Erosion's Solutions

Million Dollar Question If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet completely melted, the East Coast of North America would experience sea levels more than four feet higher than had been previously predicted – almost 21 feet – and the West Coast, as well as Miami, Fla., would be about a foot higher than that. Most of Europe would have seas about 18 feet higher. “If this did happen, there would also be many other impacts that go far beyond sea level increase, including much higher rates of coastal erosion , greater damage from major storm events, problems with ground water salinization, and other issues,“ Clark said. “And there could be correlated impacts on other glaciers and ice sheets in coastal areas that could tend to destabilize them as well.“ As the contours of climate change have started to come into focus, glaciologists — a tiny band of scientists in a long-neglected field — have suddenly found themselves briefing Congress, and consulting with the United Nations. Perplexed graduate studen...

Dust Control | Soil Stabilization We'd like to welcome Dust Control | Soil Stabilization | MIDWEST to your growing list of advertisers who choose to expand their product line and improve their Prime Viability and Google Rankings. Midwest lives in, manufactures for, and delivers Earth-conscious solutions worldwide to clients in the quarry, mining, construction, iron/steel, rail/mass transit, and dozens of other industries whose success depends on overcoming dust, erosion, ice, or unstable soil conditions. Our "Yes" is your guarantee One phone call to Midwest is all it takes to be on the way to effective and environmentally sound dust control, erosion control, soil stabilization, and anti-icing solutions. Midwest is the can-do company that sees green as a primary color. We develop environmentally safe products in our lab so that our customers fulfill regulatory requirements as well as their own and their customers’ wishes to be gentle on our planet while getting the job d...

Political Water Scarcity Five things I learned at the Global Water Summit Published 29th April 2010 1. There is no such thing as economic water scarcity, only political water scarcity. Ek Sonn Chan told the story of how the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority had been transformed between 1993 and 2009. The number of connections increased seven-fold, non-revenue water fell from 73% to 6%, collection efficiency rose from 48% to 99.9%, and total revenues increased from $300,000 to $25 million, with an $8 million operating surplus. After receiving initial grants and soft loans from international financial institutions, the utility is now self-financing. Tariffs increased steeply in the early years, but they have been held constant at around $0.24/m3 since 2001, because the combination of service expansion, reduced water losses and high collection rates has guaranteed a sufficient cash flow for debt repayment as well as capital expenditure. It is a great story that should be reproduced across...

When Oil Soaks into Marsh Soil Whenever the drama ends at BP's Macondo well, the company still will be on the hook for the environmental harm from the spill, and teams of state, federal, and BP scientists are meticulously gathering data about where the oil is landing. Their goal is to figure out what restoration projects might be needed to make up for all the damage the oil is causing. Then the government will present BP with a plan of what projects are necessary. BP can do the restorations itself, or it can ask the government to handle them. Nailon's glove is oily after sticking his finger into the soil. Elizabeth Shogren/NPR Nailon's glove is oily after sticking his finger into the soil. When oil soaks into marsh soil, the plants become more vulnerable to dying. "At that point, we put a price tag on the … read more NPR I wanted to be the first to let you know about a new wetlands class we are offering this fall. It is entitled "Southeast Regional Supplement Wet...

Severely Eroding The river has been severely eroding into the Miskowic property for years, taking away soil, fencing, and trees. Now, a major shoreline restoration, and erosion-control project has been nearly completed on the Miskowic property and it shows promise in checking the erosion, according to Mille Lacs County Soil and Water Conservation District conservation technician Lynn Carter. The project was made possible with the help of; • A Minnesota Clean Water Fund matching grant of close to $39,007, in which the Miskowics had to put up 25 percent of that in money or in-kind contribution. • Organizing by the Mille Lacs County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD), with input from the Department of Natural Resources. • Engineering by a Joint Powers Board of Engineers. • A week of labor by a youth group from the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa. Also labor from master gardeners and people involved with conservation agencies during the afternoon of Aug. 2. The latter h...

Mudslides Mudslides can occur at any time of the year, regardless of weather conditions, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). And they can strike without any prior warning signs, making for a dangerous phenomenon. "Mudslides occur in all 50 U.S. states and can happen at any time – with or without rainfall," said Lynn Highland, a geographer at the USGS National Landslide Center. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, changes in groundwater levels, alternate freezing and thawing, and the steepening of slopes by erosion all contribute to mudslides. Construction and reckless modification of land – such as not draining an area properly before building on or near it – can also create the conditions ripe for a mudslide, Highland said. She added, that prolonged, intense precipitation and run-off can contribute to landslides, as can wildfires. Fires lead to mudslides because burning can kill the plant's roots. Roots hold soil together, stabilizing the land and ma...

Geotextiles As its name suggests Geotextiles refer to textiles related to earth or soil. When any permeable material is used with rock, soil, or earth it is termed as Geotextiles. The basic function of this technology is to prevent soil erosion to strengthen heavy concrete structures. This technology has not yet gained much attention in India but is widely used in many countries for the construction of bridges, roads, and railway tracks to improve its strength. Many researchers have viewed that this technology is not newly developed but is in use from past thousands of years. Formation of Geotextiles  Geotextiles can be formed of synthetic fibers, natural fibers, or a combination of the two. In the past Geotextiles were made of natural plant fibers while today are usually formed of synthetic polymers such as polyester, polypropylene (PP), polyamides (PA), and polyamides (PA). Geotextiles made from natural fibers are less durable as they decompose over time. The choice of formation ...