Geography – studying the Earth’s surface features and related human activity – has a vital place in the 21st century curriculum. The subject helps us to understand our own lives in a “global world” and face vital issues such as climate change, the “war on terror”, water, energy and food security and the eradication of poverty. Geography offers fascinating insights into the way human and physical processes interact. We hear every day that the world is short of space and that human beings are placing greater and greater demands on the Earth and its systems. However, what causes droughts, floods or hurricanes? Are they “natural phenomena” or the result of human activity? Geography gives us the language and techniques to approach these questions with confidence. By studying real people in real places, Geography shows how daily lives are shaped by local circumstances – not only the physical characteristics of the place, but also the social, cultural, economic and political opportunities and constraints. Geography shows how each local place exists in a regional, national, international and global context.