South American Economic Gem: Chile and its Mines

With the juxtaposition of deep water trenches to the west and the Andes mountains on the east, Chile is one of the most geographically and geologically enigmatic places in South America. Spanning nearly 40 degrees of latitude, the country is ten times longer than its widest east to west point. What really makes it shine is its rare display of economic prowess outside of North America and Europe, oil powers like Equatorial Guinea excepted. Chile has forged strong foreign ties all over the earth strengthening its status as a South American economic gem. I myself contribute to its economy through frequent purchases of Chilean wine!

This success is related to its natural resources and ability to mine, process export and responsibly trade. Chile is truly the copper capital of the world, producing about a third of the earth's copper. Just more than a month ago, the world saw some of the forgotten costs of mining when a mine collapsed in Copiapó trapping 33 miners. Those miners remain trapped and it could be months before they are rescued. Today I learned that the mining company that owns the San Jose gold and copper mine is filing papers for bankruptcy. Let's hope the actions of the owners are not as sinister as they appear.

US news agencies widely reports the location of the San Jose mine as "north of Copiapó" or in "northern Chile". I wanted to see what a large gold and copper mine looked like from above. My first search on Google Earth was fruitless but falling back on the good old Google search engine I was able to find the location of the mine at GoGeometry.

The first image is a close up of the San Jose mine. The second shows its location relative to the City of Copiapó.



I find it interesting that the mine, which extracts tons of resources from inside the earth, resembles a scar on the earth's crust.



This isn't Chile's first experience with a long-term rescue. The Associated Press published a great story on survivors of the 1972 plane crash in the Andes carrying the Uruguay rugby team speaking to the trapped miners. While the circumstances are quite different, I think that hearing from someone who has been through such a strenuous ordeal will help.

Where in the World is the Mosque Near Ground-Zero?

In the last two weeks the "Ground-zero mosque" aka the "cultural center near ground-zero" has grown into one of the most divisive topics on American news shows in recent memory.

Before we get into my commentary, lets get to the point (and the fun part) of this post and take a gander at the area in question in this Google image of the week, the area around ground-zero in New York.

You can navigate to this site by searching the following coordinates 40°42'46"N 74°00'36"W

It's clearly not AT ground zero but it certainly is close and considering the circumstances opposition is certainly understood.

I, like most, support the first amendment, protecting freedom of religion. I appreciate the argument that a mosque should not be built "at ground zero" but do not approve of the fear-mongering hate speech tactics being used by some.

What has become almost as big a story as the debate on the mosque is the discussion about the naming conventions of this story as highlighted in this NPR blog.

The blogosphere is all over this controvery, here is one example opposed to the mosque. Notice all the American flags plastered across the site - purposefully sending the message that to be for the development is somehow anti-American. There are also several images from 9-11. This does not have anything to do with honor for the site or the tragedy but a deliberate attempt to tie main stream Islam to the atrocities of the extremists. John Wayne Gacy's acts should not represent the beliefs of the Catholic community. Just like the actions of pro-life terrorist bombers should not be representative of all pro-lifers.

I do believe that some of those opposed to the development jumped on the opportunity to trick the public into thinking that this mosque was in the footprint of the WTC and I think it's an attempt to feed the perception of the uneducated that Obama is a Muslim. The same uneducated probably don't understand we're not the United States of Christianity.

Here's an interesting excerpt from the Israpundit blog - "If the ground zero mosque is tied to terror regimes and groups financially or otherwise, and we know that it is..." What a good looking argument "and we know that it is". Geesh.

The inability to separate the world's Muslim community from Muslim extremists is disheartening. However, just as it is their right to practice their religion in the shadow of the worst domestic terrorist attacks, everyone has the right to voice their opposition. Another reason, this country IS so great.

Cracked.com has an fascinating opposition piece to those opposing the mosque/cultural center. Click here to read the article.

It's a fascinating debate and while I fall on the pro side of the argument I do enjoy hearing intelligent points on the other side of the debate. I'd encourage you to leave a comment with your thoughts on the issue - regardless of your opinion!

I'd like to end this somewhat serious post with a little light hearted "news". I see Jon Stewart as the balance to Fox news as Fox sees itself as a balance to the "drive-by media".

Enjoy!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Recap - Week of 8/10/10
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Thanks to the Geography Lady for the inspiration!

African Renaissance and Intellectual Property

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade is an interesting guy. Under his presidency the country has experienced economic expansion and remained an example of a relatively successful democracy in Africa. Interesting men have interesting ideas. Wade's biggest idea (physically) has turned into reality and is shown in this weeks image of the week. The African Renaissance statue in Dakar, Senegal. It can be seen in the center of the image to the right or at the coordinates 14°43'19" N 17°29'41" W.

Despite an expanding economy, Wade has come under serious fire for the monument. At a cost of more than $27 million, many Senegalese are questioning the investment when many infrastructure and public works projects are needed- and already being heavily subsidized by the USA by the way (the infrastructure projects that is). This has caused many to question Wade's motives, particularly because he is claiming the idea as intellectual property as well as 35% of proceeds related to the statue. You read that correctly. Because he envisioned the statue, had a foreigner design it and North Koreans build it, he thinks he should be entitled to 35% of any future income it generates. The corruption is mind boggling. The fact that Jesse Jackson spoke at the opening speaks to his excellent judgement. This non-sense has become all too common in African politics. Even the design itself has been seriously criticized. It certainly doesn't look like any African family I've seen.

Political considerations aside, the statue is a wonder and while arguably inappropriate, I think, quite beautiful. Near the eastern edge of the continent it certainly exudes a sense of strength and pride. While it may be years before the statue brings an additional 27 million dollars of tourism dollars (especially after Wade's cut of the money), its something I'd really like to see some day. Just a few months ago I was less than a mile away from the statue but it was dark and I was on the wrong side of the plane. Next time! If you've seen the African Renaissance statue in person I'd love to hear your account.

I started thinking about this post after the team at the geographic travels blog did a piece on the twenty tallest statues in the world. Despite being taller than the Statue of Liberty, the African Renaissance is not even in the top twenty. There are certainly some large statues out there. Go check 'em out!

Google Earth Image of the Week - July 19

I use Google Earth every single day. Its ever-changing wealth of information is intriguing and captivating. Today I'm launching the first weekly blog feature I've ever done, the Google Earth Image of the Week. Check back each Monday for a new image and discussion from around the world.

Today's image comes from a place I have been thinking (and talking) about a lot lately, Somaliland.



The highlighted area shows the location of a MiG jet in Freedom Square, Hargeisa. I know Somalia used its Air Force to bomb Hargeisa and areas of Somaliland, but I haven't found anything definitively identifying the jet in Freedom Square as a Somali jet shot down during the Civil War- which seems to be the most widely accepted rumor. If anyone has any info on the origins of the jet in Hargeisa, I'd appreciate you letting me know.

For reference, you can locate this area in Google Earth at 9° 33'41" N, 44° 3'55" E. Also for your reference (and my own) you can type the degrees symbol on a windows based computer by holding the alt key and typing 0176.