Tag: River

TRANSPORT: Bridges

Posted on by Building The World
Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge disaster is a tragedy. You can help here and here. Image: ‘Cable stayed suspension bridge” by Wikideas1, 2024. Pubic Domain CC0 1.0. Included with appreciation to the artist and support for Baltimore’s families who have suffered loss.

The tragedy of the Francis Scott Key Bridge brings deep sorrow for those lost and injured, as the search for those still missing continued after the accident. The Baltimore bridge was slammed by cargo vessel Dali after the 984 foot (299 meters) ship lost power and could not avoid collision. A MayDay call was sent, but it was too late. Citizens in the area rushed to help, forming a human blockade to prevent oncoming traffic from entering the bridge access.

“Francis Scott Key Bridge and Cargo Ship Dali” tragic accident photograph by NTSBgov, March 2024. This image is in the public domain.

While using waterways for transport is an ancient idea, and has recently been championed by European transport experts as more environmentally beneficial, the size of cargo ships must be considered. Europe has 23,000 miles (37,014 kilometers) of waterways: using canals and rivers for cargo transport could reduce emissions from trucks. Presently, 6.5 million trucks deliver goods across Europe, while rail carries just 5% and rivers 2%. European port operator Haropa proposed rivers and canals as a means of cargo delivery. But when European canals, as well the American Erie Canal were built, and the bridges that span these waterways, cargo vessels carrying goods were smaller.

The Ever Given cargo ship, stuck in the Suez Canal in 2021, was so large it could be seen from the International Space Station. Photo: NASA/ISS 27 March 2021. Public Domain.

Now, the size of the average cargo ship is considerably larger. Ships that have problems can cause major trouble, like the container ship Ever Given that got stuck in the Suez Canal. In the first three months of 2024, cargo ships have hit bridges in Argentina, China, and the United States. Some would question if waterways, and bridges, are ready for the size of cargo vessels now used. The Port of Baltimore is the 11th largest in the United States. It is an important transport center, but what are the limits of the ships that traverse its waters? What safety measures need to be in place in the world’s ports? Coastal cities around the world are some of the most important ports. Baltimore is one; Boston is another. Will sea level rise threaten the safety of ports?

Zakim Bridge in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, completed in 2002, named to honor Leonard P. Zakim. It is the largest asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge in the world. Photograph by Eric Vance, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2019. Public Domain Creative Cpmmons0 1.0. Included with appreciation.

While the Francis Scott Key bridge was not structurally deficient (although there has been comment on its structural redundancy, a term for extra support that can compensate for damage preventing collapse, as well as pier protection) and was certified as completely up-to-code, too many of our spans are in need of strengthening. Bridges last about 50 years before showing problems. The age of the average bridge in the United States is 42. A study by the American Road and Transport Builders Association (ARTBA) revealed that 36% of U.S. bridges – 222,000 – are in need of repair. The total cost? $319 billion. How much is currently allocated? $3.2 billion.

Roman aqueducts and bridges utilized the famous Roman Arch. Image: “Roman Aqueduct in Tarragona, Spain” by Cruccone. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Bridges were once, and remain, so important to city planning and security that in ancient Rome, only the Pope and a small cadre of bishops had the right to authorize a bridge. From that historic beginning, we get our word “pontiff” (Latin “pontifex” from “pons” (bridge) + “facere” (to do or make). Only the Pontiff of Rome could issue a bridge permit. In olden days of China, there was a bridge over which only the Emperor could walk.

“London Bridge” by Claes Van Visscher, 1616. This image, in the public domain, was offered by Mahagaja. It is included with appreciation.

Many transport historians might mark stages of civilization by connections formed via bridges. London Bridge changed the commerce of the city. Its span was the location of what may be one of the first shopping malls: retail stalls built along the structure paid rent that helped support bridge repairs. London Bridge is significant, too, for what was perhaps the first worker’s compensation plan, according to King John’s document of authorization to the Lord Mayor of London.

“Brooklyn Bridge, originally the Great East River Suspension Bridge” by Currier and Ives, 1883. Public Domain. Included with appreciation.

Bridges can raise the spirit: the Brooklyn Bridge has inspired more poetry than any other bridge in history. Hart Crane’s “To Brooklyn Bridge,“offers reflections upon the span. The bridge is also connected to philosophy: it began in the mind of John Roebling who contemplated teachings of his professor at the Royal Polytechnic in Berlin: the philosopher Hegel. It was one of Hegel’s theories that gave Roebling the idea: it came to him in a flash during a hike in Bamberg. He sat down on a rock and sketched what would become the Brooklyn Bridge.

“Hammersmith Bridge” by photographer Alex Muller, 2008. This image is licensed by Creative Commons 3.0. It is included with appreciation to Alex Mulller.

British spans were recently studied: 17 were found to be in danger of collapse and 37 were on the watch list. The Hammersmith Bridge across the Thames River showed cracks in the 100+ year-old structure, causing the banning of vehicles since 2019.

“Morandi Bridge” by photographer Davide Papalini, 2010. This image is licensed under Creative Commons 3.0. It is included with appreciation to Davide Papalini.

European Union bridges tend to be on the older side: many were built as part of the Marshall Plan, just after World War II in the mid 1940s. Germany’s Leverkusen Bridge developed concrete cracks and was closed to heavy vehicles in 2012. In 2018, Italy’s Morandi Bridge connecting Genoa to France collapsed in a drenching rain storm. Built with only one pair of cable stays to support each section, vulnerability may have been inherent in the design.

Will bridges, many built in earlier times for different conditions, withstand the stronger storms of climate change? Britain’s Tay Rail Bridge washed out and collapsed in a strong storm in 1879. Image: Tay Bridge Catastrophe, 1879. Image origin: public domain, author unknown.

Climate change and attendant extreme weather, including intense winds and storms creating waves and floods, may affect bridges. In areas with drought subject to wildfire, bridges might need protection in parts of the span that may contain fiberoptic cable. Concrete may seem strong, but it cracks at 500 degrees Fahrenheit and melts at 2,500 degrees. Innovations like “First Line Fire Blankets” can be applied to bridges, power cables, and even gas pipelines. Make of E-glass fiber that resists thermal conductivity, “fire blankets” can be retrofitted to protect critical infrastructure.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is building many new bridges. Are there opportunities for innovation that can respond to climate change?  The Mohammed VI Bridge, Morocco, was a BRI project. Image courtesy of Ministry of Equipment and Transport, Morocco, 2016. Creative Commons 3.0. Included with appreciation.

Older bridges may be supported by vigilance and retrofitting. Newer construction has opportunities for innovation. China’s Belt and Road Initiative, connecting Asia all the way to Africa and Europe, may tally $8 trillion. Financed in part by loans to countries that agree to the building of bridges, ports, roads, railways, China’s debts-owed increased 20% since 2013 when the project launched. More than 68 countries have signed on to participate in the project that will involve 65% of the world’s entire population. Bridges in the plan include the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, Maputo Bay Bridges in Mozambique, Mohammed VI Bridge in Morocco, and the Peljesac Bridge in Croatia. Decisions made about bridge design, strength, maintenance, and technology may determine the future of the much of the world’s connectivity over water, and also over terrain needing aerial bypass. What are some ways bridges can be improved?

A view of Baltimore’s Key Bridge in 2011 by photographer Sarnold17. This image is licensed in Creative Commons 3.0.

Meanwhile, Baltimore mourns. If you would like to help those affected, you may help here and here.

ARTBA. “2023 Bridge Report: 222,000 U.S. Bridges Need Major Repairs.” 18 August 2023. https://www.artba.org/news/artba-2023-bridge-report-222000-u-s-bridges-need-major-repairs/

Bridge Masters, Inc (BMI). “First Line Fire Blankets: Superior Bridge Utility Protection.” 15 September 2017. https://bridgemastersinc.com/first-line-fire-blankets-superior-under-bridge-utility-protection/

Brooke, K. Lusk. “Brooklyn Bridge.” Building the World Blog. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/bridges/1480-2/

Brooke, K. Lusk. “TRANSPORT: Suez Canal.” 31 March 2021. Building the World Blog. https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2021/03/31/transport-suez-canal/

Jester, Julia. et al., “At least 6 people unaccounted for after cargo ship crash levels Baltimore bridge.” 26 March 2024. NBC News. https://www.mbcnews.com/news/us-news-maryland-bridge-collapse-francis-scott-key-bridge-boat-baltimore-rcna145047

McBridge, James, et al., “China’s Massive Belt and Road Initiative.” 2 February 2023. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative

Topham, Gwyn. “More than 3,200 UK bridges need repair, local authorities say.” The Guardian. 25 March 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/25/more-than-3200-uk-bridges-need-repair-local-authorities-say

Yeung, Jessie. “Three ships have hit bridges in different countries – in just three months. Should we be worried?” 27 March 2024. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/27/world/bridge-accident-dangers-baltimore-collapse-intl-hnk?cid=ios_app

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 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

WATER: Colorado River and the Future

Posted on by Building The World
And it’s only gotten worse since: 2023 is a critical year to determine the future of the Colorado River. Image: “Drought: before and after.” Photo, United States National Park Service. Wikimedia creative commons public domain. Included with appreciation.

Sharing water is one of the oldest bonds of community. Ancient villages centered around the well; urban settlements like Rome were built near rivers; great cities and civilizations began as ports.

“Rome: A view of the river Tiber looking south with the Castel Sant’Angelo and Saint Peter’s Basilica beyond” by Rudolf Wiegmann, 1834. Wikimedia, public domain. Included with appreciation.

But when neighboring communities are seven large states, the water is the Colorado River, and drought conditions are straining resources: sharing is proving difficult. Camille Touton, Commissioner of the US Bureau of Reclamation, official manager of the river, recently ordered Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming to cut 1/3rd of their water usage. Encouraging states to figure it out amicably, Touton warned that if no solution were soon agreed, the federal government would settle the score. The matter is urgent: the Colorado River provides water for drinking and irrigation for 40 million people. Moreover, if Colorado River reservoirs Lake Mead and Lake Powell reach ‘dead pool’ the Hoover Dam will not supply electricity.

Colorado River: Upper and Lower Basin States. Image from USGS data by Shannon1. Creative Commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

The Law of the River, a 100-year compendium of laws regulating the Colorado River from inception of the Compact in 1922 to 2022 (and now continuing), is both history and future. As farmers claimed more water to grow food to feed a nation, and as cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas burgeoned in population, dueling needs competed for resources. Add drought and the arguments became more heated.

Las Vegas gets drinking water and electricity from the Colorado River. Image: “Las Vegas by Night, 2019” by Notdjey. Creative commons 2.0. Included with appreciation.

The Colorado River will affect water policy in the United States, Compact partners of Mexico and the original American Sovereign Nations, but around the world. One third of all the rivers and lakes globally are facing drought. Rivers like the Amazon, Indus, Nile, Po, Rhine, and Yangtze, among others, will debate similar decisions.

“Confluence of Indus and Zanskar Rivers” by Bernard Gagnon, 2018. Creative commons 4.0. Included with appreciation.

Rivers support agriculture, drinking water, fish and marine life, barge traffic, and hydroelectricity. How should stakeholders work together to decide who gets water and why?

Interested in how Colorado River decisions will affect other rivers worldwide? Click here.

Henley, Jon. “Europe’s rivers run dry as scientists warn drought could be worst in 500 years.” 13 August 2022. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/13/europes-rivers-run-dry-as-scientists-warn-drought-could-be-worst-in-500-years

Nilsen, Ella. “California floating cutting major Southwest cities off Colorado River water before touching its agriculture supply, sources say.” 1 February 2023, CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/31/us/california-water-proposal-colorado-river-climate

United States Bureau of Reclamation. “Colorado River Basin.” https://www.usbr.gov/ColoradoRiverBasin

United States Bureau of Reclamation. “The Law of the River.” https://www.usbr.gov/lc/regiona/g1000/lawofrvr.html

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

CITIES: Plastic – Part 3, The Carriers

Posted on by Building The World
“The first turn of the Yangtze River at Shigu, where the river turns 180 degrees from south to north-bound.” Jialiang Gao, www.peace-on-earth.org, 1 February 2003. CC by SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons.

Cities are where most plastic is used, and then discarded. But how does it get into the sea? By 2050, there may be more plastic in the oceans than marine life. It is time to act. And we know what to do, and where to do it.

According the the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, Germany, “Rivers carry trash over long distances and connect nearly all land surfaces with the oceans.” (Patel 2018). Rivers deliver up to 2 million metric tons pf plastic into the seas. We now know which rivers contribute 93% of trash and plastic clogging the world’s oceans.

Top Rivers Carrying Plastic to the Oceans

Yangtze River

Yellow River

Hai River

Nile River

Meghna, Brahmaputra, Ganges Rivers

Pearl River

Amur River

Ganges River

Niger River

Nile River

Mekong River

Source: Schmidt, Christian et al., 2017

Could the engineering that led to the great success of Grand Canal of China now address rivers in that system that carry plastic? Might the achievement of the High Dam at Aswan have a second calling to filter plastic from the Nile River?

“Nile River in Aswan,” Ibrahim El-Mezayen, 12 February 2016. CC4.0, Creative Commons, Wikimedia.

Many of the world’s greatest successes came from crises, failures, and problems. Now that we know which rivers are carrying plastic, what kinds of solutions and innovations, such as filters and collection devices, can be fitted on these rivers to stop the flow of plastic?

Patel, Prachi. “Stemming the Plastic Tide: 10 Rovers Contribute Most of the Plastic in the Oceans. 1 February 2018. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stemming-the-plastic-tide-10-rivers-contribute-most-of-the-plastic-in-the-oceans/

Schmidt, Christian, et al., “Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea,” Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 51, No. 21, 7 November 2017. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.7b02368

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

Does Nature Have Rights?

Posted on by Building The World
“Forest Fire” Image: wikimedia.

So many trees burned in the Amazon forest that the fire could be seen from space. Brazilian satellite data from National Institute for Space Research (INPE) shows an 85% increase in fires, and double that in 2013. While the dry season from July to October sees fires caused by natural events such as lightning strike, other year-round causes may be clearing land for agriculture, grazing, or logging. Forests are damaged; wildlife decimated, and the air choking with smog; carbon emissions have spread as far as Bolivia. As a result, the Amazon basin, critical in regulating global warming because of its carbon-absorbing forests, may change the world environment. The G7 pledged millions in aid and planned to address vulnerable rainforests in Africa, calling these among the ‘lungs’ of the world. Brazil deployed army troops to combat the fire, quelling flames and perhaps some doubt.  But a question remains.

“Bloedel Reserve, Willow Tree” Image: wikimedia commons.

In 1972, Christopher Stone published the seminal work “Should Trees Have Standing?” regarding arboreal rights. Some say “Should Trees Have Standing?” began the environmental movement). There is emerging precedent: some rivers now have legal rights. The Whanganui River was granted rights of personhood in New Zealand; in India, the Yamuna River by the Taj Mahal joined the sacred Ganges in personhood. Bolivia established “LEY DE DERECHOS DE LA MADRE TIERRA: Law of Rights of Mother Earth.” Is this something new, or remembered? Granting personhood to Nature may be a return to the ancient myths, present in every culture, of water and nature spirits. Is it something we once knew?

Arboreal dryad. Image: wikimedia

Determining how to protect and sustain forests, restore burned or hacked ones, plant new ones, will surely be a critical part of the future. The Amazon forest, and the great forests of Africa, may look to many possible approaches. One path may be found in Benton MacKaye’s article “An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning.” Brazil might consider neighbor Colombia where established rights for the Atrato River also granted rights for the surrounding Amazon forest; it is an intergenerational pact. Will Bolivia’s “Law of Rights of Mother Earth” lead the way ? Are these the voices of the future?

Las actividades humanas, en el marco de la pluralidad y la diversidad, deben lugar equilibrios dinámicos con los ciclos y procesos inherentes a la Madre Tierra.

Athens, A. K. “An Indivisible and Living Whole: Do We Value Nature Enough to Grant it Personhood?” 45 Ecology Law Quarterly. 187 (2018). http://dx.doi.org/https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38251FK44. and https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2185&context=elq.

Climate Interactive. “C-ROADS” – a downloadable (and free) computer simulator that helps recognize long-term climate impacts of actions regarding greenhouse gases, including the importance of forests. By John Sterman, Todd Fincannon, Elizabeth Sawin, Andrew Jones, and Climate Interactive team. https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/c-roads/

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.

MacKaye, B. “An Appalachian Trail: A project in regional planning.” Journal of American Institute of Architects, 9 (October 1921) pages 325-30.

MacKaye, B. The New Exploration: A Philosophy of Regional Planning. 1928

Rogers, L., and N. Stylianou, C. Guibourg, and M. Hills. “The Amazon in Brazil is on fire – how bad is it?” 23 August 2019. BBC, News, Latin America. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49433767.

Stone, C.D. “Should trees have standing? – Toward legal rights for natural objects.” Southern California Law Review 45 (1972), pp. 450-501.

Stone, C.D. Should Trees Have Standing? Law, Morality, and the Environment. 3rd edition, 2010 (originally published in 1973). Oxford University Press. ISBN-13: 978199736072; ISBN-10: 0199736073.

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

WATER: antibiotics on tap

Posted on by Building The World
Pills of antibiotic cefalexin. Photographer: Sage Ross, 2014. Image: wikimedia commons.

Feeling sick? It may the drugs you just took when you drank a sip of coffee or a glass of water. Affecting not just humans but aquatic life, medications are entering the water as fast as plastic – they’re just harder to see.

Antibiotics have been found in 65% of over 70 world waterways tested. For example, a site in Bangladesh showed Metronidazole present at levels 300 times the safe limits (20,000 to 32,000 nanogram per liter (ng/l) guidelines set by AMR Industry Alliance). The most frequent contaminant? trimethoprim found at 301 of 711 river testing sites. Most prevalent antibiotic found at dangerous levels: Ciprofloxacin, in 51 of the 72 countries tested.

Chao Phraya River Drainage Basin. Image: wikimedia.

Rivers all over the world show similar results: Chao Phraya, Danube, Seine, Thames.  Some areas of the world suffer infected water more: Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Pakistan ranked highest of sites monitored. In general, Asia and Africa frequently exceeded safety limits for antibiotics but problems were also found in Europe, North and South America. In other words, it’s global.

Of course, antibiotics save lives. But that’s just the problem: growing global resistance to antibiotics, anti fungals, antivirals caused 700,000 deaths yearly due to drug-resistant diseases, among them tuberculosis. The United Nations’ Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance predicts that by 2030, over one million people will die every year due drug-resistant diseases.

PROBLEMS: Individuals are in no small part responsible: a study in California revealed half of all medications are discarded, often into the water supply. Another problem: even if we don’t intend to, individuals deposit drugs into the water supply.  People take a lot of drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter; our bodies metabolize only a percentage of the intake, excreting the rest into wastewater systems. And then there are the larger systemic depositors: hospitals try to return unused drugs to manufacturers obtaining a credit or at least assured safe disposal, but care and nursing facilities may not have such arrangements. Certainly drug manufacturers generate highly concentrated waste; downstream of a New York State pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, antibiotic concentrations showed levels 1,000 times higher than normal. And then there’s agriculture: poultry and livestock farming are responsible for two trillion pounds of animal waste filled with the hormones and antibiotics fed to the animals to optimize growth and marketability.

Antibiotics harm fish and aquatic life. Image: Giant Group, Georgia Aquarium, Wikimedia.

Other ways animals are affected? Aquatic life itself is changing: so much estrogen has entered rivers and ponds that male fish are showing genetic changes including the development of intersex fish, especially downstream of wastewater treatment plants: notable is Washington’s Potomac River.

Filters are one approach: water treatment plants have been successful at filtering out ibuprofen but couldn’t catch diclofenax, another pain reliever. Chlorine used in drinking water treatment does reduce bacteria and also degrades acetaminophen and the antibiotic sulfathiazole, and also carbamazepine (by 75%). Still, chemicals are getting into our bodies simply by turning on the tap: Southern Nevada Water Authority found antibiotics, antipsychotics, beta blockers, and tranquilizers in the drinking water as far back as 2010. It is only getting worse.

SOLUTIONS

Pharmaceutical systems include manufacturing, distribution, consumption, disposal, and waste treatment: each step of the process offers opportunities for intervention and innovation. Regulations, at a national, local, or global level, can be effective: compliance is now an industry with consultants like Stericycle with programs “designed to meet regulatory requirements.” Of course, pharmaceutical businesses have in-house programs and systems, including segregating hazardous waste pharmaceuticals that are then sent to a Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF). It’s a big business: UBS and Vanguard are investors, along with 500 other financial funds. Stericycle has 22,000 employees: competitors include Republic Services with 36,000 and Waste Management with 42,000 employees. It’s a business of the future: pharmaceutical use shows no sign of decreasing, although there is a movement to encourage safer drugs.

Jardine Water Purification Plant, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Image: wikimedia.

Nations and cities can take action. Water facilities such as the Jardine Water Purification Plant in Chicago, Illinois, world’s largest by volume, draws water from the American Great Lakes for distribution to 390 million urban residents. Research and innovation here could lead the way. In Europe, Germany invested one billion euro in the last two decades to water infrastructure including wastewater collection and treatment, in some ways advancing beyond the EU’s Council Directive 98/83/EC.1

Waterways themselves can innovate. When the Roman Aqueducts were built, it was due to an increasingly polluted Tiber River. When London’s water supply from the Thames became problematic, a public-private system was developed: the New River. Will the Grand Canal of China, part of the Belt and Road Initiative, lead research and action to improve the aquatic environment ? Might Inland Waterways International champion ways to improve the health of rivers and other created waterways?

SOLUTION: YOU – What can you do?

Don’t purchase bulk or volume packaging, avoiding accumulation of unused or expired chemical formulations.

Never flush unused medications, vitamins, or supplements down the drain.

When you must dispose, trash/landfill is preferable to flush/water. First, remove pills from container (recycle container),  then crush the pills, add a bit of water, and seal the result in a strong plastic bag before placing in trash.

MORE

Boxall, Alistair. York Environmental Sustainability Institute, and SETAC Helsinki 2019: https://helsinki.setac.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/SETAC-Helsinki-programme-book.pdf; and .https://www.york.ac.uk/yesi/news/pharmaceuticals/

Craft. “Stericycle Competitors and Alternatives.” https://craft.co/stericycle/competitors/

Fox, Kara. “The world’s rivers are contaminated with antibiotics, new study shows.” 27 May 2019, CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/27/health/antibiotics-contaminate-worlds-rivers-intl-scli/index.html.

Harvard University. “Drugs in the water.” June 2011, Harvard Health Letter. https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/drugs-in-the-water.

Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). https://www.setac.org

Stericycle.com NASDAQ: SRCK

University of York. “Antibiotics found in some of the world’s rivers exceed ‘safe’ levels, global study finds.” 27 May 2019. https://www.york.ac/uk/news-and-events/news/2019/research/antibiotics-found-in-some-of-worlds-rivers/

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

Building Better Coasts

Posted on by Building The World

Climate change is causing sea rise resulting in coastal erosion, flooding, and threatening ports and cities. Jakarta is in extreme danger: thirteen rivers run through the city, causing frequent flooding. The mega-city of 10 billion is doubly endangered: urban land is suffering subsidence, parts of Indonesia’s capital  (some predict 95%) could be deluged by 2050.

Reed beds revitalize polluted waters. Image: wikimedia

Even rivers like the Thames and Lea in London are not immune. But the city of London Bridge is responding. Thames21 is planting reeds that oxygenate rivers, restoring the habitat marred by pollution; reeds convert toxic ammonia to nitrate. Reed beds also provide habitat for aquatic life. In an echo of the Canal des Deux Mers, the canalized section of the River Lea will receive new reed beds every 300 meters over the length of the river coursing through London.

Indonesia, image: wikimedia.

Meanwhile, Jakarta is exploring response including artificial recharge, a method used a half-century ago by Tokyo in a time of subsidence; to support the program, groundwater extraction was halted and businesses were required to utilize reclaimed water. Jakarta would need to use only rainwater; could catchment systems help? The Dutch, formerly involved in the region, have returned: Institute Deltares reported on the efficacy of the current plan to build the Great Garuda Sea Wall (32 km) along with 17 artificial islands at the cost of (US$) 40 billion. Included in the plan is a new lagoon waterway that can be lowered during floods allowing water to drain. Another method: biopori – digging a hole of 100cm depth to allow rainwater to more easily absorbed into the land, replenishing groundwater. Indonesia may offer an example to many places in the world surrounded by water; how can we build better coasts?

“Jakarta, the fastest-sinking city in the world.” 12 August 2018. By Tom de Souza, with interactive elements by Arvin Surpriyadi, Davies Surya, and Leben Asa.

“Project Reed Beds.” Thames 21. https://www.thames21.org.uk/project-reedbed-2/

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

90% of Ocean Plastic comes from 10 Rivers

Posted on by Building The World

Plastic is a relatively recent innovation but disastrously successful. In 1950, 2.5 billion people on the planet generated 1.5 million tons of plastic; in 2016, 7 billion of us produced 300 trillion tons. Five trillion is now in the oceans, with toxic effects. But there is hopeful news. The United Nations will soon meet to empower Communities of Ocean Action, furthering Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14. On the agenda may be a recent study finding that improving ten rivers could reduce ocean plastic by half. Here are the rivers, please see map:

Rivers near cities carry the most plastic. Will Los Angeles lead an effort to reduce microbead pollution? Image: wikimedia.

Yangtze

Indus

Yellow

Hai

Nile

Ganges

Pearl River

Amur

Niger

Mekong

Inland rivers near cities are the major delivery systems of plastic to the oceans. If the trend continues, by 2050 the oceans will have more plastic than fish. Will the Yangtze River, part of the Grand Canal of China, develop a pioneering model to address the 727 million pounds of plastic carried by its water, perhaps creating a program in honor of the Grand Canal? The Yangtze is home to half a billion people: would a school-based program raise awareness and offer ways to reduce plastic? Also part of the Grand Canal: Hai and Yellow rivers. China may include the issue in the Maritime Silk Road. The United States is also a contender: it won the dubious honor of being the only industrialized western country to make the top twenty plastic polluters list.

Best, Shivali. “Shocking report reveals that 95% of plastic polluting the world’s oceans comes from just TEN rivers including the Ganges and Niger.” Daily Mail. 11 October 2017.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4970214/95-plastic-oceans-comes-just-TEN-rivers.html

Sahagun, Louis. “Microbes a major problem in L.A. River.” Los Angeles Times. 25 January 2014. www.latimes.com/science/la-me-0126-microbeads-20140126-story.html.

Schmidt, Christian, Tobias Krauth, Stephen Wagner. “Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany. 11 October 2017. Environmental Science & Technology, Volume 51, Issue 21, Pages 12246-12253. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est7b02368. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.7b02368.

United Nations. “UN’s mission to keep plastics out of oceans and marine life.” 27 April 2017. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=56638#.WnR75GaZPvw

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

Make Your Next Straw, The Last Straw

Posted on by Building The World
Make your next straw, the last straw. Image: wikimedia commons.

Americans use 500 million plastic straws – every day. Just to get the picture: that’s enough to fill 127 school buses. Every day. Each person in the United States will statistically use 38,000 plastic straws between the ages of 5 to 64. Most straws end up in the oceans. Why? Even when recycled, most plastic straws are too light, dropping undetected through recycling sorting filters. All waters, even with straws and microbeads, flow to the oceans where 70% of seabirds now have plastic in their stomachs. Plastic bags have been the subject of concern for decades, but plastic straws are among the top ten items found in marine debris. It’s easy to say NO. Mention your preference during your order: “And, no straw, please.” If a straw is required (there are many important medical and special needs), compostable plastic straws may offer a sustainable choice.  Individually, many people carry a personal water bottle or coffee cup; why not consider BYO straw choices like bamboo or stainless steel? A personal straw could address the safety of sips. Here are some straw styles suggested by Strawless Ocean.

Grenier, Adrian. “The Strawless Ocean Initiative.” Interview with Project Earth correspondent Nicholas Ibarguen on how individuals and restaurants could stop using plastic straws. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvGL89HDKE.

Schmidt, Christian, Tobias Kraut, S. Wagner. “Export of plastic debris by rivers into the sea.” Environmental Science & Technology 2017, 51 (21), 12246-12253. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.7b02368

“Strawless in Seattle” demonstrates how a city can go strawless. Enter your town in the competition https://www.strawlessocean.org/seattle/

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

Rivers are people, too

Posted on by Building The World
“Reflection of the Taj Mahal on the Yamuna River.” Image: wikimedia.

The first country in the world to give rights to a river was New Zealand: the Whanganui, the country’s longest, has received the environmental protection long sought by the Maori. Now, India has given human status and rights to two sacred rivers. The Ganges is protected, as is the river of the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan acquired the land near the Yamuna to use the river as a ‘keel’ to balance the massive iconic monument. How are the rights of a river represented? New Zealand’s river will be represented in legal matters by one of the Maori people and one representative of the crown government. India anticipates environmental rights will now be protected, having declared the Ganges and Yamuna are “legal and living entities having the status of a legal person with all corresponding rights, duties, and liabilities.” Bolivia decreed the rights of Earth in Ley 071 de Derechos de la Madre Tierra.

For New Zealand’s Whanganui River’s legal status:  www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-zealand-river-just-got-legal-rights-person-180962579/ and To hear the Maori chant: “Ko au te awa. Ko te awa ko au.”: https://vimeo.com/76390994

For India’s Ganges and Yamuna Rivers and rights: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/court-gives-2-indian-rivers-same-rights-as-a-human/2017/03/21/fccb440

For Ley de Derechos de la Madre Tierra, Law 071 of Bolivia: comunicacion.presidencia.gob.bo/docprensa/pdf/20121015-11/53-28.pdf.

For Pope Francis and environmental ethics: https://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/2015/07/09/environmental-wholiness/

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