title: Geodesic buffering in python
body: <p>Given land polygons as a <a href="https://pypi.python.org/pypi/Shapely" rel="noreferrer">Shapely</a> <code>MultiPolygon</code>, I want to find the (Multi-)Polygon that represents the e.g. 12 nautical mile buffer around the coastlines.</p>
  
  <p>Using the Shapely <code>buffer</code> method does not work since it uses euclidean calculations.</p>
  
  <p>Can somebody tell me how to calculate geodesic buffers in python?</p>