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Ceremony marks 'death' of Australia's greatest river
Thousands of people rallied in southern Australia Sunday to protest the dwindling water levels in one of the country's greatest rivers, claiming the loss was causing an environmental disaster.
The 5,000-strong crowd gathered near the mouth of the 2,530 kilometre (1,569 mile) Murray to hold two minute's silence to mark the 'death' of the river, which forms part of Australia's most important agricultural region.
Kym McHugh, mayor of the local Alexandrina Council, said the ceremony near the South Australian town of Goolwa was to "underscore this eleventh hour bid to save the nation's greatest river." "It sent a very clear message by saying we've had a lot of talk about the river system, a lot of science, we all know what the problem is -- we just want politicians to have the will to fix it up," he told national news agency AAP.
"They need to secure water upstream and send it down."
Water levels are so low in the Murray River, due to drought and irrigation, that the freshwater lakes the river feeds into are turning to acid.
The federal government last week said there was not enough water in the system to save the freshwater lakes, leading to suggestions that ocean water could be used to prevent the lakes from drying out.
But the council wants the government to release water held in storage in upstream states into the river so it can flow down and prevent an environmental, economic and social disaster in the region.
"We need to give these lakes another chance," McHugh said.
The Murray, along with the 2,740-kilometre Darling River and 1,690-kilometre Murrumbidgee River, form the Murray Darling Basin, which accounts for some 40 percent of the nation's agricultural production.
photo credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95438214@N00/2306721603/ Thousands of people rallied in southern Australia Sunday to protest the dwindling water levels in one of the country's greatest r... more -
Menominee Tribal School students speak out about protecting Mother Earth
Menominee Tribal School students in Keshena, Wisconsin are learning valuable lessons about protecting the environment and learning their tribe’s heritage including keeping native language alive.
In April 2008 the tribal school’s 180 students participated in “Clean Up the Rez Day" by picking up garbage around the reservation. The many environment projects at the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin were part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day challenge. During a drum & feast to honor the students, teacher Beth Waukechon and culture teacher Dana Warrington explained the importance of taking care of Mother Earth. During a field trip to Green Bay's Pamprin Park, students climbing a replica of the Planet Earth were reminded of their reservation clean up. The 234,000-acre reservation has thick forests and 24-miles of the pristine Wolf River. Sturgeons spawned in reservation portions of the river until two dams were built blocking annual migration. Fifth grader La-Rie Corn hopes to form an Earth Club at the tribal school. After whitewashing gang graffiti at a popular skateboard park, students replaced negative symbols with American Indian art. Corn, 11, knows about 500 Menominee words thanks to teachers & elders that care about saving their native tongue. Fourth graders Tahekiah Bourdon, Raven Webster, Shae Perez, Naneque Latender, & Sherlinda Nahwahquaw learned the importance of respecting the Earth and how it fits their heritage.
Teacher Beth Waukechon said students will hopefully continue environment friendly practices as they grow older. MITW Restorative Justice Coordinator Claudette Hewson said the Menominee Teen Court Panel picked up litter & removed graffiti from roads signs in the Middle Village housing area. Tribal school students learned about the sturgeon, a vital part of Menominee heritage. Named the “People of the Wild Rice,” Menominee legend calls the sturgeon “the protector” of the grain that grows in water.
Corn said sturgeon hold a high place in Menominee culture because they're one of three gifts the creator gave to the Menominee people. Language arts instructor Joe Awonohopay said Earth Week 2008 classes were devoted to the sturgeon including the effects of pollution on life cycle, habitat, biology and more.
The College of Menominee Nation Implementing Sustainable Development Class collected electronic waste & pharmaceuticals. Students collected 23 pounds of medicines including 100 bottles of pills. The college students won 50 recycling bins in the Coca-Cola National Recycling Coalition Bin Grant. The class participated in the 10-week Recycle Mania project for the second year in a row. College Prof. Dr.William Van Lopik said the class is “actually doing something." Including curbside collections, Menominee reservation residents recycled over four tons of electronics.
Sponsors: Community Resource Center, Menominee Tribal Police, Tribal Clinic, Maehnowesekiyah Wellness Center, Probation & Parole, Recreation Department, Community Recycling Project; Menominee County Sheriff’s Department, Keshena U.S. Post Office.
The Earth Healing Initiative assisted some challenge organizers with interfaith liaisons & encouraged churches/temples to participate in Earth Day events. Videos on 2008 Challenge projects made possible ban US Environmental Protection Agency grant, EPA Region 5 office in Chicago, EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes, churches/synagogues, other faith traditions working to heal, protect and defend the environment.
Websites:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
http://mtsbia.edu
http://www.menominee.edu
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org/keshenahtml
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov/healthFamily/maehnowesekiy...
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov/healthFamily/youthDevel/yo...
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain/Interfaith Resources/Special Ideas:
http://www.interfaithresources.com Menominee Tribal School students in Keshena, Wisconsin are learning valuable lessons about protecting the environment and learning the... more -
Up goes the Three Gorges Dam
My band Xanadu 上都 wrote a song about the Three Gorges Dam and the migration and destruction it has caused. Here are the lyrics, I hope you enjoy the song! You can check us out at www.youtube.com/xanadushangdu or www.myspace.com/xanadubeijing
I am faking
strong, unwavering
a perfect alibi
That rescues me
From all I see
of rural poverty
Flowing down stream
Grabbing all belongings
Sheets, clothes, food for walking
Away from what was home
Near the long river
A sight soon to wither
And leave people dry
Its no surprise
They’re left without a dime (works hard to find to feed these lives)
Up goes the dam
Example of man’s
Use of power over land
I see shades of grey
From steel to rock in the haze
This place has seen some better days
I heard once before but now becoming more and more
Into a disgrace of the human race My band Xanadu 上都 wrote a song about the Three Gorges Dam and the migration and destruction it has caused. Here are the lyrics, I hop... more -
Iraq In Talks With Turkey, Syria As Rivers Run Dry
Iraq said on Tuesday it is opening talks with Turkey and Syria in a bid to increase the flow of Euphrates and Tigris rivers and end severe water shortages.
Water Resources Minister Latif Rashid is heading to Turkey and then to Syria with an appeal from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to increase the amount of water released into the two rivers, the government said in a statement.
Iraq is in the grip of a severe drought and needs more water for agriculture and drinking, it said, adding that Iraq also wants tripartite talks to implement water sharing agreements reached in January this year.
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Bechtel must be in it's glory.
http://www.citizen.org/documents/bechteliniraq.pdf
Edit:
Apparently, Bechtel hightailed it out of Iraq about two years ago after making enough cash and leaving a trail of malfeasance behind, including water projects completed that do not do any good since electricity runs it and that is still in shambles. Surprise, surprise.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/44251/ Iraq said on Tuesday it is opening talks with Turkey and Syria in a bid to increase the flow of Euphrates and Tigris rivers and end se... more -
China's last undammed river
This is a picture of China's last undammed river, the Nu Jiang 怒江.
Yunnan and Sichuan provinces have vast potentials for hydropower. However, when you account for the potential of earthquakes in the region, the construction of dams needs to be seriously reconsidered. Not to mention the long list of other negative effects that dams can have on the region.
To read more about Goldman Environment Prize Winner Yu Xiaogang and his efforts to protect the Nu Jiang, click here: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/goldman_environ... This is a picture of China's last undammed river, the Nu Jiang 怒江. ... more -
China warns of burst dams as death toll rises
The death toll from China's deadliest earthquake in decades climbed to nearly 15,000 on Wednesday, as officials warned of calamities downstream from broken rivers and dams strained to bursting point.
Tens of thousands of troops, firefighters and civilians raced to save more than 25,000 people buried across a wide swathe of southwest Sichuan province under collapsed schools, factories and hospitals after Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake.
The official death toll climbed to 14,866, as rescuers pulled at tangled chunks of buildings for signs of life.
The government sent 50,000 troops to dig for victims.
Amid the overwhelming gloom, there were also moments of joy.
In Mianzhu, where thousands have already been confirmed dead, about 500 people were pulled out alive from crushed buildings.
Rescuers in Hanwang, a village in Mianzhu, sustained a girl with food and water as they struggled to free her from the ruins of a school.
A woman eight-months pregnant and her mother, trapped under an apartment building in Dujiangyan, were freed by firefighters.
Credit: Reuters The death toll from China's deadliest earthquake in decades climbed to nearly 15,000 on Wednesday, as officials warned of calamit... more -
Spiritual Mighty Sturgeon: Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Great Lakes 2008 E...
(Keshena, Wisconsin) - The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons of electronic and pharmaceutical waste to the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge.
This is the second of several videos explaining the numerous MITW projects including teaching youth about the legend of the sturgeon and its place in tribal culture, cleaning up the reservation, and replacing gang symbols with Native American art.
In part two, the non-profit interfaith Earth Healing Initiative looks at the sturgeon education classes.
The tribe was creative as it added other facets to the challenge like teaching the children about their culture and the close relationship to the earth and its many lakes and streams.
All classes at the tribal school taught the students about the sturgeon, that is a vital part of Menominee legend and heritage, said Joe Awanahopay, language arts instructor at the Menominee tribal school.
Earth Week tribal school classes applied subjects like math, history and others to different aspects of the life cycle, biology, habitat, legends, spawning grounds and the cultural and practical value of the sturgeon, an important fish to the Menominee people since the dawn of their tribe.
“The sturgeon are a historic importance to our people,” he said. “Since the beginning of time, our people have relied upon the sturgeons for various reasons including for food and scraping hides.”
“In our legends, the sturgeon are the protectors of our wild rice,” said Awanahopay of the slow-growing giant fish known for its thick hide and rubbery snout whose uses and related regulations have sometimes pitted white fishermen against American Indians. “We have been engaging the students in the culture, language, science and the social studies of what the sturgeon mean to our people.”
“They've been studying the anatomy and the physiology of the sturgeon and the students are looking at the sturgeon habitats and what the effects of pollution are.”
“They are looking at the different migrations, the geography, the path the sturgeon used to take to come to their home here - their traditional spawning grounds on the Menoninee Indian reservation,” he said. “Because of two dams that are here now south of our reservation, sturgeon are no longer able to come home here to their ancestral spawning grounds.”
“We are so fortunate to have so many elders that we still work with that are able to give us this knowledge and pass it from one generation to the next, despite all of the forced assimilation and the changes in our youth, who are trying to make their way in modern society yet integrate the traditions with the technology in today’s world," Awanahopay said.
Sponsors include the tribe's Community Resource Center, Menominee County Police, Menominee Tribal Police, Tribal Clinic Wellness Program (Maehnowesekiyah), Probation and Parole, Community Recycling Project, Recreation Department, EarthHealing.org and the U.S. Post Office in Keshena.
This video is possible by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office and the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office (both in Chicago); in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, MI.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment," said EHI founder Rev. Jon Magnuson of Marquette, Michigan.
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Menominee Indian Tribe of WI:
http://www.menominee-nsn.gov
MITW Tribal School:
http://mts.bia.edu/
College of Menominee Nation
http://www.menominee.edu
Earth Healing Initiative:
http://www.earthhealinginitiative.org
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Bah'i Community) of Interfaith Resources Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197 (Keshena, Wisconsin) - The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin contributed over 4 tons of electronic and pharmaceutical waste to the E... more -
The 10 pieces of U.S. infrastructure we must fix now
Popular Mechanics - No one can predict what bridge, levee or water main will fail next. But some problems are widely known, and work is long overdue. As PM's new special report makes blatantly clear, we need to begin rebuilding the nation's infrastructure somewhere. Here are 10 great places to start.
Have a local infrastructure crisis that needs fixing? Discuss how to rebuild your town in the comments section below ... Popular Mechanics - No one can predict what bridge, levee or water main will fail next. But some problems are widely known, and work i... more
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Dams
