Tag Archives: water

Thoughts

New Orleans is sinking, fast

New studies that used satellite radar data from the three years before Katrina struck show that New Orleans is sinking by more than 1 inch per year. Some areas, particularly those developed on reclaimed marshlands, are sinking 4 to 5 times faster than the rest of the city.

This phenomenon is called subsidence and is caused mainly by overdevelopment, drainage and natural seismic shifts. As the ground sinks, protection by levees in those areas also falls.

For example, the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, built more than three decades ago, has sunk by more than three feet since it was built. That’s why water simply came right over the levees there. They were three feet below their initial height!

Now, when planning for the rebuilding of New Orleans is taking place, the government, and in particular the Army Corps of Engineers, need to take this new data into consideration, and to be safe, no one should rebuild in those areas that are sinking faster.

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Thoughts

Has your fish tasted funny lately?

Just found out from a Congressional Report that the US Military disposed of chemical weapons in the oceans from World War I through 1970. The report is frank about the quantities and make-up of those chemical weapons. It’s funny (in an ironic sort of way) how at first, they dumped them fairly close to shore, then, in 1970, they dumped them 250 miles offshore.

I wonder how many of those containers have already been corroded by the sea water, and how many will continue to corrode and release their poison over the years? And I also wonder how many other countries have been doing this, and when we’ll find out about it? Finally, I can’t help wondering what other dark and poisonous secrets we’ll get to find out about as the years go by… What’s been going on since 1970?

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Thoughts

The new water projects bill, S. 728

Senate will soon consider S. 728, a new bill that encourages massive spending for real estate development in wetland areas which are low-lying and prone to hurricane damage, like the areas that got hit the hardest in New Orleans. Senators Russ Feingold and John McCain are considering putting forth amendments to the bill that would discourage this by making sure our public money gets spent on the true priorities, requiring an independent expert review of any plans, and strengthening environmental standards.

Environmental Defense is running a campaign to make senators aware of this bill and the changes it needs to go undergo before it can be approved. They’ve also got a full report of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, which is an instructive read.

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Thoughts

David Blaine, the human fishbowl

Just found out about this, and I gotta wonder, what’s wrong with this fellow? He’s clearly obsessed with what he’s doing, but to a sane person, the stuff he gets into is odd at best.

Now he’s in an eight-foot acrylic sphere at New York’s Lincoln Center, and he wants to stay fully submerged in the water for up to a week. He’s planning to break out on Monday, after beating the world record on holding one’s breath underwater, all while tied up with 150 lbs. of chains and handcuffs. One might say he’s asking for trouble. He’s also reported having problems with his skin because of the continued submersion.

You can’t help rooting for the guy, though. With so much stacked against him, he’s an underdog, and everyone loves an underdog, yours truly included. CNET has more photos and details. Photo courtesy of CNET. Hope he gets out alive!

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Reviews

Robot runs over water

Assistant professor Metin Sitti at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh developed a little robot that can run over water. The professor looked to nature for his inspiration, in particular to the basilisk lizard, which creates little air pockets as it slaps the water with its feet. He created both two-legged and four-legged robotic lizards that can scurry across the water surface at .8 m/sec (that’s almost 3 feet per second). Pretty cool! Here’s the link to the Discovery News article.

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