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Water – a useful resource for exploration of the moon.
the web address for this article is |
28.03.2003 |
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| water conflicts—rivers and aquifers
the web address for this article is |
23.03.2003 |
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Rough
executive summary related material the web address for this article is |
05.03.2003 related material |
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| improving
life in backward areas—conservation of water in india
All that is necessary for the triumph of sense is that good people do something!
Other examples can be found at the Ostrom link in this item. Compare also with this item. related material the web address for this article is |
31.01.2003 related material |
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| bringing attention to increasing pressure on fresh water supplies related material
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09.01.2003 related material |
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| water poverty index [991kb] A suggested method for assessing water availability over time, in order to enable better water management. [Note: a ‘touchy’ PDF file. Use the thumbnail facility to ensure each page is downloaded.] related material the web address for this article is |
20.12.2002 related material |
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| running out of oil? no problem we'll mine texan water next
And then what?
Here is a outline map of the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest aquifers in the world. The article is an excellent, if sketchy, write up. Well worth reading for context.
A major problem with irrigation is bringing salts to the surface, which then poison the land. This process is cited as a cause for the fall of civilisations, particularly in the Middle East. Another problem (which I do not think applies to the Ogallalo) can be that sea water ingresses to some aquifers if the level in the aquifer is drawn down below sea level, thus aggravating salting problems. The Ogallala Aquifer has, so far, been drawn down a hundred feet (about 30 metres) and continues to be drawn down at a rate of about 1.75 feet (about half a metre) a year. At the same time, the aquifer is refilling at a rate of about one inch (2.5 cm) a year. To add to the problems, Texas is experiencing increasing conditions of drought. Area and population of Texas UK the web address for this article is |
18.12.2002 |
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| the world’s ice melting? let’s go and have a look
The Icesat satellite also measures the height of clouds.
the web address for this article is |
18.12.2002 | ||
| the importance of managing water resources
the web address for this article is |
15.12.2002 |
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| growing water shortages—looking for solutions and profit
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15.12.2002
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12.12.2002 | ||
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Light but long item on growing water problems in the USA. I would expect US fresh water scarcity to be cured by technology, American riches and effort, but this article reviews some difficulties which would apply to less wealthy countries. The USA is currently undergoing unusual drought conditions: related material
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09.08.2002 related material also |
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Do not take your environment for granted. Societies have, in fact, collapsed from exhausting their environment. See the Cyber-Anasazi section in this article. (Would any reader with useful references on the collapse of other societies because of environmental degradation, including any useful books on this subject, please inform me.) [Atlantic Monthly, Apr. 2002] wildfires
are a symptom of a bigger problem – drought and
the resultant cost in fires....
“What an extraordinary episode in the economic progress of man that age was which came to an end in August 1914! The greater part of the population, it is true, worked hard and lived at a low standard of comfort, yet were, to all appearances, reasonably contented with this lot. But escape was possible, for any man of capacity or character at all exceeding the average, into the middle and upper classes, for whom life offered, at a low cost and with the least trouble, conveniences, comforts, and amenities beyond the compass of the richest and most powerful monarchs of other ages. The inhabitant of London could order by telephone, sipping his morning tea in bed, the various products of the whole earth, in such quantity as he might see fit, and reasonably expect their early delivery upon his doorstep; he could at the same moment and by the same means adventure his wealth in the natural resources and new enterprises of any quarter of the world, and share, without exertion or even trouble, in their prospective fruits and advantages; or he could decide to couple the security of his fortunes with the good faith of the townspeople of any substantial municipality in any continent that fancy or information might recommend. He could secure forthwith, if he wished it, cheap and comfortable means of transit to any country or climate without passport or other formality, could despatch his servant to the neighbouring office of a bank for such supply of the precious metals as might seem convenient, and could then proceed abroad to foreign quarters, without knowledge of their religion, language, or customs, bearing coined wealth upon his person, and would consider himself greatly aggrieved and much surprised at the least interference. But, most important of all, he regarded this state of affairs as normal, certain, and permanent, except in the direction of further improvement, and any deviation from it as aberrant, scandalous, and avoidable. The projects and politics of militarism and imperialism, of racial and cultural rivalries, of monopolies, restrictions, and exclusion, which were to play the serpent to this paradise, were little more than the amusements of his daily newspaper, and appeared to exercise almost no influence at all on the ordinary course of social and economic life, the internationalisation of which was nearly complete in practice.” and .... “In short, Europe’s claim on the resources of the New World was becoming precarious; the law of diminishing returns was at last reasserting itself, and was making it necessary year by year for Europe to offer a greater quantity of other commodities to obtain the same amount of bread; and Europe, therefore, could by no means afford the disorganisation of any of her principal sources of supply.“Much else might be said in an attempt to portray the economic peculiarities of the Europe of 1914. I have selected for emphasis the three or four greatest factors of instability—the instability of an excessive population dependent for its livelihood on a complicated and artificial organisation, the psychological instability of the labouring and capitalist classes, and the instability of Europe’s claim, coupled with the completeness of her dependence, on the food supplies of the New World. “The war had so shaken this system as to endanger the life of Europe
altogether. A great part of the continent was sick and dying; its population
was greatly in excess of the numbers for which a livelihood was available;
its organisation was destroyed, its transport system ruptured, and its
food supplies terribly impaired.”
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15.07.02
related material Freshwater (PDF 1.1 MB) Coastal and marine areas (PDF 0.6 MB) |
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© abelard, 2002, 1 november the address for this document is https://www.abelard.org/news/archive-water1.htm variable words |
