which means food. The country’s major population centers are going to be found here, and they’re going to be crowded. China's also a major component of the old Silk Road, the trade route that stretched from Europe, through Central Asia, and into the Middle Kingdom. International traders added to an already colorful kaleidoscope of ethnicities, including the Han, Kazakhs, and Mongols. With the incorporation of Tibet and Xinjiang, ethnic Tibetans and Uighurs were added to the mix. It's often been a volatile combination, however, and for most of its history, China has been at war with itself. Outside powers also played a crucial role in China's history, seeking to unlock the secrets and acquire some of the fabled wealth of the mysterious country. These outsiders were often viewed as meddlesome imperialists by the Chinese, who've justifiably sought to keep their natural sources of wealth to themselves. So, what we have is a large country that's physically and ethnically fractious, primarily agrarian and relatively poor, and historically prone to outside influences. This brings us to the current political situation in China. The fractious nature of the country means that weak governments need not apply. It's historically been only strong, centralized, authoritarian regimes that have successfully unified China. Mao seems to have known this, and the CPC has been one of the most brutally authoritarian political bodies of the last century. How did the CPC come to power? By harnessing the energies of the impoverished peasantry- impoverished because of physical geography. How has the CPC solidified its hold on power? By playing off of the nation’s historical xenophobia, a xenophobia that initially developed due to geography. Why has it had to use so much force to maintain its hold on the nation’s governing institutions? Because physical geography has divided the country into small sub-sections with competing interests and differing ethnicities, many of whom seek greater autonomy or outright independence. And what could happen should the communist party collapse? Could a weaker regime maintain the integrity of these inherently divisive lands? Who knows? It's never happened before. If you dig deep enough and know what you're digging for, almost every political system can be traced right down the pillar to basic physical geography. Amazing, isn't it?

Chairman Mao's CPC came to power in China in large part because of geography. The challanges to the regime, and thus the reason why it's remained so authoritarian, have also been due to geography.

Alright- those of you who've made it this far should have no problem with the next concept. In fact, you've probably already thought of it. In our pillar system, we've shown how each level can affect the one above it. But the connections run both ways, and don't always have to be in a linear progression. Let's think about how something like political geography can impact the physical world we live in. China is a great example for this too. In recent years, political decisions have led to an opening of the Chinese economy and a private consumer market. Living standards (for some groups at least) are rising, creating a demand for luxury goods like cars. This new demand has myriad effects: it creates a demand for steel, which creates a demand for ore, which increases mining activity. Mining directly modifies the landscape where it occurs. Modifying the landscape, of course, has ramifications all the way back up the pillar. In addition to this direct demand-result situation, the increase in cars means an increase in CO2 emissions, which then impacts the climate (and in turn, biology, human geography, and all the rest).

A geographer's playbook- now that we've got the pillar concept down, we can think about how changes at the top might change elements near the base (and in turn, everything else).

Hopefully, you're now thinking like a geographer and recognizing the myriad connections between people and place, between us and our environment, between steppes and stock markets.

That, in a nutshell, is regional geography- the style of geography we’re most interested in and the style that’s most applicable to this type of project. There are, however, a few other approaches to geography that we should briefly mention. Thematic geographers focus on one particular aspect of geography. For instance, one might specialize in political geography, watershed management, economic geography, or geomorphology. What makes a political geographer differ from a political scientist, or an economic geographer differ from a pure economist is that the geographers still examine their chosen specialty within a spatial context and focus on the relationships between that specialty and the other geographic factors we’ve discussed. One of our favorite thematic geographers is Thomas P.M. Barnett, the author of The Pentagon’s New Map and Blueprint for Action. We don’t always agree with his ideas, but we love his approach. Barnett is a strategic analyst who’s worked at the Pentagon and the Naval War College. Somewhere along the line, he’s learned to think like a geographer. He examines war within the context of everything else, as opposed to looking at war as an independent entity. He knows how to connect the dots. If, perhaps, there were more people like him at the Pentagon and in the current administration, things in Iraq and Afghanistan may have gone a little differently. Geographers as policy makers? Just a thought…

Tom Barnett's "New Map." We often find ourselves at odds with his ideas, but we love how he comes up with them. He might not even know it, but he is a thematic geographer specializing in geopolitics. He takes war and places it within the context of everything else. Most analysts (at least according to Barnett) don't do that- they look at war as an independent entity. They are simply analysts- Barnett is a geographer.

And finally, no discussion on geography is complete without mentioning mapping. We all love maps. We buy them, we stare at them, we cuddle them, we study them, and some of us even make them. Cartographers have been around for centuries; once upon a time, they even held prestigious public offices. For instance, Amerigo Vespucci, for whom our lovely continent (and the equally lovely one to our south) is named, once held the noteworthy post of official Vatican cartographer. We’re not sure if that gave him rights to the Popemobile, but it would’ve been a cool job either way. Nowadays, most mapping is of the digital variety. Cartographers have put away their pens and popped open their laptops. GIS (Geographic Information Systems) has become so hip that many assume that’s all we do as geographers- punch away at ArcMap or fiddle with Google Earth. It’s all a bit of a misconception, but it’s certainly a legitimate one. You’re not really considered much of a geographer anymore unless you can navigate your way around a digital map. It’s a terrifying development for a couple of un-tech-savvy bookworms like us, but we’re doing our best to stay up to date. We’ve even figured out how to get digital maps on the blog. Look at us go!

It's not really our thing, but we've had to learn how to ride the digital map wave too. GIS and digital mapping are the hottest things in geography right now, and you're going to have problems calling yourself a geographer if you haven't familiarized yourself with them.

We’ve posed a lot of questions throughout this tedious exercise. The question that most of you are probably asking at this stage is, “So what’s the point?” We’re not auditioning for jobs at a textbook company (but if someone’s making an offer, we’ll gladly hear you out. You see, we’ve got some pretty hefty bills to work off after this trip…), nor are we trying to bore or confuse any of you to death. Our next post is, we think, going to be one of the most interesting and important we’ve written thus far. But without this lesson preceding it, its relevance might be lost upon many of our readers. Sound might travel four times its normal speed underwater, but without the right mask, your vision won’t allow you to see how the dots connect (dots are hard to hear, even when they’re connecting- it’s much better if you can see them). With this rather lengthy dissertation, we hope we’ve given you an optically correct and snug-fitting geographer’s mask- one that will allow you to see how the dots connect even in environments where the connections aren’t so obvious. Without the “mask,” it would be easy to dismiss coral reefs as irrelevant- cool to look at, fun for divers to explore, but really having no bearing on our everyday lives (we’re not clownfish, after all). But, like all physical environments, reefs have a profound and direct impact on every stage of the pillar, including our terrestrial cultures, economies, and politics. In our next post, we’re going to do our best to tell you about this fascinating new aspect of geography we’ve been exposed to, and we want to make sure we adequately explain how what we’ve seen affects us lung-breathing landlubbers (we wouldn’t want you to think we’ve been slacking on our work while we’ve been off playing Aquaman!). And besides, isn’t it about time we made good on our promise and at least tried to explain what this silly subject is all about?


Alright- masks on, fins on, regs in- let's go check out underwater geography.