Maude Barlow fires off observations and offers an opinion about the state of water and how RIO+20 has failed once again to adequately address water availability in the world. Barlow is the national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, chair of the board of Food and Water Watch, as well as an international best-selling author and was featured in a documentary based on her book Water on the Table.
New studies reveal that water consumption worldwide may be contributing to sea level rise as dramatically as melting land ice. Freshwater from the world’s aquifers is being pumped for human use, channeled into agriculture and municipal wells—and ultimately into rivers and then oceans. Sea level expert Robert Nicholls of the University of Southampton in England said that climate change will remain the significant driver of sea level rise. But even if society managed to mitigate climate issues, burgeoning ground water consumption would contribute to sea level rise. While reservoirs have so far offset freshwater flowing into the world’s ocean, aquifer systems have caused sea level rise at an average rate of one millimeter per year since 1961.
Read more at The Guardian.
The dedication of a new plant science research center for the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Science was marred by protest against the namesake of the facility, Frank Stonach. Stonach is at the center of controversy over a 30,000-acre cattle ranch, which opponents are concerned about the water usage required to sustain the farm.
A sinkhole that opened near a residence in Gainesville Saturday could be the first in what experts worry may be a strong season for sinkhole activity.
