The week that was, 6/6-12/2010
… while excess rain involves modest gains, deficiency involves large losses. — “Monsoon, welcome,” commentary by Ramesh Chandra, director of India’s National Centre for Agricultural Economics and Policy Research, Financial Express, June 9, 2010
A draconian drilling moratorium might make more sense if the industry had a history of devastating oil spills. — Opinion piece, “The second oil disaster,” The Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2010
“One of the last pristine, most biologically diverse coastal habitats in the country is about to get wiped out. And there’s not much we can do about it.” — Felicia Coleman, director, Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, “Even the best outcome won’t be good,” USA Today, June 7, 2010
… the Old and Middle rivers – tributaries of the San …
The week that was, 5/30-6/5/2010
June 5, 2010 marked the 34th anniversary of the failure of Teton Dam. Click on the image for background from J. Davis Roger of the Missouri University of Science & Technology
Thirty-four years ago Saturday, eastern Idaho changed forever. The eight-month-old Teton Dam on the Teton River near Rexburg collapsed on June 5, 1976, drowning 11 people and 18,000 head of livestock and causing $2 billion in damage. — “Time to be blunt. The Teton dam won’t be rebuilt, nor should it be,” editorial in the Idaho Times-News, June 3, 2010
“The only matter that could take Egypt to war again is water.” — Anwar Sadat quoted in “War clouds gather as nations demand a piece of the Nile,” Times of London, June 4, 2010
Ethiopia this month opened the 460MW Tana Beles dam, which would have been considered an act of war in Sadat’s time. …
The week that was, 5/16-22/2010
On May 18, 2010, Judge Oliver Wanger of the Easter District Court in Fresno, CA, intimated that water reserved under the Endangered Species Act in the San Fancisco Bay Delta system to aid fish migrating through its tributaries may be diverted to Central Valley farms and Southern California cities because of the impact of fish protections on water users. A subsequent ruling is expected this week.
It is in the public interest that relief be granted to Plaintiffs, who represent a substantial population of water users in California, to enhance the water supply to reduce the adverse harms of destruction of permanent crops; fallowed lands; increased groundwater consumption; land subsidence; reduction of air quality; destruction of family and entity farming business; and social disruption and dislocation, such as increased property crimes and intra-family crimes of violence; adverse effects on schools and increased unemployment leading to hunger and homelessness. This must …
The week that was, 5/9-15/2010
Image source: NASA. Click on the Maryland blue crab for an Earth Observatory article about habitat loss, water quality problems and the state of the fisheries of the Chesapeake Bay. Or click on the President's executive order, or hyper link to the plan summary (right), to read about last week's unveiling of a 15-year-long restoration program for America's largest estuary
“The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure.” — Barack Obama, Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration, Executive Order, May 12, 2010
The plan is both ambitious and vague … –– “Obama administration announces Chesapeake Bay strategy,” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, May 13, 2010
This time … the EPA is legally obligated to achieve the goals established in the settlement. —“Chesapeake Bay settlement has EPA agreeing to enforce pollution reduction goals,” Washington Post, May 12, 2010
…The week that was, 5/2-8/2010
Click on the image for NOAA updates and links to the British Petroleum / Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Due to heightened interest in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, media aircraft have been conducting low flights and landings on Breton National Wildlife Refuge’s Chandeleur Islands. These flights and landings threaten the very birds that the media are covering and that the public is concerned about. — Deepwater Horizon Response on Facebook, May 8, 2010
“It’s the ocean, baby.” — Jim O’Brien, Florida State University oceanographer and meteorologist, “Grand Ole Opry flood and other crazy weather: El Niño’s fault?” Christian Science Monitor, May 4, 2010
Why do people wait and watch the water rise? Why do they keep their luggage in the boat and themselves in water the color of milky coffee that is no doubt full of snakes? — “Our deluge, drop by drop,” an op-ed …
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