Tag Archives: water

Can technology save us?

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Rick Altman

I happened to stumble across a BBC TV Horizon special, entitled ‘Tomorrow’s World’ last Thursday. It begins with a fascinating review of humankind’s history of – and propensity for – invention. It also explains some truly fascinating – and inspiring … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon Capture and Storage, Climate Science, Consumerism, Economics, Energy Crisis, Environment, Financial Crisis, Growthmania, Hydraulic Fracturing, Intergenerational Injustice, Mass Extinctions, Modernity, Politics, Renewable Energy | Tagged , , , , , , | 33 Comments

This is what water scarcity will look like

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Rick Altman

With my thanks to 350.org for alerting me to this piece of news: As reported in the Washington Post newspaper recently, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is warning that by 2030 nearly half the world’s population could be facing a scarcity … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Environment, Intergenerational Injustice, Mass Extinctions | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

The future is already here

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Rick Altman

I happened to turn on the BBC News TV channel over the weekend and caught the tail-end of the video below – entitled India’s Water Crisis. However, upon investigation, I discovered this had been first broadcast over six months ago. … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropocene, Environment, Limits to Growth, Optimum Population, Sustainable development | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Greenpeace responds to end of UK fracking moratorium

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Rick Altman

Thanks to Twitter, I was alerted to an online discussion on the Guardian website yesterday, prompted by statements of opinion by Mark Lynas (freelance journalist/author) and Dr David Santillo (Greenpeace Scientist). As discussed with a commenter on this blog (Lionel) … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Economics, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Greenpeace, Hydraulic Fracturing, Insanity, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Who owns the rain that falls from the sky?

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Rick Altman

I must thank fellow-blogger Paul Handover for alerting me to – and not posting on his own Learning from Dogs blog – the strange and disturbing real-life story of a man in Oregon who has been sent to jail for … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Disorder, Collapse, Consumerism, Economics, Environment, Liberalism, Politics | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

Conserving mass, water, and energy

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Rick Altman

I must admit that I am rather fond of quoting Sir Arthur Eddington as having once said, “…if your theory is found to be against the Second Law of Thermodynamics, I can give you no hope; there is nothing for … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon Capture and Storage, Climate Science, Denial, Economics, Environment, Financial Crisis, Fossil Fuels, Growthmania, James Delingpole, Limits to Growth, Politics, Scepticism | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

The Yellow River basin in China – Part 4

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Rick Altman

This is the fourth and final part of my 5000-word essay (researched and written in March 2011) on the water resource problems being encountered within the Yellow River catchment of northern China as a consequence of ongoing climate change. Having … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Economics, Environment, Sustainable development | Tagged , , , , | 17 Comments

The Yellow River basin in China – Part 3

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Rick Altman

This is the third of four posts regarding the Yellow River basin in northern China. Having described the geography and geology (Part 1) and the hydrogeology (Part 2), it is now time to look at the extent to which (a) … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Economics, Environment, Sustainable development | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Yellow River basin in China – Part 2

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Rick Altman

This is the second of four posts presenting my research into the ways in which climate change is impacting the environment within the Yellow River basin. Having described the geography and geology in Part 1 (yesterday), this second part looks … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Economics, Environment, Sustainable development | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Yellow River basin in China – Part 1

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Rick Altman

Following my scene-setting yesterday, this is the first of four posts presenting my case-study of the challenges posed by ongoing climate change in the Yellow River basin of northern China. All references cited will be listed in Part 4 on … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science, Environment, Sustainable development | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments