General Interest
It is widely accepted that global biodiversity is at risk. While humans are often encouraged to think globally yet act locally, who's watching out for the bigger picture. The answer is in the form of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), which is a function of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is now noted as "the world’s foremost intergovernmental environmental organisation." This site offers up-to-date news and publications about world biodiversity issues as well as providing an incredible array of information on the several projects in which the centre is involved, ranging from habitat to species to protected area issues. The site also offers great Interactive Map Services, which take the visitor through in-depth presentations of topics ranging from Coral Disease to Marine Turtles. [JPM]
http://oha.ci.alexandria.va.us/archaeology/
The Alexandria Archaeology Museum created this website to promote its work with students, volunteers, citizens, and developers "to study and manage archaeological resources important to the community's past and to share this knowledge with both a local and world-wide audience." Subsequent to learning about the Museum's many endeavors to further its cause, users can find intriguing descriptions and view pictures of many of its important collections such as the prehistoric stone tools and artifacts from a 19th century doctor's office. In the Research link, visitors can read artifact stories, bibliographies, oral histories, and materials on the history of the city of Alexandria, Virginia. Students and educators can discover the Museum's many educational activities and adventures. [RME]
http://www.ancientchina.co.uk/menu.html
This excellent interactive site, produced by the British Museum, contains a wealth of information about ancient China. Explorers can follow any of five links that cover major sections of the website, including Crafts and Artisans, Geography, and Tombs and Ancestors. Each section contains historical information in the topical area and Story, Explore and Challenge links. The Challenge links are especially useful for classroom activities. [TAB]
http://dca.tufts.edu/features/bostonstreets/index.html
The Boston Streets Project, developed at Tufts University, combines the use of photographs, maps and city directories to create a digitized online historical atlas of the Boston area. The concept behind Boston Streets is to use metadata and geographical information software to allow access to historical collection material. Among the fascinating material offered at this site are personal stories of people who have lived in Boston, with information about their lives gleaned from the city directories. Other links include Moments (a collection of images of Boston), Places (historical atlases) and Cowpaths, a GIS link that allows one to trace the growth of Boston, which urban myth declares as having streets laid down along cow paths. [TAB]
http://www.canadianeconomy.gc.ca/english/economy/index.cfm
It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's Captain Economy! That's right, at this very comprehensive site devoted to Canada's economy, visitors can ask the little green guy with the cape and dollar sign on his chest for help. In fact, his first feat is to address just what an economy is anyway. The site offers all sorts of statistics about all of the great economic indicators like inflation rate, unemployment rate, exchange rate, etc. Visitors to the site can click on one of the subpages devoted to explaining economic topics such as Key Indicators, Economic Concepts, and Key Economic Events. [JPM]
