tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42442811937542701512024-03-13T07:06:37.125-07:00Parallel Universe 38°N: A Water Line around the WorldDavid and Janet Carle traveled the 38th Parallel seeking water-related environmental and cultural connections. Their book, TRAVELING THE 38th PARALLEL: A WATER LINE AROUND THE WORLD was published in hardcover by the University of California Press (2013) and is now in paperback with 60 color photos and updates to 2020. They crossed through parts of the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Why 38°N? See the answer posted in September 2009.David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-55131369997564223302020-07-23T11:09:00.003-07:002020-07-23T11:11:36.448-07:00Traveling the 38th Parallel honored as winner in the Travel: Guides & Essays category of the 2020 International Book Awards<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The paperback, all color, 2nd edition of our book, <i>Traveling the 38th Parallel: A Water Line Around the World, </i>has been selected as <b>Winner</b> in the<b> International Book Award</b>s in the Travel category. Quite an honor! The 11th Annual International Book Awards, sponsored by American Book Fest, were given to books published in 2018, 2019, or 2020, with 2000 entrants to 90 categories. While our book is also an environmental exploration, the closest category available in the contest was "Travel." Maybe the sponsors will decide to create an environmental non-fiction category in the future. We are ecstatic at this recognition. More information can be seen about results at the 1<a href="http://www.internationalbookawards.com/2020awardannouncement.html">1th Annual International Book Awards webpage.</a><br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-76780454816369743702020-04-09T09:02:00.001-07:002020-05-04T14:07:53.478-07:00PAPERBACK EDITION OF TRAVELING THE 38TH PARALLEL, WITH 64 COLOR PHOTOS NOW AVAILABLE.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="oi732d6d ik7dh3pa d2edcug0 qv66sw1b c1et5uql a8c37x1j muag1w35 ew0dbk1b jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m" dir="auto">The
paperback edition of our book <i>Traveling the 38th Parallel: A Water Line
Around the World</i>, with 64 color photos and updates as of 2020, is <a href="https://amazon.com/Traveling-38th-Parallel-Water-Around/dp/1087874807/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=traveling+the+38th+parallel&qid=1586447768&s=books&sr=1-1">now available at Amazon. </a>Local bookstores can get it through Ingram. Very pleased to have it
available this way with twice as many photos, all in color and 2020 updates for each chapter. </span><br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-9042090943207744242018-11-07T08:37:00.003-08:002018-11-07T08:55:25.464-08:00Dutch Slough wetlands restoration in Delta finally breaks ground<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Groundbreaking has finally happened on the Dutch Slough restoration project
in the Delta that we toured with John Cain (whose idea for the project
dates back to 1998). John showed us the project site when we crossed California, 10 years ago (!) for our book, <i>Traveling the
38th Parallel: a Water Line Around the World</i>. Nice to read this update
about the project finally moving forward: <a href="https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/10/17/agencies-celebrate-dutch-slough-tidal-wetlands-restoration-under-way-in-oakley/">Dutch Slough project underway East Bay Times article</a><br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-60726670587331986892016-12-23T10:07:00.001-08:002016-12-23T10:11:16.092-08:00Unsustainable Groundwater pumping foretells global food shock<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In this <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/12/groundwater-depletion-global-food-supply/">National Geographic article</a>, aquifers in California's Central Valley, the Ogallala aquifer in the U.A. midwest, and aquifers in Spain and Italy, all closely tied to the 38th parallel, are <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yH4ZXLLa4SU/St9D2pii-vI/AAAAAAAABYo/EVNXGaKlNLkpiO4l8uEODaozgbQPuz7WQCPcB/s1600/center-pivot-sprinkler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yH4ZXLLa4SU/St9D2pii-vI/AAAAAAAABYo/EVNXGaKlNLkpiO4l8uEODaozgbQPuz7WQCPcB/s320/center-pivot-sprinkler.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Center pivot sprinklers in western Kansas tapping the Ogallala aquifer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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specifically mentioned as areas being rapidly depleted. This National Geographic article says:
"California’s agricultural powerhouses—the Central Valley, Tulare Basin,
and southern San Joaquin Valley, which produce a plentiful portion of
the nation’s food—could run out of accessible groundwater as early as
the 2030s." <br />
Yet the drilling of new wells and unsustainable pumping rates have accelerated in California in recent drought years. New groundwater management plans are required by law, now, but will not take effect until 2040, so the short-term greed to pump now before it is regulated has kicked in. </div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-20358291409560712422016-09-12T16:21:00.001-07:002016-09-12T16:23:19.720-07:00A Heart-wrenching report about the coming demise of Hasankeyf, on the Tigris River<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/we-could-not-save-hasankeyf-.aspx?pageID=449&nID=103839&NewsCatID=402">We Could Not Save Hasankeyf</a>This is a sad goodbye from one of the people who fought to save Hasankeyf from being submerged by the Ilisu Dam. The reservoir will fill in 2017.</div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-40298071078918399422016-05-01T14:52:00.000-07:002016-05-01T14:54:46.272-07:00Great news about Japanese Crested Ibis chicks born in the wild<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The captive breeding and release program of Japanese Crested Ibis on Sado Island, in Japan, written about in the last chapter of our book, is celebrating several chicks that were just hatched in the wild . That is great news. The similar program in China is having even greater success. See the news story at: <br />
<a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/05/01/national/third-chick-born-wild-ibis-pair-confirmed-sibling-second-bird-seen-earlier/#.VyZ5DEc2D6Z">Japanese Crested Ibis chicks born in the wild news story</a></div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-5951330331009900132016-02-21T09:45:00.000-08:002016-02-21T09:47:46.730-08:00Water Tensions Between Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Islamic State<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Ilisu Dam, which will inundate Hasankeyf on the Tigris River inside Turkey, is also part of the water tensions between Turkey and the water users downstream, as Turkey holds back releases to the Tigris and Euphrates.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-01/water-shortages-unite-iraq-islamic-state-against-turkey">See Bloomberg article, July 2015, about water tensions between Turkey, Iraq, and Islamic State</a></div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-48324587103074196682015-06-17T08:31:00.003-07:002015-06-17T08:34:44.916-07:00An update on Lake Urmia in Iran, shrinking salt lake due to river diversions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2015/world/infographic-lake-urmia-drained-by-water-diversions/">www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2015/world/infographic-lake-urmia-drained-by-water-diversions/</a>Circle of Blue has posted an infographic blog about the status of shrinking Lake Urmia, in northwest Iran on the 38th Parallel, It has shrunk by 88% due to river diversions for agriculture and development. Tourism, natural values, and human health impacts due to dust of the salty lakebed are described with striking changes shown in satellite imagery at: <a href="http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2015/world/infographic-lake-urmia-drained-by-water-diversions/"> circleofblue.org Lake Urmia information</a><br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-41352235410075902132014-11-23T14:48:00.001-08:002014-11-23T14:48:18.482-08:004 Rivers Restoration Project remains controversial in South Korea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Four Rivers "Restoration" Project in South Korea that we described in our book, <i>Traveling the 38th Parallel: a Water Line Around the World, </i>remains controversial. A new administration is now the ruling party and, "ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement Tuesday
over the budgets for river related projects. The key issue was whether
the government has to pay 317 billion won ($283.7 million) in interest
for debts of the Korea Water Resources Corporation incurred from the
project. Some in the ruling Saenuri Party are now agreeing with
the opposition party’s demand to hold a National Assembly probe into
the project. 'The government invested 24 trillion won and it has brought
about environmental problems, so an investigation is necessary,' said
Rhee In-je, a senior leader of the party."<br />
Follow this link to the original story:<br />
<a href="http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=2997598">Korean news article about former President's anger over attacks on his legacy</a><br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-68493751516981483842014-11-12T19:15:00.002-08:002014-11-12T19:16:47.340-08:00Pink Floyd YouTube video features Aral Sea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We explored the Turkmenistan diversions of the Amu Darya that play a major part in the decline of the Aral Sea, once the 4th largest lake in the world. This video goes to the lakebed and the Kazakh people whose fishing boats are stranded far from any water today: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezc4HdLGxg4">Louder Than Words video features Aral Sea </a></div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-66629583816185659492014-06-07T11:14:00.001-07:002014-06-07T11:16:29.037-07:00500 square miles of mountains being leveled near Lanzhou, China<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We visited Lanzhou, on the Yellow River, in the interior of China during our 38th parallel travels. A new project to level mountains and then build on them to serve the growing population and development pressure is underway, with concern being raised by Chinese scientists as the effort continues. See:<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/04/china-bulldoze-700-mountains_n_5447777.html"> Chinese Scientists Question Plan to Bulldoze 700 Mountains in Lanzhou</a><br />
<img alt="lanzhou" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1835552/thumbs/o-LANZHOU-570.jpg?6" /><br />
The objective is different than mountaintop removal coal mining, which we also described, in the Appalachian Mountains of the U.S. This Chinese effort is a way to flatten mountains for construction purposes. Whether the land will be stable enough is one question. Dust issues are occurring. Water quality in the Yellow River watershed is another big question.<br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-72398010381788937152014-05-29T20:26:00.003-07:002014-05-29T20:28:18.576-07:00Human Face of Hasankeyf <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
An intriguing article about Hasankeyf, the ancient town on the Tigris River, threatened with inundation as Turkey completes the Ilisu Dam, was published at Today's Zaman: <a href="http://www.todayszaman.com/news-349056-human-face-of-the-ilisu-dam-project.html">http://www.todayszaman.com/news-349056-human-face-of-the-ilisu-dam-project.html</a><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H0957V7Pr0Q/S_rHeBRi50I/AAAAAAAAAy4/BJ5kd02WjCM/s1600/Hasankeyf-Tirgris-river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-H0957V7Pr0Q/S_rHeBRi50I/AAAAAAAAAy4/BJ5kd02WjCM/s1600/Hasankeyf-Tirgris-river.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
Since we visited Hasankeyf during our travels around the world on the 38th parallel, the Ilisu Dam has nearly been completed, despite the archaeological values of the ancient town. This new article includes an interview with a Hasankeyf lodgekeeper and family man named Firat, who firmly believes the town will not be flooded, because the very idea is so wrong. But the author's concluding words reveal his skepticism about Firat's optimism: " I nodded and said farewell to Fırat, his family and the ancient town of Hasankeyf.</div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-22654210578771318072014-02-22T19:34:00.002-08:002014-02-22T20:21:45.206-08:00Iran aiming to save Lake Oroumieh on the 38th Parallel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ulws-SYLyCI/UwlucIWVtqI/AAAAAAAABW0/cRESQOb8nnE/s1600/Lake+Oroumieh+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ulws-SYLyCI/UwlucIWVtqI/AAAAAAAABW0/cRESQOb8nnE/s1600/Lake+Oroumieh+map.jpg" height="320" width="278" /></a></div>
Iran's Lake Oroumieh, once one of the world's largest salt lakes (at 37.75 degrees North) has been rapidly declining due to watershed diversions and agricultural water use. This week (late February 2014) experts gathered in northwestern Iran to develop plans for saving the lake, which now holds just 20 percent of the water it contained only a decade ago. The nation's new president, Hassad Arani, made this effort an urgent priority. As <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/saving-dying-lake-priority-iranian-leader-22577133?singlePage=true">this article</a> from ABC news reported, ""Rouhani stands by his campaign promise to revive the lake," [according to] Isa
Kalantari, a popular scholar appointed by Rouhani to lead the rescue
team." Kalantari added: ""Don't blame nature and drought. Human beings, not climate change, are
responsible for this situation. We dried up the lake because of our
excessive demands and wrong methods. Now, we have to revive it
ourselves. Five million people have to leave this region if the lake
dies."<br />
As we traveled the 38th Parallel investigating such water issues, we had to skip over that section west of the Caspian Sea, because travel to Iran was not feasible. Now the administration change and international effort to protect the lake have changed things, so perhaps we can visit that site someday and report back on this effort in this blog. </div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-80698021223165184182013-11-23T13:23:00.000-08:002013-11-23T13:26:12.304-08:0038th Parallel authors compared to famous travelers of the 1930s<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After our 38th parallel book slide talk at the Alpine County library (Markleeville, CA),
this notice ran in Tom Sweeney's local newsletter:<br />
"The program...
TRAVELING THE 38th PARALLEL, A WATER LINE AROUND THE WORLD, last
Saturday was an enjoyable time for all the armchair adventurers in
attendance; it was a full house. Modern day Martin and Osa Johnsons*,
David and Janet Carle shared their travels and the book they wrote
about them. If you missed it and ever get another chance be sure to
take advantage of it."<br />
**stars of the great 1950s "I Married Adventure" series<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RYvgy27DFmw/UpEcRGd6LNI/AAAAAAAABWk/vMN1k5cXP5E/s1600/I+married+Adventure+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RYvgy27DFmw/UpEcRGd6LNI/AAAAAAAABWk/vMN1k5cXP5E/s200/I+married+Adventure+cover.jpg" width="131" /></a>So we looked up the Johnsons, who traveled in the 1920s and '30s, wrote
about, and filmed their adventures. Osa's book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Married-Adventure-Martin-Johnson-Kodansha/dp/1568361289/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385241343&sr=1-1&keywords=i+married+adventure+by+osa+johnson">"I Married Adventure" </a>
is still available at online book stores. </div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-38735230930684476292013-11-18T11:41:00.000-08:002013-11-18T13:50:26.437-08:00News from China about better environmental protection...maybe.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/18/us-china-reform-environment-idUSBRE9AH07M20131118">A Reuters article about new China policies on the environment sounds like good news regarding </a>the tension between economic growth and environmental degradation. The government of China has announced reforms to beef up the Ministry of the Environment's oversight and reduce focus on uncontrolled economic growth. During our travels across the nation on the 38th parallel, we saw some of the serious pollution problems generated by the nation's recent push to grow, grow, grow.<br />
The article also mentions the tendency we observed to build grandiose national park structures instead of addressing underlying issues with impacts of development (see our blog from April 28, 2011, <a href="http://paralleluniverse38n.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-parks-of-yinchuan-playgrounds.html">"National Parks of Yinchuan, Playgrounds or Preserves?"</a><br />
<a href="http://paralleluniverse38n.blogspot.com/2011/04/national-parks-of-yinchuan-playgrounds.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BlexJ55Ecw4/TbnjDbbdJqI/AAAAAAAAA8M/iVFZPruqxGE/s320/Yinchuang_lake+stadium.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
We also interviewed an environmental NGO, "Green Camel Bell" in Lanzhou, where staff struggle to address such issues. University professor, Zhang Songlin, at Northwest Normal University told us, "In old times, the belief was that if you harm the environment, you would be punished. Now, increased GDP is the belief." Professor Songlin was not very hopeful, at that time, but perhaps these 2013 reforms are going to help.<br />
<a href="http://paralleluniverse38n.blogspot.com/2011/05/up-yellow-river-to-lanzhous-green-camel.html">See our blog from May 1, 2011: "Up the Yellow River to Lanzhou's Green Camel Bell."</a><br />
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<img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" height="161" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7_DEOl_iFvE/Tb4iM-YjpdI/AAAAAAAAA88/to2o1ANpeFQ/s200/Liping+talking+to+women+in+Cxian+Shui.jpg" width="200" /></div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-46198540342241538182013-11-13T12:40:00.000-08:002013-11-13T12:48:32.438-08:00CHOICE review of TRAVELING THE 38TH PARALLEL <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"The stories are inspiring, sometimes heartbreaking, and should
whet the appetite for more information about the history and
environment of the areas. <b>Summing Up:</b>
Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates and general
readers. --R. C. Hedreen, Southern Connecticut State University"<br />
October 2013 <br />
<a href="http://www.cro3.org/content/51/02/51-0899.short">CHOICE review of Traveling the 38th Parallel</a></div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-45033651244715065712013-08-12T17:07:00.002-07:002013-08-12T17:17:04.863-07:00Goodreads review by Debbie Boucher of Traveling the 38th Parallel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: small;">A <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/692342420">Goodreads review of Traveling the 38th Parallel</a> on August 11, 2013, reads<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">: “The perfect combination of arm-chair
travelogue and environmental treatise. I learned as I joined them on
their journey, and I saw things I will most likely never see. I came
away with an important message: It is the power of place that moves
us to do things we might never have considered doing, like standing
up for the environment against incredible odds. It is the power of
one that truly makes a difference. Thank you, David and Janet, for
reminding me of this.” </span><br />by Debbie Boucher, author of <span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Oblivia,
Back to Normal, </i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">and
</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Millennial
Fears</i></span></span></div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-72466141925513780312013-07-22T12:20:00.003-07:002013-07-23T08:34:29.653-07:00Iberian Lynx jeopardized by Climate Warming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="userContent">An article was just published about the problems climate warming is
bringing to Iberian Lynx, a very endangered cat in Spain and Portugal
where there are captive breeding and release efforts underway that we
explored as we traveled the 38th Parallel for our book<span class="text_exposed_show"> (see our blogs from April 27 and 28, 2010). This article summarizes the report just published in <i>Nature Climate Change</i>. See: <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/22/iberian-lynx-climate-chan_n_3634918.html?1374506226&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/22/iberian-lynx-climate-chan_n_3634918.html?1374506226&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009</a></span></span><br />
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The authors of the report concluded that the species may face extinction unless efforts to reestablish them are shifted northward.<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"> This link goes to the original report titled "</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Adapted conservation measures are required to save the Iberian lynx in a changing climate"</span><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">: <a href="http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1954.html">http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate1954.html</a></span></span><br />
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<span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Lynx drawing by Javier Grijalbo, Madrid, Spain:</span></span><br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-91784037024367690242013-07-16T09:26:00.001-07:002013-11-14T12:58:56.328-08:00Amazing Yellow River Sand-Washing photos <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="userContent">Amazing
photos at a Chinese webpage of the annual effort to flush silts from the </span><span class="userContent">Xiaolangdi Reservoir on the
Yellow River. That river's silty story was a key one in our book, <i>Traveling
the 38th Parallel, a Water Line around the World</i>.</span><img alt="yellow river" height="273" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1245095/thumbs/o-YELLOW-RIVER-900.jpg?6" width="400" /></div>
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Read more about it here:<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/15/yellow-river-sand-washing-photos_n_3600899.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008">Yellow river sand-washing photos</a><br />
and even more photos here on a <a href="http://english.cri.cn/11354/2013/07/06/2561s774333.htm">Chinese English-language site.</a><br />
<img border="0" height="266" id="ImageForRachel" src="http://english.cri.cn/mmsource/images/2013/07/06/1d1fd15125224c6f8fee67dc5209be83.jpg" width="400" /> </div>
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-81766986816650914962013-06-28T12:21:00.000-07:002013-06-29T15:05:40.480-07:00Color photos from our 38th Parallel book<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As we have presented slide shows with color photos from our 38th Parallel travels, many readers have asked about color versions of the 30 images in the book. We are re-posting all of those, in the order they appear in the text, plus the maps (in black and white) together in this single blog post. Click on a thumbprint to advance through all of them in larger size:<br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-35688477302534614812013-05-28T17:30:00.001-07:002013-05-28T17:46:23.189-07:00Water Tensions and Middle East Peace<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As we learned while traveling the 38th Parallel, tensions about water limits in the Tigris and Euphrates River watersheds are threatening peace in that troubled region. The June issue of "Smithsonian" has an article,<br />
<a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Is-a-Lack-of-Water-to-Blame-for-the-Conflict-in-Syria-208345431.html">Lack of Water to Blame for the Conflict in Syria?</a><br />
which explores the current conflict in Syria and the broader regional tensions in Iraq and Turkey that are driven by too little water leading to refugees moving into cities, and ties to the recent uprising in Syria.<br />
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<a href="http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/pr-international-activists-block-ilisu-dam-site-7978"></a>
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Just last week an International Rivers conference in Turkey focused on the threats to displaced persons and flooded cultural sites in places like the Brazilian Amazon and at Hasankeyf, Turkey, on the Tigris River. One of the most compelling stories in our book emerged from out visit to Hasankeyf. Demonstrators from many nations attending the conference protested at the gates of the Ilisu Dam construction site: <a href="http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/pr-international-activists-block-ilisu-dam-site-7978">See this report from May 21</a><br />
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As the Smithsonian article mentioned, NASA's GRACE satellite is providing documentation of the serious depletion of groundwater aquifers in the Middle East, and also in the Ogallala aquifer of the Great Plains in the U.S., and in California's San Joaquin Valley, all stories that we encountered along our travels. You can read more about the scientific measurements from space that help explain so many on-going human and environmental challenges <a href="http://drought.unl.edu/MonitoringTools/NASAGRACEDataAssimilation.aspx">here.</a><br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-43760826245313854202013-05-18T11:09:00.003-07:002013-05-18T11:13:34.742-07:00Tales and Images from Traveling the 38th Parallel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Tickets available at: <a href="http://hop612.eventbrite.com/#">http://hop612.eventbrite.com/#</a></div>
David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-32151574252599393542013-05-15T10:57:00.000-07:002013-05-15T12:21:59.300-07:00Glacial Melting in the Karakorum and Pamir Mountains of China<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
"Climate Change May be Baring Mount Everest" is the headline in a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-everest-climate-20130514,0,7957473.story"><i>LA Times</i> article of May 14, 2013. </a>Imbedded in that article is a link to a <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/tibetan-glaciers-shrinking-rapidly-1.11010"><i>Nature </i>article from last year about "Tibetan Glaciers Shrinking Rapidly." </a>Both stories help clarify the conditions we saw at Oytagh glacier and along the Karakorum Highway in southwestern China during our 38th Parallel travels. We told that story in <a href="http://paralleluniverse38n.blogspot.com/2011/05/karakorum-highway-to-western-edge-of.html">a post back in May 9, 2011</a> after visiting the rapidly shrinking Oytagh glacier. <br />
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What could be emphasized more in the news stories is the human concern that comes with glacial melting in that region. To reach the mountains we had traveled along the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, the southern route of the famous Silk Road which connects a series of oasis towns where water has been critical to locals and travelers for thousands of years. The source of water that creates those oases is the melting snow and ice from the nearby mountains.<br />
The recent research reported in the news stories notes the complexities of documenting impacts in that part of the world, where increased rainfall is coming to some regions influenced by westerly winds out of Europe as a result of global warming, while less falls in other sections of the Tibetan Plateau where the Indian monsoon is the weather-deliverer. The monsoon has been weakening in recent decades.<br />
This week we learned that measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide are <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-carbon-dioxide-400-20130513,0,7196126.story">close to the 400 parts per million concentration </a>and continuing to rise. "The weekly average reading at Mauna Loa was 399.52...up nearly 22 points from a decade ago, according to the NOAA." With so little effective action occurring globally to address this trend, the coming decades are going to be very challenging around the world.<br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-5652937759187442862013-04-30T10:36:00.001-07:002013-04-30T10:55:59.462-07:0038th Parallel Desal Plant in Spain, Europe's Largest, Nears Completion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The desalinization plant in Torrevieja, Spain where construction was stalled when we visited that 38th Parallel site (see <a href="http://paralleluniverse38n.blogspot.com/2010/04/saline-lagoons-of-spains-costa-blanca.html">"Saline lagoons of Spain's Costa Blanca"</a>, posted on April 30, 2010) is finally close to completion. In a news story in <a href="http://www.theleader.info/article/38037/#"><i>The Leader</i> on March 3, 2013</a>, we read that "it’s been over ten years since Zapatero’s government first
heralded the new Torrevieja plant as an alternative to the Ebro water
transfer into Murcia and Alicante, and over two years since the main
structure was completed."<br />
At last, the plant, the largest in Europe and second biggest in the world, is within weeks of beginning operation, though "the product may be so expensive that nobody will be prepared to buy it." <br />
As we learned during our travels, Spain decided to invest in desal as an alternative to damming northern rivers and sending more water south via aqueducts, the model they had been following that is so similar to California's history. But the energy and environmental costs of desalinization continue to be major hurdles, particularly when compared to less expensive water conservation and recycling options. <br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4244281193754270151.post-82473276341326386062013-03-28T16:16:00.002-07:002013-03-28T18:44:09.469-07:00South Korea's New Administration Critical of "Green Growth" 4 Rivers Project<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Another recent news story related to a topic in our book:<br />
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In a <a href="http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130328000986">Korea Herald article</a> that appeared March 28, 2013, the controversial 4 Rivers Restoration Project that we saw underway while in South Korea and wrote about in TRAVELING THE 38TH PARALLEL is described as coming under criticism and scrutiny by the new President's administration. "President Park Geun-hye and her officials are openly skeptical toward
[former President] Lee’s green packages, saying they were too oriented toward economic
growth. They hinted at a shift back to the goal of sustainable
development, which Lee had ditched as outdated. Government
agencies are investigating the controversial river project over not only
its negative impact on water quality but also unsavory ties between the
government and contractors"<br />
As Chooney Kim, the KFEM environmental NGO activist, told us when we visited, a time when the construction was still not complete, "The government calls this 'green economy,' but has no concern about the ecology. They just keep construction workers busy, busy, busy." Rather than restoration, the work greatly widened, deepened, and channelized the largest rivers in the nation, including the Han River that passes by Seoul.<br />
Despite such criticism, this news article seems to mourn the loss of the nation's"green growth" program, while it also mentions criticism that the new government has faced by environmental groups for not yet articulating a clear environmental program as a replacement. This week, the international media are all focused on the threats of military action by North Korea, understandably, but this on-going debate over the meanings of "green" and "sustainability" continues, nevertheless.<br />
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David and Janet Carlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02481206568487224799noreply@blogger.com14