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The Thirsty Dragon: The Iron Dust Bowl & The Great Green Wall
June 3rd, 2008
Via Walrus Magazine, a starting look at the Chinese Dust Bowl, probably the largest conversion of productive land into sand anywhere in the world. As the article notes: “…Deserts cover 18 percent of China today. Of those, 78 percent are natural, while 22 percent were created by humans. Almost all of them lie along the […]
Read more »Water: Oil of this Century (2)
June 3rd, 2008
Via The Christian Science Monitor, an interesting report on whether water – as Dow Chemical Chairman Andrew Liveris told the World Economic Forum in February – “is the oil of this century.†As the article notes: “…Cyprus will ferry water from Greece this summer. Australian cities are buying water from that nation’s farmers and building […]
Read more »Southern Spain: Battles Over Water
June 3rd, 2008
As recently reported in The International Herald Tribune, southern Europe continues to face a worsening water situation. As the article notes: “…Spurred on by global warming and poorly planned development, swaths of southeast Spain are steadily turning into desert. This year in Murcia farmers are fighting developers over water rights. They are fighting each other […]
Read more »Peak Water
June 1st, 2008
Via Wired, an alarming look at the concept of peak water, the point at which the renewable supply is forever outstripped by unquenchable demand. As the report notes: “…the scarcity of freshwater is no longer a problem restricted to poor countries. Shortages are reaching crisis proportions in even the most highly developed regions, and they’re […]
Read more »Tribal Water Rights: Another Jurisdiction/Claim to Consider
June 1st, 2008
Via The Press-Enterprise, an interesting look at how Indian tribal claims may add to the complexity of water sharing discussions going forward. As the report notes: “…On the edge of a dirt road, Anthony Madrigal Jr. peers over the same sage-covered, boulder-strewn land that his Cahuilla ancestors have lived on for thousands of years. But […]
Read more »Mexico and Colorado River: Prospects For Cooperation Drying Up
June 1st, 2008
Via The Los Angeles Times, an interesting look at the impact of the Colorado River’s increasingly meager flow into northern Mexico has upon millions who depend on it. As the article notes: “…As U.S. scientists warn of a semi-permanent drought along the taxed river by midcentury, Mexico today offers a glimpse of what dry times […]
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