Introducing the “Climate Action Task Force”
In response to the current climate crisis, last spring we circulated a petition among various geography listservs requesting that the AAG Council take significant action “to reduce CO2 emissions related to the Annual Meeting.” The petition asked that the “Council do so in a manner commensurate with what the recent (October 2018) Intergovernmental Panel on…
Social Media at #aagDC
We’re getting closer to the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting! Whether you will be attending the meeting all week, for a few days, or looking to follow the action from afar, there are plenty of ways to get involved using social media. Social media is a great way for seasoned conference goers and newcomers alike to…
The Chesapeake Bay: Destruction and Rehabilitation in the Nation’s Largest Estuary
It’s another drizzly day on the Chesapeake, and the boat we are on bobs gently on the opaque, mud-colored water. A crusty old crabber from Tangier Island, by the nickname of Captain Cook (use of nicknames is an old and strong tradition on Tangier), has just dropped a scraper overboard and brought up a bunch…
AAG Names Rita Colwell as the 2019 Honorary Geographer
Rita Colwell (Photo by Sam Kittner) The American Association of Geographers has named Rita Colwell, the first woman to be director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), as its 2019 AAG Honorary Geographer. Rita Colwell currently is a distinguished university professor at the University of Maryland at College Park and at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg…
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center
“I never ran my train off track and I never lost a passenger.” Harriet Tubman was fond of saying this in her later years, but during the 1850s when she was actively escorting enslaved people north to freedom using the Underground Railroad (UGRR) network, she was taking grave risks with her own life and liberty…
The Resilient Streams in the Urban Landscape of Washington, D.C.
The process of urbanization often leads to the alteration of local streams. Such alterations range from complete disappearance of streams by making them flow underground, converting them into canals, loss of their aquatic habitat, and changes in their morphology (Kang and Marston 2006; Kang 2007) . In Washington, many streams and springs have disappeared during the last 200 years…
Stories of Change Hidden in Washington, D.C.’s Alleys
Washington, is known for its monuments, museums, and grand government buildings. It is associated with policy wonks, foreign dignitaries, and political controversy. But it is also a home town for thousands of people who live in its lively neighborhoods. How best to get a glimpse of everyday life for ’s residents, those people living in…
Carla Hayden, 2019 AAG Atlas Awardee, to Speak in D.C.
The American Association of Geographers invites attendees of the 2019 AAG Annual Meeting in Washington, , to join in celebration of Carla Hayden at the AAG Atlas Award Ceremony. Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress, will deliver a keynote address at noon on Friday, April 5, after being presented with the 2019 AAG Atlas Award,…
The National Mall: Making Space for the Dream
On September 24, 2016, thousands gathered on the National Mall to celebrate the grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The building is distinctive: the bronze-meshed ziggurat moves upwards towards the sky and into the light. Inside the new 400,000 square foot museum are some 36,000 artifacts that share truths…
American Indians of Washington, D.C., and the Chesapeake
When Captain John Smith sailed up the Potomac River in 1608, he found 13 American Indian villages along its banks. Spanish incursions beginning in 1521 brought diseases, land grabs, resource destruction, military assaults, and slave raids. Nonetheless, there were several large villages and fortified towns by the time of John Smith’s 1608 visit. At that…
Mid Atlantic Division Team Takes 2018 World Geography Bowl Title
Mid Atlantic Division Team Takes 2018 World Geography Bowl Title. AAG President Derek Alderman (far left) presented the new championship award. The Mid Atlantic Team won first place in the 2018 World Geography Bowl, an annual quiz competition for teams of college-level geography students representing the AAG’s regional divisions. The 2018 event was a milestone,…
Hating Bourbon Street
In this excerpt from this 2014 book Bourbon Street: A History (LSU Press), Tulane geographer Richard Campanella explains the curious cultural phenomenon of hating Bourbon Street—who hates it, why they need you to know they hate it, and what they’re missing when they hate it. Courtesy Places Journal. New Orleans: Place Portraits — Over the next…