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HAVE you ever wondered what geographers do? Some people think geography is all about the highest mountains, longest rivers, or the capital cities of countries such as Djibouti (hint, it’s Djibouti). While that may be your recollection of what was taught at school, geography is so much more than this.
Geography is the study of how people interact with the features of the surface of the Earth and the planet’s atmosphere and waters, including the similarities and difference between places. Geographers study topics that are of critical importance to
Jason Byrne
modern life, and the chances are that if you can identify a wicked problem, such as traffic congestion, housing affordability, bushfire threats, coastal erosion or how climate change will affect availability of freshwater, you’ll find a geographer working hard to develop appropriate policy responses.
At this point, it is important to distinguish geography from geology. Geology is the study of the physical structures of the Earth (eg rocks, mineral deposits, oil reserves) and how they form (eg earthquakes and volcanoes). Geographers, on the other hand, study landforms (eg mountains or floodplains), landscapes (wine regions, metropolitan areas, cultural areas), vegetation distribution and climates, and the people who live in diverse places (islands versus continental heartlands).
Still a bit confused? Well there is an excellent opportunity to clear things up a bit. The University of Tasmania is hosting the annual conference of the Institute of Australian Geographers next week, from Monday to Saturday. UTAS hosts one of Australia’s oldest geography departments, established in the 1950s. The Institute of Australian Geographers is the peak body representing geographers across Australia — from the academic sphere as well as local government, state government and the private sector. This is the 49th annual conference, and it will have some important flow-on benefits for Hobart and Tasmania.
The theme — Geographies of Emergence, Divergence and Convergence — speaks to many of these issues. The emerging impacts of climate change, diverging responses of different countries and the converging concerns of people across the planet to the threats to their lives and livelihoods are topics addressed in conference sessions.
There will be a public breakfast talk by Associate Professor Janelle Knox-Hayes, an esteemed economic geographer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the world’s top universities. Over breakfast Janelle will be talking about new economies, green finance and protected area management. She will discuss how the knowledge of indigenous peoples can help us better adapt to climate change.
Other esteemed keynote speakers include Professor Jennifer Wolch from the University of California Berkeley (another top university). Professor Wolch is an international expert on homelessness and city planning (and animal