Trouble with water – extreme floods and droughts — is one of the first obvious signs of climate change, and today we are witnessing these events more often. At the same time, our built environment — urban sprawl, industrial agricultural and the engineered way we manage water — is making things worse, not better. As our control systems fail, we are forced to reckon afresh with an eternal truth: water always wins.
Told as a detective story, Erica Gies’ upcoming book, Water Always Wins: Thriving in an Age of Drought and Deluge, follows water experts as they search for clues to water’s past, using close observation, historical research, ancient animal and human practices, and cutting-edge science. Their epiphanies are changing our understanding of what water wants and why our efforts to control it are failing.
Most modern humans have forgotten that water’s true nature is to flex
with the rhythms of the earth, expanding and retreating in an eternal dance upon the land. These slow phases are where the magic happens to soften floods, save water for droughts, and keep natural systems healthy. Yet many human attempts to control water speed it up and move it off the land. The key to greater resilience, say the water detectives, is a kind of un-engineering that allows water to stall on the land – what Erica is calling a “Slow Water” ethic.
Slow Water finds commonality with Slow Food, a movement that draws people’s attention to where their food comes from and how its production affects people and the environment. Slow Water is also in the spirit of many Indigenous traditions and in Aldo Leopold’s land ethic. The 20th century forester-turned-conservationist called for us to treat soils, waters, plants and animals with respect and to strengthen our relationship with them. It’s care and need entwined: for nature to hold us up, we must also support it.
With this ethos, the water detectives are relearning how to live with water, to collaborate with it rather than try to control it. The book will take readers on a journey through time and around the world, introducing them to the wonder of water and to people who are innovating Slow Water approaches to help us adapt to climate change and to begin to heal our water bodies.
Erica is represented by The Martell Agency in New York, and the book will be published by the University of Chicago Press in North America and by Head of Zeus in the United Kingdom.
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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 – 10 January 2022 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Rock arch at Spooner’s Cove collapsed – knocked down by heavy surf during December storms
Are the atmosphere and mass of Earth expanding or shrinking?
Engineer proposes slashing scope of pile upgrade for Millennium Tower
- https://www.enr.com/articles/53344-engineer-proposes-slashing-scope-of-millennium-tower-pile-upgrade
Whales walked along the coasts of North America
The physical and geological history of Clear Lake
CT scans of fossils reveal new details linking plesiosaurs of New Zealand and South America
Mississippi DEQ created 5 geologic maps of the Natchez Trace Parkway – Ridgeland, Pocahontas, Clinton, Raymond & Widows Creek
- https://www.wjtv.com/news/state/natchez-trace-geologic-maps-created-by-mdeq/
- https://www.picayuneitem.com/2022/01/mdeq-produces-natchez-trace-geologic-maps/
- Open-file Reports: https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/geology_publication_categories/open-file-reports/
Deep-sea surveys for geologic hazards in South China Sea that could affect future O&G Projects
Yellowstone Caldera – 2021 in review
Ecocopter plays key role in monitoring volcanoes in Chile
Rest results at USGS National Water Quality Lab in Colorado were falsified from March 2019 through June 2020
Shift to longer, stronger glacial cycles due to increased friction between ice sheets & bedrock
Visualizing the scale & composition of the crust
Predicting the eruption of volcanoes in the Hawaiian Islands
Investigating why continents break apart when magma is missing
New model suggests greater latitudinal range of hurricanes and typhoons
- https://phys.org/news/2022-01-future-hurricanes-roam-earth.html
- https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=304148&org=GEO&from=news
Much of Earth history was characterized by “inhospitable” conditions for life
- https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220104192530.htm
- Paper: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.211165
Lions & bears colonized North America in multiple waves crossing the Bering Land Bridge
Triassic sauropodomorph dinosaur footprints discovered in Wales
- http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/penarth-dinosaur-footprints-10423.html
- Paper: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/geological-magazine/article/late-triassic-dinosaur-tracks-from-penarth-south-wales/24C0F9A7BA50C4CD7049EB030CF79B73
Virtual 3D model of ammonite fossils showing muscles
The only written eyewitness account of the destruction of Pompeii in 79 AD by Pliny the Younger
After a two-year lull, Kilauea erupts – 14-minute video & images
- https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/news/kilauea-erupts-after-more-two-years-quiet-twice-volcano-awareness-month-2022
- https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/photo-and-video-chronology-kilauea-january-4-2022
Ongoing flurry of small earthquakes in South Carolina
Seismic data from ULVZs – one theory
- https://www.popsci.com/science/earths-mantle-regions-explained/
- Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-021-00871-5.epdf
3 new active faults identified in Taiwan
- https://taiwanenglishnews.com/3-new-active-geological-faults-identified-in-taiwan-bringing-total-to-36/
- https://www.moeacgs.gov.tw/news/news_more?id=aaa7ff0e9d26496a85346264fa922a1d
Federal judge stops beginning of construction of Dixie Meadows geothermal energy project in Churchill County, Nevada – risk of harm to Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe & ecosystems
Questioning “whiff of oxygen” prior to 2.3 BYO Great Oxygenation Event
- https://phys.org/news/2022-01-whiff-oxygen-earth-early-history.html
- Paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj7190
Top O&G shale producers in Texas hit by quake-driven well disposal closures
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/top-texas-shale-producers-hit-by-quake-driven-well-disposal-closures-rystad/ar-AASvAex
- https://www.reuters.com/article/texas-oil-earthquakes/top-texas-shale-producers-hit-by-quake-driven-well-disposal-closures-rystad-idUSL1N2TM1OO
Trove of Miocene fossils found in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia
Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 10 January 2022 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Call by Aldo Leopold for “land ethic” is still relevant today
US National Parks experienced the greatest numbers of tourists in 2021 – over-tourism damages
Ponca City, Oklahoma, “being wrapped in poison” from century of O&G development – abandoned wells, refineries, tank farms, hydraulic fracturing & injection-induced earthquakes
“War is hell” is true for people & the environment – in Iraq “everything living is dying” - ecocide
Pushing for solar factories comes with economic, environmental & political risks
Potential dangers of the big business of pre-natal testing – 85% of positive tests are wrong
In most polluted neighborhood of San Francisco polluters operate without proper permits
What happened to some of the animals rescued from 2021 wildfires
Purposefully enacting policies that will increase crime and create chaos craved by the leftists
Technological hazard: more cracks found in Mexico City subway line that collapsed & killed 26
Book Review: “Seed Money: Monsanto’s Past and Our Food Future” – glyphosate & dicamba remain in our food supply as part of legacy of highly toxic persistent industrial chemicals (including PCBs and Agent Orange)
Final amount of specifically-targeted buried nuclear waste removed from Idaho facility overlying part of Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer
West Virginia DEP approved water quality permit for controversial $6.2B Mountain Valley Pipeline
California law would make solar energy costs soar – “net metering” in Florida
- CA: https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/tesla-fights-california-law-could-191432187.html
- FL: https://www.yahoo.com/news/solar-benefits-hampered-net-metering-120149647.html
Man fell from closed area into Kilauea Volcano
Development of new apartments on South Hill would be “massive over-development” & compromise landscape
Vandals not very smart – “boldly scratch their names” into ancient petroglyphs in Big Bend National Park in Texas
New Year – old problem: feral hogs spread diseases, threaten native wildlife & damage property
Visualizing the demographics of the aging population in China (1950-2100)
Pay-as-you-throw – 60+% of US household waste is burned or buried in landfills
Toward a definition of green infrastructure
Work environments expose (occupational exposure) Americans to unhealthy levels of chemicals
House dust reveals global toxic contaminant exposure & health risk
- https://phys.org/news/2022-01-house-countries-reveals-global-toxic.html
- Paper: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c04494
Despite recent heavy rains & snowfall in California, the drought continues & water restrictions are still needed
- https://phys.org/news/2022-01-california-imposes-restrictions-drought.html
- https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/california-suddenly-snow-capped-very-130012147.html
Population growth decreases due primarily to declining fertility rates – from 2.12 to 1.64 in U
Aerial views of some of the jaw-dropping landscapes in Canada
Blue cows of Latvia are back from the brink of extinction
Andean condors released back to the wild following long rehabilitation
Visualizations now part of USDA RCA Data Viewer
Technological hazard: PG&E power lines sparked the 2021 Dixie Fire in Northern California – burned 1M acres across 5 counties – 2nd largest in State history
High levels of toxic PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ found in anti-fogging sprays & wipes for glasses
Using Lidar to map impacts of mining & urban expansion on Teotihuacan cultural heritage site
US NRC denied license to Oklo Power to build & operate Aurora compact fast reactor in Idaho
28,000+ pounds of ground beef recalled for E. coli contamination – mass recall across 7 states
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/28-000-pounds-of-ground-beef-recalled-over-e-coli-fears-across-7-states/ar-AASwJfZ
- https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/interstate-meat-dist.-inc.-recalls-ground-beef-products-due-possible-e.-coli-o157h7
Wisconsin residents urge DNR to approve groundwater standards for pollutants
US EPA adds new air pollutant to hazardous list – 1-bromopropane (1-BP) is ‘unreasonable’ risk
Perspective: Humans need to accommodate recovered endangered species
In Memoriam: Richard Leakey – renowned paleoanthropologist & conservationist
Perspective: Let’s reconnect with Nature – not just molecular biologists need to study how life really works
Why so many vaccinated people are now getting the virus
“Irrational hysteria” over omicron variant – ‘counting cases’ does not make a crisis – “hospitalizations and deaths remain comparatively low” – need guidelines driven by science
Omicron variant has high transmissibility and mild infection
“We can’t vaccinate the planet every four to six months” – “effort to keep everyone protected from infection must be abandoned”
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/we-can-t-vaccinate-the-planet-every-4-to-6-months-vaccine-creator-warns-live-covid-updates/ar-AASs6u2
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/uk-officials-say-covid-19-boosters-every-few-months-not-sustainable-necessary/ar-AASr1io
Counting hospitalizations does not work as a disease metric – numbers are skewed & vaccinated staff are being infected
SCOTUS holding closed hearing with in-person testimony
- https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/07/us/politics/biden-vaccine-mandate-supreme-court.html
- https://www.scotusblog.com/2022/01/biden-vaccine-policies-face-supreme-court-test-amid-nationwide-covid-19-surge/
Nurses working in hospitals test positive but unvaccinated are not allowed to work
https://www.yahoo.com/news/covid-positive-nurses-hospitals-bidens-100122169.html
Coastal Zone Management Bulletin Board – 10 January 2022 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford
Still trying to resurrect vertical axis wind turbines
• https://cleantechnica.com/2021/12/31/vertical-axis-wind-turbines-not-dead-yet-says-arpa-e/
Predictions for the potential for US offshore wind over the decade
• https://www.oedigital.com/news/492988-offshore-wind-market-set-to-accelerate-in-northamerica
Ocean pollution (beach litter, debris, oil & sewage spills) have extremely negative impact on marine ecosystem and humans living in coastal areas
• https://voiceofoc.org/2022/01/orange-countys-coastal-waters-plagued-by-trash-sewage/
Perspective: Coastal credit schemes are a paper tiger for coastal restoration
Kenyan authorities suspect al-Shabab terrorists killed 6 in coastal Lamu county
US F&WS grants will fund salmon restoration projects on Camano Island and near Stanwood
12th Biennial Nehalem Estuary Cleanup scheduled for 5 March 2022
WWII Liberty ship SS Richard Montgomery sank in 1944 in Thames Estuary – explosive potential of 1,400 tonnes of unstable explosives – to be dismantled by Royal Navy
• https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/sunken-ship-full-bombs-thames-22601223
Yellow River Estuary National Park to build nests to attract Oriental Storks
Oyster farmers putting notes into shells to catch thieves
• https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/oyster-farmers-slipping-notes-shells-143619521.html
Improving estimates of population exposed to potential sea level rise
• Paper: https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/13/5747/2021/
Deforestation increases risk of flash flooding in West African coastal cities experiencing population growth
• https://phys.org/news/2022-01-deforestation-fast-growing-west-african-coastal.html
• Paper: https://www.pnas.org/content/119/2/e2109285119
Pennsylvania & New York submitted Draft Amended Phase III Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs) to meet targets for Chesapeake Bay
• NY WIP: https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/112126.html
“Ethical behavior is doing the right thing when no one else is watching- even when doing the wrong thing is legal.” - Aldo Leopold
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