After a decade as a geoscientist, I'm still passionate about our planet -- yes, I even hug a tree occasionally. Yet I'm as mortally fallible as anyone, & have to work every day at following the ever-twisting green path. Perhaps we can help each other!
I'm also fascinated by nearly all things science, technology, space, & scifi, so expect some of that too. ;-)
Showing posts with label #waterconservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #waterconservation. Show all posts
I don't know if you've ever stumbled across the Matador Network, but it's one of my favorite travel journalism websites. Matador goes far beyond your standard travel blogging, covering many global and local issues from boots-on-the-ground perspectives.
"6 Environmental Challenges Facing Southeast Asia (and What You Can Do to Help)"
is an excellent example. The piece has both general and specific suggestions, not mere fluff. They even hit upon one of my favorite oft-overlooked problem areas, water scarcity/security. Go check it out!
Wanted to give a heads-up to expect in the coming days a piece about the impacts of transnational trade treaties, their impact on the sustainable "triple bottom line," and finally a bit of their personal impacts.
Some of my favorite Spring Break memories weren't from beach keggers, though -- they were from field trips and volunteer trips.
University of Colorado Boulder has one such program officially instituted: Alternative Break. Spring Break on San Diego's beaches, helping their wildlife refuges? Sign me up!
Most Americans are vaguely aware that the Colorado River is ... mighty. Some of us are even aware it is excellent for rafting as it flows through the Grand Canyon, and on down to some very impressive man-made lakes named Powell, Meade, and Havasu.
Lake Powell near Page, Arizona.
But I'm pretty sure most Americans are not aware that we artificially divert the natural course of the river's entire flow so that Mexico doesn't get a drop of it (save during severe floods, as in a couple of El Nino years). Where the Colorado used to empty into the sea, there was a great delta which would remind many of the Mississippi's. Since 1964, though, the Colorado River Delta hasn't received squat. It dried up, turning into a litter-strewn expanse of sand most often used as a dirt road.
US border at Calexico, CA/Mexicali, MX. Image courtesy
NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS,
and
the U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
As you might imagine, absolutely all the natural flora and fauna that used to inhabit the delta have died or been forced to migrate elsewhere. The people of Mexico are themselves immeasurably poorer due to the denial of this most basic of resources; the disparity it causes is so vast it's visible from space. The NASA image at the right (snapped by the ASTER instrument over a different, but similarly situated border area) uses infrared light to pick out vegetation; it's completely obvious where the border runs just from the drop in the farmed parcels.
For the first time since Morelos Dam was completed, on Sunday the US purposely released a large "pulse" of water through the dam to Mexico for the purpose of reviving the delta. The 34.3 billion gallon event was designed to simulate natural spring floods, and jump-start the delta's revitalization. It's the result of an agreement, called Minute 319, between the eight US states that share the Colorado's water rights, and the US and Mexican government.
The Nature Conservancy has some very cool footage up on YouTube showing the beginning of the event:
New Scientist has excellent full articles on the whole deal, from the Minute 319 agreement itself, to the specifics of the "pulse." NS alwayshas great reads -- so head on over!
As you may have noticed 'round the Twitterz, no less on my feed than others, today is World Water Day.
I would wager that only a vanishing fraction of the public knows that's even a thing ... and now I have to 'fess up: I didn't realize it was either. Which is pretty sad, considering how long I've been a hydrogeologist. I'm glad that this year quite a few major players have been relatively vocal for the observance.
Lower Calf Creek Falls near Escalante, Utah, is a perfect example of how even a small stream can make all the difference to an area.
The Nature Conservancy's interactive web experience, Liquid Courage, is really well done -- it's even fun for non-water-nerds. NASA's Earth Science Division has an excellent video up for the occasion, while World Resources Institute has a totally geo-nerdgasmic tool called Aqueduct Country and River Basin Rankings live on their site (and yes, it's much cooler than that awful name). Not to be outdone, TreeHugger's piece on water scarcity is profoundly frightening. If you aren't already familiar with the work of Water for People, you should be -- and the newish One Drop is also an excellent addition to the arena. NRDC and WWF both have notable nods as well .
I am, however, rather disappointed that NASA seems our only government agency paying attention; EPA, US Geologic Survey, and the Forest Service are all mum about World Water Day, or even the recent Groundwater Awareness Week. Le sigh. I guess these are the sorts of agencies that are closed on Saturdays?
