Dear Readers, My co-author Fatima Cecunjanin and I recently published a new study on the potential of rainwater harvesting. We surveyed past-to-present rainwater harvesting methods and documented the cultures that practiced them from climatically vulnerable dry-wet, semi-arid and arid regions. Please see one of the tables that can be found in the publication below: To … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Our Research on Hurricane Sandy, Early Warning Assessment and Coastal Resilience in Connecticut Featured in New Haven Register
Dear Readers, Interdisciplinary research on adaptation to changing environment of Connecticut and early warning and assessment we did with our school’s oceanographer has been featured in the New Haven Register. Please see the below article by Mark Zaretsky to read more about it: http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20131026/1-year-after-superstorm-sandy-recovery-moves-slowly-on-connecticut-shore Continue reading
6 Steps to Defining Success for Development Projects
The Quest for Scale An effort to improve sanitation in developing countries yields lessons in how to achieve enduring, broad-based social impact. By Louis C. Boorstin, Stanford Social Innovation Review In December 2006, I flew into Aurangabad, a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Before the trip, when I mentioned my destination to an … Continue reading
Your tax dollars being spent to destroy the Great Barrier Reef?
Your tax dollars being spent to destroy the Great Barrier Reef? For years, the Great Barrier Reef has inspired awe for its rich ecological diversity and the natural beauty of its coral reefs, which are home to over 134 species of sharks and rays. But while sharks once ruled in the reef, today it’s people … Continue reading
Environmental crimes increasingly linked to violence, insecurity By: IRIN News
Photo: Nuria Ortega/African Parks Network “Blood ivory” generates significant revenue for terrorist groups NEW YORK, 3 October 2013 (IRIN) – Organized environmental crime is known to pose a multi-layered threat to human security, yet it has long been treated as a low priority by law enforcers, seen as a fluffy “green” issue that belongs in … Continue reading
Pesticide banned in 62 countries still used in India By: Living-Farms.org
Endosulfan, a deadly pesticide encouraged by India Bhubaneswar, October 07: Endosulfan is a pesticide belonging to the organochlorine group of pesticides, under the Cyclodiene subgroup. It has been introduced in the 1950’s and in India has become a leading chemical used against pests in agriculture. It is used as an insecticide and also to kill … Continue reading
Hydraulic fracturing and U.S. water policy By: J.W. Burnett
Article Published by Global Water Forum Fracking on the Haynesville Shale, Louisiana. Photo by flickr user danielfoster437. The recent boom in the development of natural gas from shale is a game changer for U.S. domestic energy. Large domestic reserves of shale gas reduce dependency on foreign producers, as is currently the case for crude oil. … Continue reading
Water-hungry Indian villagers find new reservoirs of solidarity By:Mark Tran
Article published by: The Guardian Villagers on the bank of a body of water that feeds the surrounding fields, near Dungarpur, Rajasthan, February 2013. Photograph: Mark Tran for the Guardian The villages around Dungarpur town in India‘s north-western state of Rajasthan have a beguiling beauty. The hills are beginning to turn brown but the landscape … Continue reading
Our Research Featured in INESAD’s Global South Development Magazine
Dear Readers, I and my research team’s project on ancient Maya water management systems in Central America was ranked at # 7 by INESAD in a news story covering 12 initiatives making a difference in food and agriculture. We want to thank INESAD staff very much for their consideration. I should also mention the names … Continue reading
Water and Food Secuity Threatened in Himalayan River Basins By: Janak Pathak
A serious lack of reliable and consistent data severely hampers scientific knowledge about the state of Himalayan glaciers. As a result, the contribution of glacial melt to the Himalayan river basins remains uncertain. This is of grave importance because declining water availability could threaten the food security of more than 70 million people. There is … Continue reading
Sustainable Development in Progress 