Monthly Archives: July 2014

Mapping the Spread of Drought Across the U.S.

Image: ClimateWizard.org

Image: ClimateWizard.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slightly more than a third of the United States suffered moderate or worse drought as of July 22, and about 40% of the country has been abnormally dry in recent months, according to research cited in The New York Times. Climate change is intensifying drought and changing patterns. While the West dries out, especially California and southwestern states, more rain than usual has been falling east of the Mississippi River. Look at the mapping on NYT Interactive’s The UpShot.

Leave a comment

Filed under Climate Change, Drought, Environment, North America, Research, Water Resources

RIP Wanda Ellis Peters, 1938-2014

Visiting with Mom in Florida in April 2014, before her cancer entered the terminal phase.

Visiting with Mom in Florida in April 2014, before her cancer entered the terminal phase. She passed away just before midnight on Tuesday, July 15, 2014. She will be missed.

Wanda Ellis Peters, 75, of The Villages, Fla., passed away on July 15, 2014, at The Villages Hospice House, from cancer and related complications. She was born on Nov. 28, 1938, in Ferrum, Va., to Harry and Roosevelt (Gusler) Peters. She grew up on their farm with several brothers and sisters.

Peters graduated from Franklin County High School in Rocky Mount, Va., in 1956, and received a nursing degree four years later from Lewis Gale Hospital School of Nursing in Roanoke, Va. She married William D. Snow, of Brookline, Ma., and lived with him on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, until they returned to the Boston area and had the first of their three sons in 1964.

Peters went on to raise three sons in the Hartford, Conn., area, where she worked as a registered nurse at Hartford Hospital. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Post College in 1985 and a Master of Science degree in business from Central Connecticut State University in 1991. Later, she lived in Cary, N.C., and worked as a nurse consultant inspecting nursing homes for the state.

She moved to The Villages, Fla., in 2006. In retirement she was an avid golfer and mahjong player, and enjoyed collecting fine jewelry and Norman Rockwell Limited Edition plates. She supported manatee preservation and was dedicated to several charitable causes through New Covenant United Methodist Church. Rev. Marilyn Arnell and members of the church spoke at a memorial reception for Peters, organized by her sons, on July 19 at Chatham Recreation Center in the The Villages.

Peters is survived by her three sons, Steven Snow, of Watertown, Mass., David Snow, of Geneva, Switzerland, and Scott Snow, of Framingham, Mass.; three sisters, Jean Morgan, of Stedman, N.C., Rita Wilkinson, of Roanoke, Va., and Yvonne Goldsmith, of Boca Raton, Fla.; two grandchildren, Miranda Snow and Jared Snow, of Framingham, Mass.; and many friends in The Villages and elsewhere.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Roosevelt Peters; her brothers, Neil, Delano and Joe; and one sister, Majella.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Florida’s Save the Manatee Club or New Covenant United Methodist Church in The Villages. Arrangements by Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services.

Leave a comment

Filed under In Memoriam

China’s Virtual Water Flows: The Rich Get Richer, the Poor Get Thirstier

Virtual water flows in China. Copyright 2014 American Chemical Society.

New research shows that China’s wealthier and wetter southern provinces are draining already-scare water supplies from arid northern provinces, exacerbating shortages and increasing risk of crisis conditions.

The study, conducted by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) with the University of Maryland and published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, uses the economic concept of “virtual water.” That refers to water tracked through trade of goods that require water to produce, as most do. The researchers say it is the first study to take water scarcity into account rather than treating all water as equal in the analysis.

The researchers say the study helps lay the groundwork for better water-resource management. One upshot is the idea that it might be smarter on the whole not to import water-intensive goods from the dry north to the wet south, even as the country gears up massive efforts to divert water in the other direction because of the shortages.

Read more:

The study: Virtual Scarce Water in ChinaEnvironmental Science & Technology

China’s arid north feeds water-rich south – Reuters

Following China’s water: a threat of scarcity – Nature World News

China’s hidden water footprint – Phys.org

Virtual water highlights China’s hidden water footprint – Science 2.0

Related posts:

 China Plans to Desalinate Vast Amounts of Sea Ice

China Raises Water Prices for Top Users

Mapping the World’s Most Water-Stressed Countries

Serious Water Conservation Demands Layered Approach and Emotional Commitment

Study: Freshwater Shortage Will Double Climate Change’s Impact on Agriculture

 

Leave a comment

Filed under Agriculture, Asia, Climate Change, Drought, Industry, Research, Rivers and Watersheds, Sustainability, Water Shortage