TRANSPORT: Interoceanic Connections

Posted on October 1, 2024September 25, 2024 by Building The World

Geography is destiny, some observe. Timing accelerates the pace. And now, climate might be changing both. It is Mexico’s time?

Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec connecting Pacific to Atlantic might complement the Panama Canal, and offer a number of opportunities for transport. Image: “Isthmus of Tehuantepec” by Kbh3rd, 2007. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec, spanning the Pacific Ocean from Oaxaca to the Atlantic Gulf at Veracruz, has always fascinated visionaries who could see a highway, a railway, or a canal opening a transoceanic route of 188 miles (303 kilometers). Archival records show 16th century sketches of a connection. In 1811, a canal was proposed by Alexander von Humboldt who had traveled to the isthmus from 1799-1804: he also proposed another connective site that is now the Panama Canal. The route chosen by von Humboldt made clear the advantage of geography that can offer connection.

Map of Alexander von Humboldt’s expedition: 1799-1804. Image by Alexrk2, 2009. Creative Commons 2.5. Included with appreciation.

Macro engineering needs the right time and the right leader. The Channel Tunnel, linking England and France, had been envisioned by Napoleon, resisted by General Wolseley, but finally achieved in a design initiated by Frank P. Davidson along with a team of diplomats, engineers, and financiers: it is now the site of Eurotunnel.

Not everyone seeks closer connection. General Wolseley, seen here riding the fleeing lion, opposed the Channel Tunnel. Image: F. Graetz, 1885, from *Puck Magazine*. Public Domain.

Many tried to optimize the connective advantage of Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Mexico’s President Anastasio Bustamante proposed an 1837 plan for a railway. In 1842, the government (provisional) of Antonio López de Santa Anna granted José de Garay a fifty-year toll collection privilege in return for a survey leading to construction. (A similar provision was granted to Ferdinand de Lesseps who then built the Suez Canal.) When Porfirio Díaz, who hailed from Oaxaca, rose to the Mexican presidency, he inaugurated the first operation of the Railway from the port of Santa Cruz, carrying sugar from Hawaii. Six years of success ensued: 850,000 tons of cargo traversed the isthmus.

Railway won: Mexico launched the first railway in 1850. More would follow. Image: Announcement of Mexico’s first railway, 1850. Public Domain.

But then, in 1914, disruptive new technology happened: the opening of the Panama Canal. Isthmus rail traffic plummeted by one third; the next year, by 77%. Panama was shorter (just 40 miles or 65 kilometers), easier, and more cost effective because cargo loaded on a ship could remain onboard the same vessel that would carry it on to global ports. As many as 32 -37 ships passed through the Panama Canal every day – in just 8 hours. The Panama Canal widened the route; container ships grew in size and capacity.

Panama Canal, NASA image, 2002. Public Domain.

In 2023, a new situation threatened the Panama Canal: climate change. Drought threatens the region. The waterway, widened to accommodate ever-larger ships, may no longer support the heaviest behemoths. Limiting the number of ships per day began in 2023. If drought is severe, ships have to wait offshore for longer (and more expensive) periods; some buy their way up the line. Image below shows ships queuing up to traverse the Canal in 2023.

Enter Mexico. Observing an opportunity, the government began modernization of the Tehuantepec Railway and Oaxacan port of Salina Cruz. New tracks, re-laying of supportive basalt, advanced welding improved the railway. Construction of a breakwater outside the Salina Cruz strengthened the port. A new name was the cap that would announce a global vision: Corredor Multimodal Interoceánico (Interoceanic Multimodal Corridor). The railway is a centerpiece, both historic and futuristic. But much more is planned.

The project will include a trans-isthmus pipeline connecting the two ports. In response, Salina Cruz will host a liquified natural gas (LNG) plant; that gas will then power ten new industrial parks. Businesses signing on will reap tax breaks for meeting job creation goals. Mexico’s commitment to natural gas expanded the network of pipelines nationally by 50% in the past decade; yet the South and Southeast receive less of that energy. Along with LNG, an existing oil refinery will turn residue into additional petroleum increasing the fossil fuel production by 70,000 barrels. In an area of the world were solar, wave, and wind may offer more environmentally sustainable opportunities, some question the direction of investment. But new partners like Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners will pursue green hydrogen, as well.

**Some of the businesses moving to CIIT industrial parks may include those producing green hydrogen.** Image: “NGC 604, ionized hydrogen in the Triangulum Galaxy” by Hui Yang, University of Illinois and NASA, 1995. Public Domain.

While a canal is not planned, cargo ships are invited to offload their cargo on the Pacific side, carry the containers across the railway stretch, and then re-load on the Atlantic side, probably to a partner vessel. With drought compromising the Panama Canal, Mexico may attract maritime shipping traffic, perhaps picking up 5% of Panama’s commerce. That would be a small percentage of a big number: in 2023, the Panama Canal’s revenues reached $4, 968 billion.

Zapotec civilization flourished in Oaxaca from 700bce – 1521ce. Zapotec culture and values remain strong. Here, **Cocijo, Zapotec deity of water.** Image: photograph by Yavidaxiu, 2011. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

In all of the activity initiated by the Corridor, as it is known in English, and its potential to offer opportunity to southern Mexico, not everyone is sanguine: the First Nation and indigenous communities have expressed concern. Zapotec leaders won a lawsuit protesting land purchase for one of the planned industrial parks. Land payments also troubled a Zapotec activist who had protested the distribution of the funds: when he was found dead, such violence raised more concern – and fear. Human rights violations began to be raised. Mixe community leaders blocked progress on their section of the Railway: arrested protestors were released in response to demands by the National Indigenous Council. Indigenous concerns include disturbance of agricultural soil health and biodiversity.

**Mexico’s new President Claudia Sheinbaum, climate scientist, takes office 1 October 2024**. Image: “President Elect Claudia Sheinbaum, 2 June 2024” by photographer EneasMx, 2024. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Geography, destiny, and climate change may speed the future of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT). How will environmental scientist Claudia Sheinbaum, PhD, Mexico’s new president who begins a six-year term on 1 October 2024, work with Oaxaca, and its unique geographical and cultural gifts, to build Mexico’s future?

Bourke, India. “Claudia Sheinbaum: What a climate-scientist turned president might mean for global efforts to tackle climate change” 7 June 2024. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240607-claudia-sheinbaum-mexicos-new-climate-minded-president

Davidson, Frank P. and K. Lusk Brooke. “The Channel Tunnel: England and France,” Chapter 39, pages 761 – 804. Volume II. Building the World. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2006. ISBN: 978313333743.

Matheiros, Gabriel. “Panama Canal’s revenue up 14.9% in 2023 despite lower cargo.” 23 February 2024. Datamar News. https://www.datamarnews.com/noticias/panama-canals-revenue-up-14-9-in-2023-despite-lower-cargo/

Mexico, Government of. “DECRETO por el que se crea el organismo público descentralizado, con personalidad juridica y patrimonio propio, no sectorizado, denominado Corredor Interoceánico del Istmo de Tehuantepec.”14 June 2019. Diario Oficial de la Federación. https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo-5562774&fecha=14/06/2019#gsc.tab=0

Wall Street Journal. “Mexico’s Interoceanic Corridor.” 2024. VIDEO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMDCKpmc-uo

Appreciation to Charles E. Litwin for sharing research.

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

ENERGY: Nuclear Decisions – Part I

Posted on August 7, 2024 by Building The World

**The only building left standing in Hiroshima, Japan, after 6 August 1945 is now a peace memorial.** “Genbaku Dome” photographed by Oilstreet, Creative Commons 2.5.

This week marks the 79th year since the tragedy of nuclear warfare. Japan, only country to have experienced the effects of nuclear warfare, has always pledged non-participation in nuclear arms development. While the US has traditionally included Japan and South Korea in its protection, recent geopolitics in the area (and elsewhere) may encourage self-protection. With fear rising in Seoul due to its nuclear northern neighbor, 71 per cent of South Koreans surveyed expressed belief that self-protection may be necessary.

Tragic bombing of Japan in August 1945. Left image: Hiroshima (6 August 1945) by George P. Caron. Right image: Nagasaki (9 August 1945) by Charles Levy. Image from U.S. Department of Energy. Public Domain.

Japan may be less inclined. There are still 106,823 survivors who are a testament to the tragedy of August 1945. And the present generation who experienced the 2011 Fukushima disaster have grown wary of nuclear danger: not just in war but in energy production. In the Fukushima tragedy, 47,000 people fled their homes, ocean water near the plant became contaminated, and 80 square miles (207 square kilometers) were declared uninhabitable. Loss and damage remediation cost: estimated at $660 billion (71 trillion Yen). Those who visit Fukushima, or the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, may reflect upon past – and future- nuclear decisions.

Einstein stated the letter to FDR was his life’s biggest regret. Image: “Albert Einstein, 1947” by photographer Jack Oren Turner, 1947. Public Domain.

Einstein, whose letter to then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt led to the development of the Manhattan Project that resulted in the bombs, said it was his life’s biggest regret. Is it finally time for the world to join and support Hiroshima’s declaration, this week, that we must move from “ideal” to real action in nuclear disarmament. Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki of Hiroshima Prefecture noted that once a weapon is invented, likelihood of use becomes a problem that may never resolve. If you want to support nuclear disarmament, lift your voice here or here.

Wyoming is the location of TerraPower’s civil nuclear energy and electricity plant with a new, safer design: will it change nuclear decisions? Image: “John Moulton Barn at base of Grand Tetons, Wyoming” by photographer John Sullivan, 2004. Dedicated to the public domain.

But what about nuclear power as a non-carbon source of energy in a world seeking to stop carbon-caused climate change? Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates invested in TerraPower in 2008: in 2024, the company developed a new design for a power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming, USA. Gates noted that former nuclear designs use water to cool the system (a problem in the Fukushima disaster), but the Wyoming project will use liquid sodium. The medium can withstand eight times more heat than water, and does not require pumping back into the system. It still uses uranium, however.

“Uranium electron shell diagram” by graphic designer Pumbaa80. Creative commons 2.0.

Uranium is radioactive in all its isotopes; U-235 is fissile, and is the basis for most of the world’s nuclear power stations. As a mineral, uranium decays into other, lighter, elements: but it takes time. The half-life of U-235: 704 million years. Storage of spent fuel continues to be an issue. The world’s biggest deposits of uranium are in Australia, Canada, and Kazakhstan: these countries therefore may influence world nuclear policies.

**Not all countries have signed, and ratified, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). How can you help to advance support?** Image: “CTBT Participation as of 2022” by graphic designer Allstar86. Creative Commons 3.0.

Even more influence comes from those who have not signed, or have resigned from, the global Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Russia pulled out; the US has signed but never ratified. India, North Korea, and Pakistan have not yet signed. While 187 nations have agreed, only 36 have ratified. In addition to the US, China, Egypt, Iran, and Israel have not yet ratified. If you live in a country that has not signed or ratified, your action and encouragement can make a difference.

**France has the largest share of civil nuclear power for electricity generation. It is also home to ITER, site of development of fusion energy**. Image: “Nuclear plants map of France,” by graphic designer Sting, 2006. Public Domain.

But as the Atomic Energy Act reminds us, nuclear power is an energy form with environmental (and medical) benefits. Advocates of nuclear power, including Gates, speak of its potential to help the world achieve a carbon-free, net-zero goal as we transition away from coal, gas, and oil. Many join Gates in supporting nuclear energy for a carbon-free world. Today, there are nuclear power plants supplying energy and electricity in over 50 countries. The US, France, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Canada, and Ukraine (in that order) are the top producers; France has the largest share of energy generation from nuclear. Germany, however, decided to phase out and decommission its nuclear energy infrastructure.

**Global Zero** is an international organization dedicated to a world without nuclear weapons. Image: “Global Zero” by Global Zero. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

But even if new civil nuclear designs like that of TerraPower are safer operationally, are nuclear power plants still a danger as potential targets? Ukraine would say this is sadly true, as evidenced by recent threats to Zaporizhzhia. Bombing or otherwise exploding a civil nuclear facility built to generate electricity would result in two disasters: disabling energy infrastructure and triggering a radioactive explosion that would cause immediate casualties and lingering contamination. A database of nuclear terrorism is maintained by the Monterey Institute of International Studies, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. Organizations like Global Zero offer ways to get involved. The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, 7 July 2017, offers a vision.

In the next part, we’ll look at possibly safer forms of civil nuclear energy. Using uranium may be dangerous, but could small modular nuclear reactors (SMR) be less of a threat? And will the work of Jean-Louis Bobin and other physicists developing nuclear fusion independent of uranium change the field – and the world?

When learning that this week marks the 79th anniversary of the use of nuclear weapons in war, a student remarked: “By next year, the 80th, how can we reach complete nuclear disarmament?”

Take action here or here. This week, especially, honor peace.

Bobin, Jean-Louis. Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion. World Scientific: 2014. 978-9814590686

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Oppenheimer,” 22 July 2023. Building the World Blog. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2023/07/22/energy-oppenheimer/

Davidson, Frank P. and K. Lusk Brooke. “The Manhattan Project,” Chapter 26. pages 477-514. Volume II. Building the World. Greenwood 2006. ISBN: 0-313-33374-2.

Gates, Bill. “Nuclear Power.” VIDEO. 16 June 2024. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/16/business/video/bill-gates-nuclear-power-gps-sot-digvid

Global Zero. https://www.globalzero.org/take-action/chaosnewstart/index.html

Holdren, John P. “Threats to Civil Nuclear-energy Facilities,” chapter, Science and Technology to Counter Terrorism: Proceedings of an Indo-U.S. Workshop. 2007. National Academies Press. https://nap.nationalacademicies.org/read/11848/chapter/8

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Nobel Peace Prize 2017. “How to stop nuclear weapons.” https://www.icanw.org/take_action_now

Jiangtao, Shi. “Could Japan and South Korea join the nuclear club? Cold war fears put the prospect in play.” 6 August 2024. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3273440/could-japan-and-south-korea-join-nuclear-club-cold-war-fears-put-prospect-play

Kingsbury, Kathleen, Editor, with W.J. Hennigan, and Spencer Cohen. 2024. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/22/opinion/nuclear-weapons-nytimes.html

Langley, Winston E. Abolishing War. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2024. ISBN: 978-1-962551-25-0

Nicholls-Lee, Deborah. ” ‘It was the one great mistake in my life’: The letter from Einstein that ushered in the age of the atomic bomb.” 6 August 2024. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240801-it-was-the-one-great-mistake-in-my-life-the-letter-from-einstein-that-ushered-in-the-age-of-the-atomic-bomb

Nolan, Christopher. “Oppenheimer.” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title-tt15398776

United Nations. “Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.” 7 July 2017. https://disarmament.unoda.org/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/#:~:text=The%20Treaty%20on%20the%20Prohibition,threaten%20to%20use%20nuclear%20weapons

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “TerraPower, LLC, Submittal of the Construction Permit Application for the Natrium Reactor Plant, Kemmerer Power Station, Unit 1,” Accession number ML24088A059, 10 April 2024. https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2408/ML24088A059.html

World Nuclear Association. “Uranium mining overview.” 16 May 2024. https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/mining-of-uranium/uranium-mining-overview

Yamaguchi, Mari. “Hiroshima governor says nuclear disarmament must be tackled as a pressing issue, not an ideal.” 6 August 2014. Associated Press. https://www.conchovalleyhomepage.com/news/ap-hiroshima-governor-says-nuclear-disarmament-must-be-tackled-as-a-pressing-issue-not-an-idea/

Great appreciation to colleagues who suggested nuclear disarmament paths.

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

SPACE: Methane EYE in the SKY

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Building The World

**MethaneSAT: New Eye in the Sky.** Image: “Eye in the Sky” book cover design circa 1957 by Ed Valigursky. This image is in the public domain,CC0 1.0, and included with appreciation.

It’s odorless, colorless, but not harmless. Methane, found in land and under the seabed (where the Earth’s largest reservoir is located in the form of methane clathrates), can severely damage the planet when it escapes into the air. Atmospheric methane increased 170% since the Industrial Revolution. Methane is powerful: it causes 30% of global warming, and is more potent than carbon dioxide (one ton of methane = 82.5 tons of carbon dioxide).

Methane may be both the greatest danger and the greatest hope to save the Earth. That’s why those at COP26 in Glasgow cheered when 155 countries pledged to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030, signing the Global Methane Pledge.

**MethaneSAT** will circle the Earth 15 times per day, spotting methane emitters and then making the data public. Image: “Animation of GPS Satellite 2015-2018, based on JPL/NASA data.” by Phoenix7777. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Look through the eyes, and instruments, of Steven Wofsy, Harvard Professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Science, principal investigator, and Steven Hamburg, Environmental Defense Fund chief scientist, who along with Harvard’s Kelly Chance, Daniel Jacob, and Xiong Liu, designed an innovative technology with an academic, commercial, scientific, and philanthropic communal effort that takes a cue from COMSAT. Partners include BAE, Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Canyon Technologies, Google, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Center for Astrophysics, IO Aerospace, New Zealand Space Agency (NZSA), Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and SpaceX. MethaneSAT will circle the planet 15 times each day, pinpointing methane emitters so exactly that the actual facility leaking or venting the gas can be identified and revealed: data will be public. Liu commented: “MethaneSAT is not simply collecting data; we’re putting data into action.” (Powell 2023) MethaneSAT will be not only an eye in the sky but a finger pointing to specific polluters.

**Coal and methane wells – turning a problem into an opportunity.** Image: “CBM Well” by U.S. Department of Energy, 2013. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Once called on the celestial carpet, polluters will have a chance to mitigate methane emissions, perhaps even finding a profit in doing so. Here’s an example: coal mining releases methane that is hidden in the micropores of coal and the seams of a mine. If MethaneSAT detects strong emissions in a mining operation, that gas can be captured before it is released. But it not just an expense: methane can be used as an energy source. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed a Coal Mine Methane Project Cash Flow Model tool to coach mine operators on turning a problem into a profit center. Captured methane can be used as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or Liquified Natural Gas (LNG). Natural gas, still a fossil fuel but less polluting than coal, is 97% methane. When gas is burned for energy generation, it releases carbon dioxide, still a problem but better than releasing more potent methane as waste.

Oil and gas industry: major methane emitter. Image: “Gas from Oselvar moduke on Ula Platform 2012” by photographer Varodrig. CC3.0. Included with appreciation.

The gas and oil sector produced 40% of the world’s methane emissions in 2021. All together, methane leaks contribute 24% of global methane emissions. Capturing methane and then burning it turns methane into carbon dioxide and water: not ideal but less polluting. Coal, gas, and oil are not the only sources of methane emissions: the gas leaks from cut peatlands, landfills and wastewater treatment plants, farming, especially rice, and also animal agriculture. Biofuels that use crop or forest waste to produce electricity use methane. Some of these methods may qualify for carbon credits. It is true that turning methane from an atmospheric emission to a carbon-dioxide-emitting fuel is not exactly a climate solution, but it is better than just releasing atmospheric methane, accelerating the crisis.

“Cesium CM1 Satellites” by CesiumAstro1. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

MethaneSAT is not the first satellite to monitor the greenhouse gas. It was preceded by, and still linked to, MethaneAIR: both are part of a progression developing from the realization that addressing methane must be the first step in phasing out fossil fuels. Other methane-tracking satellites include:

Carbon Mapper – https://carbonmapper.org

EMIT – https://earth.jpl.nasa.gov/data/data-portal/Greenhouse-Gases

FENGYUN – https://satellite.nsmc.org.cn

Gaofen – https://eoportal.org

GHGSat – https://www.ghgsat.com

Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) – https://www.satnav.jaxa.jp

Tropomi – https://www.tropomi.eu

Limiting methane emissions can reduce global warming, change the course of the climate crisis, prevent 255,00 early deaths and 775,000 hospitalizations due to air pollution. and give us time to figure out the next challenge of limiting the damage by carbon dioxide that lasts longer. Methane is a low-hanging fruit. Now we have the right tools to identify (and fix) methane leaks and emissions, slowing acceleration of climate change.

**Acting now on methane could be the first big leap to saving the Earth from accelerating climate change**. Image: “Rotating Earth” by Goddard/NASA. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). “This is the Methane Moment.” VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQiwTPDkKaE

Global Methane Pledge. https://www.globalmethanepledge.org/resources/global-methane-pledge

International Energy Agency (IEA), UNEP, and Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). “The Imperative of Cutting Methane from Fossil Fuels.” 23 November 2023. https://www.globalmethanepledge.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023-11/The%20Imperative%20of%20cutting%20methane%20from%20fossil%20fuels.pdf

Jacob, Daniel and Steven Wofsy with Jim Stock. “Satellite Detection of Methane Emissions.” Harvard Speaks on Climate Change, Salata Institute. VIDEO: https://youtu.be/rkRarcKgMmQ?si=3rsqyxVy86a-FrB_

Maguire, Yael. “How satellites, algorithms and AI can help map and trace methane sources.” 14 February 2024. Google Blog. AUDIO option. https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/sustainability/how-satellites-algorithms-and-ai-can-help-map-and-trace-methane-sources/

Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.o). https:/ogmpartnership.com

MethaneSAT. “In Orbit.” 4 March 2024. https://www.methanesat.org/project-updates/methanesat-is-launching-today-on-groundbreaking-mission-to-protect-the-climate/

Powell, Alvin. “Buying crucial time in climate change flight.” The Harvard Gazette. 24 March 2023. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/03/methane-tracking-satellite-may-be-fastest-way-to-slow-climate-change

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “CMM Cash Flow Model.” https://www.epa.gov/cmop/cmm-cash-flow-model

Werner, Debra. “Not Invisible Anymore: Satellites reveal sources of atmospheric methane.” Space News. 25 January 2024. https://spacenews.com/satellites-reveal-sources-of-atmospheric-methane/

Wofsy, Steven C. “HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO): fine-grained, global-scale measurements of climatically important atmospheric gases and aerosols.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Volume 369, Issue 1943, 2011. https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1//30761051/21300274.pdf?sequence=1

Wofsy, Steven C. with Matt Goisman. “Steven Wofsy: Recently launched MethaneSAT emissions satellite.” 5 March 2024. Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. VIDEO. https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2024/03/cutting-edge-methane-monitor

World Bank. “Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership (GFMR). 2024. https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/gasflaringreduction/methane-explained

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

WATER: Rivers and Rights

Posted on January 10, 2024January 11, 2024 by Building The World

Colorado River, Horseshoe Bend in Arizona,” by photographer Charles Wang, 2023. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Colorado River Basin states are working together to agree upon water use and rights. Source of drinking water for 40 million people (7 U.S. states, Mexico, and 30 Tribes of original Americans), the Colorado River has recently seen lower levels of water. Drought has plagued the area, with prospects for recharge by melting seasonal snowpack now questioned by warming related to climate change.

**Upper and Lower Colorado River Basin states supplied by Colorado River. Mexico, and 30 Tribes are also participants in the Compact**. Courtesy of U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2012. Public Domain: CC0. Included with appreciation.

In 2026, present agreements on water allocation among stakeholders will expire. Rather than wait for political change, Colorado River Compact states are drafting their own new regulations. Working with the Bureau of Reclamation, agency in charge of administering the Compact, states will submit their draft plan by March 2024.

**Lawns may soon get a “thumbs down” as watering non-functional turf laws take effect to conserve water**. Image: “Lawn Doctor” by Lawn Doctor, Inc. CC4.0. Included with appreciation.

Water use restrictions are expected. Water recycling will be important: many communities are developing systems for reuse. Southern Nevada Water Authority announced that water may not be used on “non-functional turf’ – that means lawns. It was the first permanent regulation on lawns and grass: the new law will take effect in January 2027.

**Whanganui River of New Zealand was granted legal personhood rights.** Will other rivers follow suit? Image: “Whanganui River” by photographer Felix Engelhardt, 2009. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Another option? Legal personhood for important bodies of water. In New Zealand, the Whanganui River was granted legal personhood. In India, the Ganges, of sacred importance, and the Yamuna, River of the Taj Mahal, applied for legal personhood status. In the United States, the City of Toledo, Ohio sought legal rights status for Toledo’s Lake Erie harbor. Could the Colorado River seek such rights, protecting and securing its ability to recharge and renew?

**Water laws have progressed through three stages**. Image: 123 numbers gif. Public Domain, CC0. Included with appreciation.

In the past century, water laws have progressed through three stages. Early laws established rights to use water. Next, with environmental awareness, laws addressed rights of water itself to health, renewal, and sustainability. Now, with climate change, laws have begun to concern access in times of drought and water scarcity.

**How will climate change affect water agreements, regulations, and treaties?** Image: “Judge’s Gavel” by photographer Chris Potter, 2012. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Interested in the evolution of water laws? Explore this database of global water laws.

Eckstein, Gabriel, et al., “Conferring legal personality on the world’s rivers: A brief intellectual assessment.” 2019, Water International, 44: 6-7, 804-829. DOI: 10.1080/02508060.2019.1631558

Eckstein, Gabriel. “Buried Treasure or Buried Hope?” The Status of Mexico-US Transboundary Aquifers under International Law.” International Community Law Review 13 (2011): 273-290. https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/129/

Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. “Ley de Derechos de La Madre Tierra.” https://www.scribd.com/document/44900268/Ley-de-Derechos-de-la-Madre-Tierra-Estado-Plurinacional-de-Bolivia

Flavelle, Christoper. “Colorado River States are Racing to Agree on Cuts Before Inauguration Day.” 6 January 2024. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/climate/colorado-river-negotiations.html

Permanent Forum of Binational Waters/Foro Permanente de Aguas Binacionales. https://www.binationalwaters.org

Ramirez, Rachel, with Drew Kann. “First-ever water cuts declared for Colorado River in historic drought.” 16 August 2021. CNN.com. https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/16/us/lake-mead-colorado-river-water-shortage/index.html

Sankarasubramanian, A., Upmanu Lall, Naresh Devineni, and Susan Espinueva. “The role of monthly updated climate forecasts in improving intraseasonal water allocation.” Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, Volume 48, Issue 7, 1464-1482, 2009. https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/48/7/2009jamc2122.1.xml

Stone, Christoper D. “Should Trees Have Standing? – Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects.” Southern California Law Review, 45 (1972): 450-501. https://iseethics.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/stone-christopher-d-should-trees-have-standing.pdf

Water Laws Global Database. Renewing the World. https://renewingtheworld.com/files/samples/Renewing-The-World-Water-Database-Laws.pdf

ENERGY/CITIES: Are You in a Circle of Danger?

Posted on November 14, 2023 by Building The World

**If you live within 1/2 mile (0.8 kilometer) of a fossil fuel processing plant, you may be in a circle of danger**. Image above shows air pollution as it circles the globe. “Air Pollution Earth” by NASA, 2001. Public Domain.

Air pollution is a serious problem worldwide. Burning of fossil fuels, excess vehicular traffic, and lack of green spaces to absorb emissions, are causing clogged skies and public health dangers. Case in point, this month: India.

“Taj Mahal” from a photograph circa 1900. Image source: U.S. Library of Congress. Creative Commons Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Those who visited India’s famed Taj Mahal may not have been able to see the iconic monument this month. Air pollution fogged India’s skies. New Delhi, home to 35 million people, closed schools and warned residents to stay indoors if possible. NASA’s satellite images showed dense smoke over the landscape. But more troubling was the cause: particulate matter toxins and pollutants so tiny they can pass into human (and animal) airways to cause illness and chronic conditions.

“Air pollution in India from burning of rice residues in SE Punjab, India, prior to wheat season.” By Neil Palmer, CIAT. Creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Seasonal – in November, farmers clear straw after the rice harvest: it’s known as “stubble burning.” That practice increases normal pollution levels caused by domestic fires for heating and cooking, as well as smog from industry and vehicles.

**Diwali fireworks may add to air pollution.** “Diwali fireworks, India” by Urbanurban_ru, 2013. Creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

Fireworks: Added Danger – add to present air problems the joyous feast of Diwali, occasion for sky-illuminating, but also air-polluting, fireworks and air pollution becomes more serious. After Diwali, transport authorities are considering calling for an alternation of traffic days, allowing certain vehicles on the road every odd/even day. In some global locations, during seasonal festivals, many cities opt for aerial drone displays rather than traditional fireworks.

Regional – as New Delhi experiences air quality issues, Lahore, Pakistan, home to 13 million people, has also recommended schools, shopping malls, and some businesses, close temporarily. The air quality index (AQI) reached a hazardous level. Air pollution is a transboundary problem.

“Comparison of footprint and transboundary air pollution.” Nansai, Keisuke, et al., https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26348-y. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Pollution Effects Worldwide – 1 in 5 deaths worldwide can be traced to illnesses initiated or worsened by air pollution from fossil fuel combustion. Researchers from the University of Birmingham, University of Leicester, University College, London, and Harvard University found that 8 million people died from causes linked to air pollution in 2018; since then, things have gotten worse.

**If you live near a fossil fuel processing plant, you may be in the circle of danger.** Image: “Jamnagar Refinery at Night” by Reliance industries, 2006, from *Forbes India*. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Circle of Danger – the closer you live to a fossil fuel production facility, the more pollutants you may encounter. Toxins entering the air, and your lungs, include benzene, carbon dioxide, ethylbenzene, formaldehyde, methane, toluene, and xylene. The term for some of these substances is Volatile Organic Compound (VOC). In the United States, there are over 1 million active production wells, natural gas compressor stations, and processing plants, with 12 million people living within 1/2 mile (0.8 kilometer) – the circle of danger.

Do you live within a circle of danger? Image: “Red circle” by graphic designer AmericanXplorer13. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Want to find out if your business, home, or school is within the toxic zone? If you live in the United States, you can track your location on the THREAT MAP.

Atwoli, Lukoye, et al., “Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health.” September 2021. The Lancet, Volume 398, Issue 10304, p939-941, September 11, 2021. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PII0140-6736(21)01915-2/flltext#%20

Burrows, Leah. “Deaths from fossil fuel emissions higher than previously thought.” 9 February 2021. Harvard Gazette. https://seas.harvard.edu/news/2021/02/deaths-fossil-fuel-emissions-higher-previously-thought

Clean Air Task Force. “Fossil Fumes.” 15 September 2022. https://www.catf.us/resource/fossil-fumes-public-health-analysis/

Mogul, Rhea. “This megacity is the latest to shut down as pollution chokes swathes of South Asia.” 10 November 2023 CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/10/asia/pakistan-india-pollution-new-delhi-lahore-intl-hnk?cid=ios_app

Patel, Kasha. “The smog choking this Indian city is visible from space.” 9 November 2023. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/11/09/india-air-quality-smog-new-delhi/

Vohra, Karn et al., “Global mortality from outdoor fine particle pollution generated by fossil fuel combustion: Results from GEOS-Chem.” Environmental Research, Volume 195, April 2021, 110754. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935121000487

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

CITIES: Wildfires and Climate – How to Help

Posted on June 9, 2023June 9, 2023 by Building The World

Wildfires are increasing due to climate change. Image: “Burning Mangum Fire” in Arizona. Public Domain.Included with appreciation.

June 2023: Canada is on fire (below are links to help). Canadian wildfires have consumed 9.4 million acres (3.9 million hectares) – 15 times the average over the past decade. Quebec fires forced 11,000 residents from their homes; Nova Scotia suffered the largest blaze in its history. The East coast is not alone: Western British Columbia battled the second-biggest wildfire on record for the area. In Central Canada, Alberta issued evacuation orders and heat directives. Canadian railway CN is adjusting trains in several provinces. Why? Drought dries forests and heat sparks blazes. While wildfires are normal in nature, hence the term “wildfire season,” climate change is intensifying the threat to land, cities, and public health.

New York City’s Empire State Building as seen through smoke-haze from Canadian wildfires. Image “Empire State Building June 7 2023” by Aethemplaer on Twitter. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

No longer are fires, and related smoke, a local danger. Just south of Canada, winds blew smoke into the air of Vermont to New York to South Carolina, and then westward to Ohio and Kansas. New York City’s iconic skyline was cloaked in soot. Satellite images show the movement of smoke over Manhattan.

Smoke from Canadian wildfire blowing over New York City on June 7, 2023. Image: by NOAA. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

The year 2023’s fire season is just beginning in North America. If recent years are a warning, it is time to take precautions. In 2022, wildfires in California, Oregon, and Washington state consumed thousands of acres, destroyed homes and agricultural land. Canadian British Columbia battled 193 wildfires in 2022, sending smoke to Vancouver and also to Seattle, Washington. Wildfires have become so frequent that they often have names: Sandia, Red, Tower, Mountain, Dixie, Camp. The latter, in 2018, burned 153,000 acres (62,000 hectares), killed 85 people, and destroyed the entire town of Paradise, California.

Camp Fire of 2018 engulfed Paradise. Image: photograph by Landsat and Joshua Stevens, NASA. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Wildfires are a global threat. Australia’s wildfires in 2020 spiked atmospheric temperatures and even widened the hole in the ozone layer. Fires threatened Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric‘s largest generator Tumut 3. During China’s 2020 heatwave, the city of Chongqing, home to 32 million people, relocated 1500 residents due to fires erupting. Factories suspended work for seven days. In 2022, Hunan province closed its mountain access for one month to help 4,000 firefighters battle a blaze.

As global space-based observation progresses, we may be able to predict wildfires. The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) reports on European Union countries. EFFIS uses satellites in concert with the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) to observe active wildfires and estimate air quality pollution. Then, CAMS coordinates with the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) to predict where the wind will blow fire pollution, sending warning to cities. Another space-based monitoring system is CAMS Biomass Burning Aerosol Optical Depth measuring how much sunlight can pass through the air (or not), indicating concentrations of particulate matter.

Image: “Grain size dependence of penetration of airborne particulate matter.” Graphic by Dr. Claire Horwell, Durham University, UK and Ken Donaldson, USGS. Creative commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

Particulate matter (PM) is the term for mixture of solid and liquid drops of pollutants suspended and carried in the air. Particles can be made of inorganic and organic compounds including soot, metal, dust, soil, pollen, mold, and little flakes of burnt matter. Small particles can be inhaled, enter the lungs and pass into the bloodstream. The tiniest particles, those less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter and known as PM2.5, are the most dangerous.

How can you tell if your local air’s PM2.5 might be at high levels? Look out any window. If air is hazy, and wind is relatively still, there is danger. Here are actions to take:

Preventing Wild Fires and Related Damage – manage forests, limit residential plantings needing extensive water, build new construction with fire-proof or fire-resistant materials, use satellite data to anticipate fire-prone areas and take preventive action.

Preventing Health Risks due to Fire and Smoke – remain indoors, do not open windows, use an air-filter device if available, cancel unnecessary outdoor exposure. If you do need to venture outdoors, wear an N95 mask (or two), and when returning, remove and launder outerwear garments that may harbor toxic residue.

Providing Help to Those Impacted by Canadian Wildfires – fires have displaced 20,000 people, destroyed property, and sent many to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Here’s some ways to help:

Canadian Red Cross – every dollar donated will be matched;

Firefighters Without Borders – support international and Canadian firefighters;

Donate a Mask – help a charity that distributes free N95 masks.

In the future, climate response will mean addressing, especially, the shared resources of the global commons. These include areas that lie beyond national jurisdiction: the high seas, outer space, and the atmosphere – the very air we breathe. Wildfires may erupt in a specific place, but winds that circle the globe bring “there” to “here.” As we respond to problems we face today, let us keep an eye on a better, cleaner, more equitable future.

But still, like air, I’ll rise. -Maya Angelou

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Designing residential and commercial communities in the age of drought and wildfires.” Renewing the World: WATER. Success Casebook. 2023. ISBN: 9798985035933.

Coleman, Jude. “Australia’s epic wildfires expanded ozone hold and cranked up global heat.” 1 September 2022. Nature. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02782-w

European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) https://effis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

Global Commons Alliance. https://globalcommonsalliance.org/global-commons/

Stack, Liam, Mike Ives, and Kevin Williams. “Here’s the latest of the widespread effects of the smoke in North America.” 8 June 2023. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/06/08/us/canada-wildfires-air-quality-smoke

Williams, Nia. “Wildfires burn across Canada with little relief in sight.” 8 June 2023. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/wildfires-burn-across-canada-with-little-relief-sight-2023-06-08/

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

CITIES: Cliffhangers

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Building The World

Waves and sea level rise will affect low-lying cities, but what about coastal cliffs? Image: “Porto” by photographer/videographer Sergei Gussev, 2016. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

It’s obvious that sea level rise will threaten low-lying coastal areas. But more than 50% of all Earth’s coasts are cliff-lined. Are these higher elevations safe? Not really.

Climate scientists and city planners worrying about sea level rise have mostly focused on immediately vulnerable low-lying cities. That’s appropriate and urgent: more than one billion people may be displaced. It is also important to note that many of the world’s most important cities began as ports, at a time when shipping was the main means of global commerce. What will happen to powerful port cities like Amsterdam, Boston, Lagos, Rio de Janeiro, or Singapore – great port cities that continue to attract businesses and residents? Lagos leads Africa in the number of innovation start-ups. But building more offices and apartments stresses already-dense ports, making these cities more vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding.

But rocky, cliff-lined coasts have been neglected. Because cliffs make up more than 50% of the world’s coasts, their erosion is also of importance. It’s just been harder to see. Until now.

New techniques using geochronology and cosmogenic radionuclide dating can tells us what has happened to world cliffs 8,000 years ago – and predict what may occur in the future. It’s a technology as useful in space as on Earth. Image: “Geochronology/cosmogenic radionuclide dating” by COMPTEL, 2012. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Recent studies show that sea level rise will likely accelerate rock coast cliff retreat rates. A team including Bethany Hebditch, Matthew Piggott, Dylan Rood, Alexander Seal, and Jennifer Shadrick, from the Department of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Imperial College, London, UK, as well as Klaus Wilcken of the Centre for Accelerator Science, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO), Sydney, Australia, and Martin Hurst of the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, UK developed a coastal evolution model based on cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) and topographic data that quantified cliff retreat rates. With a Janus-like long view, the model gazes back 8,000 years and uses that data to forecast the next 100 (and beyond).

“Cliffed coast” by graphic artist Salino. Dedicated to the public domain and included with appreciation.

Models can be helpful. Developed by Alan Trenhaile, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, one model looks at cliff retreat and broken waves attacking the coastal cliff, resulting in erosion. Another model by a team including Lorenzo Mentashi and Luc Feyen and Jean-Francois Pekel of the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Directorate for Space Security and Migration, in Ispra, Italy, as well as Michalis Vousdoukas, of the JRC and the Department of Marine Sciences, University of the Agaean, Mitilene, Lesbos, Greece, and Evangelos Voukouvalas of the Engineering Ingegneria Informatica, Rome, Italy is the Soft Cliff And Platform Erosion (SCAPE) that predicts erosion of soft cliffs. Other models like 1-D examine wave force, but they are based on historical observations and we all know that things are changing. Actually, no one thing causes cliffs to erode and retreat: it’s a combination of tides, currents, waves, air and water temperatures.

Bideford, England may be changed by sea level rise and cliff retreat. Image: “Tantons Hotel in Bedeford” by photographer Steve Daniels, 2009. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

The UK/Australia study team focused on two sites in the United Kingdom (UK): Bideford in north Devon and Scalby in Yorkshire. Here’s what they found. At both sites, cliff retreat matched late-Holocene sea level rise. They also noted that cliff retreat is more sensitive to the rate of sea level rise increase than to its magnitude. Conclusion? Cliff erosion is “dominated” by waves; cliff retreat is linked to the rate of sea level rise. As climate change drives sea level rise, “cliff positions are likely to retreat by at least (10-14 meters) at Bideford and (13-22 meter) at Scalby. These rates of cliff retreat are two times greater than any previous estimates and as an order of magnitude greater when compared with the past half millennium.

Will cliff erosion threaten California’s Big Sur and the Pacific Coast Highway? Image” Big Sur and the Pacific Coast Highway” by photographer Astronautilus, 1995. Creative Commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

We once thought of rock cliff coasts as unchangingly stable. They are just slower. From the White Cliffs of Dover, England, made of finely grained, chalky limestone, to the coastline of the Santa Lucia Mountains in Big Sur, California, iconic cliff coasts may be changed through sea level rise. Some locations, like Puerto Escondito, Oaxaca, Mexico have both low-lying beaches like surfing favorite Playa Zicatela not far from cliff-lined beaches like Playa Carrizalillo. Protective measures for seaside cliffs include anchoring (by means of terraces, planting, or even wiring) or dewatering (draining water flowing into nooks and crannies), or engineered smoothing at the base reinforced by granular material. Most coastal cliff erosion happens at the bottom where waves attack and weaken the structure.

**How can we protect coastal cliffs? What are your ideas?** Image: “Ocean shaped coastline and silhouette person” by photographer MontyLov, 2017. Dedicated to the public domain, creative commons 1.0. Included with appreciation.

The next time you enjoy a panoramic ocean view from atop a promontory, consider your ideas for shoring up coastal cliffs.

City of Boston. “Climate Ready Boston Executive Summary.” https://www.boston.gov/sites/default/files/file/2023/03/2016_climate_ready_boston_executive_summary_1.pdf

SCAPE. “Resilient Boston Harbor Vision – SCAPE” https://www.scapestudio.com/projects/resilient-boston-harbor-vision/

Shadrick, Jennifer R., et al., “Sea-level rise will likely accelerate rock coast cliff retreat rates” 18 November 2022. Nature Communications 13, 7005 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34386-3

Sivaprasad, Dave. “Mangroves, Storm Walls and Other Ways to Protect Coasts from Climate Change.” 26 April 2023. Boston Consulting Group (BCG). VIDEO. https://www.bcg.com/videos/protecting-coastal-communities-impacted-by-climate-change

Trenhaile, Alan.S. “Modeling the development of wave-cut shore platforms.” 15 May 2000. Marine Geology 166,163-178.

Trenhaile, Alan.S. “Predicting the response of hard and soft rock coasts to changes in sea level and wave height.” 22 February 2011. Climactic Change 109-599-615. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-011-0035-7 and https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-011-0035-7

Young, A. and Carilli, J. “Global distribution of coastal cliffs and retreat rates.” EP23C-EP22336(2018)

Young, A. and Carilli, J. “Global distribution of coastal cliffs. Earth Surf Process Landforms 44:1309-1316. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp4574

Note: we have named all the team members, above in the post, to value each one’s contribution that is seldom recognized when listed as “et al.”

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 U

WATER: Loss, Damage, and Renewal at COP27

Posted on November 23, 2022 by Building The World

This month, COP27 agreed upon a goal that has been proposed and discussed for decades: loss and damage. Because we are the water planet, we will first experience climate change through water. Pakistan suffered floods causing death, destruction, evacuations resulting in loss and damage estimated at $30 billion – in 2022’s seasonal monsoon rains made more intense through climate change. Floods drenched one-third of the country, affecting 33 million people. Bangladesh has suffered storms, higher than normal tides, intense rainfall, flooding, and coastal erosion. Micronesia has lost part of its landmass due to sea level rise. Vanuatu led the Alliance of Small Island States to propose loss and damage insurance as early as 1991. At COP 26 in Glasgow, nations began to address loss and damage through funding the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage (SNLD). When COP27 reached the agreement, there was sensitivity to phrasing: developed countries who cause most emissions did not want to state liability, and that term’s potential link to litigation.

Senator Sherry Rehman. Image: Atlantic Council, 2013. wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman represented G-77 (plus China) at November’s COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, leading the establishment of a Loss and Damage Fund. The fund will support technical assistance to those needing to prepare for the effects of climate change; those most affected are often those who are the lowest emitters of carbon that is driving global climate.

“Codice di Hammurabi” by photographer Sailko, from Louvre Museum, Paris, France. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Loss and Damage is one of the oldest forms of insurance and reparation. The Code of Hammurabi (circa 1792-1750 bce) presented Law 100 that required repayment of debt; Laws 101 and 102 addressed loss and damage during shipping of cargo. The United Nations’ use of the term “loss and damage” refers to climate-caused destruction that exceeds a community’s ability to adapt or protect itself. For the past thirty years, nations vulnerable to climate-change damage have sought financial and technological assistance. The UN Loss and Damage Fund will begin to support rebuilding, perhaps with a new view.

But we must do more than just rebuild. We must renew. We cannot merely replace businesses, homes, hospitals, and schools in areas continuously assaulted by floods and storms. With the UN’s Loss and Damage Fund, and its emphasis on technological assistance as well as repair and rebuilding, the world’s most vulnerable areas may now have a unique opportunity not just to rebuild but to renew the world through climate-protective innovation.

Associated Press of Pakistan. “Sherry Rehman hails COP-27 for setting up ‘loss and damange’ fund as a landmark achievement.” 20 November 2022. https://www.app.com.pk/national/sherry-rehman-hails-cop-27-for-setting-up-los-and-damage-fund-as-a-landmark-achievement/

Bhandari, Preety, et al., “What is ‘Loss and Damage’ from Climate Change? 6 Key Questions, Answered.” 3 November 2022. Word Resources Institute (WRI). https://www.wri.org/insights/loss-damage-climate-change

Gul, Ayaz. “Pakistan Flood Damages, Economic Losses Exceed $30 Billion.” 28 October 2022. VoA. https://www.voanews.com/a/study-pakistan-flood-damages-economic-losses-exceed-30-billion-/6810207.html

Lakhani, Nina. “‘We couldn’t fail them:’ how Pakistan’s floods spurred fight at Cop for loss and damage fund.” 20 November 2022. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/20/loss-and-damage-pakistan-flooding-climate-justice-cop27

United Nations. “Funding arrangements for responding to loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including a focus on addressing loss and damage.” FCC/CP/2022/L.18-FCCC/PA/CMA/2022/L.20. 19 November 2022. https://unfccc.int/documents/624434

Zhong, Raymond. “In a First Study of Pakistan’s Floods, Scientists See Climate Change at Work.” 15 September 2022. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/climate/pakistan-floods-global-warming.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

WATER: Floods and Helping Hands

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Building The World

“Helping hands, working together.” by AlphaZeta, 2014. Donated to the public domain by the designer. Creative Commons 1.0, wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Recent floods in Florida in the United States, and in the Sindh province of Pakistan, caused loss of life, property, and long-term displacement. Because we are the water planet, climate change will first be felt through water. This is true of the past summer’s droughts, reductions in the Colorado River and Lake Mead, heatwaves, and wildfires; now it is true of autumnal seasonal storms intensified by melting glaciers in Pakistan and warming oceans near Florida. If you are reading this post, it is because you are fortunate to have power and electricity. Many do not. If you would like to extend a helping hand, here are some suggestions:

“Sindh Province Divisions, Pakistan” by Nomi887, 2022. Creative commons, wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Pakistan – flood relief and rebuilding efforts may be helped by outreach, including sources like the Edhi Foundation, headquartered in Karachi, that provides emergency assistance across Pakistan and internationally. Edhi Foundation’s Flood Relief Campaign may be reached via: https://edhi.org. Another option is Islamic Relief USA: https://irusa.org.

“Hurricane Ian reaches Florida, USA” NASA, Earth Observatory, 2022. Image in the public domain, included with appreciation.

USA – inundations from Hurricane Ian, a category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph, damaged areas of Florida including Captiva and Sanibel, Naples and Fort Meyers. Two million residents are without electricity and running water. The storm is now moving towards South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina. You can volunteer or donate to the American Red Cross via https://www.redcross.org. Another option is Caring for Others at https://caring4others.org.

As climate change continues to cause damage, we may need to respond in two ways: disaster response and proactive renewal. Is it time to consider a Climate Conservation Corps, combining active service and education? Some have suggested an organizational name, and membership term, of CliMates. What do you think of this idea?

“Earth” by NASA, with graphic enhancement by Tdadamemd, 2016. Public Domain, wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un

Thanks to those who kindly suggested organizations for helping those affected by recent floods.

CITIES: Naming Heatwaves

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Building The World

**Will Los Angeles be the first American city to name heat waves?** Image: “Sunset on the city of Los Angeles, California.” by Censor, 2016. Wikimedia/Unsplash – CC0 1.0 dedicated to the public domain. Included with appreciation.

We name hurricanes and cyclones. Putting a face and name on the alert of coming danger helps people to prepare. We name wildfires for the same reason. Now, in this new normal of climate change, we are beginning to name heatwaves – in and for cities.

Cities are hotter, forming “heat islands.” Image: NOAA, public domain, wikimedia. Included with appreciation.

Because heatwaves are felt most vividly in cities, the idea of naming heatwaves is now being considered by Los Angeles, California. That city experienced 6 dangerous heatwaves between 1998 – 2000; now, there will be more, with 22 annually from 2020 to 2050. In 2020, hospitals saw a tenfold increase in emergency room visits during heat spells in Los Angeles.

How would heatwaves be named? Using the model of hurricanes, a number of factors would be assessed: heat overall, night-time heat, and temperature trends. With these factors, an impending heatwave would be declared along a 1-3 scale.

“3rd” no ascribed author. Public Domain. From wikimedia commons. Included with appreciation.

Each city would have different evaluations. When heat hits a city that rarely experiences scorching temperatures, people are less prepared. In Miami, Florida, USA, where “heat season” is already a term for the period from May – October, people are equipped with air conditioners and fans. In days before climate became a crisis, heat waves inspired songs. But the recent UK heatwave found many people in London without air conditioning, something rarely needed in the British Isles. London’s Luton airport had to suspend flights when July 2022 heat melted a runway.

Cities of London and Manchester suffered extreme heat in July 2022. Image: “UK heatwave weather warnings July 2022.” from Met Office, Open Government Licence v3.0. Included with appreciation,

Seville, Spain, where heat is common, has begun to name heatwaves. Seville is the first global city to do so. Seville decided to start at the end of the alphabet, rather than at the beginning as is traditional with hurricanes. Accordingly, “Zoe” arrived in July, with temperatures of 109F (43C), she was considered a category 3 – the highest designation. In the United States, four states are testing the heatwave naming system: Kansas City, Missouri; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Will Seville, Spain lead the way? Image: “La Plaza de Espana de Sevilla,” by Francisco Colinet, 2013. Wikimedia Creative Commons CC by SA 3.0 es. Included with appreciation.

Seville’s system was developed with the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center. Seville’s former mayor Juan Espadas praised the system “encouraging other cities in the world to also undertake this great endeavor.” (Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center) What do you think about naming heatwaves? How should names be chosen?

Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock). “Seville Mayor Juan Espadas announces heatwave naming and categorization initiative.” 18 October 2021. https://onebillionresilient.org/2021/10/18/seville-mayor-juan-espadas-announces-heatwave-naming-and-categorization-initiative/

Debusmann, Bernd, Jr. “Climate change: Will naming heatwaves save lives?” July 30. 2022. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-62297346

Monroe, Marilyn. “We’re Having a Heat Wave.” YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1xe9gi2gIU

National Ocean Service. “Why do we name tropical storms and hurricanes?” NOAA. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/storm-names.html

National Public Radio. “How do wildfires get their names?” 26 August 2015. Audio and Transcript: https://www.npr.org/2015/08/26/434821450/how-do-wildfires-get-their-names-the-national-park-service-explains

Osborne, Margaret. “‘Zoe’ becomes the world’s first named heat wave.” 2 August 2022. Smithsonian Magazine.

World Meteorological Organization. “Tropical Cyclone Naming.” https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/focus-areas/natural-hazards-and-disaster-risk-reduction/tropical-cyclones/Naming

Building the World Blog by Kathleen Lusk Brooke and Zoe G. Quinn is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Un