Imagine an entire county run out of water…
That’s exactly what happened to Pacific island countries of Tuvalu and it’s neighbor Tokelau. Saltwater intrusions have rendered their groundwater undrinkable and the strong La Niña has reduced the amount of precipitation to these countries. Rising sea levels and climate change are at least partially to blame.
Filed under environment, global warming, sustainability, water resources | Tags: climate change, groundwater, sustainability, water resources | Comment (1)Is Science being censored?
Guest post by Blake Wright
Most people think of censoring science as a concept of the past, something only done to protect the church before church and state were separate, however the reality of the situation is censoring still occurs. Perhaps the church no longer has power in the United States, but money does, more specifically, oil money. This censorship focuses on diverting attention from global warming and discrediting scientists who have any facts that may hurt profits and bring public attention to a human impact on global warming. This can be seen back in 2008 as well as in the still ongoing issue with the ‘poster child’ of global warming, the polar bear drownings. However, this problem does not simply stop with global warming, but can be seen with the current issue of ‘fracking’, which has very evident side affects to water and the environment but is still being fought over by regulators and the energy industry.
Filed under environment, global warming, marine life, sustainability, Uncategorized | Tags: global warming, politics, science | Comment (1)Lessons from Easter Island ignored?
Marcus Stephen wrote an Op-Ed piece in today’s NYTimes that his tiny Pacific Island nation, Nauru, may not exist in another century.
Filed under environment, global warming, health, marine life, sustainability | Tags: agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, earth, environment, environmental management, geology, marine life, resources, water resources | Comment (1)Drought situation in the US
Some parts of US (Texas, Arizona, etc.) have been under severe drought for quite some time. See the latest drought monitor. Researchers are now saying that the Southwest is currently undergoing aridification – modification to a desert landscape. This has long-term repercussions to world’s economy.
Filed under crops, energy, environment, global warming, sustainability, water resources | Tags: climate change, drought, environmental management, groundwater, sustainability, water, water resources | Comment (0)Desertification in the US?
Guest blog by Mason Hay and Rachel Richardson
Desertification is the complex process of land that was once productive being degraded. 
It involves multiple causes, including drought, overgrazing, and poor agricultural methods, and it proceeds at varying rates in different climates. Deserts advance with no distinct pattern, forming patches on their borders. Areas far from natural deserts can degrade quickly into barren soil, rock, or sand through poor land management. The presence of a nearby desert has no direct relationship to desertification. Unfortunately, an area undergoing desertification is brought to public attention only after the process is well underway. Scientists are still investigating whether desertification is permanent, or how it can be halted or reversed. Desertification became well known in the 1930′s, when parts of the Great Plains in the United States turned into the “Dust Bowl” as a result of drought and poor practices in farming. During the dust bowl period, millions of people were forced to abandon their farms and livelihoods. The top soil was so degraded that huge dust storms would pop up causing crop destruction and many other serious problems. Greatly improved methods of agriculture and land and water management in the Great Plains have prevented that disaster from recurring, but desertification presently affects millions of people in almost every continent.