Remember the Polar Bears

Are They Doomed?????

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Here is the Latest from the Environmental Defense Fund

Global warming is not a far-off threat; it is happening today, now, as you read this.

• 2010 joins the record books as one of the three hottest years ever recorded, a tie with 1998 and 2005.
• Satellite images show that the extent of Arctic summer sea ice has decreased by roughly 34% since 1979. According to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Arctic summer could be ice-free by mid-century.
• During the 20th century, sea level rose an average of 7 inches after 2,000 years of relatively little change. The 2007 International Panel on Climate Change report conservatively predicts that if current warming patterns continue, sea levels could rise 10 to 23 inches by 2100.
• In 2008, the polar bear became the first animal to be added to the Endangered Species Act list of threatened species because of global warming.

Demand that President Obama reaffirm his commitment to fight global warming and provide leadership in the coming months.

In spite of overwhelming evidence of the danger, we remain paralyzed.

• Powerful coal, oil and gas interests have put their short-term interests in front of our natural world and their own children's future;
• Ideologues have put the opportunity to score political points ahead of their commitment to serve the public good;
• Paid lobbyists – mercenaries in expensive suits – have mastered the art of paralyzing the political process for lucrative gain.

But… Arrayed against these powerful forces are even more powerful ones: the truth, the science, and concerned Americans like you. And, we have President Obama's promise to make the climate crisis a top priority of his administration.

Make sure climate action does not fall victim to the political winds. Demand that President Obama reaffirm his commitment to fight global warming and provide leadership in the coming months.

Demand that President Obama reaffirm his commitment to fight global warming and provide leadership in the coming months.

For our children and their children,
Environmental Defense Action Fund

Tags: global warming, arctic sea ice decreased, sea level rising, hottest years on record, take ation

Have We Reached Peak Water?

Flow is Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century: the world water crisis.

San Marcos River by Eileen Trainor

Here are a few water facts that will make you gulp:

• Of the 6 billion people on earth, 1.1 billion do not have access to safe, clean drinking water.
  (www.charitywater.org)
  
  
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency currently does not regulate 51 known water contaminants. (www.foodandwaterwatch.org)
  
  
• While the average American uses 150 gallons of water per day, those in developing countries cannot find five.(www.charitywater.org)
  
  
• The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.(www.water.org)
  
  
• According to the National Resources Defense Council, in a scientific study in which more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of water were tested, about one-third of the bottles contained synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic. (www.nrdc.org)
  
  
• Water is a $400 billion dollar global industry; the third largest behind electricity and oil.
  CBS News, FLOW.
  
  
• There are estimates that from five hundred thousand to seven million people get sick per year from drinking tap water. Erik Olson, Deputy Staff Director of Barbara Boxerʼs Environmental and Public Works Committee (EPW), FLOW.
  
  
• Californiaʼs water supply is running out – it has about 20 years of water left in the state.
  Maude Barlow, author of Blue Covenant and co-author of Blue Gold, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, FLOW.
  
  
• There are over 116,000 human-made chemicals that are finding their way into public water supply systems. William Marks, author of Water Voices from Around the World, FLOW.
  
  
• In Bolivia nearly one out of every ten children will die before the age of five. Most of those deaths are related to illnesses that come from a lack of clean drinking water. Jim Schultz, founder of the Democracy Center in Bolivia, FLOW.
  
  
• The cost per person per year for having 10 liters of safe drinking water every day is just $6 USD. Ashok Gadgil, Senior Staff Scientist in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, FLOW

Purchase the movie FLOW here.

Tags: water costs, chemicals in water, vanishing drinking water, waterborne illness, bottle water tainted

Sold America : Eagle Ford Shale

Fracking Gas Well

The Eagle Ford Shale is located directly below the Austin Chalk Formation. The formation is about 50 miles wide and 400 miles long, extending from Texas’s southern border to the east. Eagle Ford is estimated to have reserves equaling more than 80 billion barrels of oil.

Oil and natural gas are posited in the following counties in south Texas:

• Oil: Atascosa, Wilson, Gonzales, Karnes, De Witt, McMullen and Live Oak counties.
  
  
• Natural Gas: Atascosa, Wilson, Gonzales, Karnes, De Witt, McMullen, Live Oak, Frio, La Salle, Duval, Bee, Bexar, Zavala, Maverick, Dimmit, Webb and Zapata counties.
  
  via OilShaleGas.com
  

Cnooc Ltd. paid $1.08 billion for a one-third stake in Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s Eagle Ford shale project, the biggest acquisition of a U.S. oil and gas asset by a Chinese company (emphasis mine). via BusinessWeek

All this sounds great for the Texas economy, but it is truly bad for the air and water of Texas in these areas. Below is an excerpt from Fact Sheet: Hydraulic fracturing should be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act

Hydraulic fracturing involves the injection of fluids, often containing toxic chemicals, into oil or gas wells at very high pressure. These pressurized fluids are used to crack open the underground formation to allow oil or gas to flow more freely and increase production. Studies show that, while some of the injected fluids are returned to the surface, some remain underground. In some cases, they are injected directly into underground sources of drinking water. . .

Rivers recharge aquifers and over 90% of the population in rural Texas get their drinking water from groundwater. In certain areas of the country, you cannot drink the water flowing from your tap. Here is just one story and it takes place in Canada:

Fire Water in Canada

On Christmas Eve 2005, Fiona Lauridsen and her three children got chemical-like burns after taking showers in their home. Tests showed higher than normal levels of methane gas in their water coming straight from the aquifer, along with the presence of man-made chemicals. , , ,

This is not any unusual when you drill or frack in a populated area. However, for more information, please see the blog, Bluedaze: Drilling Reform for Texas. TxSharon has been tracking oil shale problems in northern Texas and other states.

Remain civil, but TAKE ACTION.

Remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Today

I was honored to have lived during part of the span of years in which MLK, Jr. walked the Earth. His words resonate with me today:

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

Martin Luther King Jr.
January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968

Global Warming Facts

Tags: global warming basics, worldwide indicators of global warming, rising waters, melting pack ice, islands sinking, hardiness zones moving northward

The Dangers of Mercury

Mercury is one of the most toxic poisons known to science. Even trace amounts of it, once ingested, can cause a long list of serious health threats.

Yet, over 12,000 pounds of mercury were emitted from America's top 100 cement plants in 2006 alone.

Mercury pollution poses especially serious risks to pregnant women and their infants. Each year, over 400,000 newborns in the United States are exposed to mercury levels that can:

• Damage brain development;


• Cause learning disabilities;


• Result in language disorders and memory problems;


• Impair vision and hearing;


• and many other harmful effects.

Adult exposure to mercury is associated with heart disease and other cardiovascular illnesses. The main source of mercury exposure is from eating contaminated fish. Once released into the environment, mercury pollution enters aquatic systems where it accumulates in the food chain.

Concentrations of mercury compounds in fish at the top of the food chain can be as much as a million times higher than the water they are found in. That is a main reason why pregnant women or women who want to have kids are warned to limit consumption of or to stop eating certain kinds of fish.

Take Action NOW: Please send an email right now to urge your members of Congress to protect Americans from the danger of mercury pollution.

If you wish more information on Mercury? Please see related posts on Endangered Spaces blog over the past 4 years. The problem is not going away.

Tags: mercury, mercury pollution, learning disability, language development, memory problem, impaired vision, hearing disorders

Good News: Another Texas Treasure Saved

Rarely do I write on local water and ecological issues because they are depressing. However, here is some GOOD NEWS about Jacob’s Well, an artesian spring that flows out of one of the deepest underwater caves in Texas. Visit a new park to learn about famous floods and scuba divers, learn the value of native grasses, and experience the stunning beauty of the spring and surrounding area.

Photograph courtesy of WVWA

Jacob's Well is a hidden treasure of Central Texas, located in the Wimberley area. The future of Jacob's Well has been endangered by increased pumping of ground water and the disappearance of permeable cover in the recharge zone.

Jacob’s Well flows from the Trinity Aquifer through the second-longest underwater cave system in Texas.The flow sustains Cypress Creek, which, in turn feeds the Blanco River. Waters from Jacob’s Well feeds the famous Blue Hole and recharges the Edwards Aquifer downstream.

Jacob's Well was once thought of as a perpetual spring, but Jacob's Well stopped flowing in the summer of 2000. This event was considered a "canary in the coal mine scenario," showcasing increasing water shortage and quality problems of the area.

In a cooperative effort seldom seen, Nature Conservancy of Texas, Hays County Commissioners Court and Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) announced the purchase of 50 acres near Wimberley that will permanently protect Jacob’s Well. The 50 acres are adjacent to the 46-acre Jacob’s Well Natural Area, which is owned and managed by the WVWA.

Under terms negotiated by The Nature Conservancy, Hays County purchased the property for $1.7 million using $850,000 of county revenue and $850,000 loaned by the Conservancy, which will also hold a conservation easement on the property. WVWA will convey 31 acres of its holdings—including the land containing the actual well—to Hays County, creating an 80-acre preserve that will be managed by the county.

The property will continue to be used for low-impact educational and recreational activities, all of which will be conducted in accordance with a management plan to be agreed upon by Hays County and the WVWA. WVWA will continue management of the natural area and further develop the aquifer research and environmental education and outreach programs.

Tours of the Jacob’s Well Natural Area are every Saturday at 10 am. The Jacob’s Well Natural Area education center is located off of Jacob’s Well Road at 221 Woodacre Drive. For more information call (512) 722-3390. The website at http://www.jacobswellspring.org/ is not completed yet. Take a virtual tour and learn more about this unique water feature here.

Tags: jacobs well, wimberely, hays county, wimberley valley watershed association, nature conservancy of texas, jacobs well natural area