environment

Drought in Northeastern Brazil

"Mystery Land" by prozac1
“Mystery Land” by prozac1

In 1990 I did an immersion program in Pernambuco, Brazil. I spent weeks in Recife and the colonial city of Olinda, where I saw baroque churches, staggering poverty and urban life. I also heard the rich folklore and oral traditions that survived in the region regarding everything from nineteenth century bandits to messianic leaders. And of course I learned about the droughts, which have engulfed the region time after time. Lately there has been a great deal of attention given to the drought in the American West, and in particular California. But there is also a drought in Brazil that is so bad that dams cannot be relied upon to supply power. The Global Post has had a great series of reports on the disaster, which includes text, video and a photo essay. And if you want to have a deeper understanding of events there, read Nicholas Gabriel Arons’ Waiting for Rain: The Politics and Poetry of Drought in Northeast Brazil. Or if you want to dive into literature to understand the region’s past, read Jorge Amado’s Violent Land. You can also see more posts about Brazil at this blog here. Or you can find my own book on Brazil here.

Shawn Smallman, Portland State University

Syllabus for an “Amazon Rainforest” class.

"Scarlet Macaw" by Elwood W. McKay III
“Scarlet Macaw” by Elwood W. McKay III

I’ve been teaching a class on the Amazon rainforest for about fifteen years now, which provides a brief historical overview of Amazonia, before examining indigenous and environmental issues. A few words about the books for the course: students love David Campbell’s, Land of Ghosts, despite his sometimes challenging vocabulary, because of his evocative descriptions. But be forewarned about Mindlin’s, Barbecued Husbands. This is a book of erotic myths from the southwestern Amazon. The first time I used this book in a class, I had a delegation of students come to complain that I was requiring them to read material with sexual content; I made the use of the book (and attendance in the class discussion) optional. I also had another student explain why they hadn’t read the book by saying: “I loaned it to my housemate at the start of the quarter, and he’s refused to give it back.” I continue to use it as an optional text, and on that basis have not had any more student complaints. …

A large unknown mammal discovered in the Amazon

"Tropical Waterfall" by Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee
“Tropical Waterfall” by Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee

In an earlier blog post I discussed the fact that explorers and scientists are still making major new discoveries on our mysterious planet. If any still place holds many surprises it must be the Amazon. In 2009 I was staying in a lodge on the Rio Negro near Manaus, in the midst of the worst flooding that the Amazon had seen in sixty years. My wife and I took our two daughters down to the bank of the river. Swarms of small insects were attracted to the lights on the river bank. Fish would rise to the surface and surge up to catch the insects. And as we watched, a bat flew past and captured a fish, which hung twisting and flopping in its clutches. It happened so fast that I couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. I think that I began my sentence, “that almost looked as if that bat just. . . ” But a minute later it happened again, and there was no question. There really are fish-eating bats in the Amazon. But now scientists have found something not only amazing but also unknown- at least to outsiders. …

Rising Seas and South Florida

"Panama City Florida" by digidreamgrafix at freedigitalphotos.net
“Panama City Florida” by digidreamgrafix at freedigitalphotos.net

In an earlier post, talked about the future of South Florida given sea level rises projected to reach between three and six feet by the end of the century. For me this issue is personal. Although I grew up in rural Southern Ontario, my parents are snow-birds, who spend half their years on the West coast of Florida. My mother, Phyllis Smallman, is a mystery novelist, whose novels are set in coastal Florida and feature a main character, Sherri Travis, who is a bartender. Every novel is named after a drink (check out Margarita Nights on Amazon, or download the free short story Bitty and the Naked Ladies) and evokes the character of these beach side communities. South Florida has so many hidden treasures, from the Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden to the shark feedings at Sandoway House. I love the area, and worry about its future. Recently the New York Times published an article, “Rising Waters threaten South Florida’s Future,” which …

Japan after Fukushima

Image of "Japan " by jannoon028 at freedigitalphotos.net
Image of “Japan ” by jannoon028 at freedigitalphotos.net

This spring I taught an “Introduction to International Studies” class, which had 12 students in it from Waseda university in Japan. They are outstanding students, and I always feel that I learn more from them than they from me during the class. During some of my individual conversations with the students I was struck by the impact that the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami had on their lives. The subsequent nuclear accident magnified an already terrible crisis, in which over 15,000 people died. Now the country is also having to rethink its energy future, while dealing with nuclear cleanup. As Japan made the decision to close its nuclear reactors -now the subject of great debate- the entire country was plunged into efforts to conserve energy.

The quirky blog the Pink Tentacle (which now sadly seems to be inactive, as the last post was from April 2011) had a broad focus on everything from the graphic arts and history to science and technology in Japan For example, it has a collection of catfish prints created after the great 1855 quake. In traditional Japanese culture, earthquakes were caused by catfish spirits. After this nineteenth century quake a diverse set of catfish prints became bestsellers. In these prints, one can see a human mob chasing catfish for revenge, tradesman partying with the catfish (because the rebuilding brought them so much money), or the great god Kashima lecturing the catfish for having misbehaved. These prints are a great source for social history, as they show popular attitudes towards the earthquake’s social impact, and raise many questions. Why for examples, were prostitutes a particularly significant group depicted in some prints? …

Peak Water

Irrigation for Agriculture by xedos4 at freedigitalphotos.net
Irrigation for Agriculture by xedos4 at freedigitalphotos.net

In an earlier post, I talked about how water shortages may be fueling conflict in the Middle East. In a recent article in the Guardian Lester Brown made the argument that the real threat to our future is “peak water.” Brown suggests that this topic should gain as much attention as “peak oil” because globally people have extracted water from aquifers more rapidly than it has been possible for them to replenish, which is causing a major environmental crisis. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has drawn down its water reserves rapidly: “After being self-sufficient in wheat for over 20 years, the Saudis announced in early 2008 that, with their aquifers largely depleted, they would reduce wheat planting by one-eighth each year until 2016, when production would end. By then Saudi Arabia projects it will be importing some 15m tonnes of wheat, rice, corn and barley to feed its 30 million people. It is the first country to publicly project how aquifer depletion will shrink its grain harvest.” Brown makes that point that water depletion is also a major problem in China, India and the United States. Still, it is in the Middle East that the change is happening most quickly. In Yemen, for example, some aquifers are falling six feet a year and “grain production has fallen by nearly half over the last 40 years.” While the Saudis are reducing grain production as part of a plan, Yemen is doing so simply because the water is no longer available. …

Noah’s Ark and a New Atlantis

I’ve recently been thinking about the unexpected connections between the weather

Cracks in Frozen Lake by Evgeni Dinev, courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
Cracks in Frozen Lake by Evgeni Dinev, courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

news and Howard Norman’s book In Fond Remembrance of Me. Norman worked in Churchill, Manitoba collecting Inuit folklore during the mid-1970s but from the start everything went wrong. As soon as he arrived in northern Manitoba in 1977 he learned that a Japanese linguist and Arctic expert, Helen Tanizaki, was interviewing the same Inuit elder. While she was willing to collaborate, their informant loved Helen but could not stand Norman. The befuddled Norman also soon realized that his informant was also making up much of the folklore that he was documenting. These tales centered upon a cycle of stories in which Noah drifted into Hudson Bay, where the ice trapped the ark during the winter. In all these stories Noah encountered Inuit peoples, who would paddle their kayaks out to the ark to understand why both he and this remarkable boat was there. In every case these people would make a request –a piece of wood to burn or perhaps some animals to eat- to which Noah would always answer “No!” This denial would be incomprehensible to the Inuit. After all, Noah had many animals- why shouldn’t he share the giraffes with them? The result was always a disaster for Noah, who might witness his family deserting him so that his wife could marry a better hunter, or his animals dying in the dark of winter. In the end, Noah was usually left on the ice to be rescued by the Inuit. In the spring Noah would leave the Inuit to walk south, from where –as so often in folklore- he “was never seen again.” …

Water and War in the Middle East

Canal by Evgeni Dinev courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
Canal by Evgeni Dinev courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Kim Brown and I have started to work on a second edition of our Introduction to International and Global Studies textbook, which will be published in 2015. We are trying to not only make conceptual changes to the work, but also to reflect the many global events that have taken place since the first edition: in North America, fracking has changed the energy picture, in Europe, the financial crisis is changing perceptions of economic and political globalization, and around the world people are struck by the fact that the level of CO2 in the atmosphere has passed 400 parts per million. Although there is a great deal of material to address in the next edition, one key issue has to be water, as drought is leading to crises and conflict in many regions, but particularly in the Middle East. …

Nuclear Secrecy and France

Image courtesy of “Idea go” at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In the aftermath of Fukushima, it’s clear the nation-states have not been having realistic conversations with their citizens about the risks of nuclear power. Many nations, such as Germany, are now moving away from nuclear power, but one European nation will not be making any changes soon, namely France. Instead, this country continues to place nuclear power at the center of its energy plan. Indeed, the country currently gets 75% of its electricity from nuclear, and has no plans to explore a different path. In this respect, it is almost unique in Europe, where most countries are rapidly investing in renewable energy with great success. Much poorer Portugal is about to get 75% of its electricity from renewable sources. Other European countries have shown that it is possible to have a modern energy sector based primarily on renewable sources. Iceland obtains 100% of its energy from renewable sources, thanks to rich geothermal resources. Austria is over 70% renewable, while Norway has reached 97%, both helped by their hydro resources. Globally, a large number of countries (which range from New Zealand to Canada) get over 60% of their electricity from renewable sources. What this data shows is that the reliance on nuclear power is a choice, not a necessity. …

The Keystone Pipeline and the Arkansas Leak

This image of Oil Barrels courtesy of Victor Habbick at freedigitalphotos.net

We are all still waiting for President Obama to make a decision about the Keystone pipeline, which would bring oil from the Tar Sands of Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico. The President has been under intense pressure, because environmentalists believe that this is their best opportunity to win a victory against global warming. Their case probably just became politically stronger this week when an Exxon Mobile pipeline in Arkansas leaked Albertan oil. This is the second spill of Oil Sands petroleum this week, because on Wednesday a train derailed in Minnesota and also released oil, although far less than the 10,000 barrels spilled in Arkansas. Given the fact that the Keystone pipeline would carry 800,000 barrels a day -much more than the pipeline that just leaked- it’s clear that the Keystone XL pipeline presents significant environmental risks, despite promises by the petroleum industry that this will be the safest pipeline ever built.

The GOP pushed Obama to approve Keystone in their weekly radio address, with the argument that Keystone would create 140,000 jobs. In fact, this number is much too high, and there is no credible evidence to support this figure. Indeed, the State Department recently stated that once the pipeline is built, it will only create 35 permanent jobs in the U.S. Still, such arguments have gained the pipeline critical support. A recent poll found that most Americans support the pipeline, and believe that it can be built in an environmentally sound manner. Other groups -in particular native peoples- are much more skeptical. Recently an alliance of U.S. and Canadian indigenous groups promised to unite to block not only Keystone, but also two other pipelines that are intended to bring Oil Sands petroleum to market.

In the end, the key issue for environmentalists cannot be the risk of a leak, although this is real, but rather the pipelines’ impact on carbon dioxide emissions, given that oil from Oil Sands takes more energy to process than traditional petroleum sources. And in the background, there is Venezuela, with its huge reserves of unconventional oil. I enjoy reading posts at a website, The Oil Drum, which is a venue for people who believe in Hubbert’s Peak; that is, that the world has reached the half-way mark in its production of fossil fuels, an event which will determine the planet’s future. It’s a great source for energy news and analysis, but I don’t agree with the central premise. I don’t think the question is when will we run out of oil, but rather how dirty will oil have to become before we stop using it. In this debate, the Keystone XL pipeline will be a key decision. Events in Arkansas this week may help to shape that outcome.

Prof. Shawn Smallman

 

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