Rapid population growth and industrialization have exacted huge tolls on the Yangtze. The natural forest cover has fallen by two-thirds over the past 50 years, and resulted in the slippage of over 680 million tons of mud into the river. Coca-Cola and the WWF are trying to reverse this disturbing trend.
To the tourists who have a bit too much fun in A’dam and feel a little leak won’t harm anything, I beg you: the waste disposal methods of the 17th century are past us: think about those who have a problem with balance!
Before the GRI Conference began on Wednesday, the City of Amsterdam invited us to spend the morning on a canal tour of the city. The Netherlands is quite vested in reversing the role that climate is having on our planet–most of the country lies below sea level.
If you want an idea of how water will become volatile issue during this coming century, take a look at the Aral Sea. Once the fourth largest lake in the world, the lake is now a mere 10% sad shadow of its former self.
Much has been made of the San Joaquin Valley’s water problems. Too many farms did not get the water they needed, which destroyed their owners’ and workers’ livelihoods. Of course, there is plenty of water underground; the problem is that it has been poisoned with toxins such as selenium, boron, and other mineral salts. Much [...]
Armenia is not an easy place to live. Landlocked, isolated, and surrounded by either hostile or unstable neighbors (Armenia’s southern border with Iran is its most reliable lifeline), Armenia struggled after gaining independence from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Earlier this decade, Armenia sported one of the highest growth rates in the [...]
Wow. Two weeks ago I posted a short film I did with Patrick Benson on LA’s tenuous relationship with water. And as I often do weekly, I posted the link to most of the LinkedIn groups to which I belong. From a bird’s eye view, the results were interesting: I think few actually watched the [...]
It has been my pleasure to work on this article with Soledad Obregon, a graduate student at the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires (Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires, or ITBA). This article will be in Spanish and English, and to honor the success that the ITBA group had in Corrientes, Argentina, this article will be [...]
Los Angeles and water sure have a sordid history together. Of course there’s the 1974 movie, Chinatown, that sums up the backroom deals and violence that worked to bring water to a thirsty and ambitious Southern California. Now we are on the verge of another chapter in the “water wars,” as years of drought, increasing [...]
This Monday I attended a talk that Dr. Richard Bernard gave at the California Endowment. Dr. Bernard is a consultant at Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates, a public opinion firm based in Santa Monica that has worked on many high-profile campaigns in California. During his 90 minute discussion, he spoke about the political climate in [...]
Last week’s rains reminded me of the fragility of our water supply in Southern California. While the rain is always welcome for its clearing of the air and the resulting soft green carpets that cover Los Angeles, I cannot help but wonder where all that precious water is going. Most of us are concerned over [...]
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