President's Column

Geography and Geographers in a Changing World

November 9, 2022

Photo of wind turbines on a farm by Karsten Wurth for Unsplash

Credit: Karsten Wurth for Unsplash

October and November are AAG Regional Meetings months, and I was preparing to go to my first as AAG President. As is customary, I asked what members would like to hear about, and was offered a number of different but related topics including “anything related to the future of geography and the role of the AAG.” The latter was especially important because a large proportion of the members attending the regional meetings are students — graduate and undergraduate. Instead of choosing a single topic, I integrated the two, and before I knew it, I had committed myself to speaking on Geography and Geographers in a Changing World.

Now, anyone looking at that title would instantly realize that this is not a 40-minute oral presentation; rather, it is the topic of a multi-authored manuscript (for example, this one) suitable for publication in a medium much like the Annals, or an edited book suitable for use in a “History of Modern Geography” class. In fact, a day or so after the presentation I casually googled the topic and found several related titles, including Gilbert White’s Geographers in a Perilously Changing World.

Graduate and undergraduate students in our discipline are trying to put their geographical education and their hopes for jobs into context as they prepare to leave university. They are entering a world that is more interconnected than ever — the speed with which information and misinformation are spread via social media is one example of that connectedness. Another is the reliance on mapping technologies for nearly everything, from finding the fastest route home through traffic to understanding public health trends. Our students face a world in which the economy is unstable, the global political state is tenuous, the climate is changing, and environmental degradation is a perennial problem. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, we have just experienced three years of a pandemic that has fundamentally changed the way we live and work.

Our students are so concerned about these issues that they are wondering how their geographic education is going to help them find jobs as well as answers to these pressing problems. Indeed, they are demanding a truly synthetic geography education that gives them a broad toolkit to tackle the world into which they will graduate. To meet their questions, it is worth reminding ourselves of who we are as geographers, from where we’ve come and to think about where we might be going. And how we fit into today’s world. It helps to take stock of what has happened in context, as we move to the next phase.

Changes in Geography and the AAG

“Change is a constant” is an overused phrase, but it is good to be reminded. Geography has been changing along with the world, very recently as well as over the last few decades. The discipline was once the static study of place concerned with how things are arranged on earth’s surface, with the map being the geographer’s tool. Geography’s quantitative revolution and the technological development of computers in the mid-20th century facilitated the development of geographic information systems (GIS), initially the tool of geographers but now used almost universally where spatial data analysis is needed. GIS, as well as new ways of thinking about things geographical, for example critical (human) geography and critical physical geography, means that geographers can ask different, arguably better, questions, potentially increasing the richness of their answers.

There has also been significant change in the leadership of the AAG, from one where men were far overrepresented, to one where women are more visible and active as leaders. The Association was founded in 1904. Seventeen years later, it elected its first female President. It took another 63 years before the second female president was elected (1984). Now, in the 21st century, a female president has become commonplace, so much so that I am the third female president in the last three years and next year there will be a fourth.

Other evidence of change within the AAG is apparent in the 2023 Annual Meeting theme: Toward More Just Geographies. This theme was chosen “in recognition of the urgency, centrality, and interdependence of equity, inclusion, diversity, and justice within our discipline and in the world” and reflects a core shift within the institution, matching changes that are occurring worldwide. This is not a singular action, but part of a fundamental change in the ways in which we operate. The AAG is now implementing a Council-approved 3-Year JEDI (justice, equity, inclusion and diversity) strategic framework.

The Outlook for Geography (as the Landscape Changes)

The point that I am making is that even with all of the changes that are occurring around us and within our organization, the core geographic ideas will not change. Geography, as in what we do, will change. A perfect example is how GIS has allowed us to ask new questions and to frame pre-existing questions differently, while still focusing on the richness of space moving from the static study of places on maps to the more revealing and arguably more interesting concepts such as the processes underlying the formation and interconnectedness of these places. A present-day working definition of geography is now closer to something like this: Geography examines human (e.g., social, cultural, economic, political) and physical (eg climatological, geomorphological, biogeographical) phenomena within the context of space, that is to say, how their location and their connections to others over space contribute to their characteristics and impacts and to the definition of the others.

The tools of geography are being used by other disciplines, and not just GIS. What I mean is that the interdisciplinary approach to understanding is becoming (or has become) commonplace. The contemporary movement in the social sciences, where I note many geography departments are housed, is towards addressing questions of global interconnection; migration, urbanization; environmental sustainability; climate change and its impacts, among others. There is a movement toward the use of more synthetic approaches to answer these questions. The synthetic approach is embedded in geography as is evident in the working definition that I outlined above and practiced in approaches like critical physical geography (and including critical remote sensing, qualitative GIS).

Finally, the demographic makeup of geographers is changing (or becoming more evident)

I am especially delighted that we see more geographers, representing many more identities: cultural, gender, ability/disability, and ethnic identities bringing with them a greater diversity of experience and knowledge. This expanding diversity means that different points of view are being introduced and incorporated into the body of geography. This can only make for a healthier discipline. There has never been a better time to be a geographer.

Please note: The ideas expressed in the AAG President’s column are not necessarily the views of the AAG as a whole. This column is traditionally a space in which the president may talk about their views or focus during their tenure as president of AAG, or spotlight their areas of professional work. Please feel free to email the president directly at raphael [at] geog [dot] ucla [dot] edu to enable a constructive discussion.

From the Meridian

Taking Responsibility: AAG Acts on Climate Change

November 2, 2022

By Gary Langham

Image of the word ACT spray-painted on cement by Mick Haupt for Unsplash

Image by Mick Haupt for Unsplash

In late 2021, AAG and the Climate Action Task Force asked members to weigh in on our role in responding to climate change. An overwhelming majority — 93 percent! — of responding members called upon us to be a leader on climate change, not only in our public actions but also in every aspect of our operations. Your responses provided us with a mandate for transforming our organization’s policies and practice, as well as helping us ground-truth our efforts so far. We have made tremendous progress in just one year. Let me share the good news.

Bar chart taken from an AAG survey on climate showing actions members would like to see AAG take, the top of which is taking a role in policy and advocacy for climate action. — This bar chart depicts results from a survey of AAG members. Among the 93% who urged AAG to take leadership on climate change, the top suggestion was that AAG take a role in policy and advocacy for climate action.

AAG’s Commitment to Climate Action: Policy and Advocacy

AAG’s increased engagement with policy issues has centered our attention to climate change. Most recently we acted on our unequivocal stance on the climate crisis by mobilizing our membership in support of the Inflation Reduction Act’s passage. In the past three years, we have also taken action to protect access to science, participated in COP26 and the upcoming COP27, and frequently participated in the community of scientists calling for action on the climate crisis, such as the joint statement by International Geographical Societies on the Climate and Biodiversity Emergencies.

AAG’s recent investments in new software and staffing will also help us scale our climate action policy work for maximum effectiveness and help geographers’ voices be heard on the issue of climate change during 2023 and beyond.

Climate-Forward Investments: Divestment from Fossil Fuel

Next to policy and advocacy leadership, divestment was the single most important issue to 3 out of 4 members who responded to AAG’s questionnaire. Over the past three years, this issue was a common topic of discussion, but it seemed impossible to maintain a broad set of indexed funds while meeting the goal. New options became available this year as global interest in ESG investing grows. I am pleased to announce that AAG has now fully divested from fossil fuel holdings and retargeted them to socially just and environmentally friendly options. AAG is now 100% free of fossil-fuel investments.

Smaller Carbon Footprint for Meetings

Despite—or at times because of—the paradigm shift caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, AAG has made many changes over the last three years to address our role in creating less carbon-intensive meetings. From 2020 until now, AAG has renewed its approaches not only to the annual meeting, but to all of our convening activities.

Back in 2019, when AAG responded to member calls for renewed commitment to this issue by forming a Climate Task Force, we first addressed the need to rethink the annual meeting for significantly reduced CO2 emissions. That early work toward this goal in 2019 prepared us for the unexpected challenges of COVID-19. AAG now has adopted a method to estimate carbon emissions from meeting participation, which I summarized in this column last year, and which is described further in our report. We adopted a peer-reviewed method, based on a study of travel patterns to the American Geophysical Union Fall 2019 Meeting, coauthored by AAG member Debbie Hopkins. This method enables AAG to not only estimate past and future emissions to increase transparency, but also to determine whether we are meeting the stated goals of the member petition in 2019. The goal is to reduce emissions from the annual meeting by 45% by 2030 and by 100% by 2050.

Introducing virtual and hybrid options will allow each member to determine how best to participate in future AAG meetings. We are working to make these options available while keeping costs as low as possible. AAG is also experimenting with watch parties and so-called nodes to create additional options for participation. This approach reflects our commitment to ensure that however the meeting is experienced, it is a rich and rewarding one.

Changing how AAG convenes to address the carbon emissions burden of conventional meetings has not always been easy, but it has provided new benefits we did not anticipate, in terms of broader access to events, new modalities for presenting and networking, and less pressure on hosting communities. We continue to learn, innovate, and enhance our offerings in keeping with our commitment to address climate change.

Lower-Carbon Operations and Office Space

Nearly 60 percent of respondents to our questionnaire signaled the importance of increasing the energy efficiency of AAG’s headquarters and operations. In November, AAG will move to a new, LEED-Gold building that provides significant efficiencies over our former headquarters. We are also now a fully hybrid office, promoting remote work and telecommuting for all our staff.

Conclusion

AAG’s work on climate action will never be fully done, nor should it be. There will always be room for improvement and new opportunities to show up for our planet. Yet we have already made remarkable progress. We continue to be responsive and adaptable — not only to the demands of climate change, but also to our members’ ideas, insights, and priorities for the Association. We look forward with excitement to our first hybrid annual meeting, in Denver March 23-27 — another first in our work to provide high-quality programming that also reduces our carbon emissions and energy use. I thank the Climate Action Task Force members for their partnership on this critical issue.

Please continue to send your suggestions for AAG’s approach to addressing climate change to HelloWorld@aag.org.

Please note: The ideas expressed by Executive Director Gary Langham are not necessarily the views of the AAG as a whole. Please feel free to email him at glangham [at] aag [dot] org.

Locational Information and the Public Interest

September 15, 2022

By Becky Pendergast

Ethics and AAG

September 15, 2022

By Becky Pendergast

Advocacy

Tell Your Member of Congress to Support the Climate Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act

September 8, 2022

By AAG Staff

President's Column

Finally, a commitment to mitigate climate change and its effects

September 1, 2022

By Marilyn Raphael

Sign with message, "System change not Climate Change"; Photo by Ma Ti, Unsplash

Credit: Ma Ti, Unsplash

On Wednesday August 10, AAG alerted its U.S. members to urge our representatives to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill that promised the most major investment in climate action that the United States has ever made.  On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed that bill into law. It is being hailed as “the most ambitious climate bill in United States history.” This law has been a long time coming, is different in many ways from the original Build Back Better Bill and has a number of controversial elements that can and should be debated. As its name suggests, it is more broadly focused than climate change but, of relevance to our society is that it provides $369 billion in funding to mitigate climate change and its effects. The Act offers a multi-level approach to solutions, employing both science and technology. Its incentives, on the one hand, are designed to encourage companies to produce more renewable energy; and on the other, the rebates and credits are intended to help individuals to take advantage of these greener energy sources.

What does the Act provide?

An important aspect of this Act is that its provisions target actions that can have rapid results, significant reduction of emissions over a short time period. Princeton’s REPEAT Project’s Preliminary Report suggests that the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act will put the United States on track to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to roughly 40 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, i.e within the next eight years. More concretely, cumulative GHG emissions will be reduced by about 6.3 billion tons over the next decade, i.e through 2032. Such a reduction will have a significant impact on global atmospheric GHG concentrations since the United States is the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, having been outstripped by China in recent years.

Mitigation of climate change depends heavily on the reduction of emissions from fossil fuel-based energy use. However, we need energy to survive in this world that we have constructed. This means that as we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, we must look to alternative energy sources. The Inflation Reduction Act provides support for this transition. Specifically, this Act provides incentives for clean technology manufacturing to deploy more solar, wind, and batteries on the grid, extending existing credits another 10 years. It also provides tax credits for individuals for clean household choices such as heat pumps and solar power, as well as significant tax breaks for purchasing electric vehicles, making electric vehicles more accessible for the middle- and lower-income population. It provides funding for forest resilience, water, and habitat projects, aimed at stemming the loss of important sources of carbon sequestration.

Addressing Environmental Justice

Climate change affects everyone for sure, but it does not affect everyone equally. It bears repeating that low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected. These are people who have contributed very little to the factors that have spurred climate change and do not share in the spoils of industry, but their communities are polluted and depressed by the industries that rely heavily on fossil fuels and they are the most likely to be most adversely affected by climate change impacts. Any action to mitigate the effects of climate change must offer solutions that are centered on the needs of these communities, and they must involve the communities in creating these solutions. The Inflation Reduction Act provides billions for environmental justice actions, including $27 billion for a new Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to support clean projects in low-income communities and communities of color that are hardest hit by climate change; plus, a new $3 billion block grant program for neighborhood access and equity for community groups, tribes, and local or state governments; and $3 billion directed toward reconnecting communities that were divided by highways. However, the Act contains compromises that may result in worsening of the conditions under which racially and economically disadvantaged communities currently live, thereby negating its potentially positive aspects.

Is this Act sufficient?

With good reason, a question being hotly debated is — Is the Act sufficient? Clearly, it isn’t. First, its potential impact on GHG emissions (40% reduction) while significant and desirable falls short of the President’s 2021 pledge of a 50% reduction over 2005 levels by 2030. Second, and not necessarily secondary in importance, the Act contains compromises that weaken the potential of its environmental justice actions. This Act, while not perfect, is a start. It represents a significant commitment of resources from the government, and an opportunity for action.

The path of climate change mitigation is long and complex. We did not wake up overnight to find that the climate has changed. No: by our actions, we (noting that this “we” does not include the communities that have contributed little to climate change) systematically set the agents of climate change into motion over a long period of time and the damage is severe. But all is not lost. We have the technology, the resources and the will to slow that change and give us a chance to develop some resilience. However, it is going to take time and it will involve a variety of approaches.

This Act provides resources for us to do some of that work and gives us at least a start. We now must make sure that those aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act that address the mitigation of climate change and its effects are activated. And it is of paramount importance that we seek any opportunity to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable and the worst affected among us are addressed, and that their contributions form part of the solutions. The work of climate justice is not done. The momentum that we will inevitably gain from those actions can be used to agitate/advocate for more efforts to combat climate change. Forty percent reduction is a good start, but further reduction is needed.

One last word

Transitioning from fossil fuel energy to green energy sources facilitated by the Inflation Reduction Act will reduce GHG emission no question, but it will not solve all of our environmental problems, including that of climate change. Ultimately, in order to reduce our environmental impact, we have to reduce our dependence on energy. Here is where the triplet — Reduce, Reuse, Recycle — becomes relevant. We pay a lot of attention to Recycle, and we should. Reduce and Reuse get short shrift by comparison. I would argue that we should first pay attention to Reduce, there is a good reason why it is the first word of the triplet. We should consider how much we consume in order to determine what changes we have to make individually and then devise ways in which we can act to reduce our dependence on materials that require energy use for production.

DOI: 10.14433/2017.0117

Chaz Olloqui

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Geography: Geographic Information Science (San Diego State University)

The following profile was compiled by Jessica Embury (San Diego State University) for the Encoding Geography initiative. To learn more, visit: http://www.ncrge.org/encoding-geography/

Please describe your job, employer, and the primary tasks you perform in your position.

I am a GIS Specialist at the City of Oceanside Water Utilities Department. I am directly responsible for coordinating the collection of data among various departments and teams and managing the data collected. I often automate tedious tasks in order to build efficient workflows and processes for the collection of data and presentation of information.

What is your educational background? How did you initially discover geocomputation and why did you ultimately choose a career that uses geography and computer science?

I chose to pursue an education in GIS because I was interested in making a positive change in our natural environment. I had aimed to leverage GIS to strengthen my environmental studies and I had come to realize that it was extremely important to have a technical skill set. It was not enough to know how to make maps and I began to learn python coding. This is when I realized the importance of data design and I expanded my toolset by learning SQL. These skills could be applied to many different fields of study, and I utilize them daily in local government.

When thinking about geography, what specific background knowledge and conceptual ideas are important and useful to know?

Knowing the fundamentals of Geographic and Projected coordinate systems can be useful when handling data. This is a foundational GIS concept but can be more complex than some GIS professionals would like to admit.

When thinking about computer science, what specific background knowledge and conceptual ideas are important and useful to know?

Data design is key. The correct data types must be considered when attempting to integrate computer science with GIS programs like Esri software.

What procedural knowledge is important and useful to know, from either geography or computer science?

Data cleanliness is important and having standard operating procedures for the collection of that data can make the difference between having reliable or unreliable data.

What is an example of a social, economic, environmental, or other issue that you have recently investigated in a project at work?

I assisted the Homeless Outreach Team in developing a survey application to better identify homeless individuals who are qualified for assistance programs. The surveys are submitted to a database and have auto-calculated fields using SQL triggers to help create more usable and robust datasets so that decision makers are more informed.

What types of questions did you ask and think about in your project?

I was interested in identifying hot spots of homelessness within the city and why those areas are as such. Temporal scales were considered when designing the dataset in order to have a better snapshot of the current situation. Surveys older than six months are archived using scheduled scripts. Analysis of regional interconnectedness is ongoing, and many questions are beginning to arise, both geographically and programmatically.

What types of data did you acquire to support your project? If possible, please identify up to three datasets you utilize most.

We utilized zoning datasets to identify responsible agencies that are required to respond to homeless activity. Districting datasets were also utilized to assign volunteers to regions of the city with more homelessness during the homeless point-in-time count.

What types of content knowledge and skills did you use to evaluate, process, and analyze the data you gathered for your project?

While analyzing the survey data, it was imperative that null and ‘declined’ values were accounted for to not skew the statistics. The data, or lack thereof, had to be presented succinctly.

How did you apply geography and computer science to communicate the results of your project?

I created an Esri Dashboard for the Homeless Outreach Team to view the live data collected in the field, which allows supervisors to observe homeless statistics and track their team’s progress.

Reflecting on your work, how does it align with your personal values and your community or civic interests?

I want to do everything I can to make my community better. I believe I have the power to influence change when leveraging my GIS skills and can apply my geographic and computational expertise to a multitude of different issues.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. 2031418, 2031407, and 2031380 (Collaborative Research: Encoding Geography – Scaling up an RPP to achieve inclusive geocomputational education). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation

See All Profiles

Advocacy

AAG Call for Executive Action on Climate Change

July 11, 2022

By AAG Staff

Stories

Member Profile: Phoebe Lind

June 23, 2022

By Eddie McInerney

As a dancer and a geographer, Phoebe Lind’s career has been shaped by space and place. Most recently, her work as an enumerator for the U.S. Census Bureau, as a redistricting consultant for the Cook County Board, and as a recent graduate with a Masters degree in Geography and Environmental Sciences from Northeastern Illinois University, Lind has investigated the spatial relationship between environmental hazards and minority communities, and how they collectively inform the redistricting process.

I‘ve always really enjoyed the science behind maps: how they’re made, how projections work, the way that they can be incredibly insightful to spatial trends of where problems exist in the world.

“I think I changed career paths because the world really needs people studying environmental issues, learning how to sufficiently use this amazing GIS technology that we have today, to start to fix all kinds of complicated problems that we are dealing with.” Lind earned her bachelor’s degree in Dance before deciding to pursue a Masters at NEIU.

Lind’s academic research was inspired by a nationwide study that correlates the locations and traits of congressional districts relative to minority populations and Superfund sites. She decided to try to replicate the study herself, “or maybe develop a modified set of methods that could allow for this same study to be done on a county wide or similar scale, like a state or a city,” Lind explains, emphasizing the importance of scale. Lind’s own connection to the space she was studying—Cook County, where she lives—became clear as she moved through her research. “The reality for me is that I just have so much information on Cook County. And so much expertise on this redistricting process, because I did it. I did the redistricting process for this round of redistricting. I was an enumerator. I got to collect the data.”

Phoebe Lind's map showing Black and Latino population locations in Cook County, Illinois

Working on the ground as an enumerator in Cook County during the beleaguered 2020 census did a great deal to inform how she carried out her research. “I had no idea what that job would be like, and it felt like a historic opportunity to kind of jump in and see how the process went. I feel really lucky to have been the one helping. This is important demographic and population data for the country…and then being able to see the other side of that and having input on the redistricting process…it felt like a very important job.”

Are enough geographers in the room during the redistricting process? Lind thinks not. While processes differ from state to state, more geographers are needed everywhere to discuss the factors at play and help drive insights. “I think the redistricting process would benefit from more GIS data analysts, and geographers. Politicians may be great at what they do, but they could be missing a lot of things that matter in the redistricting process. GIS is great at pointing those things that seem invisible until you put the table of data on a map and point it out to them saying, ‘this is the data and this is what it looks like spatially.’”

When asked what she’ll do now that she has received her masters degree, she smiles. “I have a very nice problem where I’m interested in lots of different ways that I can use GIS…but since working with Cook County data, election data and election mapping have also been super interesting…I’m thinking I might want to go a little further with the study [I initiated], to see what I can change, what methods I can tweak. Maybe I can add onto it…because I think it has potential to grow a lot. But that’ll probably serve as kind of a side project to whatever job I end up doing, so the future is a little bit unknown. I’m pretty much just excited about GIS.”

Find out more about AAG’s initiatives toward Geography for Inclusion

Learn about AAG’s advocacy for Geography for Inclusion