WaterWired

Oliver Houck & G. Tracy Mehan, III: 'Reading the Environment — 1969-2019: Books Have Warned, Inspired Professionals'

G. Tracy Mehan III, a frequent contributor to WaterWired, executive director for government affairs at the American Water Works Association and adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason Universitysent me the following email and a PDF of an article he co-wrote.

My colleague, Tulane Law professor Oliver Houckand I wrote the attached overview of environmental literature over the past half decade for the 50th anniversary issue of The Environmental Forum and its publisher, the Environmental Law Institute.

It was a difficult task but we hope we convey the breadth and depth of the canon. We hope you find it to your liking.

Suffice it to say that he's being modest. It's great!

Download MEHAN-HOUCK_FORUM_2019_Nov-Dec_2019

The first few paragraphs should whet your appetite.

The anniversary date of 1969 was a year particularly well known for air quality emergencies from New York to Los Angeles, Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River catching on fire,and oil on the beaches of Santa Barbara, each of which produced law and policy reforms of their own — as well as the beginnings of a vast literature, from newspaper and magazine articles to a legion of books. And the pace of publishing on pollution and resource topics hasn’t slowed down at all.

Any attempt to capture environmental writing over the past 50 years requires a considerable lack of humility, given the outpouring of so many titles in this field. A recent Google search of “environmental books 1969-2019” yielded 154,000 results, no doubt an underestimate if you inquire into sub-specialties like environmental engineering, science, and economics. In the aggregate,the fact of this production provides reason alone for hope. So long as so many people continue to think, write and read about how to reconcile human conduct with the rest of the planet, we are the better for it.

We should begin by paying tribute to those who came before, the conservationand nature writers, the pioneering scientists, explorers, wanderers, poets, and painters who were the antennae of an evolving conservation movement occurring over centuries. Bill McKibben, writer and activist, has done a great service by assembling and editing a marvelous collection, American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau, including over one hundred American writers. Published in 2008 by the indispensable Libraryof America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the nation’s literary heritage, it features both classic and popular commentary on the environment. Certainly, Aldo Leopold’s “land ethic” (from A Sand County Almanac)  and the likes of George Perkins Marsh (Man and Nature) are featured, but also Buckminster Fuller, the poetGary Snyder, Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gay, John McPhee, Wendell Berry, Amory Lovins, the environmental historian William Cronon, and even P. T. Barnum’s diatribe against billboards. The collection is solid and representative for anyone wanting an overview of the canon.

For McKibben, “environmental writing,” in contradistinction to nature writing, “takes as its subject the collision between people and the rest of the world, and asks searching questions about that collision: Is it necessary? What are its effects? Might there be a better way?” While it often celebrates nature, it also recognizes, implicitly and explicitly, that “nature is no longer innocent or invulnerable.” McKibben goes on to conclude that “environmental writing is America’s most distinctive contribution to the world’s literature.” We agree.

And the last two paragraphs...

What we have here, together, is a sober assessment of the climate change challenge and reasoned hope for what could be. Which is what literature should do. 

So many books . . . and so little time. That is the bottom line for our limited review of the vast, overwhelming, but enriching cascade of environmental literature since 1969 and the founding of ELI and enactment of NEPA. The canon is rich, inter-disciplinary and, at times, both dispiriting and inspirational.At its most poetic, it contributes to the re-enchantment of the natural world.

Excellent!

Enjoy!

"Environmental writing is America’s most distinctive contribution to the world’s literature." - Bill McKibben

Elaine J. Hanford's Bulletin Boards: 1) Geoscience; 2) Environmental Science; 3) Coastal Zone Management - 30 September 2019

Hey! The 2020 Water Year starts tomorrow! In the USA the water year begins 1 October 2019 and ends 30 September 2020.

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Geoscience Bulletin Board – 30 September 2019 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford

Lithosphereis an open-access, peer reviewed journal

• https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/lithosphere

Theory relating erosion and mountain height does not always add up

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190923093143.htm

Five active faults found near Taiwan mothballed nuclear power plant – unit 4 should not be started

• https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3782526

Dust in the paleosols on Canary Islands suggests Sahara Desert is at least 4.6 myo

• https://www.newsweek.com/sahara-desert-ancient-dust-vast-landscape-1460766

Microplastics in the Great Lakes becoming part of benthic sedimentary layers

• https://www.newsweek.com/sahara-desert-ancient-dust-vast-landscape-1460766

Liquid outer core of Earth may be leaking tungsten isotopes into lower mantle

• https://eos.org/articles/leaky-at-the-core
• AGU Letter: https://www.geochemicalperspectivesletters.org/article1917

2017 Chiapas EQ caused substantial creek along distant segment of San Andreas Fault

• https://eos.org/research-spotlights/distant-quake-triggered-slow-slip-on-southern-san-andreas

Modeling resolves apparent lack of consistency in the Polar stratosphere – upper tropospheric tropical warming & Arctic amplification concur to weaken the jet stream

• https://eos.org/editor-highlights/polar-stratosphere-resolves-north-atlantic-jet-tug-of-war

Using idealized atmospheric models to understand large-scale circulation – climate model hierarchy

• https://eos.org/editors-vox/atmospheric-model-hierarchies-connecting-theory-and-models

2014 strato-volcanic eruption in Indonesia was initiated by volatile-triggered overpressure

• https://eos.org/articles/explosive-volcanic-eruption-powered-by-water-saturated-magma
• Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2018GC008161

Hurricane Nicole helps improve understanding of how storms impact deep ocean

• https://www.mbl.edu/blog/hurricane-nicole-sheds-light-on-how-storms-impact-deep-ocean/

Study shows water quality in Little Arkansas River & Equus Beds aquifer relatively constant

• https://www.usgs.gov/news/equus-beds-aquifer-water-quality-nearly-unchanged-between-2001-and-2016
• https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/sir20195026
• USGS SI Report: https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2019/5026/sir20195026.pdf

ElectroMagnetic music transforms geophysical data into melodies the mountains actually make

• https://www.usgs.gov/news/tune-melodies-mountains-actually-make
• https://eos.org/geofizz/rock-on-with-a-group-that-makes-music-from-geophysical-data

Triassic Rauisuchians(crocodile cousins) preyed on plant-eating dinosaurs

• http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/rauisuchians-plant-eating-dinosaurs-07621.html

Mollisonia plenovenatrixfound in Burgess Shale – tiny predator gave rise to scorpions & spiders

• http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Half_a_billion_year_old_tiny_predator_unveils_the_rise_of_scorpions_and_spiders_999.html

Palorchestid marsupials – extinct group of Australia megafauna had unique bodies & lifestyles

• http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Ancient_Australia_was_home_to_strange_marsupial_giants_some_weighing_over_1000_kg_999.html
• Paper: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0221824

New theory on long-term climate cooling over the last 15 million years – deepening of the CCD

• http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Is_theory_on_Earths_climate_in_the_last_15_million_years_wrong_999.html

Mesosaurs were monsters of the ocean – how did these marine lizards swim?

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190923140812.htm

Historic EQs suggest Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt may be active

• https://phys.org/news/2019-09-historic-earthquakes-trans-mexican-volcanic-belt.html

Kimberlites are only volcanic deposits we know of that come from the deep mantle

• https://phys.org/news/2019-09-kimberlites-volcanic-deposits-earth-deep.html

Numerous meltwater lakes are mapped on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

• https://phys.org/news/2019-09-thousands-meltwater-lakes-east-antarctic.html

 T. rex use a stiff skull to bite hard enough to shatter the bones of its prey

• https://www.technology.org/2019/09/26/t-rex-used-a-stiff-skull-to-eat-its-prey/

Machu Picchu was built at a remote location where rocks were fractured by faults

• https://news.artnet.com/art-world/machu-picchu-fault-lines-1662205

Rapid intensification of hurricanes is difficult to predict – new operational algorithm:  NGR

• https://www.brightsurf.com/news/article/092619493141/predicting-a-hurricanes-intensity-can-prove-difficult.html
• Paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019GL083273

Major EQ tremor is imminent near Istanbul, Turkey – recent seismic activity

• https://ahvalnews.com/earthquake/major-earthquake-swiftly-approaching-istanbul-top-earthquake-scientist-says

Wildfire smoke transforms through rapid chemical and physical changes of organic matter

• https://sese.asu.edu/about/news/article/4956

Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project – 2019 Dispatches

• https://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=165036

How will first responders cope with oil trapped under ocean ice – REMUS-600 & LRAUV

• https://www.whoi.edu/news-insights/content/rapid-response-at-sea/

Catastrophic landslides during 2018 Palu EQ result of rice crop irrigation saturating soil

• https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02890-0

Major EQ tremor is imminent near Istanbul, Turkey – recent seismic activity

• https://ahvalnews.com/earthquake/major-earthquake-swiftly-approaching-istanbul-top-earthquake-scientist-says
• https://www.novinite.com/articles/200455/188+Secondary+Earthquakes+Registered+near+Istanbul
• http://bianet.org/english/other/213637-istanbul-technical-university-situation-critical-after-earthquake-on-locked-fault

Environmental Science Bulletin Board – 30 September 2019 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford

Rabies – disease, transmission & prevention

• https://asm.org/Articles/2019/September/Rabies-Disease,-Transmission-and-Prevention-Just-W

Vaping-related deaths and illnesses continue

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/mysterious-spate-vape-related-deaths-164527622.html

It is official Autumn – when & where to see the best fall colors

• https://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/heres-when-fall-leaves-will-peak-your-region.html

Retrofit of Providence Saint Vincent Hospital in Portland, Oregon, for seismic safety

• https://www.kptv.com/news/providence-st-vincent-finishes-retrofitting-patient-tower-to-withstand-major/article_3834d956-db3d-11e9-b56f-1fed1239f3fa.html

Comprehensive seismic review of UC San Francisco buildings

• https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2019/09/415456/ucsf-conducts-comprehensive-seismic-review-all-buildings

Labradoodle “inventor” admits he made a Frankenstein & regrets his actions creating lots of health & behavioral problems in the animals – very, very few ethical breeders

• https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-who-invented-the-labradoodle-says-he-created-a-frankenstein-165223925.html

Slide show:  40 of the most extreme animals on Earth

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/pets-animals/the-40-most-extreme-animals-on-the-planet/ss-AAGKj73

Senate Committee maintains ban on slaughter plant inspections for horses in the US

• https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/496842810/u-s-senate-committee-maintains-ban-on-horse-slaughter-in-the-u-s

Fungal disease in porcupines in New England - added to list of species hit by outbreaks of fungus – fungus in porcupines is zoonotic so could be passed to humans

• https://granitegeek.concordmonitor.com/2019/09/23/fungal-disease-found-in-porcupines-adding-to-list-of-species-hit-by-fungus-outbreaks/

Warning – the world is not ready for the next large-scale disease outbreak

• https://www.medicaldaily.com/world-not-ready-next-global-health-crisis-millions-may-die-442875
• GPMB Report: https://apps.who.int/gpmb/assets/annual_report/GPMB_annualreport_2019.pdf

Vorovoro Island in Fiji wants to sustain traditional Fijian way of life while adding modern technology

• https://www.autodesk.com/redshift/sustainable-development-in-fiji/

Toxic PFAS chemicals found in drinking water systems serving about 7.5 million California residents

• https://www.ewg.org/research/toxic-forever-chemicals-detected-drinking-water-supplies-across-california

Framework of cooperation established in anticipation of building multi-billion-dollar facility in New Mexico for temporary (40 years) storage of spent nuclear fuel

• https://www.apnews.com/016c6bd22f4041d6b97d01f723cfc28b

Documenting traditional Native American knowledge of climate reflects on sequestration of old mining pollution sequestered in Canadian lakes

• https://eos.org/articles/indigenous-knowledge-puts-industrial-pollution-in-perspective
• Paper: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/polar-polaire/documents/pdf/aqhaliat/Aqhaliat-2018-12-Galloway-et-al.pdf

Surging Waters report reflects science empowering people to mitigate flood water impacts

• https://eos.org/agu-news/agu-releases-report-to-address-flooding-in-communities
• Report: https://scienceisessential.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2019/09/Surging_Waters_credits_pages_web.pdf

Australian TGA taking action over concerns of breast cancer caused by implants

• https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6409182/breast-implants-recalled-over-cancer-fears/

Australia ACT becomes first jurisdiction recognizing pets as “sentient beings”

• https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6409134/act-passes-australia-first-animal-sentience-laws/

Tasmanian Tiger (now extinct) and wolves share DNA

• https://phys.org/news/2019-09-evolution-tasmanian-tiger-wolf.html

Walrus responds to intrusion of people, attacks & sinks Russian Navy expedition boat

• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/walrus-attack-sink-russia-navy-boat_n_5d8a9c7be4b0c6d0cef34186
• https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/09/walruses-attack-russian-navy-sinking-inflatable-boat/

Perspective:  Thinking through EPA commitment to eliminate use of mammals in toxicity testing

• https://www.ehn.org/epa-lab-animals-chemical-testing-2640450647.html

Save the Redwoods League to purchase 530-acre Alder Creek forest – home to hundreds of Giant Sequoia

• https://www.treehugger.com/conservation/conservationists-buy-largest-private-sequoia-forest-world.html
• https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/save-the-redwoods-league-to-protect-crown-jewel-of-the-remaining-giant-sequoia-forests-300919280.html

Earthworms lose weight in soil containing micro-plastic

• https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-09/aru-msg091019.php

2M+ animals perish in wildfires across Bolivian forests & grasslands

• http://www.terradaily.com/reports/More_than_2_million_animals_perish_in_Bolivia_wildfires_999.html

Large numbers of bats are severely emaciated or starving to death during prolonged drought in Australia

• http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Bats_starving_to_death_in_Australia_drought_999.html

Human activity & impacts have caused disruptions in the ocean that allow jellyfish to thrive

• http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Jellyfish_thrive_in_the_man-made_disruption_of_the_oceans_999.html

Veterinary drugs pushing dung beetles to brink of extinction in Mexico

• http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Veterinary_drugs_pushing_dung_beetles_to_the_brink_of_extinction_999.html

Call for a countermeasure to the pesticide initiative to also protect water

• https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2019/09/blog-wehrli-pesticide-initiatives.html

Parkinson’s disease affects men & women differently – why?

• https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-09/ip-haw092519.php

New fungus-derived antibiotic may be effective against lethal fungal & bacterial infections in immune-compromised people

• https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-09/tuos-nfa092519.php

Natural selection alters genes in similar manner to artificial selection – Darwin was right

• https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-09/nu-cei092619.php

Darker colored giraffes are more solitary & less social

• https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2019/09/dark-giraffe-new-dark-horse

Other animals (besides humans) also suffer from weakened immune systems as they age

• https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2019/wild-animals-immune-systems-decline-with-age

Expected useful life of wind projects has increased by about 5 years

• https://www.technology.org/2019/09/26/new-study-finds-that-the-expected-useful-life-of-wind-projects-has-increased-to-30-years/

“Delicate” cycle on your wash uses more water & releases more micro-plastics to the environment

• https://www.ecowatch.com/delicate-wash-cycle-releases-800000-more-microplastics-than-regular-wash-study-finds-2640633515.html

Why shooting very hazardous waste to the Sun in a rocket is not a good idea

• https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/this-is-why-we-dont-shoot-earth-s-garbage-into-the-sun-48d8352ea90

New approach to post-disaster research – insights from 2009 M8 EQ in the South Pacific

http://theconversation.com/lessons-for-a-destabilising-planet-insights-from-the-2009-south-pacific-earthquake-tsunami-disaster-124275

Coastal Zone Management Bulletin Board – 30 September 2019 – compiled by Elaine J. Hanford

Monterey Bay Aquarium since 2002 has raised orphaned sea otter pups to return to the wild

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sea-otters-monterey-bay-aquarium-raising-orphanedpups/ar-AAHImJB

• https://www.oryxthejournal.org/blog/from-an-otter-mother-the-feel-good-science-behindcalifornias-sea-otter-recovery/

Quick Response Report: Relocation, Repopulation & long-term risks

• https://hazards.colorado.edu/quick-response-report/relocation-repopulation-and-rising-seas

USEPA funds awarded to local groups for coastal conservation & restoration in Rhode Island

• https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-funding-local-groups-will-help-coastal-conservationand-restoration-rhode-island

If conditions change in the Gulf of Maine lobstermen will have to adapt

• https://bangordailynews.com/2019/09/23/news/state/as-maines-coastal-waters-warmslobstermen-look-to-new-fisheries-for-stable-future/

After Hurricane Dorian leaves the coastal counties of North Carolina – mosquitoes swarm

• https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/mosquitoes-swarm-nc-coastal-county-after-hurricanedorian/

Tracking & measuring the distribution of sulfur in plants on the island of Trinidad

• https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190923164530.htm

Using amateur video & real-life scan to assess tsunamis

• https://www.wired.com/story/amateur-video-helping-understand-deadly-tsunamis/

Dutch are reinforcing the 87-year-old Afsluitdijk as one of key defenses again the ocean

• https://www.apnews.com/4758c0d3504d44079a0e5a58c11cf1a6

California may extend life of several coastal power plants that use seawater for cooling – process kills fish and other marine life

• https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/these-fish-killing-gas-plants-were-set-to-closecalifornia-may-throw-them-a-lifeline/ar-AAHPBjU

Massive storm surge barriers could end revival of the Hudson River

• https://e360.yale.edu/features/could-massive-storm-surge-barriers-end-the-hudson-riversrevival

New IPCC global warming alarmist report: Special Report on the Ocean & Cryosphere in Changing Climate

• https://eos.org/articles/grim-report-on-climate-change-impacts-on-oceans-and-cryosphere

• https://phys.org/news/2019-09-ipcc-catastrophic-picture-ice-sea.html

• Download Report: https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/download-report/

• Full report: https://report.ipcc.ch/srocc/pdf/SROCC_FinalDraft_FullReport.pdf

Water district setting aside water to protect Caloosahatchee River & Estuary in Florida

•https://www.newspress.com/story/tech/science/environment/2019/09/20/caloosahatcheeriver-estuary-minimum-flow-level-water-management-district-lake-okeechobeereleases/2386104001/

Land donated to Great Peninsula Conservancy to protect Burke Bay Estuary in Brownsville,Washington

• https://www.kitsapdailynews.com/news/local-land-trust-looks-to-protect-burke-bay-estuary-inbrownsville/

Stowaways on trial for hiding on international merchant ship & threatening to kill crew

• https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-49843804

Tourism & permanent residents have different ecological consequences for coastal fauna

• https://phys.org/news/2019-09-tourism-permanent-consequences-coastal-fauna.html

Endangered species protection sought for Oregon Coast Spring Chinook salmon

• https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/endangered-species-protections-soughtoregon-coast-spring-chinook-2019-09-24/

New Jersey shorebird may go extinct due to flooding, habitat destruction & predators – blame rats?

• https://www.inquirer.com/science/climate/rising-tides-flooded-nests-new-jersey-shoresaltmarsh-sparrow-threat-extinction-climate-change-endangered-20190921.html

 

"History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes." - Unknown

Transboundary Twofer! 1) Report: Water as a Potential Conflict Factor in Central Asia; 2) Book: Transboundary Hydro-Governance

1) Water as a Potential Conflict Factor in Central Asia is a 2015 paper by Eva Lackovičová, a student at Prague's University of Economics.  

Download Water_As_A_Potential_Conflict_Factor

Introduction
Water belongs to the most important resources and for human life it is a need and a must. However, even in the 21st century, there are still countries and their citizens which lack water resources for production, consumption, clean drinking water for everyday use. International organizations, such as the UN, try hard to secure this right to all the people in the world and to make water accepted as a public good for the benefit of all. Although they are still not fully successful, the whole international community must continue in these actions. Moreover, the problem is that in some parts of the world, water can become a cause of conflicts and disputes. It can happen for a number of reasons, which will be described later in the paper. In my paper, I decided to take a closer look at the region of Central Asia, because I believe, that this region has a huge potential for future development and water is a crucial element in all the relations in the region for a long time. I have decided to make a hypothesis saying that water is a conflict factor in the region of Central Asia and can lead to conflicts in the future.

In the first chapter, I will define the region from geographical and socio-economic point of view. In order to be able to analyse the region objectively, we need to know these information. Geographical position of the countries in the region determines the climate conditions which consequently affect countries´ relation to water and the whole water situation in the region. Historical and socio-economic background is important for us in order to understand the situation and trace back the origins of the water problem. Furthermore, as all the countries in this region were part of the USSR, it is also an important part of their history and it still has its legacy there. Thus, I will look at the water management during the Soviet times, as well as after the dissolution.

The second chapter provides a theoretical background for this topic, as I try to define some of the important approaches and opinions on the issue of potential water conflicts and water scarcity. The number of researchers and scholars who are dealing with this topic is still increasing as it becomes a more pressing issue. Nevertheless, I tried to provide readers with number of authors, which I find crucial for this analysis and I find their arguments most suitable for the topic. Although, I believe that there are also other works of other authors, which are also relevant, it is not possible to cover all of them. One of the best known authors dealing with water related issues and conflicts is Mr. Peter Gleick and after reviewing his work, I have decided that his approach will provide a cornerstone for the analysis of conflict factors.

Conclusion
In the previous three chapters, I have tried to find out whether water is a potential conflict factor in the region of Central Asia and if it is likely to become one in the future. In the introduction, I have set up a hypothesis that it is such, and it can lead to conflicts in the future. In order to be able to give an answer statement for this hypothesis, I gathered information from many sources about geographical, socio-economic realities and water management structures during the Soviet period and after. To support the analysis with relevant arguments and approaches, I have researched works of scholars dealing with this issue as well as reports and analysis of mostly foreign authors. Since I found one approach talking directly about water related issues and conflict factors of water and water systems, I have decided to take it as a main approach to test in the given region. Then, I tried to show that there is a conflict potential in the region related to water.

Given by the conducted analysis, I conclude that it has been successful in confirming proving the hypothesis given in the beginning. We can say, that water really is a conflict factor in the region and its conflict potential tends to become even stronger in the future. It is important to say that although one can see the main cause of trouble in the scarcity of water resources, it is not right. Countries in the region have enough water theoretically, so the physical scarcity of water is not affecting this region. However, perceived or structural scarcity is the core problem as the distribution and allocation of water is poorly managed, facilities are outdated, and thus large amounts of water do not reach its destination. This mismanagement emerged during the Soviet era and still stays alive in these states. It is mainly connected with high dependency on agriculture in the downstream countries, which are tremendously dependent on waters coming outside of their territory. In order to prevent conflict situation, countries should gradually diversify their economies.

Moreover, the problem is escalated by different power of the downstream and upstream states and nowadays the upstream countries are believed to take measure to even more disadvantage the downstream ones. Relations between states are not good, which is also not helping the situation. There are no other available water resources in the region other than the two main rivers, Syr Darya and Amu Darya, and thus the dependency makes water even more conflictual. Great levels of pollution, salinization and degradation of water sources are also factors troubling the regional water system. Furthermore, it is believed, that climate change will have an impact on the region and it can make the issue even worse in the future, due to unpredictability of the weather, more frequent droughts, higher average temperatures and thus increased demand for water.

There have been several water related disputes in the region before, and now the possibility of conflict is even higher due to plans by the upstream countries. These new dams would ensure energy flow for the upstream countries but would severely damage water flow into the downstream countries. If Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan will continue in these projects a threat of conflicts is certainly there. Incidents of diverting the water flow were present also in the past, but these projects could change the whole water situation in the region. The potential for conflict is even higher as the countries are not on good terms and thus it is hard to negotiate and make new, efficient and reasonable deals. The whole international community needs to take this threat seriously and respond to it, before it will be too late. New agreements, which will be adhered to, more negotiations, which could be facilitated by international actors, and leading to further cooperation and stronger relationships between the states are the key in solving the situation for good and prevent conflicts despite some unfavourable geographical conditions in the region.

Enjoy!

2) Transboundary Hydro-Governance: From Conflict to Shared Management by  
Em. Prof. Jacques Ganoulis and J. Fried.

Here is the blurb from the emailI received.

Dear Colleague,

It is my pleasure that I would like to inform you about the new book publication of Em. Prof. Jacques Ganoulis, UNESCO/INWEB Coordinator, entitled: 

Transboundary Hydro-Governance:
From Conflict to Shared Management,
Springer, July 2018 

It is co-authored with Prof. J. Fried, University of California at Irvine and
 resumes many years of experience on Water Resources Management of the two authors, who have worked in various international institutions, like UNESCO, GEF, UNEP and at the European Commission.

The book reports results of research on transboundary water management, water diplomacy and conflict resolution, and more particularly on Water Governance and how to bridge the gap between science and political decision-making, based on Prof. Ganoulis expertise during the last 3 years, as State Secretary for Water at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Athens, Greece.

Dr. Ch. Skoulikaris

UNESCO/INWEB Secretary

Enjoy!

"Bad teachers and dying behavioral disciplines caution against using teaching evaluation techniques developed by dying behavioral disciplines." - @ass_deans

Book: 'Power and Water in Central Asia'

I just received a notice about Filippo Menga's (University of Reading) 2018 book, Power and Water in Central Asia. Looks fascinating.

Here is a description from the book's Routledge site:

Water is an irreplaceable and transient resource, which crosses political boundaries in the form of rivers, lakes, and groundwater aquifers. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, led to the birth of fifteen countries including the five Central Asian republics, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. When the USSR ceased to exist, so did the centralised Soviet resource distribution system that managed the exchange and allocation of water, energy, and food supplies. A whole new set of international relations emerged, and the newly formed Central Asian governments had to redefine the policies related to the exchange and sharing of their natural resources.

This book analyses the role of state power in transboundary water relations. It provides an in–depth study of the evolution of interstate relations in Central Asia in the field of water from 1991-2015. Taking as a case study the planned construction of the Rogun and Kambarata dams in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the author examines various forms of overt and covert power shaping interstate relations and the way hegemonic and counter-hegemonic measures are put in place in an international river basin. He argues that the intimate correlation between the concepts of power and hegemony can offer key insights to the analysis and understanding of transboundary water relations. While the analytical focus is placed on state power, the book demonstrates that hegemonic and counter-hegemonic tactics represent the ways in which power is wielded and observed.

Offering fresh theoretical interpretations to the subjects of power and counter-hegemony in the Aral Sea basin, this book puts forward the original circle of hydro-hegemony, an analytical framework in which the various forms of power are connective in the function of hegemony. It will be of interest to scholars in the field of water and environmental politics and Central Asian Studies.

Here is part of Chapter 1:

Download Power_and_Water_in_Central_Asia_Routledge

Be sure to read the section, 'Why Central Asia?'

Enjoy!

"Don't be absurd. Your office isn't the size of a veal pen. It's the size of four veal pens -- a solid 5 square meters!" - @ass_deans

Time to Put Democracy on Hold? G. Tracy Mehan III Book Review: 'Can Democracy Handle Climate Change?'

Can democracy handle climate change? Not only is that the $64 question, but it is also the title of a new book by Daniel J. Fiorino.

So who should review this book? Only the best - G. Tracy Mehan III, a frequent contributor to WaterWired, executive director for government affairs at the American Water Works Association and adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He writes great book reviews (and other things) so when he sends me something I post it. He sent me this review, which will be publsihed in the September/October 2019 issue of the The Environmental Forum

Download_Democracy_and_Climate_Change_Review

Here are the first few paragraps:

With the election of President Trump in 2016, and recent setbacks for political parties supporting aggressive action on climate change in Australia and Canada, there is dissension among some environmentalists and academics about the efficacy of democracies in achieving the goal of mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting changes to our planet.

“Even the best democracies agree that when a major war approaches, democracy must be put on hold for the time being,” says Gaia theorist James Lovelock. “I have a feeling that climate change may bean issue as severe as a war. It may be necessary to put democracy on hold for a while.”

That old curmudgeon Garrett Hardin (of “The Tragedy of the Commons” fame), believed the world had to relinquish “the freedom to breed, and that very soon.” That was back in 1968. And David Shearman andJoseph Wayne Smith, in The Climate Challenge and the Failure of Democracy (Praeger 2007) stated their firm belief that “authoritarianism is the natural state of humanity, and it may be better to choose our elites rather than have them imposed.” Battling climate change is warfare, and “humanity will have to trade its liberty to live as it wishes in favor of a system where survival is paramount.”

You also might also enjoy Tracy's review of  Beyond Politics: The Private Governance Response to Climate Change. Click here for his review of 1 March 2018.

Enjoy!

“No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” - James Madison (thanks to G. Tracy Mehan III)