Archive for the 'oceans' Category

Big Changes in Ocean Salinity Intensifying Water Cycle

Published on 05/03/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, climate change, hydrology, oceans and peak water. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Satellite image shows the distribution of water vapor over Africa and the Atlantic Ocean on 2 Sept 2010. Retrieved from: www.motherjones.com

“A paper in Science today finds rapidly changing ocean salinities as a result of a warming atmosphere have intensified the global water cycle (evaporation and precipitation) by an incredible 4 percent between 1950 and 2000. That’s twice the rate predicted by models.

These same models have long forecast that dry areas of Earth will become drier and wet areas wetter in a warming climate—an intensification of the water cycle driven mostly by the capacity of warmer air to hold and redistribute more moisture in the form of water vapor.

But the rate of intensification of the global water cycle is happening far faster than imagined: at about 8 percent per degree Celsius of ocean warming since 1950.

At this rate, the authors calculate:

  • The global water cycle will intensify by a whopping 16 percent in a 2°C warmer world
  • The global water cycle will intensify by a frightening 24 percent in a 3°C warmer world”

Read more: Mother Jones

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Help for a Plastic Planet: New Report Focuses on Solutions to Global Plastic Pollution

Published on 04/25/2012 in contaminated water, oceans, peak water and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.alternet.org

“Man-made debris in the oceans is now found from the poles to the equator and from shorelines, estuaries and the sea surface to ocean floor. While the types and absolute quantities vary, it is clear that plastic materials represent the major constituents of this debris, and there is no doubt about the ubiquity of such debris on a truly global scale.

Many conferences and documents on the subject of “Marine Debris,” especially those funded by industry, have been evasive about plastic: the single most destructive and overwhelmingly most common substance of concern in the waste material that washes from our shores to oceans and back onto shores around the globe. The significance of plastics being singled out as the main source of marine debris around the globe is that plastic production continues to increase at a rate of about 9 percent annually and the waste from it is cumulative: “Since most plastic items will not biodegrade in the environment it seems inevitable that quantities of debris will increase over time…” (Andrady 2011).

The second reason for hope is that the report offers real solutions, and a methodology to choose them, in addition to an excellent scientific accounting of the many threats posed by plastic pollution to the environment, wildlife, humans and our economies. The solutions specified in the report take account of the fact that the vast majority of communities around the globe are not able to manage non-biodegradable plastic waste because there is no plastic recycling infrastructure or market, and the volume of plastic waste overwhelms landfill capacity.”

Read more: Alternet

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Japan: Plant Leaks Radioactive Water

Published on 04/06/2012 in contaminated water, nuclear power, oceans and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: .

photo retrieved from: www.novinite.com

“The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says tons of highly radioactive water appear to have leaked into the ocean from a purification unit. The Tokyo Electric Power Company is struggling to keep the melted reactors cool and contain radiation; the leak raises concerns about its ability to keep the plant stable. Similar leaks have occurred several times since last year, and officials say they do not pose an immediate health threat. Workers spotted the leak on Thursday coming from a section of hose on a device used to decontaminate cooling water leaking from reactors. The company said it appeared to have stopped the leak.”

Read more: The New York Times

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EPA Sued Over Pollution Petition

Published on 04/04/2012 in clean water act, contaminated water, oceans, policy and rivers. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.treehugger.com

“Several environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency alleging the agency failed to approve a petition to lower pollution into the Mississippi River Basin and the northern Gulf of Mexico.

The groups claim that excessive nitrogen and phosphorous pollution into these waters have resulted in the largest North American “dead zone.”

Gulf Restoration Network, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, Iowa Environmental Council, Tennessee Clean Water Network, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Sierra Club, Waterkeeper Alliance Inc., Prairie Rivers Network, Kentucky Waterways Alliance Environmental Law & Policy Center, and the Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. filed the lawsuit on March 13 in federal court in New Orleans.

The lawsuit concerns the EPA’s July 29, 2011, denial of a 2008 petition submitted pursuant to the Clean Water Act. The petition asked for revised or new state water quality standards and total maximum loads to address excessive nitrogen and phosphorous pollution in the waters of the Mississippi River Basin and the northern Gulf of Mexico.

According to the lawsuit, the excessive nutrient pollution in the waters causes or contributes to a massive low-oxygen “dead zone” in the Gulf and extensive water quality degradation.”

Read more: Legal Newsline

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Are We Running Out of Water?

Published on 03/19/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, climate change, contaminated water, drought, groundwater, hydrology, lakes, oceans, peak water, rivers, tap water, water shortage and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.nationalgeographic.com

“Early in 2001, the Rio Grande River failed to reach the Gulf of Mexico for the first time.

With that nefarious event the Rio Grande joined a growing list of once-mighty rivers that are running dry from overuse:  the Colorado River in the U.S., the Yaqui in Mexico, the Indus in Pakistan, the Ganges in Bangladesh, the Yellow and Tarim in China, and the Murray in Australia, along with many other rivers large and small.

Not surprisingly, fisheries in these once-bountiful rivers have crashed.  After all, fish do need water.

We’ve tapped underground water sources pretty heavily as well.  The water level in the Ogallala Aquifer in the Midwestern U.S. has dropped more than 150 feet in some places, leaving many farmers’ wells bone dry.

As water is sucked out of aquifers, the overlying soil and rock can compact or collapse into the dewatered void, causing tall buildings to teeter in Mexico City, automobiles to tumble into sinkholes in Florida, or swallowing tourists on the fringes of the shriveling Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan.”

Read more: National Geographic

 

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Water Wars: The ‘Why’ of Desalination for Santa Cruz County

Published on 03/06/2012 in desalination, drought, greenwashing, hydrology, oceans, policy, tap water and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.tpgonlinedaily.com

“To Desal or not to Desal, that is the question. The Santa Cruz Water Department and the Soquel Creek Water District believe that is the most rational option to ensure an adequate, consistent water supply for the future. They have formed a partnership known as scwd2 to pursue a regional seawater desalination program. A pilot plant at UCSC’s Long Marine lab facility has already addressed the technical issues of seawater intake, brine disposal, and quality of the water produced.

The results of all this testing can be found on the scwd2 website, www.scwd2desal.org along with an explanation of why desalination is considered the best long-term choice for additional supply.

Why is more water needed?

California is subject to droughts. In the late 70’s Santa Cruz County suffered a three-year drought, but there have been documented periods of little rain lasting five years and longer. Without a new and reliable water supply, such protracted dry spells would seriously affect our local economy, environment, and quality of life.

Our tourist economy — which includes hotels and restaurants — would suffer, agricultural income would be hurt, hospitals and schools would be first priority while residents would see their lawns and gardens dry up and shower-sharing would become a necessity, not just recreational.”

Read more: Capitola Soquel Times

 

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Troubled Waters: How Mine Waste Dumping Is Polluting Our Oceans, Rivers, And Lakes

Published on 02/28/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, contaminated water, greenwashing, lakes, mining, oceans, policy, rivers and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: .

Retrieved from: www.nodirtygold.org

“These mine wastes, or tailings, can contain up to three dozen dangerous chemicals, including arsenic, lead, mercury, and cyanide.

Each year, mining companies dump over 180 million tonnes of these hazardous mine wastes into rivers, oceans, and lakes – that’s more than 1.5 times the amount of waste that US cities send to landfills each year.

The Troubled Waters report examines the impacts of ten corporations’ waste dumping practices in water bodies in 11 regions around the world, including those in Papua New Guinea, Turkey, Canada, Indonesia, United States, and Norway.

The report calls on mining companies to stop using our oceans, rivers, and lakes as dumping grounds for their toxic wastes. The report recommends additional steps that must be taken by mining companies to protect people and ecosystems from irresponsible aquatic waste disposal, including dry stacking and backfill, where safe, and adopting measures to produce less waste.”

Read more: no dirty gold

 

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Raiding the Bread Basket: Use and Abuse of the Mississippi River Basin

Published on 01/30/2012 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, contaminated water, invasive species, oceans, rivers, wastewater and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.nationalgeographic.com

“A fleck of phosphorus fertilizer costs a farmer almost nothing. “But that half pinhead per gallon can cost society millions in lost recreational value and cleanup costs,” said Downing, an Iowa State University professor whose water-monitoring group tests 137 Iowa lakes.  “We don’t have lakes that we could point to and say: ‘Here is a pristine lake that has been unimpacted by people.’ ”

You wake up to cereal made from midwestern corn. You slip on cotton clothes, get into a vehicle fueled partly by ethanol and dine later on chicken and rice—all made possible by crops from the Mississippi River Basin, a vast area that stretches from Montana to New York and drains all or parts of 31 states.

The part of the basin east of the Mississippi River largely relies on rain to grow crops; farmers on the west side irrigate much, much more. All told, it’s among the most productive farming regions in the world.

Trouble is, fertilizer that flows from fields (and cities) takes a toll on local waters and eventually reaches the Mississippi River and the economically important fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico, where nitrogen and phosphorus pollution suffocates marine life and has led to a dead zone larger than the state of Connecticut.

What’s Grown

Nearly four out of 10 ears of corn grown in the world come from the Mississippi River watershed. So much corn, soy, and wheat grow here that some communities claim superlatives—Decatur, Illinois, “Soybean Capital of the World;” Sumner County, Kansas, “Wheat Capital of the World;” and Iowa, “Food Capital of the World.” The lion’s share of the country’s corn, grain, livestock, poultry, cotton, sorghum, and soy is grown in the Mississippi basin.”

Read more: National Geographic

 

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EU launches 10m.-euro Gaza desalination project

Published on 12/21/2011 in desalination, oceans, peak water, policy and water shortage. 0 Comments Tags: .

Retrieved from: www.businessweek.com

“The European Union has launched a 10 million euro project to erect a desalination facility over the next three years in Gaza, to combat what the governing body calls “the humanitarian water crisis” in the territory.

Acting EU representative to the West Bank and Gaza, John Gatt-Rutter, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Palestinian Water Authority head Shaddad Attili last week, as well as with members of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility and UNICEF.

The facility, according to the EU, will be a “medium-term intervention” and will provide safe drinking water to approximately 75,000 inhabitants of Khan Yunis and Rafah.

“As the EU has reiterated in the past, the continued policy of closure in Gaza has damaged the natural environment, notably water and other natural resources,” Gatt- Rutter said. “I hope that this intervention can bring real change for some Palestiniansliving under unsustainable conditions in the Strip.”

Attili praised the EU’s decision to provide these funds.

“The facility is one component of a rolling program of interventions designed to tackle Gaza’s acute water problems and save its underground aquifer from imminent collapse,” he said Sunday.

Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan likewise praised the EU’s decision to fund the plant, saying Monday the Israelis have been saying everywhere they want thePalestinians to build it.”

Read more: The Jerusalem Post

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Delta plan faces water problems in a more comprehensive way

Published on 12/13/2011 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, contaminated water, oceans, policy, rivers, tap water, wastewater, water conservation and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Retrieved from: www.ucdavis.edu

“For the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, one common point of agreement is that the estuary – which is critical for water delivery to nearly two-thirds of California – is facing serious challenges that must be addressed.

In 2006, the Bay Delta Conservation Plan was created to establish a process that would bring stakeholders together to forge an agreement on a path forward. This was not simply meant to be a path that led from bureaucratic process to bureaucratic process. It was meant to find a final, long-term solution to our water issues.

The Delta faces numerous stressors, including municipal wastewater and industrial discharges, invasive species, predation, power plant diversions, urban and agricultural runoff, diversions and in-Delta pumping, and ocean conditions, among others. The BDCP is an effort to address these in a more comprehensive way. It is one of the largest habitat conservation and restoration projects of its kind ever undertaken in the United States. In conjunction with ecological restoration, BDCP will also provide a more reliable supply of water to nearly 25 million Californians, as well as millions of acres of highly productive farmland in the San Joaquin Valley.”

Read more: Sacramento Bee

 

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