Sinking Mexico City Faces Water Crisis

Large parts of Mexico City sinking at rates of up to 23cm per year —Report

“Always short of water, Mexico City keeps drilling deeper for more, weakening the ancient clay lake beds on which the Aztecs first built much of the city, causing it to crumble even further.”

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/02/17/world/americas/mexico-city-sinking.html

Related Links

Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

Beijing Sinking

Eastern portion of Beijing sinking at a rate greater than 100 mm/year: Study

Now you see it, now you don’t!  China’s capital Beijing could disappear in a  gigantic sinkhole.

Beijing’s massive subsidence, which has been occurring since at least 1935, is caused by the overexploitation or mining of groundwater. About 60% of the water supply comes from groundwater, and the rest from surface water.

Beijing used about 3.6 billion cubic meters (m³) of water in 2010, compared to renewable fresh water resources of about 3 billion m³. [The consumption may have risen by about 14% over the past five years.]

Article: Imaging Land Subsidence Induced by Groundwater Extraction in Beijing (China) Using Satellite Radar Interferometry

Abstract

Beijing is one of the most water-stressed cities in the world. Due to over-exploitation of groundwater, the Beijing region has been suffering from land subsidence since 1935. In this study, the Small Baseline InSAR technique has been employed to process Envisat ASAR images acquired between 2003 and 2010 and TerraSAR-X stripmap images collected from 2010 to 2011 to investigate land subsidence in the Beijing region. The maximum subsidence is seen in the eastern part of Beijing with a rate greater than 100 mm/year. Comparisons between InSAR and GPS derived subsidence rates show an RMS difference of 2.94 mm/year with a mean of 2.41 ± 1.84 mm/year. In addition, a high correlation was observed between InSAR subsidence rate maps derived from two different datasets (i.e., Envisat and TerraSAR-X). These demonstrate once again that InSAR is a powerful tool for monitoring land subsidence. InSAR derived subsidence rate maps have allowed for a comprehensive spatio-temporal analysis to identify the main triggering factors of land subsidence. Some interesting relationships in terms of land subsidence were found with groundwater level, active faults, accumulated soft soil thickness and different aquifer types. Furthermore, a relationship with the distances to pumping wells was also recognized in this work.

Chen M, Tomás R, Li Z, Motagh M, Li T, Hu L, Gong H, Li X, Yu J, Gong X. Imaging Land Subsidence Induced by Groundwater Extraction in Beijing (China) Using Satellite Radar Interferometry. Remote Sensing. 2016; 8(6):468.

The World Cities Are Running Out of Fresh Water [AND Sinking]

Groundwater from aquifers is a main source for drinking, irrigation and industrial use for much of the world’s population. Globally, an estimated 4 billion people depend on groundwater for drinking, but the water is running out!

Groundwater cannot be replenished from rainfall, and in most cases it takes tens of thousands of years to restore naturally.

According to the International Water Management Institute, about 1,000 cubic kilometers of groundwater are withdrawn each year, which is wholly unsustainable!

More Water Facts

• Total water on Earth: 1.4 x 10^18 m³
• Water in the oceans: About 97.5% of the total
• Volume of Fresh water: Approximately 35 x 10^15 m³ of the earth’s total water. About 0.3% of the freshwater is held in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs and the remainder is stored in glaciers, permanent snow, and groundwater aquifers.
• Water contained in the earth’s atmosphere: about 13 x 10^12 m³
• Water removed from the earth’s surface via evaporation: about 577 x 10^12 m³ each year (only 14% of the water evaporation is from land).
• Total annual precipitation falling on land: about 115 x 10^12 m³ (20% of total evaporation – the 6% surplus water returns to the oceans via rivers.)
• Total freshwater on Earth stored as groundwater: Approximately 11 x 10^15 m³ (30% of all freshwater).
• Water collected in lakes and rivers: about 110 x 10^12 m³ is held as groundwater (one hundredth of the total groundwater reserves)
• Aquifers contribution to human water consumption: an estimated 30% [?] of all of the water used throughout the world.
• Natural recharge rate for the aquifers: from 0.01% to 3% per year.
• Estimated overdraft of global groundwater: about 200 x 10^9 m³ or (twice the average recharge rate!)

Sinking Cities

World cities and agricultural lands that are situated above aquifers and groundwater reserves are slowly but permanently sinking into the ground, as the water is pumped out at phenomenal rates.

In China, at least 46 cities are sinking into the ground due to the excessive pumping of groundwater. In Shanghai excessive groundwater pumping contributes to 70 percent of surface subsidence (the remaining 30 percent is thought to be due to the weight of buildings).

Buildings damaged in a cave-in at Shanghai’s No 4 subway construction site.
[Photo: China Daily] See Fair Use Notice!

Louisiana Sinkhole Swallows Up Trees

Tall trees sinking into underwater cavern at Bayou Corne, Louisiana

Footage shows tall trees sinking into underwater cavern at Bayou Corne in Louisiana. The phenomenon is being caused by the gradual collapse of an underground salt cavern that has put the whole area on alert. It is being closely monitored by emergency authorities, who took the video while carrying out work to try and stop its spread (!!)

Related Links

• What Florida Might Look Like in 2014 Posted by EDRO on December 7, 2009
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities Posted by EDRO on February 5, 2008

Today’s Other Headlines

Typhoon Trami affects 360,000 in central China

• Typhoon Trami, the 12th typhoon to strike China this year, has affected 361,000 people in central China’s Hunan, leaving  30,900 were displaced. The typhoon brought rainstorms mainly to the southeastern and eastern parts of Hunan, with the largest rainfall of 281.6mm. The rains wreaked havoc in 14 counties, cities and districts, damaging 13,350 hectares of crops and toppling 150 houses, said the report.

NSA paid millions to Internet companies to cover mass surveillance costs

• The National Security Agency paid millions of dollars to cover the costs of major internet companies including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook…

Materials implicating Syrian govt in chemical attack prepared before incident – Russia

• Materials implicating the Syrian government forces in chemical weapons use near Damascus were prepared prior to the alleged incident on August 21, the Russian foreign ministry has said.
• “Moscow continues to monitor closely the event surrounding the ‘alleged’ chemical attack near Damascus, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich, said in a statement.”
• “We’re getting more new evidence that this criminal act was of a provocative nature,” he stressed. “In particular, there are reports circulating on the Internet, in particular that the materials of the incident and accusations against government troops had been posted for several hours before the so-called attack. Thus, it was a pre-planned action.”

43 killed, 86 wounded in attacks in Iraq

• At least 43 people were killed and 86 others wounded in attacks, including suicide bombings, across Iraq on Friday, amid growing tensions.

42 killed, more than 500 wounded  in twin explosions in Tripoli, Lebanon

• Two simultaneous explosions rocked the Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing at least 42 people and wounding 358 others.

• Red Cross put the number of killed and injured at 29 and 500, respectively.

 

No Fertile Land, No Food!

Accelerated land degradation threatens food security of a quarter of the world’s population: FAO

Main entry: Land degradation threatens 1.5 billion people

A dried up river filled with sand winds its way across the desert in eastern Chad, June 5, 2008. REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Related Links:

• Topsoil

• Failing Ecosystems
• The Root Cause Matrix
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

• California ‘Mojavefied’ by 2011?
• Schwarzenegger Proclaims Water Emergency in Nine Counties
• 2008: Year of the Fire

• Drought Index

• State of the World
• Future Scenarios
• Nuking Earth for Lifestyle

• Giga Trends
• World Problems: The Root Cause Matrix
• Tipping Point
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

• The Economy
• Energy
• Food Security
• Future in the Making: A Shrinking World

The Climate Change Crusades

Are YOU a Climate Change Crusader?
How Do YOU Fight Climate Change?
Should YOU Crusade Against the Climate Change, or just STOP heating the globe?

A Shrinking World Series

Make No Mistake: Nature Always Has the Last Word!

Midwest Flood Update:

A dam near the Wisconsin Dells resort area broke on Monday, causing mudslides that swept away homes, as torrential rains caused more flooding across the U.S. Midwest.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency in 30 counties in the south of the state. In Iowa, where 33 counties were flooded, and Indiana, where flooding forced hundreds of people to evacuate homes in the central and western parts of the state, similar declarations have been made. Parts of Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota have been affected by flooding.

“This is an area that’s been bombarded with rain over the weekend, anywhere from 5 to 10 inches, and you’re dealing with saturated soils. So any rain that falls becomes run-off,” the National Weather Service’s Pat Slattery said.

OUCH! Too Close to the bank! Like the Kubeniks and the Pekars (see image caption), rivers are “living” creatures; they need room to complete their cycle of life!

The homes of the Kubeniks (R) and the Pekars are damaged after a dam broke at man-made Lake Delton, Wisconsin June 9 2008. REUTERS/Allen Fredrickson. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice.

“Flood damage estimated in the tens of millions of dollars were being added to recent storm damage in Iowa, including a tornado that flattened the town of Parkersburg two weeks ago.” Reuters reported.

In Iowa:

• The water treatment plant in Mason City was swamped by the Winnebago River.
• Three of four bridges in the town of Charles City were swept away by flooding of the Cedar River.
• The town of New Hartford was evacuated.

Corn and soybean fields were submerged under the floodwater in Midwestern states. Iowa and Illinois account for about 35% of U.S. corn and soybeans, usually the world’s largest harvests of those crops. However, the prospects of a bumper crop year were further eroded, following a wet spring that had already delayed planting. (Source)

Related Video:

• Home washed away in floods [like a matchbox!]

Related Links:

• US Tornado Brief
• UN Hypocrisy: Kick the CO2 Habit!
• Will California turn to desert by 2011?

• Italy: Submerged in Floodwaters, Sinking in Garbage

• Failing Ecosystems
• State of the World
• Future Scenarios
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
  
• Nuking Earth for Lifestyle

• Giga Trends
• World Problems: The Root Cause Matrix
• Tipping Point
• Topsoil
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

• The Economy
• Energy
• Food Security
• Future in the Making: A Shrinking World

• Flood Puts City in Iowa ‘at God’s Mercy’ Iowa, June 12, 2008
  

The World’s one harvest from starvation!

To the Good People of China

A Condolence Message, a Warning and a Plea

On behalf of the Moderators at FEWW, EDRO, MSRB, RTSF and New Zeelend, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Chinese people, especially the families and friends of the victims who lost their lives in the Eastern Sichuan Earthquake.

We would also like to make the following environmental [non-political] plea to the intelligent, cultured and sensible citizens in China:

To prevent additional environmental catastrophes, PLEASE abandon the Beijing Olympics!

China Under Siege

Our thanks to Lisa G. for the links!

Lethal Pollution, Grinding Poverty, DSS, Encroaching Deserts, Sinking Cities

Poverty

“We eat somehow, but it’s never enough,” Li said. “At least we’re not starving.”

“In this region of southern Henan Province, in village after village, people are too poor to heat their homes in the winter and many lack basic comforts like running water.” Report

• China’s poor being left behind
• Paying the price for China’s growth

Air Pollution

• China is World No. 1 CO2 Polluter; the US follows closely. Report

• Chinese Air Pollution Deadliest in World, Report Says.
• Pollution kills 750,000 in China every year. Report
• According to the World bank statistics, China has 16 of the 20 most polluted cities on earth!
• Beijing pollution risky for endurance athletes. Report

Eastern China Pollution. Beijing has completely disappeared under the haze. Image Credit: SeaWiFS Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE [Visualization Date: 1999-11-20. Sensor: OrbView-2/SeaWiFS]

“An opaque layer of polluted air covers much of southeastern China, obscuring parts of the landscape. Increasing use of heating fuels like wood and coal contributes to this haze. The image, captured on January 2, 2000, is from the NASA Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS). (Courtesy SeaWiFs Project, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, and ORBIMAGE)”

Encroaching Deserts

The Gobi Desert: China’s Green Walls Losing the Battle Against Encroaching Deserts

Outside of Shanshan, Xinjiang China. Photo Credit: pmorgan via flickr

Pollution

Pollution in China Photo Gallery (11 pictures)

“Wuhan, Hebei province: A man collects dead fish in Donghu lake, where officials say an estimated 30,000kg of fish have been killed by a combination of pollution and hot weather
Photograph: Wuhan/AP” Image may be subject to copyright. See Feww Fair Use Notice!

DSS [Dust and Sand Storm]

• Six-day sandstorm cancels flights in Xinjiang. Report
  
• Sandstorms Grow More Frequent, Severe.

A severe DSS (dust and sandstorm) originating from China blanketed South Korea. A road in Yeouido, Seoul is obscured by sand and dust on March 21, 2002. [Photo Credit: english.chosun.com] Image may be subject to copyright. See Feww Fair Use Notice!

Sinking Cities

• Will the 2008 Olympics trigger the last phase of Beijing Collapse?
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

Desertification

The catch is that China has become not just the world’s manufacturer but its despoiler, on a scale as monumental as its economic expansion. A fourth of the country is now desert. More than three-fourths of its forests have disappeared. Each year, uncontrollable underground fires, sometimes triggered by lightning or mining accidents, consume 200 million tons of coal, contributing massively to global warming. A miasma of lead, mercury, sulfur dioxide, and other elements of coal-burning and car exhaust hovers over most Chinese cities. An excerpt from: China’s pollution nightmare is now everyone’s pollution nightmare

Water Pollution

• One in 4 people in China drink dirty water. Report
• Dust, waste and dirty water: the deadly price of China’s miracle

Harbin, China. NASA image by Robert Simmon, based on Landsat-7 data provided by the UMD Global Land Cover Facility. Below excerpts from NASA Earth Observatory :

The Songhua River flows north out of the Changbai Mountains, cutting across the Manchurian Plain of northern China. As China’s northernmost river system, the Songhua is an important artery in transporting agricultural products grown on the plain. On its northward course, the river wends its way past Harbin, the capital of China’s Heilongjiang Province, where it provides another lifeline. As much as 80 percent of the city’s public water supply comes directly from the river. That supply was cut off after an explosion at a petrochemical plant dumped 100 tons of benzene and other harmful chemicals into the river on November 13, 2005. As the chemical slick reached the city, officials turned off water supplies to prevent illness until the chemicals passed.

This Landsat image, taken on September 21, 2001, shows Harbin’s relationship with the Songhua. The city extends south and east from the banks of the river. A few smaller communities line the opposite bank of the river, connected by a maze of tan dirt roads. The city itself appears to be densely populated with a few small green squares of park or open land.

China: Facts and Trends

First Development, Then Environment

“China’s rapid growth has affected everything from world energy supplies to grain prices and is now threatening the health of its citizens. The environmental degradation that continues to coexist with economic growth has caused unsustainable rates of deforestation, high levels of air pollution, and low levels of water quality and quantity. This paper addresses the current environmental situation and focuses on the struggle for clean water.” Excerpt from Environmental and Water Scarcity Issues in China

Lin Fen: The Dirtiest City In the World

Image Courtesy of Tim Wang @ Tim Wang’s eLearning Blog