Drought: the thin line between natural and man-induced change
A simplified scheme of the hydrological stocks and flows is given below. The climate variables precipitation and temperature over time are the most important input variables. Rainwater will fall upon the vegetation and partly flow out as runoff and partly evaporate, and the remainder penetrates the soil where it adds to the stock of soil moisture (‘green water’). In cold [...]
Utopias: Imagined futures as orientors for worldviews
Worldviews often orient themselves to particular ideals, about human individuals and societies. Famous descriptions of an ideal society in literature are known as utopias: a place (τοπος) that is good (ευ) – or, in another interpretation, is not (ου). In his book Utopia (2006), Achterhuis proposes three criteria for a imagined future to be a utopia: feasibility, the nature of [...]
The Utrecht Griftpark: the Dynamism of Environmental Pollution
On the eastside of Utrecht, there is a large area with a lake, a playground, trees, statues, an animal farm. It’s a very enjoyable place for all kinds of people and activities. Yet, only 60 years ago, it was the largest dangerous waste dump in The Netherlands. The story illustrates nicely the interaction over time of profitable business, environmental pollution, [...]
Nauru: phosphate, fish, money and refugees on a 21st century Easter Island? *
Some 1500 km east of Papua New Guinea, in the Pacific, is the small island of Nauru. It is the smallest independent republic, with nowadays some 12.000 inhabitants on an area of less than 25 km2. The story of Nauru's ‘discovery’ in 1798 by a British captain who gave it the name Pleasant Island and its subsequent exploitation by colonial [...]
Sao Paulo drought: water shortage and water governance*
October 2014. Latin America’s biggest metropolis may, again, run out of water. For some of the 20 million residents across Sao Paulo, taps are already running dry. Dilma Pena, chief executive officer of the state-run water utility Cia. de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo (Sabesp), told the city council that supplies are only guaranteed until mid-November unless it [...]
Water as a commodity: ban on bottled water in Australian town*
The market has discovered scarcity as something to be desired. The Stock Fund Utilities department of the dutch bank ING announced in 2007:”…prospects remain good. In the states of California and New York energy shortages threaten and it drives the price up.” Similar advertisement are seen for water. Drinking water used to be a service ‘freely’ offered by nature. With [...]