Rivers

Sister Cities in Climate Crisis: New Orleans, Basra, Alexandria face Saltwater Intrusion, Fresh Water Shortage

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Eric Zerkel and Angela Fritz at CNN report on the great saltwater intrusion that is threatening drinking water over the next few months in New Orleans and towns to its south. The Mississippi delta was created by the silt deposited as the great river flowed south into the Gulf of […]

Climate Crisis

From Egypt’s Nile to Iraq’s Tigris-Euphrates, only Water Diplomacy can Forestall Coming Climate Conflicts

Middle East Monitor

By Prof. Dr. Aysegul Kibaroglu ( Middle East Monitor ) – One of the most pressing issues of the 21st century is the management and allocation of the limited freshwater resources in the world. Since an important number of those water resources are trans-boundary, crossing the political boundaries of more than one nation, the […]

Africa

Egypt and Ethiopia are finally working on a Water Deal – what that means for other Nile River States

The Conversation

By John Mukum Mbaku, Weber State University | – Egypt and Ethiopia have waged a diplomatic war of words over Ethiopia’s massive new dam – the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – on the Blue Nile, which started filling up in July 2020. The political row has threatened to get out of hand on occasion but […]

Climate Crisis

Roots of Iraq’s Water Crisis: Upriver Dams along with Climate Change

McGuire Gibson

Response of McGuire Gibson, Professor Emeritus of Mesopotamian Architecture , University of Chicago, to Iraq’s Climate Crisis: America’s War for Oil and the Great Mesopotamian Dustbowl Juan: In your devastating post about Iraq’s drought, you could have given more attention to the crucial role of Turkey in flouting international law and damaging Iraq (and Syria) […]

Agriculture

Time to Dial it Back: We Humans have Exceeded the Boundaries of 80% of the Planet’s Key Systems

The Conversation

By Steven J Lade, Australian National University; Ben Stewart-Koster, Griffith University; Stuart Bunn, Griffith University; Syezlin Hasan, Griffith University; Xuemei Bai, Australian National University | – (The Conversation) – People once believed the planet could always accommodate us. That the resilience of the Earth system meant nature would always provide. But we now know this […]

Arab World

Egypt’s Nile Delta is badly polluted by Heavy Metals

Sustainability Times

( Sustainability Times ) – The Nile is one of the world’s most iconic rivers and in ancient times it gave rise to a unique cilvilization that lasted for several millennia. Yet its delta, once the heartland of Lower Egypt, could soon be no more in any recognizable form, scientists are warning. “Large-scale heavy metal […]

Climate Crisis

Working with Local Knowledge only way to save Pakistan from Flood Disasters

The Third Pole

By Daanish Mustafa | – ( The Third Pole) – How would a decolonised water perspective and practice mitigate the effects of the type of floods that Pakistan is witnessing in 2022? If decolonising water is about recentring the multiple layers of meaning and practice that are associated with water at the local and indigenous […]

Agriculture

As Colorado River Dries Up, the U.S. Teeters on the Brink of Larger Water Crisis

ProPublica

By Abrahm Lustgarten | – ( ProPublica) – The western United States is, famously, in the grips of its worst megadrought in a millennium. The Colorado River, which supplies water to more than 40 million Americans and supports food production for the rest of the country, is in imminent peril. The levels in the nation’s […]

Climate Crisis

Pakistan: Climate Emergency-Driven, biblical Floods affect 33 million People Leave Millions Homeless

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Heavy flooding in southern Pakistan has destroyed or damaged 670,000 homes, according to Reliefweb. During an ordinary monsoon season in Pakistan beginning in June and ending in September, there would be four waves of precipitation. There have been eight such waves since June. Households in that country have an average […]