tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87358639247906470052024-03-13T09:02:44.049-07:00الناطورkHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-68168882209855853722007-06-26T10:00:00.000-07:002007-06-26T10:03:09.995-07:00Riyadh in IceMy uncle living in riyadh trying to get his "hose" working on the sidewalk leading to his shop. Hahaha, the poor man!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-IbNRTtat-o/RoFGaSLCZ0I/AAAAAAAAADI/7dNWC2tYlTg/s1600-h/Menthol_0228.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-IbNRTtat-o/RoFGaSLCZ0I/AAAAAAAAADI/7dNWC2tYlTg/s400/Menthol_0228.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5080419272019306306" border="0" /></a>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-81436765648311153192007-06-20T01:14:00.001-07:002007-06-20T01:21:38.661-07:00مواطن سعودي في الرياض يستمتع بالثلوج<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-IbNRTtat-o/RnjiLyLCZtI/AAAAAAAAACQ/c_RnE01nPNw/s1600-h/snow14p.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-IbNRTtat-o/RnjiLyLCZtI/AAAAAAAAACQ/c_RnE01nPNw/s400/snow14p.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078057271934740178" border="0" /></a>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-10841377522793624292007-06-20T00:41:00.001-07:002007-06-20T00:41:53.480-07:00Hush Hush!!! Global Freezing is Here!As with all great scientific discoveries, the latest wave of global freeze is being treated with an excessive amount of skepticism from the world’s media corporation. Regrettably, the major news organizations and channels are not giving it the coverage it deserves. Cold, hard facts from research centers and weather stations in the Gulf are all ignored in what appears to be a massive cover-up. Why would networks ignore such a serious crisis in the face of eyewitness reports, satellite data and pictures taken from around the Arab gulf?<br /><br />Several reasons come to mind. Firstly, the freeze phenomenon is a very alarming happening in itself. A scorching Arab climate that was historically known for its record heat temperature is now effectively, radically and rapidly cooling. The change is so fast it is unbelievable except for direct eyewitnesses.<br /><br />Secondly, the reason why it has not gained such massive exposure is because many organizations, governments and corporations have very much to lose from such a global alteration. The demographics on an entire planet might change. Structures which were unthinkable are now becoming a possibility, nay, a reality in these Arab countries. Governments will have to rethink their strategies for the next 50 years at least.<br /><br />Another major factor is the global warming theory and its followers. Literally thousands of NGO’s will be out of business overnight if global cooling is proven to actually have scientific corroboration behind it. Upon clear examination, we realize that it touches upon every raw nerve of society; so it is no surprise that resistance will come in every form. I will end on a positive note though, by saying that all scientific breakthroughs must come from an initial stimulus, a desire to provoke change. Of all our past discoveries, climate cooling in the Arab world is certainly one of the most intriguing yet. But let us be confident that science can unite and rise to the challenge. It has never failed us yet.kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-31383139894657805512007-06-11T02:17:00.000-07:002007-06-11T02:19:54.555-07:00Global cooling effect!!!!Ok. Saw this post and jumped out of my seat<br />Disaster scenario? Check<br />Scientific corroboration? Check.<br />Eerie resemblance to what’s happening in the area around me? Check and double check.<br />All I’m thinking about is Saudi right now and how a desert with an average temperature that’s one of the highest on Earth could actually experience snowfall. Yesterday, I bought a heater! <br /><br />For the full article, <a href="http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=9e919563-e44b-4ca2-9706-8af9cf743c95">Click</a><br /><br /><blockquote><br />“News that the Conservatives might be taking a more cautious approach to Kyoto and climate change could not come at a more appropriate time. The science behind the idea of man-made global warming, always theoretical and often speculative, appears set to receive another blow. A report in New Scientist magazine yesterday chronicles the work of a crew of scientists who forecast a new wave of global cooling brought on by a decline in activity in the sun…”<br /><br />Terence Corcoran, National Post<br />Published: Saturday, September 16, 2006<br /></blockquote>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-58313445307561652772007-06-10T02:40:00.000-07:002007-06-11T02:42:47.635-07:00The Cooling Debate-A brief historical interludeIf you think global warming is a heated discussion, just wait till you get to global cooling. Apparently, this theory has been around since 1970s. This is the text of Newsweek’s 1975 story on the trend toward global cooling. Back then, world temperatures had been falling since about 1940.<br /><blockquote>“…And a study released last month by two NOAA scientists notes that the amount of sunshine reaching the ground in the continental U.S. diminished by 1.3% between 1964 and 1972.<br />To the layman, the relatively small changes in temperature and sunshine can be highly misleading. Reid Bryson of the University of Wisconsin points out that the Earth’s average temperature during the great Ice Ages was only about seven degrees lower than during its warmest eras – and that the present decline has taken the planet about a sixth of the way toward the Ice Age average. Others regard the cooling as a reversion to the “little ice age” conditions that brought bitter winters to much of Europe and northern America between 1600 and 1900 – years when the Thames used to freeze so solidly that Londoners roasted oxen on the ice and when iceboats sailed the Hudson River almost as far south as New York City…”<br />The Cooling World - Newsweek, April 28, 1975<br />Link: <a href="http://denisdutton.com/cooling_world.htm">http://denisdutton.com/cooling_world.htm</a></blockquote><br /> <br />The theory was justified…for a while…then the 80’s happened and the theory was discarded in most serious academic circles. Until now that is. Now the Global Freeze Scenario is seriously being considered again. Below, I cite one of the many recent articles I have found sprouting on the net about the subject. Very interesting read from The Times:<br /><blockquote>“…While sea-ice has diminished in the Arctic since 1978, it has grown by 8% in the Southern Ocean…<br />…That leveling off is just what is expected by the chief rival hypothesis, which says that the sun drives climate changes more emphatically than greenhouse gases do. After becoming much more active during the 20th century, the sun now stands at a high but roughly level state of activity. Solar physicists warn of possible global cooling, should the sun revert to the lazier mood it was in during the Little Ice Age 300 years ago.”</blockquote><blockquote><br />The full article at: <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1363818.ece">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1363818.ece<br /></a></blockquote>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-10369026712041657912007-06-09T02:17:00.000-07:002007-06-09T03:05:08.755-07:00أين الإستعداد لموجة الصقيع؟<div style="text-align: right;">تتعدد الإشارات البيئيّة المشيرة إلى موجة باردة قادمة إلى شبه الجزيرة العربيّة ولكن الإستعداد لها يبدو شبه معدوم. فبالرغم من التقارير البالغة الخطورة التي نشرتها الناسا في شهر سبتمبر الماضي، والتي تشير إلى علامات غريبة في الغلاف الجوّي فوق الجزيرة العربيّة، قد تُحدث إنخفاض مفاجىء في درجات الحرارة تصل إلى بضع المئويّات تحت الصفر، تبقى الحكومات والمنظمات الإنسانيّة ووسائل الإعلام كلّها تتجاهل الأمر بشكل تام<br /><br />هل شلّ الإرتباك ألسنتهم؟ أم أنهم يتجاهلون الأمر لعلّه يتبخّر ويختفي؟<br /><br />أين الإستعداد الإقتصادي، ماذا عن النفط واستخراج الخام في هذه الضروف القاسيّة؟<br /><br />ماذا عن وسائل التدفئة في بلاد تعيش على المكيّفات؟<br /><br />ماذا عن حركة الملاحة البحريّة والجويّة والتنقّل البرّي؟<br /><br />لماذا بقيت الحقيقة سراً؟ وماذا عن صمت الحكّام وماذا عن التعتيم الإعلامي والغربي.<br /><br />غير أن بعض الطبول قرعت، ولكن أحداً لم يسمع...<br /><br />فقد حذّرنا من هذه الظاهرة الدكتور فيصل الأعجمي قبل شهور، من إمكانيّة سيطرة<br />موجة من الصقيع على منطقة الخليج العربي تعيدنا إلى العصر الجليدي، وقد تحدّثت الناسا عن نتائج للإنحباس الحراري قد تؤدي إلى أعاصير في البحر الهندي تطال الجزيرة العربيّة وتليها موجات صاقعة تسيطر على الغلاف الجوّي فوقها.<br /><br />فها هو غونو يؤكد الخبر.<br /><br /><br />ويبقى أن نقول أن اللوم الآن لن ينفع، فلنستعدّ لموجة الصقيع<br /></div>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-18717843300163716782007-06-09T01:05:00.000-07:002007-06-09T03:13:12.034-07:00موجة صقيع تقف في وجه غونو؟<h2 style="text-align: right; font-weight: normal;" class="date-header"><font size="4">وجدت هذا المقال على واحدة من أصدق المدونات حول الأحوال الجويّة. ويبدو إن التوقعات الغريبة حول موجة الصقيع حقيقيّة<br /></font></h2><br /><br /><h2 class="date-header">Friday, June 8, 2007</h2> <a name="4988602605480931942"></a> <h3 class="post-title"> <a href="http://me-meteo.blogspot.com/2007/06/cold-wave-over-ap-slows-down-gonu.html">Cold Wave over AP slows down Gonu</a> </h3> Cyclone Gonu transformed into a Cat 3 Cyclone by the time it hit the Omani coast. The reason is not very obvious. A cold front of low atmospheric pressure stands in the way of Gonu on the mainland of the Arab Peninsula. The Cyclone, slowed down by the cold front, transforms into a tropical storm.kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-56032311000306640002007-06-08T03:47:00.001-07:002007-06-08T03:47:50.198-07:00Book ReviewHighly Recommended! <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="90%"><tbody><tr> <td class="content" valign="top"> <img src="http://www.rff.org/rff/images/climatanth1.jpg" align="left" height="103" width="77" /> <b>Climate Change Economics and Policy</b><br /> <b>An RFF Anthology</b><br />Michael A. Toman, Editor <p>2001/288 pages<br /> paperback, ISBN 1-891853-04-X / $32.95<br /> </p></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="content" valign="top"><b>Book Description</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="content" valign="top">What are the potential adverse impacts of climate change? How can society determine the amount of protection against climate change that is warranted, given the benefits and costs of various policies? <p> In concise, informative chapters, <i>Climate Economics and Policy</i> considers the key issues involved in one of the most important policy debates of our time. Beginning with an overview and policy history, it explores the potential impact of climate change on a variety of domains, including water resources, agriculture, and forests. The contributors then provide assessments of policies that will affect greenhouse gas emissions, including electricity restructuring, carbon sequestration in forests, and early reduction programs. In considering both domestic and international policy options, the authors examine command and control strategies, energy efficiency opportunities, taxes, emissions trading, subsidy reform, and inducements for technological progress. </p><p>Both policymakers and the general public will find this volume to be a convenient and authoritative guide to climate change risk and policy. It is a useful resource for professional education programs, and an important addition for college courses in environmental economics and environmental studies. </p><p><i>Climate Economics and Policy</i> is a collection of Issue Briefs, prepared by the staff of Resources for the Future (RFF) and outside experts. Many are adapted from pieces originally disseminated on Weathervane, RFF’s acclaimed web site on global climate change. </p></td></tr></tbody></table>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-30897888116657961332007-06-08T03:44:00.000-07:002007-06-08T03:44:59.330-07:00Overview of the Climate Affairs Program<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Findings from</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">The First Training Workshop</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">South and Southeast Asian Region</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">25-28 February 2002</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><br /></div><p align="center"><br /></p> <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;">Zafar Adeel and Michael Glantz</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><br />The global concerns about climate change are also linked to the more conventional ones about the atmospheric environment: air pollution, stratospheric ozone depletion, transboundary atmospheric pollution, and acid rain. It is thought that extreme climate events like El Niño and La Niña will increase in severity and frequency as a consequence of global warming. There has also been a sharp increase in sustained scientific, governmental, public and media interest in climate and weather, particularly during the 1990s. This is perhaps linked to a number climate-related extreme events: multiple El Niño and La Niña events; blockbuster hurricanes (Andrew, Mitch, Georges, and Floyd); destructive typhoons; deadly floods and mudslides (China, Venezuela, Honduras, Yemen, Vietnam, eastern and western Europe, and the USA); numerous and widespread droughts; the spread to mid-latitudes of climate-related infectious diseases (malaria, encephalitis, and dengue fever); the occurrence of several of the world’s hottest years on record. </span><br /></span>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-1294120874936655952007-06-08T01:28:00.000-07:002007-06-08T01:31:23.226-07:00Oil markets watch Cyclone Gonu<span style="font-family: lucida grande;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Crude oil supplies rose 100,000 barrels to 342.2 million. Analysts had expected supplies to rise by 120,000 barrels.</span><br style="font-family: lucida grande;"></blockquote><br style="font-family: lucida grande;"><br style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">FYI:</span><br style="font-family: lucida grande;"><br style="font-family: lucida grande;"><p style="font-family: lucida grande;">Oil prices climbed modestly higher in Wednesday trading as eyes were focused on a powerful cyclone heading towards the Persian Gulf.</p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;">On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of light, sweet crude for July delivery was up 15 cents US at $65.76 US a barrel.</p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;">Cyclone Gonu is forecast to make land in southeastern Iran late Wednesday or early Thursday. Rough seas are forecast in the Straits of Hormuz, through which roughly 40 per cent of the world's oil is shipped.</p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;">"Uncertainty about the cyclone in the Middle East is holding the crude oil futures market steady, with prices fluctuating a little as traders watch storm developments," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.</p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;">The small price increase also followed the release of weekly oil and gasoline supply figures from the U.S. government.</p> <p style="font-family: lucida grande;">The U.S. federal Energy Department said gasoline supplies rose for a fifth consecutive week, adding 3.5 million barrels to hit 201.5 million barrels. Analysts polled by Dow Jones had expected an increase of 1.5 million barrels.</p><br style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Continue Article, Click </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/06/06/oilprices.html">Here</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> </span><br style="font-family: lucida grande;">kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-81052031544910952702007-05-05T04:06:00.000-07:002007-06-09T04:07:23.184-07:00Supervolcanoes could trigger global freezefrom BBC:<br /> <div class="bodytext"> </div><br /> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="304"><tbody><tr><td class="piccaption"> <img alt="Heat" src="http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/625000/images/_628515_yellow300.jpg" border="0" height="117" width="300" /> Heat rises from under Yellowstone Park<br /> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /><br /> <b>By environment correspondent Alex Kirby</b><br /><br />The threat of climate change caused by human activity could turn out to be a minor problem by comparison with a scarcely acknowledged natural hazard.<br /><br />Geologists say there is a real risk that sooner or later a supervolcano will erupt with devastating force, sending temperatures plunging on a hemispheric or even global scale.<br /><br />A report by the BBC Two programme Horizon on one supervolcano, at Yellowstone national park in the US, says it is overdue for an eruption.<br /><br />Yellowstone has gone off roughly once every 600,000 years. Its last eruption was 640,000 years ago. <br /><br />Professor Bill McGuire, of the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre at University College, London, told BBC News Online: "We're getting ready for another eruption, unless the system has blown itself out.<br /><br />"But the ground surface deformation and other signs measured by satellite suggest it's still active, and on the move."kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-20493587432626877142004-03-02T06:44:00.000-08:002007-06-07T06:49:54.540-07:00مشروع لدراسة الإمكانات البيئية المستقبليّة في الشرق الأوسطI am so pleased to find out that such a project has been launched. It would be very beneficial for everyone to look at it regardless of its political agenda:<br /><blockquote><br />مشروع لدراسة الإمكانات البيئية المستقبليّة في الشرق الأوسط<br /></blockquote><blockquote><br />The Middle East Environmental Futures Project is an interdisciplinary research program which has emerged out of a workshop entitled “Population, Consumption and Environment in Israel and Palestine” at Brown University in July 2002.<br />The program’s central objective is to strengthen environmental policy decisionmaking in Israel and Palestine by integrating environmental data analysis with an assessment of the desires of various population groups in the region vis-à-vis their natural environment. It seeks to define what people think</blockquote>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-13097677350963978362003-09-07T06:36:00.000-07:002007-06-07T06:39:08.783-07:00Environment and Politics in the Middle East<span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Interesting article from ISU:</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">http://www.public.iastate.edu/~mariposa/mideast.htm</span><br /><br /></span><blockquote><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">Environmental issues in the Middle East have received relatively little attention, compared to those of regions such as the Americas, Africa, or Asia. Yet the environment in this region is no less worthy of attention. Middle Eastern environmental issues are often forgotten in the midst of the volatile politics and economic stagnation of the region. This is a serious oversight, since environmental problems very often underlie the political conflicts in this area. Other substantial impediments in most Middle Eastern countries include the relative lack of scientific information on the biodiversity of the region, and the difficulty of sharing relevant research findings between Middle Eastern countries. </span> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">We look behind the headlines for underlying environmental issues that contribute to or even drive the political events we all read or hear about every day. Such issues include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over groundwater beneath the West Bank and Gaza, sewage dumping from Israeli settlements onto surrounding Palestinian land, Turkish dam construction on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Saddam Hussein's ongoing destruction of the Mesopotamian marshes of southern Iraq, and the resulting decline in marine shrimp populations in the waters of Kuwait.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">Since environmental issues in the Middle East are often intertwined with social and political conditions, we sometimes offer relevant political commentary or editorial opinions related to these issues. For example, one can hardly discuss, for instance, marshland drainage in Iraq or much of the environmental damage in Palestine, out of the context of the embattled, repressive -- and often nasty --political climate prevailing in those regions.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">We therefore are alert to and encourage any developments that promise new and exciting prospects for democracy in the Middle East. The United Nations Development Programme's </span><a href="http://www.undp.org/rbas/ahdr"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">2002 Arab Human Development Report</span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">, released in June 2002, cites the lack of political freedom in the Middle East as being one of three major factors that keep the region and its people from reaching their full potential. One section of this report outlines some of the issues that the citizens of Arab states need to address in order to effectively deal with environmental problems within their own countries. In another </span><a href="http://www.iht.com/ihtsearch.php?id=67699&owner=%28Los%20Angeles%20Times%20Syndicate%20International%29&date=20020816142048"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">article</span></a><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">, reprinted in the August 15, 2002 <i>International Herald Tribune,</i> the 1998 Nobel Prize Laureate for Economics, Amartya Sen, suggested that sustainable environmental development and increasing democratic freedoms should be considered as two aspects of the same issue. He said, "Not only are these freedoms important in themselves, but public discussion, often stifled under authoritarian regimes, may be pivotally important for better understanding of the importance of environmental preservation." The other two major factors cited by the 2002 Arab Human Development Report as being critical to better prospects for the region -- increasing educational opportunities and greater freedom for women -- should, if implemented, create yet more opportunities for informed, freer, actively participating citizens to understand and resolve the environmental issues of the Middle East.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">Our approach will be to select from a relatively few specific environmental issues and present them in detail, rather than to be a comprehensive listing of many issues. We will also provide some basic geographical and ecological information on each Middle Eastern country, and include links to some environmentally-related Middle Eastern web sites. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">We are also seeking informed opinion on ecological issues by experts who live in or are familiar with the Middle East, and invite them to contribute articles, commentary, and discussion to this web site. We would also appreciate any photos anyone might have of Middle Eastern landscapes showing representative landforms or vegetation of particular regions, representing both undisturbed and disturbed habitat. We would like to add these photos to this site and will give credit to the photographers who contribute them. This is in part <i>your</i> online journal -- how we develop depends partly on what you, the readers, would like to contribute.</span></p> <span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;">You can access specific information on each nation or environmental issue by selecting its name from the list below.</span></blockquote><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:+1;"></span>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-22809781673328209852003-08-05T06:39:00.000-07:002007-06-07T06:44:07.350-07:00Potential for Water Wars in the 21st Century<p><b>Presentation to College for Seniors Lecture Series, "The World Turned Upside Down,"<br /></b></p><p><b>April 3, 2003<br />Erwin E. Klaas, Professor Emeritus of Animal Ecology, Iowa State University</b></p> I will begin by reading a quote from Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the Soviet Union. It is from the Oct/Nov. 2000 issue of <i>Civilization</i> Magazine. <p><i></i></p><blockquote><p><i>"Water, not unlike religion and ideology, has the power to move millions of people. Since the very birth of human civilization, people have moved to settle close to water. People move when there is too little of it; people move when there is too much of it. People move on it. People write and sing and dance and dream about it. People fight over it. And everybody, everywhere and every day, needs it. We need water for drinking, for cooking, for washing, for food, for industry, for energy, for transport, for rituals, for fun, for life. And it is not only we humans who need it; all life is dependent upon water for its very survival."</i></p> <p></p></blockquote><p>I was fortunate to be able to attend the World Food Prize International Symposium, "Global Water Insecurity" on October 24-25, 2002 in Des Moines, Iowa. This symposium featured many prominent people from around the world who offered their perspectives on what is considered by many as the coming water crisis. This talk draws heavily on books and papers written by several of these speakers and other authorities. You can read most of the papers presented at this symposium on the World Food Prize web site, <worldfoodprize.org>.</p> <p>Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security was a keynote speaker at the symposium. Gleick authors a biennial report (e.g. "The World's Water 2000-2001." Island Press, Washington, D.C.) on freshwater resources and provides in-depth analysis and statistics on the current global status of water.</p> <p>Another keynoter was Sandra Postel, formerly Vice-President of WorldWatch Institute and now Director of the Global Water Policy Project. She has published two books that are widely cited in the water literature. The "Last Oasis-Facing Water Scarcity" (W.W. Norton, Co. New York and London, 1997) was featured in a PBS documentary on water a few years ago. Another of her books is "Pillar of Sand--Can the Irrigation Miracle Last?" (Ibid, 1999).</p> <p>Marq de Villiers is a South African who has traveled extensively throughout the world to research his books on water. I used his book, "Water, the Fate of Our Most Precious Resource" (Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston and New York, 2000) as a text for my course on water last fall in the College for Seniors. This book was published a year earlier in Canada under the title "Water Wars". His books are fascinating reads because he can relate first-hand personal experiences about the places he has visited and researched.</p> I've also used several internet web sites as sources of information.<br /><br />Slide 1. Global map of river basins at risk. I borrowed this and the next 2 slides from Sandra Postel's talk at last fall's symposium; the map was prepared by Greg Fisk, Oregon State University, Department of Geosciences. It shows the world's major river basins. There are four that are shown in red and they represent river basins that are currently in dispute and negotiations. I'll discuss three of these in more detail later in the talk. Basins in yellow are considered to be at risk of disputes between nations. Other basins that have international boundaries are in blue.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.public.iastate.edu/%7Emariposa/images/1-RBatRisk60.gif" alt="Global River Basins" useimagewidth="" useimageheight="" align="right" border="0" height="321" width="526" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Slide 2. Map of Asia and Europe where the land is most intensely irrigated. The dark blue areas represent the most intensively irrigated areas. India's response to the green revolution was to put more than 115 million acres into irrigation. There are two serious negative consequences of irrigation. 1. Depletion of underground aquifers, and 2. The build up of salt in the soil, a process called salination. A key lesson from history is that most irrigation-based civilizations eventually fail. While countries are bringing new land into agricultural production with irrigation, millions of acres of cropland are being abandoned in other parts of the world because of unsustainable irrigation and other practices.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.public.iastate.edu/%7Emariposa/images/2-IrrInt50.gif" alt="Intensity of Irrigation" useimagewidth="" useimageheight="" align="right" border="0" height="275" width="443" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>China is in a real dilemma. China uses irrigation to produce 70% of its food. De Villiers (2000) says that China is not running out of water, except in places where water is needed most. Three-quarters of the water is in the south, while three-quarters of the farming is in the north and northeast. In the south, they are building the world's largest dam, called the Three Gorges Dam, on the Yangtze and over a million people are being displaced. One of the reasons for building this dam is for flood control. In the north, water tables of underground aquifers dropped more than 12 feet in three years. The Yellow River went dry for the first time in history in 1972. Since 1985, it has gone dry every year. In 1996, it was dry for 133 days. In 1997, it failed to reach the sea for 226 days (De Villiers, 2000).<br /></p> <img src="http://www.public.iastate.edu/%7Emariposa/images/3-WorldRB60.gif" alt="Global River Basins With International Boundaries" useimagewidth="" useimageheight="" align="right" border="0" height="274" width="509" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Slide 3. Global map of river basins that have international boundaries (1998). Basins in red are considered to be in severe water stress because of the combination of low water availability and high human populations. The red areas have less than 500 cu meters of available water per person per year. The areas in blue are the least stressed areas on earth. For example, the Amazon Basin receives high rainfall and has relatively low numbers of human inhabitants. Blue areas across the northern hemisphere have abundant freshwater but much of it is frozen at least for most of the year.<br /><br />Read the rest of the article by logging on to:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">http://www.public.iastate.edu/~mariposa/waterwars.htm</span>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-41410341505439136722003-05-04T06:55:00.000-07:002007-06-07T06:57:36.976-07:00World bank and Iran????<div align="center"><div style="text-align: left;">hahahahahaha, what a joke!!!!!!!<br /></div><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"><br /></span></b></div><blockquote><div align="center"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">Environmental Management Support for Iran</span></b><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">With the aim of protecting public health and the natural environment, the World Bank signed a $20 million loan in April 2003 to support the Government of Iran in reducing the impact of water and air pollution in major cities across five provinces in the country. The first in a series of projects to upgrade environmental management in Iran, this initiative will focus on boosting the Department of Environment’s ability to respond to pollution problems.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">The proposed project seeks to help the Government of Iran achieve progress on its commitments in the development plan and engage non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in protecting the environment. It will strengthen the Department of Environment’s ability to monitor air and water quality and support partnerships with other ministries, municipalities, universities and NGOs by financing joint environmental projects. In cooperation with the World Bank Institute - the training arm of the World Bank - the project will also provide courses and training programs to improve the performance of public sector staff and NGOs involved in air and water quality management. Public awareness campaigns will be undertaken by the Department of Environment to improve the public’s understanding of the harmful effects of water and air pollution and encourage environment-friendly behavior.</span></blockquote><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;"></span>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8735863924790647005.post-6300035125760802082003-02-02T06:50:00.000-08:002007-06-07T07:01:50.753-07:00The World Bank Strikes Again<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It seems that the World Bank will never stop giving their useless advise about costly and unnecessary regulations that never contribute in our country's progress but rather in wasting out time and money. See the new abstract for:</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-weight: bold;">"Projet de Gestion Environnementale et des Dechets Solides : etude d'impact de la decharge controlee de Hbaline (Jbeil)"</span><br /><blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Abstract: This environmental assessment (EA) analyzes the potential degradation on the natural environment, and on the sanitary, and socioeconomic conditions of local populations, as a result of the project implementation at Habline (Jbeil). Following a review on the country's legal, and administrative framework, on the technical and economic benefits of the project, on the Bank's environmental operational guidelines, and on an analysis of alternatives, the EA establishes the management discharge control, proposing mitigation measures (Vol. 1) based on geo-technical site investigations (Vol. 2). Public awareness, and education campaigns were conducted regarding adequate solid waste disposal, while a management plan focused on an environmentally, integrated discharge system, to protect flora and fauna, avoid disruption to green spaces, and re-integrate treated discharges into the natural landscape. To this end, soil erosion will be contained by installing stabilized, underground cement pipes; drainage, sludge, and water residues will be collected at specific storage basins, septic tanks, and/or treatment facilities. During construction, daytime working schedules will be observed, vehicle speed limits enforced, and, machinery and equipment inspected to abate noise disturbances. Regular waste collections will minimize odors, either through compacted waste collection, or discharges' incineration to prevent biogas fumes. Asphalt roads will be constructed to prevent dust and air pollution resulting from heavy traffic transporting construction debris (which should be carried in covered trucks), while on-site surfaces will be water-sprinkled regularly. Cultural sites will be avoided, in addition, the Archaeological Department will be informed, and inspect the site, should archaeological finds occur. Following construction, reforestation and vegetative propagation practices will be conducted.</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span>kHalEdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11210032954240465338noreply@blogger.com0