Water Conflict and Climate Change

One of the many longterm effects of climate change is the change in precipitation levels througout the globe. As the climate warms the IPCC has predicted the precipitation patterns will increase in areas of high rainfall and there will be a decrease in precipitation in areas that currently receive minimal rainfall. As the population increases and water scarcity is becoming a problem because of pollution and poor management the effects of global warming are going to become even more impactfull. Currently there are water conflicts throughout the global the worst occuring in developing nations like India and Africa. These are predicted to get worse and others are expected to develop as rain patterns continue to become more scarce in the areas that need them most. There is also concern with 1.5 million people under water stress, where their daily water needs cannot be met, and that number to be increasing with the effects of global warming. This is of great concern for the developing South especially because the developed nations of the global North are responsible for the effects of global warming and will be continuing to worsen the problem as the South directly suffers. Civil wars are expected to increase and violent conflict is expected to further hinder the development of the global South. Here is several articles that discusses this issue and c some of the current major water conflicts that are occuring today in relation to Sudan and Darfur and the Indian Ganges River.
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/natres/water/2007/0316thirstier.htm
http://www.netwas.org/newsletter/articles/2005/09/2
http://internationalwaterlaw.org/articles/general/Rahaman-Ganges-Asteriskos.pdf

DDT is an important chemical to look at in its global use today for pesticide eradication in the war against Malaria. Here is an exerpt from an ethics paper on its use in Malaria control.

The history of DDT is extremely complex and politically connected. The chemical was developed in 1939 by Paul Muller who received the Nobel Prize for its invention as an insecticide.[1] It was used in World War II to combat typhus and malaria and was hailed as a miracle cure to diseases that previously had no such relief. In the United States the use of DDT as an agricultural pesticide was prevalent throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In Rachel Carson’s revolutionary book Silent Spring the indiscriminate overuse in all methods of agriculture is described: “Yet only a year after expressing satisfaction with the state of affairs (gypsy moth), its (New England) Plant Pest Control division embarked on a program calling for blanket spraying of several million acres a year.”[2] The book brought to light many environmental and health concerns that surrounded what was at the time considered “so universally used that in most minds the product takes on the harmless aspect of familiar.”[3]

Much of the science that Carson raised in her book was not common knowledge when it was published. Further investigation was prompted, and she is attributed in part to helping spark the Green Revolution in the United States during the 1960’s and 1970’s. DDT is a persistent organic pollutant that does not readily break down in the environment, so many of its environmental impacts are not noticed immediately. Before DDT is incorporated into fatty tissue it is metabolized and a new inactive form known as DDE is created.[4] This is what can be measured in fat tissue in humans, and the ranges vary greatly. Today the average North American has a concentration of 3 parts per million (ppm), while workers in insecticide plants in the 1960s had concentrations up to 648 ppm.[5]^,[6]

DDT is dangerous because of its ability to bio-magnify. It is fat soluble and does not readily get released as waste. As one animal absorbs it, for example a fish through its gills, it stays there until another animal eats it that then absorbs all of it. The larger fish then absorbs all of the DDE in every little fish it eats which is then passed on up the food chain becoming more and more concentrated in the fat of each animal. For birds this is important because once a certain concentration is reached the DDE inhibits calcium absorption, and the eggshells are then too thin to support the parent birds. In the United States the decline of the Bald Eagle population was highly correlated to DDE concentrations. For every 16 micro grams of DDE in the birds there was a fifteen percent shell thinning associated.[7]

The harm from bio-magnification is important not only where the chemical is sprayed but also globally because DDT has the ability to travel in the atmosphere. Because the chemical has a low volatility level a small percentage of it evaporates and then travels to as far as the artic where it is cold enough to condense.[8] Here the chemical can be bio-magnified in the food chain and reach humans and animals on the other side of the planet from where the chemical was sprayed. With the integration of DDE in organisms the effects are often long term and difficult to study. The most important aspect of the chemical impact is its overall harm to biodiversity. There is no way to know what organism it will harm or how, but regardless there are problems that arrive from the indiscriminate killing of organisms.

The human health risks of DDT are also complex. DDE and DDT are hormone-disrupting chemicals that can lead to immunological, developmental, and reproductive problems. There have been many studies done on humans trying to directly correlate prolonged DDT exposure to acute problems but like all carcinogens it is hard to create direct correlations to prolonged exposure because of the lack of study controls. In Tzaneen, Limpopo Province, South Africa a study was done that showed a direct correlation between DDT exposure and decreased semen count.[9] In New York City breast cancer was strongly associated with DDE concentrations.[10] Although the direct mechanisms to causing cancer and other problems are not specifically known it is accepted that long term exposure to DDT is harmful to human health.

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[1] Baird, Colin., Cann, Michael. 2005. Environmental Chemistry Third Edition. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, NY. 435.

[2]Carson, Rachel. 1962. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY. 20.

[3] Carson, 20.

[4] Baird C, 450.

[5] Baird C, 445.

[6] Carson, 22.

[7] Wiemeyer, Stanley N., Bunck, Christine M., Stafford, Charles J. 1993. “Environmental contaminants in bald eagle eggs 1980–84—and further interpretations of relationships to productivity and shell thickness.” Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Vol. 24(2): 316 February. 316.

[8] Baird C, 414.

[9] Dalvis, Mohamed., Myers, Jonathan., Thompson, Mary Lou., Robins, Thomas., Dyerd, Silke., Riebow, John., Molekwa, Josef., Jeebhay, Mohamed., Millar, Robert., Krugerg, Phillip. 2004. “The long-term effects of DDT exposure on semen, fertility, and sexual function of malaria vector-control workers in Limpopo Province, South Africa.” Environmental Research Vol. 96(1):1-8 September.

[10] Wolff, Mary., Toniolo, Paolo., Lee, Eric., Rivera, Marilyn., Dubin, Neil. 1993. “Blood Levels of Organochlorine Residues and Risk of Breast Cancer.” Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Vol. 85(8): 648-652, April.

Chlordane awareness

Ever wonder what kind of chemicals are lurking around in the water and soil of your local streams and bays? Did you ever wonder how the the streams become so contiminated? The answer can most likely be found right outside on your lawns and gardens. Pesticide use is one of many contributors to soil contamination in many water streams. More specifically, chlordane is among the many chemicals that can be found at high concentrations in different parts of Tecolote Canyon. Tecolote Canyon is a nature park in San Diego, CA that is surrounded by houses, a golf-course and the University of San Diego. Chlordane is a pesticide that is highly toxic. It was prevalent throughout the 1980’s to kill off pests, ants and insects until it was banned from commercial use in 1988. Although, it has been banned for almost twenty years concentrations of chlordane can still be found in some places near home lawns and gardens. Chlordane sticks strongly to soil particles at the surface thus; it can stay in the soil for over 20 years and breaks down very slowly. Chlordane concentrations are highly variable in soil and sediments. In an effort to find more information about what parts of the soil sediments contain Chlordane, samples from varies locations were taken from Tecolote Canyon. The soil samples were then tested for chlordane using the ELISA method. The ELISA method of measuring chlordane samples provides a technique for using a uv-vis spectrophotometer to measure the absence of the chlordane in each sample. From this method, we were able to construct a calibration curve that provided values to use in an equation that ultimately provided a final concentration value in ppb for each solution. We found that chlordane was present in every sample taken from Tecolote Canyon. The samples had concentration values ranging from 5-1900 ppb. This is higher than expected considering that the half life of chlordane varies between 37 to 3500 days and the commercial use of chlordane as a pesticide has been illegal since 1988. The highest of these samples was from the northern region of the canyon below the community center and below the golf course. From the data, we found a correlation between chlordane and soil moisture. Thus, we can conclude that chlordane is present in higher conentrations in moist soil vs. dry soil. The correlation between soil moisture and chlordane also suggests that there is still chlordane coming into the canyon from runoff areas like the golf course and residential areas above the canyon. In conclusion, this should bring some awareness that we should always be aware of the chemicals we use so that we can save our environment and utimately save our selves.

Chlordane Still Present In Tecolote Canyon After Thirty Years Of Its Restricted Use

Tecolote Canyon is a Nature Park located on the northern side of the University of San Diego campus, it extends quite a ways up north past mesa college and it exists between homes, colleges, and golf courses. Back in the 1950's, a pesticide commonly known as Chlordane was used to fumigate fire ants, pests, and other small insects that were infesting the area. It took about thirty years after its extensive use for scientists to realize that this pesticide was more harmful than originally thought. Not only was it toxic to the environment and animals in contact with it, but it's persistence in the soil and sediment was high. This means that even after thirty years of its restricted use, Chlordane concentrations could still be present in high amounts in the soil.

Our goal for this project was to access the locations and concentrations of Chlordane throughout the canyon and to speculate as to where the possible sources for contamination were coming from (or still are coming from). Our class was split up among various parts of the length of the canyon and soil samples were taken from numerous locations near a creek that runs through the park. At each sampling site, coordinates were taken from a GPS system that allowed us to later plug these sites into Google Earth to get a better perspective of where each sample was coming from.


From Google Earth, were were able to pin-point each concentration value for Chlordane with its respective location within the sampling area. This was a very helpful method because from the aerial view, we were able to locate possible drainage sources that might contribute to a specific concentration at a site. The samples were taken into the lab and treated with a Chlordane Kit called ELISA that was able to help us measure absorbency values from each sample. From the absorbency values compared to a standard set of absorbency values for the chemical Chlordane, the concentration for each site was able to be calculated.

Most of the calculations led to fairly low concentrations respectively, however there were a few sites that huge concentrations in comparison to the other sites. One of these sites was located at the major drainage site of the golf course, which in fact made the most sense to us. Sadly, golf courses use many chemicals to treat their grasses without paying much attention to the environment surrounding them. The other high level that was found was located near the highway where a confluence of water was located. All surrounding drainage pathways led to this one small location where the water was just stagnated. Also, when discussing this site with the local park rangers, they had mentioned that the location for that was was where a large condo-complex had been built across the street within the past twenty years and they definitely would have been using lots of pesticides to create the garden area and pest control.

Our results were higher than we would have thought, but it really hits home to know that these chemicals really do exist many years after their use. On out part, only measurements about the soil were taken into consideration, but the immense wildlife in the area definitely plays a big role into the contamination as well. It is important to think about the long term effects when using toxic chemicals and how exactly the product is getting disposed of before using them. Lastly, I would just like to point out that our tests were only run for one pesticide that was banned in the 1980's, yet still today pesticides are being used worldwide to a greater extent and it is our responsibility to make sure that we are monitoring their detrimental effects and using them minimally.

Dogs Pose threat to water

Do you have a Dog? If you do. Do you clean up after dog? After reading this article about how water gets contaminated from dog watse I thought it would great to let every know how important it is to clean up after your pets. Everyone knows that dogs can be dirty but it took science studies to determine how dirty and nasty they can be. Dog watse can generate disease-causing bacteria that can make people sick. Studies done in the last few years put dogs third or fourth on the list of contributors to bacteria in contaminated waters. Researchers have found that at some beaches, dogs help raise bacteria levels so high that visitors must stay out of the water. Several studies have found that roughly 40% of Americans don't pick up their dogs' feces (women are more likely to do so than men). That is a lot watse!.The environmental impact of dog waste went unrecognized for decades. Then scientists developed lab techniques to determine the origin of fecal bacteria contaminating water. One method is a variant of DNA fingerprinting. Another method looks at the antibiotic resistance of microbes from different species. This is a great article and I encourage everyone that has pets to read this. Among the most contaminated spots found were Stevenson Creek in Clearwater, Fla. , the four Mile Run in Arlington and Fairfax counties, Va, and Boise River in Boise.

Constructed Wetlands

The section of the book on the processing of wastewater via an artificial marsh intrigued me to do some more research. There are two types of constructed wetlands: the subsurface - flow wetland and the surface - flow wetland. The subsurface - flow wetland transports sewage sludge through the sand to the roots of the marsh plants, while the sewage sludge in the surface - flow wetland travels above the soil. Also, there are many wetlands here in San Diego County, some of which are 'constructed' and not natural. However, the population in San Diego County is too large to have the wetlands serve as biological treatments for wastewater and sewage, which is why they were created mostly to serve as a refuge for migrating birds and to compensate lost estuarine habitat. Here is a list of the wetlands in San Diego County if anyone is interested.

a Greener Apple...?

Apple has long been praised for generating products with a sleek, clean, modern design...so why doesn’t its company follow suit with respect towards its generation of "iwaste." On May 2, 2007, a bit more recent than the Clinton era ;), Steve Jobs vowed to clean up Apple' act. Apple's website now boasts it Green Apple logo and a list of improvements that will be taking place with respect to lessen its impact. These reductions include the complete phase out of lead in their computers as well as other toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic, mercury, and hexavalent chromium. The E-waste from large computer and cell phone manufacturers is gigantic. In areas of countries like China and India, computer parts and wastes are dumped in open fills where their breakdown can be slow and release these heavy metal components into the soil and ground water which can have noxious effects on the surrounding populations. Apples has also stated that by the end of 2008, they will end the use of PVC and and BFR's (Brominated Fire Retardants)--both which upon incineration can release bromine and chlorine compounds into the air. The Apple site and well as Greenpeace have picked up on this initiative by Jobs and have great full coverage. Please Visit http://www.apple.com/hotnews/agreenerapple/ or http://www.greenpeace.org/apple/ for more information.

Water related Stresses of East and South Africa.

Eastern and Southern Africa (especially the Horn) have been recently been under great pressure from contamination in the welled drinking water. In these arid regions, water is obviously an extremely precious finite resource, which must be managed properly, or else great numbers of people will face imminent death. Africa's wells have recently been experiencing contamination by the microbe Vibrio cholera, a bacterium that causes Cholera. They symptoms of Cholera are dehydration, headache, stomach cramping and severe diarrhea. If a person goes untreated with various batteries of antibiotics, this bacterial infection can run havoc on your digestive system and cause death. UNICEF, a leader in humanitarian aid and Global health has identified Cholera contaminated water as an epidemic that must be fought. Stagnate conditions of water holes, combined with the equatorial heat, can turn these water sources into incubators for this microbe. UNICEF provided over 10 million dollars in recent years to work with officials in populated areas to help enact filtration methods to clean water sources, but much work is still needed. To Read more visit :http://www.unicef.org/har07/index_37421.htm

Perchlorates & Hypothyroidism

Elevated levels of perchlorates in drinking water has been suggested to cause hypothyroidism by directly stopping the thyroid's ability to absorb iodine from the bloodstream, which regulates hormones in the body. I happen to have had hypothyroidism for 7 years and after reading this article began to wonder if I had been exposed to high levels of perchlorates in drinking water or during fetal development. (I know that sounds crazy, but when you randomly are diagnosed you look for answers.) It turns out the states that I have lived in and my mother lived in during my fetal development all are affected areas that do indeed have high levels of perchlorates in drinking water. If you want to find out more about perchlorates visit this website, which has a TOX GUIDE.

Bottled water vs tap water

Ever wonder whats in water? it may seem simple enough. I mean water is water right? does it matter where it comes from? or does it matter what type of bottle you pick up at the grocery store? and even better question is, is bottled water better than tap? these are very important questions that everyone should ask themselves when consuming water. In 2004, 24 gallons of bottled water was consumed by Americans, making it second only to carbonated soft drinks in popularity. Furthermore, the consumption of bottled water is growing every year. This year, Americans will spend around $9.8 billion on bottled water, according to the Beverage Marketing Corporation. According to the BMC, the cost for bottled water exceeds the price of gasoline, depending on the brand, it costs 250 to 10,000 times more than tap water. According to this article that I read in the NY Times, tap water is much more monitored than bottled water therefore should be better.They stated that reseachers found more contamination in the bottled waters vs tap. Thus, bottle waters do not necessarily mean better water.If this is the case why do more people drink bottled waters? The article, does a good job at answering this question of why bottled water has become popularized? I think that it comes down to what each of us prefer. I personally like to drink bottled waters just because they are easier to use and I think that they taste better. What do you prefer? If you prefer bottled waters too and are interested in finding out about the water you drink I found a site that does a good job at describing how the water is obtained for each of the leading brands of bottled water. The site provides a quality assurance that most water is of good quality. but who knows...