Water23

water – our most precious resource

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Whales Face a New Threat

First harpoons, now sunburn. “With the landless gull, that at sunset folds her wings and is rocked to sleep between billows; so at nightfall, the Nantucketer, out of sight of land, furls his sails, and lays him to his rest, while under his very pillow rush herds of walruses and whales.” — from the novel [...]

Watered Down Climate Conference

In New England, December heralds the arrival of winter and lots of activity preparing for the holiday season. The television blares out a stream of commercials about Christmas gift ideas. Chevy Chase’s laugh inducing antics as Clark Griswold, the hapless holiday romantic in the movie Christmas Vacation seems to saturate the television airwaves. Competing with [...]

Water: Blue Gold in the 21st Century

This summer I read an interesting book Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water. I have to say I found the book a little disquieting as I learned more about the environmental, economic, and political issues arising as corporations rush to privatize water resources. The authors argue that access [...]

California’s Water Crisis

This past spring and summer were unusually wet in the New England region. Heavy rainfalls in June put a damper on the beginning of summer trips to the beach. In fact, many farmers in the area were worried that their crops would be ruined by too much rain. While New England experienced torrents of rain, [...]

Whales Face a New Threat

Posted by John on November 12th, 2010

First harpoons, now sunburn.

“With the landless gull, that at sunset folds her wings and is rocked to sleep between billows; so at nightfall, the Nantucketer, out of sight of land, furls his sails, and lays him to his rest, while under his very pillow rush herds of walruses and whales.” — from the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Motif at the Nantucket Whaling Museum

Whaling once played a prominent role in American history. American whaling commenced in the 17th century and was spurred on by the demand for whale oil for illuminating lamps and products such as candles. During the “Golden Age of Whaling” which started after the War of 1812, the island of Nantucket and port of New Bedford, Massachusetts dominated this industry and became centers of wealth. By 1850 New Bedford became the wealthiest city per capital in the country due to profits from whale oil and baleen. This continued until the petrochemical industry displaced the need for whale oil in the late 19th century.

However, the hunting of majestic whales was not to abate. Modern whalers with advanced technology were able to harvest whales in such numbers that the catches exceeded the carrying capacity of many whale populations. In the late 1930s over 50,000 whales were killed. This tragic harvest was principally to use the whale for food.

The dwindling number of whales lead to international action to protect whales. The International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established in 1946 and has been important in regulating whale harvesting. In 1986 the IWC adopted a moratorium on whaling. Commercial whaling has been largely curtailed, but some indigenous populations and countries, including Iceland, Norway, and Japan continue to harvest a quota of whales. Environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have focused public attention on whaling in an ongoing campaign to end whaling.

Humpback whales (Credit: NOAA)

If it isn’t bad enough that whales must dodge harpoons, recent findings show that ozone-depletion is exposing whales to harmful ultraviolet radiation. Research shows that whales are now suffering from sunburn, leading to blistered skin and possible long-term health problems, including cancer.

Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World

New England Fall Fishing

Posted by John on October 13th, 2010

: Fishing at Watch Hill, RI

After Labor Day the beaches along the south coast become quieter and it’s much easier finding parking. The fall air is crisper and the skies are a deep blue. As the summer tourists leave to return to school and jobs, a new influx occurs. Rather than suntan oil or beach blankets, these visitors are carrying fishing tackle in search of migrating bluefish and stripers.

These fishermen are obsessed in their quest to land a prize fish. Morning, noon or night — rocky jetties and sandy stretches will contain fishers participating in this fall ritual. When the fishing is slow, fishermen will swap tales and fishing tips. Suddenly, a placid coastline can be transformed into a frenzied scene as circling birds indicate schools of blues and stripers in pursuit of baitfish. A lone fishermen will soon find himself surrounded by others as the rhythm of cast, retrieve, cast heats up. The excitement can reach fever pitch when one fishermen, then another hooks into a sleek bluefish or regal striper. Just as suddenly the fishing can cool off as the migrating schools move on in pursuit of their prey.

Charlestown Beach at dawn

Some fishermen are more active in their search for fish, choosing to drive along the sandy shore in 4-wheel drive vehicles. This allows them to cover more terrain in search of the hot fishing spots. A vehicle also provides a more comfortable fishing experience, providing both shelter and transportation for gear, food, and people.

The classic text Fishes of the Gulf of Maine by Bigelow and Schroeder contains the following passages describing the bluefish:

“The bluefish is moderately stout bodied (large ones are about one-fourth as deep as long); its belly is flat-sided but blunt-edged below; its caudal peduncle moderately stout (slimmer, however, than in many other fish, e. g., striped bass); its head deep; its nose moderately pointed; and its mouth large and oblique, with projecting lower jaw, and with prominent canines…. And it is perhaps the most ferocious and bloodthirsty fish in the sea, leaving in its wake a trail of dead and mangled mackerel, menhaden, herring, alewives, and other species on which it preys.”

Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix)

Striped bass are the more prized fish, with larger fish running up to 50 or 60 pounds. Bigelow and Schroeder reports a fish of 112 pounds that was caught at Orleans, MA many years ago. Bigelow and Schroeder describe the striped bass as follows:

Striped bass (Roccus saxatilis)

“The trunk of the striped bass is 31/3 to 4 times as long (to base of caudal fin) as it is deep, thick through, its back hardly arched. It has a moderately stout caudal peduncle, a long head (almost as long as the fish is deep), two spines on the margin of each gill cover, an oblique mouth gaping back to the eye, a moderately pointed nose, and a projecting lower jaw…Dark olive green varying to bluish above, paling on the sides, and silvery on the belly, sometimes with brassy reflections…Stripers are powerful fish; so strong in fact, that they appear to have no difficulty in handling themselves in the surf, where one is sometimes seen actually in the translucent crest of a comber just before the latter breaks. But this is not a very swift fish as compared with the mackerel tribe. Bass often swirl conspicuously at the surface or splash in pursuit of bait fish…The bass is very voracious, feeding on smaller fishes of whatever kind may be available, and on a wide variety of invertebrates.”

Striper landed on Charlestown Beach

The following video give an idea of the excitement that accompanies the annual fall fish migration.

Bunker Blitz – Striped Bass

To learn more:

Watered Down Climate Conference

Posted by John on December 31st, 2009

In New England, December heralds the arrival of winter and lots of activity preparing for the holiday season. The television blares out a stream of commercials about Christmas gift ideas. Chevy Chase’s laugh inducing antics as Clark Griswold, the hapless holiday romantic in the movie Christmas Vacation seems to saturate the television airwaves.

Competing with this holiday “white noise” were news snippets surrounding the Copenhagen Climate Change (COP15) conference which took place Dec 7-18. The news from COP15 was not as promising as some activists and governments would have liked. The conference produced the Copenhagen Accord which some have likened to a pre-nuptial agreement between nations regarding how they will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Copenhagen Accord has been criticized because it is non-binding and some developing countries have said the emission reduction targets are not ambitious enough.

However, the fact that all these nations met and had a serious dialogue about climate issues is a positive sign. In the United States we’ve seen how contentious tackling health care reform can be. From personal experience, I’ve seen that it can be frustrating to even reach consensus on local school issues. So it’s really not surprising that an undertaking as ambitious as setting guidelines for global greenhouse gas emissions is bound to require a herculean effort. It’s clear more serious work will be needed at the next United Nations climate conference in Mexico in 2010.

Much of the recent debate about a warming earth and climate change focuses on anthropogenic causes. Since the late 1800′s (see graph) and the advent of the Industrial Revolution temperature records show a warming trend. Some observers have linked this rise in temperature to the influences of industrialization and mankind’s altering of climate. The Copenhagen Accord advocates that nations control greenhouse emissions to keep global temperature from increasing 2 degrees Celsius. However, some skeptics argue that humans will have little ability to control global temperatures and that some of the recent warming is only part of the natural warming and cooling cycles that the earth experiences.

This image shows the instrumental record of global average w:temperatures as compiled by the NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The data set used follows the methodology outlined by Hansen, J., et al. (2006) "Global temperature change". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 103: 14288-14293.

This image shows the instrumental record of global average w:temperatures as compiled by the w:NASA's w:Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The data set used follows the methodology outlined by Hansen, J., et al. (2006) "Global temperature change". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 103: 14288-14293.

If we step back and look at global temperature on a geologic timescale, it’s obvious that large fluctations in climate have occurred. The earth has been dominated by ice ages and glaciers over the past several million years. On average, the earth warms temporarily and experiences an interglacial period. Since the last ice age ended about 15,000 years ago, the earth’s temperatures have risen nearly 8.9 degrees Celsius (16 degrees F) and sea-level has risen approximately 300 feet. This shows how long term climate change dwarfs some of the short-term shifts that are currently under such close scrutiny.

This figure shows the Antarctic temperature changes during the last several glacial/interglacial cycles of the present ice age and a comparison to changes in global ice volume. The present day is on the right. The first two curves shows local changes in temperature at two sites in Antarctica as derived from deuterium isotopic measurements (δD) on ice cores (EPICA Community Members 2004, Petit et al. 1999). The final plot shows a reconstruction of global ice volume based on δ18O measurements on benthic foraminifera from a composite of globally distributed sediment cores and is scaled to match the scale of fluctuations in Antarctic temperature (Lisiecki and Raymo 2005). Note that changes in global ice volume and changes in Antarctic temperature are highly correlated, so one is a good estimate of the other, but differences in the sediment record do no necessarily reflect differences in paleotemperature. Horizontal lines indicate modern temperatures and ice volume. Differences in the alignment of various features reflect dating uncertainty and do not indicate different timing at different sites.

“The Geological Society of America (GSA) supports the scientific conclusions that Earth’s climate is changing; the climate changes are due in part to human activities; and the probable consequences of the climate changes will be significant and blind to geopolitical boundaries. Furthermore, the potential implications of global climate change and the time scale over which such changes will likely occur require active, effective, long-term planning.”
– GSA Position Statement adopted October, 2006

However, from a water resource perspective even slight changes in global temperatures can have significant impacts on local rainfall distribution patterns and recharge of water resources. This has serious implications, especially in terms of displacing or reducing production of agricultural crops. Therefore, the water issue should be inextricably connected to discussions of global warming, but apparently that was not the case at COP15.

In the following interview, Paul Horton, Chairman of the European Water Association Climate Change Working Group laments the lack of attention paid to the water issue at the Copenhagen Climate Change conference. He notes that climate change will bring about increased flooding and water scarcity, which will have severe societal impacts. Mr. Horton feels discussions about water resources are critical because countries will need to formulate a consistent approach to managing these resources within the context of global climate change.

Italian expert Riccardo Petrella, founder of the International Committee for the World Water Contract fears the privatization of water resources. Riccardo states “If water or air are turned into commodities, that is equivalent to commodifying life itself and leads to the privatization of democracy. If we do this, it will make democracy a lie.” [Source: No Water in Copenhagen Talks]

Some of the Copenhagen attendees reflect on “Water is Life” in this brief video.

Resources for further reading:

Water: Blue Gold in the 21st Century

Posted by John on December 1st, 2009

This summer I read an interesting book Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World’s Water. I have to say I found the book a little disquieting as I learned more about the environmental, economic, and political issues arising as corporations rush to privatize water resources. The authors argue that access to water should be a basic human right and should not be controlled by corporations who can then determine who gets water based on their ability to purchase it.

The book draws some of the parallels between the oil shortage and the impending water crisis that will face the world in the 21st century. In fact, the water industry has grown to $425 billion dollars which makes it the third largest industry in the world, behind electricity and oil.

One of the authors Maude Barlow, is the national chairperson of the Council of Canadians is an activist who is helping spread the word about the world’s water crisis. Here is an interesting two part interview with Barlow in which discusses the water issue and the 2008 documentary FLOW: For Love of Water.

Here is a trailer for the movie FLOW. I think the film will get your attention.

You can also view the entire movie.

Nanotechnology Can Help Provide Clean Water

Posted by John on November 24th, 2009

When I was a kid growing up in Boston, MA, my friends and I would often head down to the Charles River. On warm summer days we would wile away the hours skipping stones on the river, fashioning makeshift rafts, or trying to lure a carp onto a fishing line using bread as bait. We would keep cool in the shade of the trees along the riverbank, as we talked about baseball and our favorite team the Red Sox.

One day, some of my friends, in “urban Huck Finn” fashion, decided to raft over to a nearby island. They successfully reached the island, but on the way back the flimsily constructed raft started to unravel and one of my friends ended up falling into the river.

In those days, the Charles River had a reputation for being polluted. For years sewage, industrial wastewater and urban runoff had flowed unfettered into the river due to lax environmental regulations. By 1955, the river had become so polluted that Bernard DeVoto described it in Harpers magazine as “foul and noisome, polluted by offal and industrious wastes, scummy with oil, unlikely to be mistaken for water.” Some might even remember the classic hit record “Dirty Water” by the Standells in 1966 that celebrated Boston and the dubious water quality of the Charles River.

As I remember, my friend’s parents were none too happy when he arrived home, sopping wet with clothes stained with from the brown-tainted water. At the time, rowers or sailors who fell in the Charles were advised to rush to get a tetanus shot.

Well, the water quality of the Charles River has improved over the years, but I’m still not sure I would want to drink the water. However, new advances in nanotechnology are making this a possibility as this video shows.

So what’s all this buzz about nanotechnology — what is it and what can it do? The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office has produced a new brochure titled “Big Things from a Tiny World” that helps explain the excitement surrounding nanotechnology in terms that a non-scientist can grasp. The brochure introduces nanotechnology with the following passage:

It’s a relatively new are of science that has generated excitement worldwide. Working at the nanoscale, scientists today are creating new tools, products, and technologies to address some of the world’s biggest challenges, including:

clean, secure, affordable energy
stronger, lighter, more durable materials
low-cost filters to provide clean drinking water
medical devices and drugs to detect and treat diseases more effectively with fewer side effects
lighting that uses a fraction of the energy
sensors to detect and identify harmful chemical or biological agents
techniques to clean up hazardous chemicals in the environment

Here are some resources to start to learn more about nanotechnology:

Here are some references that describe how nanotechnology can be applied to clean water:

California’s Water Crisis

Posted by John on November 21st, 2009

This past spring and summer were unusually wet in the New England region. Heavy rainfalls in June put a damper on the beginning of summer trips to the beach. In fact, many farmers in the area were worried that their crops would be ruined by too much rain.

While New England experienced torrents of rain, on the other side of the United States, California is in the midst of a three-year drought. This crisis is having severe impacts on the local economy and quality of life. Californians are being forced to curtail their water usage. Because of water shortages, California farmers have left over half a million acres of agricultural land unplanted.

In the San Joaquin Valley’s, known as the “nation’s breadbasket,” the drought is having devastating affects on the farms. This region produces over half the fruits, nuts and vegetables for the rest of the United States. This drought has made the U.S. more dependent on imported agricultural produce and these imports often has higher rates of contaminants, such as Salmonella.

The prolonged drought has intensified some of the water issues that have developed as California has grown and become the world’s eight largest economy. The following video provides a good overview of how California’s water crisis developed and some of the ramifications.