ABC Feeds<p>As the weather dries up in SA, so does cash for small businesses<br>By Viki Ntafillis and Kate Higgins</p><p>Small businesses in parts of regional South Australia are feeling the pinch, as farmers and their families tighten their belts amid record-low rainfall.</p><p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-30/small-businesses-regional-south-australia-slow-spending-drought/105173752" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">abc.net.au/news/2025-04-30/sma</span><span class="invisible">ll-businesses-regional-south-australia-slow-spending-drought/105173752</span></a></p><p><a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/SmallBusinesses" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SmallBusinesses</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/Droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Droughts</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/WaterSupply" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterSupply</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/Farmers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Farmers</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/RuralandRemoteCommunities" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RuralandRemoteCommunities</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/RegionalCommunities" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RegionalCommunities</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/AustralianFederalElections" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AustralianFederalElections</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/GovernmentFunding" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GovernmentFunding</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/VikiNtafillis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>VikiNtafillis</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/KateHiggins" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>KateHiggins</span></a></p>
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ABC Feeds<p>Nearly 200,000 litres of water stolen from Adelaide Hills tanks, residents say<br>By Malcolm Sutton</p><p>With many rainwater tanks across the Adelaide Hills running low or on empty due to an ongoing dry spell, two residents say thieves have used water trucks to steal nearly 200,000 litres overnight.</p><p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-29/water-thefts-reported-in-adelaide-hills-dry-period/105229760" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">abc.net.au/news/2025-04-29/wat</span><span class="invisible">er-thefts-reported-in-adelaide-hills-dry-period/105229760</span></a></p><p><a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/Water" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Water</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/Droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Droughts</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/Crime" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Crime</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/MalcolmSutton" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MalcolmSutton</span></a></p>
O=C=O<p>How a Changing Climate Is Reshaping the Spread of Infectious Diseases</p><p>"...Then you have this convergence of crises—the <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ClimateCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCrisis</span></a> overlapping with the <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/PollutionCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PollutionCrisis</span></a>. So you get this intersection between air pollution and respiratory <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/diseases" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>diseases</span></a>, and then infectious diseases more broadly, all layered on top of a changing <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/climate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>climate</span></a>.</p><p>When it comes to waterborne and foodborne diseases, the link to <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a> is even more direct. As temperatures rise, you create more favorable conditions for <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/bacteria" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>bacteria</span></a> and other <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/pathogens" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>pathogens</span></a> to multiply. They thrive in warm environments—soil, water, contaminated areas—so warming can increase their abundance. </p><p><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ExtremeWeather" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ExtremeWeather</span></a> events are also a big factor here. Aedes <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/mosquitoes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mosquitoes</span></a> need water to complete their life cycle—from egg to larva to pupa, it all happens in <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/water" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>water</span></a>. When <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/floods" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>floods</span></a> occur, all the discarded <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/plastic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>plastic</span></a> and <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/trash" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>trash</span></a> lying around fill with water and becomes the ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.</p><p>What’s interesting is that these diseases aren’t just associated with floods—they’re also linked to <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a>. That might seem counterintuitive at first, but in many parts of the world, people don’t have safe, reliable access to clean water, especially during drought conditions. So they store water in containers that aren’t properly sealed or protected, which too can become the perfect breeding sites for mosquitoes.</p><p>Infections—particularly vector-borne diseases—are increasingly reemerging and emerging in new areas around the world for a lot of different reasons. Climate change is definitely part of that, with rising temperatures and more extreme weather events like floods and droughts. But the way we live our lives and interact with the environment also plays a huge role. I mean, first and foremost, most of us now live in urban areas rather than rural ones..." </p><p><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26042025/climate-change-shifting-spread-of-infectious-disease/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">insideclimatenews.org/news/260</span><span class="invisible">42025/climate-change-shifting-spread-of-infectious-disease/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Health" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Health</span></a><br><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a></p>
ABC Feeds<p>Aussie farmers' grain gamble as rain fails to arrive before Anzac Day<br>By Emma Field and Selina Green</p><p>Anzac Day marks the traditional start for planting winter crops, but this year farmers are hoping for rain as they begin planting their crops in the dry.</p><p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-25/anzac-day-marks-start-to-cropping-program/105215660" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">abc.net.au/news/2025-04-25/anz</span><span class="invisible">ac-day-marks-start-to-cropping-program/105215660</span></a></p><p><a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/GrainGrowing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GrainGrowing</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/IrrigatedFarming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IrrigatedFarming</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/AgriculturalCrops" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AgriculturalCrops</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/Planting" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Planting</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/Droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Droughts</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/EmmaField" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EmmaField</span></a> <a href="https://rssfeed.media/tags/SelinaGreen" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SelinaGreen</span></a></p>
AI6YR Ben<p>CBC: This atmospheric trend is devastating crops (and no one’s talking about it)</p><p>Scientists have coined a new term: thirstwaves. The phenomenon occurs during extended periods of unusually high evaporation — caused not from a lack of rain, but because the air is extra thirsty. Johanna Wagstaffe breaks down how thirstwaves could seriously affect farming and water supplies.</p><p><a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/foodsupply" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>foodsupply</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/climatemergency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>climatemergency</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/climate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>climate</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/food" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>food</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/agriculture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>agriculture</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6727925?cmp=rss" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.672</span><span class="invisible">7925?cmp=rss</span></a></p>
BellingenNSW<p>Economic vulnerabilities to climate change <br>Average person will be 40% poorer if world warms by 4C, new research shows</p><p>“In a hotter future, we can expect cascading supply chain disruptions triggered by extreme weather events worldwide. New research had looked at the likely impact of global heating of 4C – seen by many climate experts as catastrophic for the planet – finding it would make the average person 40% poorer." <br>>><br><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/01/average-person-will-be-40-poorer-if-world-warms-by-4c-new-research-shows" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/environment/20</span><span class="invisible">25/apr/01/average-person-will-be-40-poorer-if-world-warms-by-4c-new-research-shows</span></a><br><a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/climate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>climate</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/pollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>pollution</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/floods" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>floods</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/ExtremeHeatwaves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ExtremeHeatwaves</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/SupplyChains" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SupplyChains</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/ClimateBreakdown" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateBreakdown</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/mortality" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mortality</span></a></p>
O=C=O<p>Can renewable energy survive climate change?</p><p>As <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> reduce <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/hydropower" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>hydropower</span></a> and <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/clouds" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>clouds</span></a> dim <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/solar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>solar</span></a> output around the world, experts say <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/meteorology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>meteorology</span></a> and <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ClimateScience" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateScience</span></a> must be at the heart of the <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/energy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>energy</span></a> transition.</p><p>Yet, even as the push for renewables gains momentum – driven by cheaper technology and an urgent need to slash carbon emissions – experts are waving cautionary flags: Because renewable energy sources depend on weather conditions, climate change is increasingly dictating, and jeopardizing, renewable energy production.</p><p><a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/03/1161526" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">news.un.org/en/story/2025/03/1</span><span class="invisible">161526</span></a></p>
AI6YR Ben<p>WMO report: </p><p>"Tropical cyclones, floods, droughts, and other hazards in 2024 led to the highest number of new displacements recorded for the past 16 years, contributed to worsening food crises, and caused massive economic losses."</p><p><a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/disasters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>disasters</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/cyclones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>cyclones</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/hurricanes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>hurricanes</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> <a href="https://m.ai6yr.org/tags/foodsecurity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>foodsecurity</span></a></p>
Niels de Winter<p>Cool study using <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/treering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>treering</span></a> analysis to study precipitation variability over the past 4 centuries and aiding in the prediction of <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/extreme" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>extreme</span></a> precipitation events and <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> under future climate scenarios<br><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003101822500183X" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">sciencedirect.com/science/arti</span><span class="invisible">cle/pii/S003101822500183X</span></a></p>
💧🌏 Greg Cocks<p>Five Droughts That Changed History [visualisations]<br>--<br><a href="https://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/showcase/7611-five-droughts-that-changed-history" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">informationisbeautifulawards.c</span><span class="invisible">om/showcase/7611-five-droughts-that-changed-history</span></a> <-- shared article<br>--<br><a href="https://labs.waterdata.usgs.gov/visualizations/drought-timeline/index.html#/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">labs.waterdata.usgs.gov/visual</span><span class="invisible">izations/drought-timeline/index.html#/</span></a> <-- USGS visualization page<br>--<br><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.7904" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="">doi.org/10.1002/joc.7904</span><span class="invisible"></span></a> <-- shared paper<br>--<br><a href="https://techhub.social/tags/USGS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USGS</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/Vizlab" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Vizlab</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/water" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>water</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/hydrology" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>hydrology</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/visualisation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>visualisation</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/award" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>award</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/stripswarm" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>stripswarm</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/chart" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>chart</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/temporal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>temporal</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/streamgage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>streamgage</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/opendata" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>opendata</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/onset" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>onset</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/duration" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>duration</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/swarmlayout" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>swarmlayout</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/timeline" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>timeline</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/GIS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GIS</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/spatial" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>spatial</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/mapping" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>mapping</span></a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/spatiotemporal" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>spatiotemporal</span></a> <br>@USGS</p>
Nevis Island<p>Seasonal <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/rainfall" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>rainfall</span></a> is the sole source of potable water for the Caribbean twin-island country of St. Kitts and <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/Nevis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Nevis</span></a>, but since 2015, <a href="https://mastodon.online/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> have become more common. Eighty percent of St. Kitts residents now experience regular water outages. <a href="https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/saint-kitts-nevis-drought-water-management-agriculture/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">thecooldown.com/green-tech/sai</span><span class="invisible">nt-kitts-nevis-drought-water-management-agriculture/</span></a></p>
Bruce Mirken<p>Lawsuit charges that <a href="https://mas.to/tags/TrumpAdministration" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TrumpAdministration</span></a> purge of <a href="https://mas.to/tags/USDA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USDA</span></a> <a href="https://mas.to/tags/climate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>climate</span></a> data robs <a href="https://mas.to/tags/farmers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>farmers</span></a> of vital information on <a href="https://mas.to/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a>, <a href="https://mas.to/tags/floods" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>floods</span></a> and changes in growing conditions. <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05032025/usda-climate-data-purge-harms-farmers/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">insideclimatenews.org/news/050</span><span class="invisible">32025/usda-climate-data-purge-harms-farmers/</span></a></p>
Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻💻🧬<p><a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/ClimateCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCrisis</span></a> ‘wreaking havoc’ on <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Earth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Earth</span></a>’s <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/watercycle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>watercycle</span></a><br><a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/GlobalHeating" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GlobalHeating</span></a> is supercharging storms, <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/floods" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>floods</span></a> and <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a>, affecting entire ecosystems and billions of people<br>Rising temperatures, caused by burning <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/fossilfuels" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fossilfuels</span></a>, disrupt <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/water" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>water</span></a> cycle. Warmer air holds more water vapour, leading to more intense downpours. Warmer seas provide more energy to hurricanes and typhoons. <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a> also increases drought by causing more evaporation from soil, and shifting rainfall. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/06/climate-crisis-wreaking-havoc-on-earths-water-cycle-report-finds" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/world/2025/jan</span><span class="invisible">/06/climate-crisis-wreaking-havoc-on-earths-water-cycle-report-finds</span></a></p>
BellingenNSW<p>Learning interrupted</p><p>"Climate shocks are disrupting children’s education, putting their learning and their futures at risk."</p><p>"A new UNICEF analysis reveals that at least 242 million students in 85 countries or territories had their schooling disrupted by extreme climate events including heatwaves, tropical cyclones, storms, floods and droughts in 2024, exacerbating an existing learning crisis."<br>>><br><a href="https://www.unicef.org/reports/learning-interrupted-global-snapshot-2024" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">unicef.org/reports/learning-in</span><span class="invisible">terrupted-global-snapshot-2024</span></a><br><a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/FossilFuels" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FossilFuels</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/climate" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>climate</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/impacts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>impacts</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/disruption" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>disruption</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/education" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>education</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/children" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>children</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/floods" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>floods</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/heatwaves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>heatwaves</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/bushfires" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>bushfires</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/storms" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>storms</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/hazards" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>hazards</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/Intergenerationaljustice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Intergenerationaljustice</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.au/tags/UNICEF" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>UNICEF</span></a></p>
Alexander J. Stein<p>Since 1980, persistent multi-year <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> have become longer, more frequent, & more extreme, covering more land, and causing enormous damage to ecosystems, <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/agriculture" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>agriculture</span></a> & energy production. Extreme droughts will continue to advance with the warming climate: <a href="https://ist.ac.at/en/news/the-megadroughts-are-upon-us/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">ist.ac.at/en/news/the-megadrou</span><span class="invisible">ghts-are-upon-us/</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/climatechange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>climatechange</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterShortage" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterShortage</span></a> fears as Labour’s first <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AIGrowth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AIGrowth</span></a> zone sited close to new <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/reservoir" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>reservoir</span></a></p><p>First <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/datacentre" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>datacentre</span></a> site proposed seven miles from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AbingdonReservoir" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AbingdonReservoir</span></a> planned for water-stressed <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SouthEastEngland" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SouthEastEngland</span></a></p><p>by Helena Horton Environment reporter<br>Mon 13 Jan 2025</p><p>"Labour’s first artificial intelligence growth zone will be sited close to the UK’s first new reservoir in 30 years, sparking fears that the AI push will add to the 'severe pressure' on water supplies in the area.</p><p>"Keir Starmer announced on Monday that he would hugely increase artificial intelligence capacity and reduce planning restrictions on companies that wanted to build datacentres by setting up '<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GrowthZones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GrowthZones</span></a>' with fewer constraints [like <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ExportProcessingZones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ExportProcessingZones</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FreeTradeZones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>FreeTradeZones</span></a>]. </p><p>"The first of these will be in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CulhamOxfordshire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>CulhamOxfordshire</span></a>, only seven miles from a reservoir planned by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ThamesWater" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ThamesWater</span></a> in Abingdon, which was supposed to provide water to people in the severely water-stressed south-east of England. This is the area of the country most at risk of running out of water, according to the Environment Agency. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oxfordshire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Oxfordshire</span></a> has faced particular issues, with areas reliant on <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BottledWater" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BottledWater</span></a> during <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/heatwaves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>heatwaves</span></a>.</p><p>"AI datacentres use a large amount of water, as their servers generate heat. To prevent computer systems overheating and shutting down, the centres use cooling towers and outside air systems, both of which need clean, fresh water. AI consumes between 1.8 and 12 litres of water for each kilowatt hour of energy usage across Microsoft’s global datacentres. One study estimates that global AI could account for up to 6.6bn cubic metres of water use by 2027 – the equivalent of nearly two-thirds of England’s annual consumption.</p><p>"Even without a big increase in AI datacentres, by 2050, England faces a shortfall of nearly 5bn litres of water a day between the sustainable supplies available and the expected demand. This is more than a third of the 14bn litres of water currently put into public supply. The south-east faces a potential deficit of more than 2.5bn litres a day in the same period.</p><p>"AI could wipe out gains made by businesses in reducing their water consumption; the government is seeking a 9% reduction in non-household (business) consumption by 2037-38 from 2019-20 levels, and currently businesses are on course to achieve a reduction of 6.1%.</p><p>Adrian Ramsay MP, Green Party co-leader, said: 'While communities will face <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/heatwaves" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>heatwaves</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> and water shortages over the coming decades, this strategy locks us into pumping huge amounts of water into AI datacentres. One estimate said AI-related infrastructure may soon consume six times more water than Denmark, a country of 6 million people. What will this mean for residents in water-stressed communities like Culham in Oxfordshire?'"</p><p>Read more:</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/13/labour-ai-datacentre-growth-zone-water-shortages-abingdon-reservoir" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/technology/202</span><span class="invisible">5/jan/13/labour-ai-datacentre-growth-zone-water-shortages-abingdon-reservoir</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DataCenters" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>DataCenters</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterShortages" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterShortages</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoWaterForData" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoWaterForData</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoWaterForAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoWaterForAI</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoNukesForAI" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>NoNukesForAI</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigData" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BigData</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>Excerpt from "Commons, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Libraries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Libraries</span></a> & <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Degrowth" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Degrowth</span></a>" by Andrewism</p><p>"How has the potent alternative present in the commons been so wiped from our collective memory?</p><p>"It goes back to the feudal concept of land ownership, the age of European <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/colonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>colonialism</span></a>, and of course, the rise of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IndustrialCapitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>IndustrialCapitalism</span></a>. The king of England, for example, owned all the land in feudal England but bestowed titles for pledges of loyalty to powerful members of the nobility that allowed them to rule over large estates. These lords leased the land they were given to aristocrats, who also leased parts of their land as payment, for military aid, or for rent. This rigidly hierarchical system of obligation between landed lords and their tenants or vassals reinforced the monarchy’s ability to stake a claim on the land in their kingdom. However, at the bottom of this system were the peasants, who did all the actual work on the common land on the lord’s estate. Many were generationally serfs; legally prohibited from leaving the land they cultivated without their lord’s permission. Lords may have come and gone, but their bondage to the land was basically forever.</p><p>"After the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/MagnaCarta" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MagnaCarta</span></a>, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BlackDeath" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>BlackDeath</span></a>, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Crusades" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Crusades</span></a>, and all the other dramas that brought <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/feudalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>feudalism</span></a> into decline, the nobility initiated a process of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/privatisation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>privatisation</span></a> that laid the groundwork for early <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/capitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>capitalism</span></a> through acquisitions, settlement, and enclosure of the commons. But even though revolutions and reforms came and went and most of us have gotten rid of our inbred kings and queens and their right to rule, the concept of sovereignty over private parcels of land and the feudal relationship of landlord and tenant has endured to this day, exported globally through <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EuropeanColonialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EuropeanColonialism</span></a>.</p><p>"Despite this violent and antisocial theft of our access to even the means of subsistence, some commons have survived and thrived, though they operate within the constraints of the State and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GlobalCapitalist" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>GlobalCapitalist</span></a> status quo. Still, there is a lot we can learn from them when it comes to how to manage the commons.</p><p>"Why have they succeeded where others have failed in maintaining their commons? All efforts to organise collective action, including the commons, must address a common set of problems: how to supply new institutions, how to solve commitment issues, and how to maintain stability. It’s not easy. And yet some individuals have created institutions, committed themselves to following the rules they’ve come up with together, and assessed their own and others’ conformance to the rules in order to maintain the stability of their shared commons. Again, why have they succeeded where others have failed? External factors seem to play a significant role. Some have more autonomy than others to change their own institutions while others have change happen too rapidly for them to respond and adjust. Regardless, people try their best to solve the problems they face, despite their limitations. What factors help or hinder them in these efforts is a matter of careful study if we wish to succeed in organising and running our own commons.</p><p>"But first, we need to clarify some definitions.</p><p>"The commons are based on a common-pool resource or CPR, which is a natural or man-made resource system that benefits a group of people, but provides diminished benefits to everyone if each individual pursues their own self-interest. We must draw a further distinction between the resource system and the resource units produced by the system. Resource systems include <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/forests" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>forests</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/groundwater" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>groundwater</span></a> basins, irrigation canals, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/lakes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>lakes</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/fisheries" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>fisheries</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/pastures" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>pastures</span></a>, and even <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/infrastructure" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>infrastructure</span></a> like windmills and the internet, while resource units consist of whatever users appropriate from those resource systems, such as cubic metres of lumber harvested and water withdrawn, tons of fish harvested and fodder grazed, kilowatts generated and network bandwidth used. It’s also important to maintain the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/renewability" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>renewability</span></a> of a resource system by ensuring that the average rate of withdrawal does not exceed the average rate of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/replenishment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>replenishment</span></a>.</p><p>"The term ‘appropriators’ refers to those who withdraw resource units from a resource system, like a fisher or farmer. Appropriators may use the resource units they withdraw, like residents powering their homes or farmers watering their crops, or they may transfer the resource units for others to use, such as a logger sending lumber to a hardware store for sale. Those who arrange for the provision of a CPR through financing or design are providers, while producers are those who actually construct, repair, and sustain the resource system itself. Providers, producers, and appropriators are often all the same people.</p><p>"Appropriators who share a CPR are deeply intertwined in a tapestry of interdependence. Acting selfishly and independently will usually obtain less benefit than they could have had they collectively organised in some way. The process of organising enables us to coordinate and change our shared situations to obtain higher shared benefits and reduce shared harm.</p><p>"Some of the commons institutions that endure today are as old as over a thousand years, while others are a few hundred at most. They exist alongside the personal property of the appropriators involved, such as their crops and livestock, but have remained at the core of these communities’ economies for generations. They have survived <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/floods" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>floods</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/wars" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>wars</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/pestilences" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>pestilences</span></a>, and many major economic and political changes. From the alpine meadows of Torbel, Switzerland to the 3 million hectares of Japanese forest to the irrigation systems of Spain and the Philippines, these projects have evolved over time in response to experience and circumstance. None of them are perfect demonstrations of anarchy or anything, nor are they necessarily the most ‘optimal’ by some metrics. But they are successful in establishing a level of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/autonomy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>autonomy</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/resilience" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>resilience</span></a> in the people involved in them, and they’ve managed to carefully maintain the ecology of the regions they inhabit.</p><p>"These institutions exist in different settings and have different histories, yet they simultaneously share fundamental similarities. Unpredictable and complex environments combined with engineering and farming skills combined with a predictable population over an extended period of time. These fairly egalitarian communities have developed extensive norms that define proper behaviour, involving honesty and reliability, allowing them to live without excessive conflict in a deeply interdependent environment. The perseverance of these institutions is due to the seven, and in some cases eight, key principles that Elinor Ostrom outlines in Governing the Commons..."</p><p>Read more:<br> <a href="https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/andrewism-commons-libraries-degrowth" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">theanarchistlibrary.org/librar</span><span class="invisible">y/andrewism-commons-libraries-degrowth</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SolarPunkSunday" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SolarPunkSunday</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AnarchistLibrary" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>AnarchistLibrary</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ClimateCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCrisis</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Resiliency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Resiliency</span></a></p>
David Salesa 🌱<p>Drought and <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/wildfire" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>wildfire</span></a> impacts on <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ecosystems" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ecosystems</span></a> are difficult to predict. The quick rise in temperature makes 2 drought events no longer comparable. </p><p>In addition, sensitivity to water stress in ecosystems also changes after <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/disturbances" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>disturbances</span></a>. In drier ecosystems, fire and <a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> increases sensitivity (they are more vulnerable to water stress) in most cases. </p><p>That being said, most sites recover their sensitivity faster than their correspondent drought regime. <br><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-02191-z" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">nature.com/articles/s41558-024</span><span class="invisible">-02191-z</span></a><br><a href="https://mstdn.social/tags/ClimateChange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateChange</span></a></p>
formuchdeliberation<p>The Guardian: Climate crisis ‘wreaking havoc’ on Earth’s water cycle, report finds…</p><p>The <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/climatecrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>climatecrisis</span></a> is “wreaking havoc” on the planet’s <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/watercycle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>watercycle</span></a>, with ferocious floods and crippling droughts affecting billions of people, a report has found... <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/climatechange" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>climatechange</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/globalwarming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>globalwarming</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/hurricanes" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>hurricanes</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/water" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>water</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/currentaffairs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>currentaffairs</span></a></p><p><a href="https://formuchdeliberation.wordpress.com/2025/01/07/the-guardian-climate-crisis-wreaking-havoc-on-earths-water-cycle-report-finds/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">formuchdeliberation.wordpress.</span><span class="invisible">com/2025/01/07/the-guardian-climate-crisis-wreaking-havoc-on-earths-water-cycle-report-finds/</span></a></p>
Chuck Darwin<p>I expect a large reason East Coasters don’t ask me about <a href="https://c.im/tags/droughts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>droughts</span></a> is that they just never think about them. </p><p>When it comes to freshwater resources, the United States is made up of two completely separate countries, <br>and those countries have very different water problems. </p><p>The official dividing line has long been the 100th meridian, which bisects the Dakotas, and runs through Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. </p><p>Average yearly rainfall east of the 100th meridian is more than 20 inches per year, <br>-- while west of the meridian it’s less than 20 inches. </p><p>(As the climate changes, this line shifts eastward. <br>There’s reason to suspect that the current dividing line is closer to the 98th meridian.) </p><p>Effectively, what this means is that in the east, water is plentiful. </p><p>Farms can survive without major irrigation projects. There are innumerable rivers, streams, inlets, and lakes. There is almost no freshwater scarcity.</p><p>That’s not to say the eastern U.S. doesn’t have water problems, only that they’re different. </p><p>Fracking and strip-mining pollute freshwater supplies. </p><p>Cities and counties refuse to build infrastructure for freshwater delivery to some communities, <br>especially poor and Black communities. </p><p>Aging and ill-maintained infrastructure means that in Flint, <br>just a stone’s throw away from some of the largest freshwater resources in the world, <br>people are being poisoned. </p><p>And at the same time, eastern water companies have been squeezing poor and especially Black residents <br>with ever-rising water bills and ever-intensifying enforcement methods, <br>including foreclosing on people’s homes when they can’t afford to pay for their water. </p><p>But these are all management and delivery problems. </p><p>The water is there, <br>it’s just a matter of getting it delivered to people in a safe, affordable, and non-discriminatory way.</p><p>The west is a different story altogether. </p><p>And if we can’t manage to solve the problem of safe and affordable water in places where water is plentiful, <br>you can imagine the problems that arise when real scarcity is involved. </p><p>Water history in the west is a full-service crash-course in all of 19th- and 20th-century American capitalism’s very worst tendencies. </p><p>We encountered a scarce and necessary resource, <br>understood exactly how scarce and necessary it was, <br>then proceeded to kill each other for the chance to turn as much of it as possible into profit before all of it was gone. </p><p>Now, it’s mostly all gone and the west is burning.</p><p>The prophet of water in the west, <br>the man who foresaw nearly every issue we’ve struggled to deal with in the last 150 years, <br>is John Wesley Powell. </p><p>What’s the best way to describe Powell? </p><p>Well, to start, he was an absolute madman. </p><p>Imagine a one-armed Civil War veteran turned college professor who, <br>in 1869, decides to take four boats down the Green River, <br>into the Colorado, and through the Grand Canyon. </p><p>At the time, no one had even come close to achieving this feat. </p><p>Some white settlers had seen or boated various parts of the river<br>—a few had witnessed the Grand Canyon from the rim<br>—and native communities had lived along some parts of Powell’s route. </p><p>But, to the best of anyone’s knowledge at the time, not even the natives had attempted this entire trip by boat. </p><p>The rivers were truly unknown and unknowable to Powell. </p><p>He could have encountered a waterfall as extreme as Niagara Falls at any point along the way, and died instantly. </p><p>And, to compound this uncertainty, Powell undertook the journey in four wooden boats, <br>never having run a rapid before, <br>with an entire crew of men who had also never run a rapid before.</p><p>Somehow, Powell and most of his crew survived the three-month journey. </p><p>Those who didn’t survive couldn’t exactly blame Powell for their fate. </p><p>At the top of a truly massive rapid in the Grand Canyon, three men abandoned the expedition, <br>thinking they’d have better survival odds hiking than trying to run these rapids in their tender wooden boats. </p><p>Only two days later, Powell and the remaining crew finished their journey, <br>having run the intimidating rapids without issue. </p><p>The three who’d abandoned them had already harassed a band of natives near the rim of the Grand Canyon and been killed</p><p>The journey is what Powell is famous for, <br>but his later reports are what make him a prophet of water in the west. </p><p>Before Powell’s time, many Americans had largely written off the western U.S. as useless. </p><p>In one of the best examples of a mislaid prophecy, an Army lieutenant, <br>on seeing the Grand Canyon, reported:</p><p>"The region last explored is, of course, altogether valueless. <br>It can be approached only from the south, <br>and after entering it there is nothing to do but leave. <br>It seems intended by nature that the Colorado River, along the greater portion of its lonely and majestic way, <br>shall be forever unvisited and undisturbed"<br><a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2019/07/water-is-for-fighting" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">currentaffairs.org/news/2019/0</span><span class="invisible">7/water-is-for-fighting</span></a></p>
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