AWRA WEBINAR: 'Did Water Matter at #COP26? Does Climate Policy Matter to Water?' - 15 December 10-11 AM PST, John Matthews, ED of Alliance for Global Water Adaptation. Click here to register.
The Ogallala aquifer has nourished life on the American Great Plains for millennia. But less than a century of unsustainable irrigation farming has taxed much of the aquifer beyond repair. The imminent depletion of the Ogallala and other aquifers around the world is a defining planetary crisis of our times. Running Out offers a uniquely personal account of aquifer depletion and the deeper layers through which it gains meaning and force.Anthropologist Lucas Bessire journeyed back to western Kansas, where five generations of his family lived as irrigation farmers and ranchers, to try to make sense of this vital resource and its loss. His search for water across the drying High Plains brings the reader face to face with the stark realities of industrial agriculture, eroding democratic norms, and surreal interpretations of a looming disaster. Yet the destination is far from predictable, as the book seeks to move beyond the words and genres through which destruction is often known. Instead, this journey into the morass of eradication offers a series of unexpected discoveries about what it means to inherit the troubled legacies of the past and how we can take responsibility for a more inclusive, sustainable future.
An urgent and unsettling meditation on environmental change, Running Out is a revelatory account of family, complicity, loss, and what it means to find your way back home.
Enjoy! Or not.
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Here are Elaine's BBs as PDF and Word documents:
PDF: Download EJH_Bulletin_Boards_WW_13Dec2021
Word: Download EJH_Bulletin_Boards_WW_13Dec2021
Note: If a link does not work, try pasting the URL into your browser.
The articles displayed herein are selected by Dr. Elaine J. Hanford. I do not necessarily agree with the viewpoints expressed and the article descriptions that precede each link.
Geoscience Bulletin Board – 13 December 2021 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Texas versus New Mexico in SCOTUS fight for Rio Grande water
Over-pumping of groundwater in Paso del Norte Borderland of West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Mexico – aquifers being depleted
Depleting aquifers in San Luis Valley in Colorado
Swarm of earthquakes on Blanco Fracture Zone off the coast of Oregon – strike-slip motions
Geology of the Sierra Nevada is complex
Phase 3 drilling program begins to test for gold mineralization at East Golden Gorege target in South Grass Valley in Nevada
Cyanobacteria may have lubricated tectonic movements to create Paleo-proterozoic mountain belts
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/05/hot-news-from-two-billion-years-ago-plankton-actually-moved-mountains
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00313-5
First annual conference on Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) being held in London
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/geological-disposal-programme-now-under-way
- GDF background: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/geological-disposal
Understanding the underlying processes that drive landscape change – the science of sand
Exploring the geologic, natural history and Native American history of Strawberry Crater in Arizona
Trove of Cretaceous hadrosaurs, crustaceans, fishes, poop, pollen & crocodile fossils found in quarry in Villagio del Pescatore, Italy
- https://gizmodo.com/paleontologists-hit-a-dinosaur-jackpot-in-italy-1848150642
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02490-x
Cretaceous Stegouros elengassen dinosaur discovered in southern Chile has tail “resembling Aztec war club with seven pairs of blades lining the tail: for stabbing and slicing
Hybrid-frequency waveform earthquakes resulting from fluid-injection in active hydraulic fracturing well in British Columbia – broader P and S-pulses
- https://news.rub.de/english/press-releases/2021-12-06-geoscience-new-type-earthquake-discovered
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26961-x
Organized crime now illegally trading in sand & making huge profits – “sand mafia”
Ammonite soft tissue rarely preserved but these muscles reveal how they swam
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/first-ever-3d-visualisation-of-an-ammonite-s-muscles-show-how-it-swam/ar-AARCjKk
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-10289011/Fossils-3D-visualisation-ammonites-muscles-swam-evaded-predators.html
- Paper: https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/doi/10.1130/G49551.1/610120/Correlative-tomography-of-an-exceptionally
Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is speeding up based on satellite altimetry & Argo float records
Seafloor seismometer near calving front of Bowdoin Fjord in Greenland yields sounds of a glacial fjord
Numerical model simulates folding in the crust throughout the earthquake cycle
- https://eos.org/research-spotlights/faulting-and-folding-signals-in-seismic-data
- Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2021JB022045
Visualizing the topography of the ocean floor
O&G lease sales in Gulf of Mexico means potential for drilling within legacy hazardous industrial waste dump in Mississippi Canyon – permitted dumping of 205,000 steel barrels of chemical wastes & chlorinated hydrocarbons
Portugal creates largest marine reserve around Selvagens Islands in Europe
Sediment cores reveal probable tsunami deposits in south-central Chile in 1737
- https://phys.org/news/2021-12-previously-unrecorded-chilean-tsunami.html
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00319-z
Ocean tides impact submarine groundwater discharge to coastal zone in Hawaii
- https://phys.org/news/2021-12-ocean-tides-gatekeepers-groundwater-discharge.html
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-01920-0
Some water on Earth may have come from the Sun via the solar wind
30,000-year DNA record from cored permafrost sediments in Klondike region suggest longevity of mammoths & wild horses
- https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Mammoths_Yukon_wild_horses_survived_thousands_of_years_longer_than_believed_999.html
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27439-6
PVMBG team to compute volume of erupted material on Mount Semeru
- https://en.antaranews.com/news/203769/pvmbgs-team-to-calculate-volume-of-mt-semeru-eruption-material
PetroChron Antarctics – new relational database including petrological, geochemical & geochronological data sets with computed rock properties from geologic samples across Antarctica
Glacial retreat could produce 6,000+ km of new salmon habitat in western North America by 2100
- https://scienceblog.com/527163/melting-glaciers-could-produce-1000s-of-kilometers-of-new-pacific-salmon-habitat-by-2100/
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26897-2#Ack1
Book Review: “Volcano Songs” – the power and beauty of volcanoes
Semeru residents denounce failure of volcanic warning system prior to 4 December eruption
Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 13 December 2021 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
US FDA announces immediate recall of all medications made by Edge Pharma LLC due to potentially deadly safety risks – 60 sterile & non-sterile products included in massive recall
Father & son arrested & charged with reckless arson starting the massive Caldor Fire
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/father-and-son-arrested-for-allegedly-sparking-caldor-fire/ar-AARCJR6
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/father-and-son-baffled-by-arrest-for-caldor-fire/ar-AARELqI
“500-yer plus plan” to save Lake Mead solves nothing – just a temporary band-aid that is voluntary and compensated
California water supplies increasingly being depleted by drought and increasing demand
Federal government asking court to cancel Cadiz water pipeline in California – example of “ill-conceived water solutions to water scarcity”
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/column-biden-moved-finally-kill-205936343.html
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-administration-moves-scrap-cadiz-013638080.html
Perspective: California in drought – “0% allocations” but wants more development & growth
Environmental groups and developers reach agreement on 19,300 homes on 6,700 acres on southern flanks of Tehachapi Mountains in California – GHG emissions & wildfire risks
Some California water districts rejecting state funds for household water debt - 76,000+ customers in Central San Joaquin Valley accumulated $15+M debt - $1B across the State – water bills outpace inflation
An entire wolf pack has been fatally poisoned in Oregon over the past year – authorities seeking assistance in locating person or persons responsible – call OSP hotline 800-452-7888
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/entire-wolf-pack-found-poisoned-210355628.html
- https://www.opb.org/article/2021/12/02/stalled-investigation-into-oregon-wolf-poisonings-prompts-request-for-publics-help/
- https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2021/12/02/8-wolves-catherine-wolf-pack-poisoned-eastern-oregon-police-search-suspects/8838393002/
Plan to reduce Yellowstone National Park Bison herd by up to 900 – shot by hunters, sent to slaughter or placed in quarantine
Water and sewer bills continue to escalate in Michigan
- https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/12/02/water-becomes-more-unaffordable-michigan-poor-report-finds/8820715002/
- http://graham.umich.edu/project/MI-statewide-water-affordability-assessment
- Report: http://graham.umich.edu/media/files/MI-statewide-water-affordability-assessment-report.pdf
$760M West Shore Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane Levee halted due to dispute over land value
150 pounds of trash found at illegal campsite in Arches National Park in Utah
- https://drivinvibin.com/2021/12/03/national-park-campsite-is-trashed/
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/park-remarks-illegal-campsite-150-130715982.html
11 most endangered places in Nevada
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/historic-places-in-northern-nevada-could-be-in-danger/ar-AARn5Ic
- List: https://a27f58ab-e755-465b-ba4b-c4e54de1c702.filesusr.com/ugd/7a004c_51586c887e6c45069abb081bcf45d90d.pdf
38 animals seized from “inhumane conditions” in illegal puppy farm in Dublin, Ireland
Agreement on water utility system between Nueces County & Naval Air Station Corpus Christi
US biofuel mandate helps farmers but does little for energy security & harms the environment – biofuels are not carbon-neutral but have increased CO2 emissions
Significant environmental impacts of disposable diapers – on average 3,000 per baby per year
100 most polluted cities in the world are all in Asia – 46 in India (including 9 of top 10) & 42 in China
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/report-worlds-100-most-polluted-181639527.html
- List: https://www.iqair.com/world-most-polluted-cities
Ukraine has no functioning waste management system – 33,000 illegal dump sites & one incinerator
No brainer: want less plastic pollution? Stop making so much plastic
Delfasco Forge in Texas added to NPL Superfund list in 2018 – determining health risk from TCE plumes
- https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03122021/texas-superfund-site-grand-prairie-delfasco/
- https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0606872
Federal judge halts “salvage logging” in Willamette National Forest affected by 2020 Labor Fires
CRS In Focus: US Army COE – Supplemental Appropriations – but does not explain the $109B backlog
Zion National Park transitions to lottery for Angels Landing trail to reduce over-crowding & consequent impacts and to improve safety
6-story condominium building in Waukesha, Wisconsin, evacuated - “imminent danger of collapsing”
- https://apnews.com/article/technology-milwaukee-salvation-army-engineering-28dda029a2bd3bfc581e716bf160720e
- https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2021/12/03/engineer-warns-of-what-to-watch-for-before-structural-failure
Project update: Brenner Base Tunnel (BBT) has completed 8.5 of 40-mile railway tunnel beneath the Alps
- https://theconstructionbroadsheet.com/webuild-hits-milestone-on-b-tunnel-under-the-alps-p557-175.htm
Project update: Vogtle Nuclear Plant expansion project further delay & extra $1B
- https://www.news4jax.com/news/georgia/2021/12/04/vogtle-monitors-see-more-delays-extra-1b-for-nuclear-plant/
- https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/engineers-see-more-delays-extra-1-billion-georgias-plant-vogtle-nuclear-project/WFNSO7BDRVAH3HSST77NHJK37I/
Slide show: Worst industrial disasters in the world
Scientific Method calls for reproducibility of research – lab results for about 54% of experiments cannot be confirmed – “little incentive for researchers to share methods and data so others can verify the work”
- https://apnews.com/article/science-business-health-cancer-marcia-mcnutt-93219170405e3de753651b89d4308461
- Perspective on integrity: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03617-w
Air pollution from O&G site near Fort Collins, Colorado, continues for more than 2 years despite residents filing formal complaint
Micro-plastics found in every tested waterway in Oregon – Detroit Lake provides drinking water for Salem
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/microplastics-found-every-tested-waterway-232212422.html
- Report Exec Summary: https://environmentoregon.org/reports/ore/microplastics-oregon
- Report: https://environmentoregon.org/sites/environment/files/reports/Microplastics%20in%20Oregon%20Final.pdf
After 12,000 years the Norwegian wolf is now extinct – no genetic remnants exist
BLM approving numerous drilling permits (average 333 per month) for O&G on public lands
- https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-biden-is-approving-public-lands-oil-drilling-permits-faster-than-trump-did-and-angering-environmentalists-215140188.html
- https://www.citizen.org/article/bidens-oil-letdown/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=b9af886e-62b9-4c1e-9e6b-e0994f0e8cb4
Despite available vaccines mumps continues to circulate in the US – recent outbreaks in fully vaccinated adolescents & some children
Organized crime now making money from dealing in illegal sand – “sand mafia”
Technological hazard: Italy fines Amazon record 1.13B euros ($1.28B) for abuse of market dominance
CRS Report R45342: “Central Valley Project”
Upper Kamath wetland restoration raises concerns of future water shortages for farmers & ranchers
Unrealistic Executive Order decrees US government carbon-neutral by 2050 with 65% reduction in GHG by 2030 & 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030
Group of residents in Bakersfield, California, campaigning to return continual flow to the Kern River
Update: the ongoing legal battle over the Truckee Canal
Visualizing the Population Pyramid for the World from 1950-2100 & how the population reached nearly 8B
- https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/the-world-population-pyramid-1950-2100/
- https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/population-boom-charting-nearly-8-billion-people/
Lake Maracaibo being poisoned by oil spills, plastic contamination & sewage
Coronavirus COVID-19 statistics by country (click on USA to get State statistics) & CDC tracker
- https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
- https://time.com/5800901/coronavirus-map/
- interactive map s: https://geodacenter.github.io/covid/map.html
- CDC Weekly Tracker: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/
Coastal Zone Management Bulletin Board – 13 December 2021 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Load of timber on Almirante Storni cargo ship off Gothenburg, Sweden, on fire – Sweden seeking help from Norway to extinguish the burning cargo
• https://wtvbam.com/2021/12/05/fire-rages-on-cargo-ship-carrying-timber-off-sweden/
• https://www.maritimebulletin.net/2021/12/04/bulk-carrier-major-fire-gothenburg-sweden/
• https://www.yahoo.com/news/sweden-asks-norway-help-fire-151903033.html
40 coastal species are found living on plastic trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
O&G exploration & development will have lingering impacts on Alaskan coastal plain
• https://undark.org/2021/12/02/gravel-or-green-what-will-become-of-alaskas-coastal-plain/
Semisopochnoi, Great Sitkin & Pavlof volcanoes remain active in the Aleutian Arc
• https://www.ktoo.org/2021/12/03/eruptions-are-still-going-at-3-aleutian-volcanoes/
Intentionally littering the seafloor by sinking aircraft like Boeing 747 to boost diving tourism
Feral hogs voraciously eating shellfish along Southern coastlands – impacting wetlands
• https://www.yahoo.com/news/feral-hogs-acquired-taste-mussels-150016111.html
• Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26504-4
Georgia Ports Authority accelerating $150M expansion at Port of Savannah
3 carcasses of Fraser’s dolphins have washed ashore between Diamond Head & Waikiki – one appeared to have shark bites
• https://mauinow.com/2021/12/07/trio-of-frasers-dolphin-carcasses-found-on-oahu-southshore/
Flurry of offshore wind development along East Coast means jockeying for limited grid connections
Looking for modern and fossil sea cows in the Arabian Gulf
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/conservation-commons/2021/12/07/sea-cowsarabian-gulf/
Ports of Los Angeles & Long Beach continue to postpone new container dwell fees
• https://gcaptain.com/los-angeles-and-long-beach-ports-continue-to-postpone-new-containerdwell-fee/
Sharks gathering along the East Coast is not unusual despite recent social media hype
• https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article256374602.html
Status of manatees in the waters of Florida
• https://www.gazettenet.com/EarthTalk-manatees-43895696
Gray whales make first appearance of migration season off the coast of Oceanside, California
Dredge operator faulted for deadly 2020 liquified propane pipeline explosion in Corpus Christi Ship Channel – 5 killed & barge a total loss – caused $2+M in damage to pipeline
US Navy resisting order from Hawaii to suspend underground fuel tank use at Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility near Pearl Harbor – threat to drinking water aquifers
Potential use of thermoplastic composite pipes to ship “green hydrogen” from offshore wind turbines
Kempinski Floating Palace is new floating resort in Dubai – replete with helipad & villas
Poseidon Water requesting $1.1B in public financial incentives for desalination plants in California
• https://www.yahoo.com/news/column-desalination-plant-company-not-130007184.html
Save the Redwoods League will purchase 3,181-acres along the Mendocino Coast to preserve the rugged coastline and restore the redwood forest
Retrospective: How “Alvin” found the lost H-bomb in the Mediterranean
• https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/little-alvin-and-the-lost-h-bomb
"Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James Baldwin
Have you seen my e-mail about the book?
Posted by: M | Wednesday, 15 December 2021 at 10:51 AM