#cape town water crisis

[vigil-antes]

Do you like have any good comics recommendations or anything to do with the bat fam, I don't have many DC friends so idk where to start

hiii omg ive been WAITING for this. you didnt give me any kind of parameters for what kind of fics you want so im going to list some of those i like most. its going to be a long one so buckle up:

My DC Fic Best Pics:

Short & Sweet (Oneshots/Less than 10k words)

Send to All: Crack, the bats have a sex pollen release form

glucose guardian: Funny, Tim being the caped community's accidental sugar daddy

A Brief Interview: Sweet, Damian & Tim Ageswap

curiosity and the cat: Cute, Timbern Catlad AU

Dead Meme: Crack, Jason centric, Jason keeps referencing dead memes

Have I Told You About Minnie?: Sweet, Bruce&Steph

Multi Media Marketing Mistakes: Crack, Social Media AU

an inappropriate explosion: Funny, Superman calls Batman to reel in his unruly son (Red Hood)

though your eyes will need some time to adjust: so sweet GAH, Bruce&Steph

Girl what were YOU doing at the devil's sacrament?: Funny, Timbern after the disaster with the chaos cult

Tim Drake: Bisexual Awakener Extraordinaire: Funny, YJ experiencing the mandated Robin-Induced sexuality crisis

Brotherhood: Tim&Damian, Damian Time travels right into Jason's attack on Titans Tower

Priceless: Crack, Nightwing&The Bats messing with Bane

User SuperRob: TImBerKon. Need I say more?

The Mystery of the Superboy Shirts: TimKon, Tim keeps stealing Kon's SB Shirts

Thicker Than Water: Funny, Batbros slice of life-ish

Big Bird, Commence Attack!: Crack, Jason's revenge plan involves dressing up as Big Bird

World’s Saddest Breakfast Club: Sweet, Batkids Bonding

red chrome: Funny, Tim's health is concerning enough to stop Jason from attacking him in Titans Tower

Hot Dog, French Fries: Tim&Damian, Damian gets dosed with truth serum

#SoftRobin: Funny. Damian-centric Social Media AU

Hurry Up Don't Take So Long: Sweet, DamiJon through the years

Paris vs Gotham: Crack, Social Media AU Ladybug crossover (no ships)

Can I tempt you?: TimKon, Light angst, Sweet

Bedtime Stories (15-50k Words)

Baby Birds and Bat Caves: SO funny, genuinely one of the best fics ive read, Tim-Centric, Meta(?)/Cryptid Tim, inspired by Welcome to Nightvale

Gotham Knockoff: Tim-Centric, Alley Kid Tim pretends to be the Drakes' kid to get closer to the Bats

In This or Any Other Universe: Nightwing ends up in the The Batman (2022) Universe

Dangerous and Noble Things: Kid Tim gets kidnapped by the League of Shadows. No one realizes until, four years later, the Bats notices something wrong

In this Town We Call Home: Kid Tim attracts Batman's attention to get adopted

With Violet Light: Jason finds a ring of power and becomes a Star Sapphire

Little Birds’ Wings: Jason&Other Batkids, Jason comes back from the League to a drastically different Gotham

the pact of our youth: Reverse Robins Au, TimBerKon after Tim dies (and comes back different)

Pretty Boys and Identity Problems: Sweet, TimKon, To get away from his crush on Robin, Superboy gets entangled with Gotham pretty boy Tim Drake

let's get mischievous: TimBern, during the chaos cult ritual, Bernard gets possessed by Dyonisus

It Wouldn't Be Make Believe (If You Believed In Me): DamiJon fake dating AU where they don't know each other and meet while Robin is investigating a case in Metropolis (they're uni aged btw)

I’m Pretty Sure Tim Steals Clothes: An Elaboration In The Form Of A Long Fic: Cute, TimKon, Tim keeps stealing Kon's SB shirts

Into the Deep Dark Night: Tim-centric, Tim&Jason, Tim dies as a kid and loses a bit of his humanity

Alcatraz, But On Hardmode: Sweet, Tim-Centric, A YJ mission goes wrong and Tim has to rely on Jason to get him and his team out.

His Head is Bloody, but Unbowed: Jason-centric AU where he never stole the batmobile tires, but ends up meeting the Bats anyways after he saves Robin

A Good Place: Very soft, Damian&Bruce, Damian time travels to Batman's first year of activity.

Fairy Godbrother: Sweet, The batboys time travel to each others' pasts and help their brothers when they were younger

best laid plans: Tim&Jason, Tim finds Jason after he crawls out of his grave, bt they get goth taken by the league

Mystery Man: Cute, BirdFlash, The bats aren't known to the JL, Different first meeting

One Eternal Round: Super original, Bruce&Robins, My Hero Academia crossover where Aizawa, Midoriya, Kirishima, Todoroki and Bakugo remember their past lives as Gotham vigilantes

A Meditation on Railroading: Tim-Centric, Tim's dad leaves him stranded away from Gotham with no way back. Jason finds him and brings him home

the ship of theseus: Jason-Centric, Percy Jackson crossover, Jason and Percy are secretly twins

Why They Shouldn't Have Social Media: Crack, Social media AU

Cracked Foundation:Soft, Jason&Damian, They get stuck under a collapsed building together

Monolith: Bruce&The Batfamily, The birds aren't known to the JL, The JL meeting each member of the Batfam for the first time

Loading and Aspect Ratio: SO GOOOOOOD, Batfamily, The bats use wing prothesis but everyone think they're metas

Three’s a Crowd (But I’m Here if You Are): Cute, Funny, TimBerKon

A Softer Gotham: Steph&Bruce, Steph-Centric, Steph time travels to a time before Batman, becoming Gotham's first vigilante

greatest of ease: Dick-Centric, POV Outsider, Dick Grayson as seen in the eyes of the people surrounding him

Yesterday's Voices: Bruce&Batkids, Bruce's memory of the past five years gets erased leaving behind a softer man, one who doesn't remember Jason's death

show me yesterday, for i can’t find today: Jason-Centric, Jason&The Batfam, Robin!Jason and Red Hood switch places

Eat Your Heart Out, Social Life (50k+ words)

Vultures, Squirrels, and Other Flying Menaces: So good, AU where instead of becoming Robin, Tim hires Deathstroke to kill Joker, leading to the assassin adopting him and the other Batkids.

I’m alone here, I think: TimKon, Witch Tim, Tim is erased from everyone's memories and leaves Gotham. Kon finds him anyways.

You, Me, and the Humanity in Between: Soft and sweet, Bruce&His kids, Non-Human Batkids

cards on the table: Tim-Centric, Tim&Batfam, Tim's parents fake their death and leave Tim behind. He uses his stalking skills to become a fortuneteller scammer. Against his will, he ends up befriending the Waynes

Roasted: Funny, Cute, Dick-Centric, Talon AU, Dick&Batfam, Recovered Talon Dick opens a coffee shop that ends up becoming Rogue-Vigilante neutral grounds

Code Bat: Batfam, The bats aren't known, they have an emergency code to only be used in emergency case when revealing affiliation is inevitable (idk how to explain but its good trust me)

Minimum Height Requirement: SOFT, Bruce&His kids, Batfam, Batman doesn't let his kids become vigilantes before they turn eighteen

Running Headlong into My Arms: Soft, No Capes AU, even without Batman, Bruce finds his family

Liminal Space: Tim-Centric, Tim&Bruce, Tim&Batfam, Tim ends up in a softer and kinder version of his world

Robins and Other Flightless Birds: Bruce-Centric, Bruce&His kids, A Batman without kids is visited by another version of himself. He finds tha he, too, wants kids.

Laughter Lines: JayRoy, Soft, Jason helps raise Lian, before and after his death

Stars of the Forgotten: Bruce-Centric, Meta!Batkids, Bruce&His kids, on the search for a missing Barbara Gordon, Batman stumbles upon five metahuman kids in need of a home

Latchkey: Sweet, Tim-Centric, Robin!Jason, BatWatch!Tim, The Waynes get concerned with their lonely neighbor, Tim Drake

Ain't No Compass, Ain't No Map: Funny, Tim&Jason, Borderline abandoned Tim Drake gets taken in by Crime Lord Red Hood. CPS tries investigating, with little results

And that's it for today. If you're still here, thank you so much and seriously, some of these are so good, so read them, trust me!

Sorry i took so long to get back to you, i had to organize the mess in my AO3 bookmarks and compiling this took me ages.

Let me know what you all think, and if you ever want more!!!! (Yes i have more. It's a problem)

[upsettingandunfortunateclasshate]

The swimming pools, well-watered gardens and clean cars of the rich are driving water crises in cities at least as much as the climate emergency or population growth, according to an analysis.

The study used Cape Town in South Africa as a case study and found the richest people used 50 times more water than the poorest. When the Day Zero water crisis struck the city in 2018, after several years of drought, the poorest were left without enough water for their basic needs, the scientists said.

[shakertwelve]

If you headed west from the Boardwalk, away from the water, you found yourself in the area the locals just called the ‘Docks’.  When the import/export business in Brockton Bay had dried up, there had been a whole lot of people who were suddenly out of work.  The richest and most resourceful people in town had managed to make more money, turning the city’s resources towards tech and banking, but all of the people who had been employed on the ships and in the warehouses had few options left to them.  They faced leaving Brockton Bay, sticking around while scraping up what little work they could or turning to more illicit activity.

This all contributed to the boom in the local supervillain population.  The potential for big money coupled with the number of eager-to-please mooks and henchmen made it the city to be for the villains in the late 90s.  It took a few years for the hero presence to establish and organize themselves, but they did, and there was something of an equilibrium now.  As far as cape population went, Brockton Bay wasn’t in the top 5 cities in the U.S., but it was probably in the top ten.

you know i'd completely forgotten the economic crisis is explicitly linked to the rise in supervillainy in the text itself. "brockton bay villains in the 90s probably worked with the labor unions" post i'm sorry i thought you were making stuff up. marquis for sure got paid off to kill cops for them at some point

[notjustanyannie]

The swimming pools, well-watered gardens and clean cars of the rich are driving water crises in cities at least as much as the climate emergency or population growth, according to an analysis.

The researchers said the vast difference in water use between rich and poor citizens had been largely overlooked in seeking solutions to water shortages, with the focus instead on attempts to increase supply and higher prices for water. They said the only way to protect water supplies was by redistributing water resources more equally.

The study used Cape Town in South Africa as a case study and found the richest people used 50 times more water than the poorest. When the Day Zero water crisis struck the city in 2018, after several years of drought, the poorest were left without enough water for their basic needs, the scientists said.

Cape Town was far from unique, the researchers said, with similar problems in many cities around the world. Since 2000, more than 80 big cities had experienced extreme drought and water shortages, they said, including Miami, Melbourne, London, Barcelona, São Paulo, Beijing, Bengaluru and Harare.

The researchers said urban water crises were expected to become more frequent, with more than 1 billion city dwellers expected to experience water shortages in the near future. In March, a report by the Global Commission on the Economics of Water concluded that the world faces an imminent water crisis, with demand expected to outstrip supply by 40% by 2030.

[xtruss]

A kelp forest off Anacapa Island, California. Researchers have found that underwater forests cover an area comparable to the Amazon basin. Photograph: Douglas Klug/Getty Images

Seascape: The State of Our Oceans! The Hidden Underwater Forests That Could Help Tackle The Climate Crisis

Kelp absorbs carbon dioxide and has high nutritional value, but it is under threat from rising temperatures, pollution and invasive species

— By Lucy Sherriff in Los Angeles

Bubbles stream furiously behind Frank Hurd as he gently parts the curtains of giant kelp. Green and gold ribbons reach upwards through the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean towards the sun.

Hurd, a marine biologist with environmental organisation the Nature Conservancy, is diving in a kelp forest off Anacapa Island, one of the protected rocky volcanic islets that form the Channel Islands national park, an archipelago off the coast of southern California.

This thick, healthy kelp – a type of seaweed – forms a small part of underwater forests that blanket the coastline of nearly every continent. Some are relatively well-studied, including the Great African Sea Forest, a rich stretch of giant bamboo kelp spreading north from Cape Town to the Namibian coastline that was the setting for the film My Octopus Teacher; and the Great Southern Reef, a giant kelp forest hugging Australia’s southern coastline. But many more of these forests are unnamed and unknown – hidden underwater.

A harbour seal descends from the kelp canopy in the rich underwater forests off Santa Barbara, California. Photograph: Douglas Klug/Getty Images

Despite being one of the fastest growing plants on Earth, kelp has historically been difficult to map because of the difficulties of measuring ocean depths with satellites. However, research published in September found that seaweed forests are far more extensive than previously realised.

An international group of scientists from eight countries, led by Dr Albert Pessarrodona from the University of Western Australia, manually sifted through hundreds of studies – including local plant data records, online repositories and citizen science initiatives – to model the global distribution of ocean forests. They found that underwater forests cover between 6m and 7.2m sq km – an area comparable to the Amazon rainforest basin and twice the size of India.

Still from My Octopus Teacher, set in a rich stretch of giant bamboo kelp spreading north from Cape Town to the Namibian coastline. Photograph: Netflix

Seaweed forests can act as a vital buffer against the climate crisis, absorbing carbon dioxide from seawater and the atmosphere. Ocean forests may store as much carbon as the Amazon rainforest, according to one analysis.

Yet there is still a sizeable gap in understanding of seaweed’s long-term ability to sequester carbon, because it lacks a root system to lock the carbon into the ground, unlike other marine plants such as mangroves and seagrass. Whether carbon stays locked up also depends on what happens to the seaweed, and there is still scientific debate on how effective it is at storing the element.

Kelp provides food and shelter for fish, marine animals and birds. Photograph: Brandon Cole Images/Shutterstock

Marine ecologist Dr Karen Filbee-Dexter, one of the study’s 10 authors, said the research was a “major step forward” in understanding the potential role that seaweed can play in mitigating climate breakdown, “because it calculates the productivity – growth and carbon uptake – of the largest marine vegetated ecosystem”. It can also help estimate the carbon-sink potential of the world’s marine forests, she added.

Kelp, the largest seaweed species, able to grow tens of metres high, also plays a vital role in marine ecosystems, providing food and shelter for fish, other marine animals and birds.

In Australia, native kelp is home to the weedy seadragon – a purple-hued creature with leaf-like appendages that look like kelp fronds – which only lives along the country’s coastline. Kelp forests along North America’s Pacific coast provide vital habitats for southern sea otters. In addition, the mighty grey whale uses kelp forests as a haven from predatory killer whales and as vital feeding grounds for their young during their migration to Alaska waters from Baja California in Mexico.

A weedy sea dragon in Jervis Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Photograph: By Wildestanimal/Getty Images

Underwater forests could also have a role in efforts to alleviate the world’s food security crisis, thanks to their rapid growth.

The scientists examined hundreds of individual studies from around the world where seaweed growth had been measured by scuba divers. “We found ocean forests are more productive than many intensely farmed crops such as wheat, rice and corn,” the study noted. It defined productivity in terms of how much biomass – the fronds, stipes and holdfasts of the seaweed – was produced by crops and seaweed.

On average, ocean forests in temperate regions, such as Australia’s southern coast, produced between two and 11 times more biomass by area than intensely farmed crops, a productivity that could be harnessed for the food system.

“If Harvested Properly, Seaweeds Have The Potential To Be A Very Sustainable And Nutrient-dense Food Source” — Amanda Swinimer

Seaweed ecologist Dr Sophie Steinhagen inspects the crop at the seafarm in the Koster archipelago in Sweden.

Seaweed has been mass-consumed in Asia for centuries, and now western markets are catching on, albeit on a small scale, with more European and North American companies manufacturing seaweed products for human consumption. The Cornish Seaweed Company has a seaweed salad range; Marks & Spencer has a “coconut seaweed crunch” snack, and there are numerous lines of kelp burgers.

“Although there is evidence of seaweed being consumed as food 14,500 years ago, it has not been a part of the diet for large swaths of the world’s population,” says marine biologist Amanda Swinimer, who has been wild harvesting seaweed for decades through her company, Dakini Tidal Wilds.

However, she adds, as food security becomes more of an issue, “people are looking for other sources of nutritious food. If harvested properly, seaweeds have the potential to be a very sustainable and nutrient-dense food source.” Seaweed is also being used as animal feed, in place of corn and soya beans, thanks to its high nutritional value.

Seaweed can be a nutritious source of food if harvested properly. Photograph: M&S

Yet these underwater forests face multiple threats, including rising sea temperatures, pollution and invasive species. Along the northern California coast, kelp has declined by more than 95% over the past several years, decimated by sea urchins – whose population has exploded as vast numbers of starfish, their main predators, have been killed by a wasting disease linked to warming waters.

The Great Southern Reef along Australia’s coastline, and forests in the north-west Atlantic, along the coasts of Maine, Canada and Greenland, are also showing concerning signs of decline.

Seaweed forests are often overlooked and less studied compared with coral reefs, making it difficult to understand how they are changing. “Most of the world’s seaweed forests are not even mapped, much less monitored,” says Filbee-Dexter. While corals are found in warm, calm and easily accessible areas, making them fairly easy to study, kelp is in cold waters on some of the choppiest, roughest coasts in the world.

Seaweed farming in Sweden could be a vital component of the shift away from eating meat for protein.

Filbee-Dexter believes that the more scientists understand about these vital but fragile marine ecosystems, the easier it will be to help them survive. “I hope that more awareness about these forests will lead to more protection and restoration.”

In California, Hurd continues to dive among the kelp forests, monitoring their progress and hoping their decline can be stemmed. “The loss of these incredibly productive ecosystems is devastating for both nature and people,” he says. However, as science continues to develop smarter technologies to track kelp, such as drones, satellites and AI, he remains hopeful that research can shed light on the role of kelp in fighting climate breakdown.

“The one thing that kelp in particular should never be underestimated for is the productivity and biodiversity it supports around the world. It should be protected and restored with a great sense of urgency.”

Seaweed growth was measured by scuba divers for the research. Photograph: vernonwiley/Getty Images

[beardedmrbean]

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Months of drought in southern Africa triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon have had a devastating impact on more than 27 million people and caused the region's worst hunger crisis in decades, the United Nations' food agency said Tuesday.

The World Food Program warned it could become a “full-scale human catastrophe.”

Five countries — Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe — have declared national disasters over the drought and resultant hunger. The WFP estimates that about 21 million children in southern Africa are now malnourished as crops have failed.

Tens of millions in the region rely on small-scale agriculture that is irrigated by rain for their food and to make money to buy provisions. Aid agencies warned of a potential disaster late last year as the naturally occurring El Niño led to below-average rainfall across the region, while its impact has been exacerbated by warming temperatures linked to climate change.

“This is the worst food crisis in decades,” WFP spokesperson Tomson Phiri said. “October in southern Africa marks the start of the lean season, and each month is expected to be worse than the previous one until harvests next year in March and April. Crops have failed, livestock have perished and children are lucky to receive one meal per day.”

The five countries that declared drought-related disasters have pleaded for international aid, while Angola on the west coast of Africa and Mozambique on the east coast are also “severely affected,” Phiri said, showing the extent to which the drought has swept across the region.

“The situation is dire,” Phiri said. He said the WFP needs around $369 million to provide immediate help but has only received a fifth of that amid a shortfall in donations. The WFP has begun helping with food assistance and other critical support at the request of various governments in the region, he said.

Phiri said southern Africa's crisis came at a time of “soaring global needs,” with humanitarian aid also desperately required in Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere.

Other aid agencies have said the drought in southern Africa is especially harsh, with the United States aid agency, USAID, saying in June it was the most severe drought in 100 years during the January to March agricultural season, wiping out swathes of crops and food for millions.

El Niño, a weather phenomenon which warms parts of the central Pacific, has different impacts on weather in different parts of the world. The latest El Niño formed in the middle of last year and ended in June. It was blamed, along with human-caused climate change and overall ocean warmth, for a wild 12 months of heat waves and extreme weather.

In southern Africa, food prices have risen sharply in many areas affected by the drought, increasing the hardship. The drought has also had other damaging effects.

Zambia has lost much of its electricity and has been plunged into hours and sometimes days of blackouts because it relies heavily on hydroelectric power from the huge Kariba Dam. The water level of the dam is so low that it can hardly generate any power. Zimbabwe shares the dam and is also experiencing power outages.

Authorities in Namibia and Zimbabwe have resorted to killing wildlife, including elephants, to provide meat for hungry people.

Scientists say sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world to climate change because of a high dependency on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources. Millions of African livelihoods depend on the climate, while poor countries are unable to finance climate-resilience measures.

[whatsissue]

Hurricane Milton's Wrath: Florida's Struggle with Devastation and Climate Challenges

The Aftermath of Hurricane Milton: Florida Faces Devastation and Challenges In a relentless display of nature's fury, Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday night near Siesta Key, Florida, setting off approximately eight hours of havoc. As the storm approached, it spurred intense rainfall, devastating tornadoes, significant storm surges, and ferocious winds, leaving towns across Florida reeling from its wake. By Thursday morning, Milton had already moved back over the ocean, downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane by the time it reached Cape Canaveral. Areas Hardest Hit The hurricane's journey of destruction was particularly severe in Sarasota, Fort Myers, St Petersburg, and St Lucie, along with several other Gulf Coast cities. Residents faced the brunt of downed trees, extensive flooding, destroyed homes, and shattered infrastructure. Authorities have scrambled to restore electricity and water systems amidst the chaos. As of Thursday afternoon, more than 3.3 million Florida residents remained without power, illuminating the widespread impact of this natural disaster. In one particularly somber statistic, officials have confirmed nine fatalities linked to Hurricane Milton, and searches for the missing continue. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, with approximately 125 homes destroyed, notably within senior mobile home communities. Unpredictable Tornadoes Compound the Crisis Further complicating rescue efforts and clean-up, Hurricane Milton was responsible for numerous tornadoes. Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, reported that these tornadoes could potentially result in additional casualties, with confirmed fatalities already noted in St Lucie County. The National Weather Service recorded at least seven tornadoes as Milton approached, and officials issued over 50 tornado warnings during its rampage. The Threat of Storm Surges Predictions of severe storm surges were mercifully overestimated in many areas. However, Sarasota County did record surges between eight to ten feet, demonstrating the power of such phenomena. Storm surges, often hurricanes' deadliest feature, push seawater inland, potentially leveling entire communities. Despite Milton weakening before landfall, the lingering threat posed by such surges remains a critical concern for coastal residents. Climate Change: Intensifying Storms The onslaught of Hurricane Milton just weeks after another severe hurricane starkly underscores the frequency and intensity with which these storms batter Florida. Climate experts point to the rising temperatures of oceans, driven by climate change, as key accelerators for the power and regularity of these systems. These conditions present increased risks, not only in the form of disastrous storm surges but also through heightened wind speeds and greater rainfall totals. As sea levels continue to rise, experts predict more such catastrophic events with growing frequency. The heated Gulf of Mexico acts as an ideal incubator for these monstrous storms, suggesting that without significant environmental policy changes, similar disasters could become the norm rather than the exception. Looking Ahead Florida's recovery from Hurricane Milton promises to be a long and arduous task. The state must grapple with the immediate need for humanitarian aid and long-term infrastructural redevelopment, all while contending with similar potential threats on the horizon. Robust emergency preparedness and strategic planning will be more critical than ever in ensuring the safety and resilience of vulnerable communities. In the aftermath of such calamity, the discourse on climate action and protection strategies becomes not just pertinent but essential. Relevant Keywords: Hurricane Milton, Florida storm damage, Florida tornadoes, storm surge, climate change impact, hurricane intensity, natural disaster response, Florida power outage, Sarasota County hurricane, Gulf Coast weather events. Read the full article

[darrellcrall]

Mexico City Faces Severe Water Shortages and Drought

One looming threat associated with climate change is the drying up of previously reliable water resources relied upon by thirsty and growing urban populations. In North America, Mexico City is facing a looming water crisis that places it in a situation similar to major cities such as Sao Paulo, Cape Town, and Chennai, India. These cities face a combination of scarce rainfall, compromised aquifers, and inadequate or mismanaged water systems.

Mexico City, with a population of around 23 million, inhabits a vast high altitude basin that once formed a water-rich valley, the heart of Aztec civilization. Vulnerable to droughts, the region is part of a vast area, covering two-thirds of the country, experiencing moderate to extreme drought in recent years.

The city’s Cutzamala water network, comprising an extensive network of dams, pipes, and canals, extends to rural reservoirs that neighbor the capital district. Operating at 30 percent of ordinary capacity in May, 2024, the system stood at a historical low (it was as high as 45 percent in 2022). The system supplies 27 percent of the city’s water.

Most of the remainder of Mexico City’s water comes from the aquifer above which the modern city is built. Certain areas of the city are sinking by as much as 20 inches annually, with municipal authorities pumping out twice as much water as is naturally replenished through rainfall. Compounding this issue, the Valley of Mexico is becoming ever more paved over, which impacts infiltration. Rainwater stays on the city streets too long, unable to penetrate the ground, and eventually evaporates.

Less affluent communities within greater Mexico City have long faced the reality of unreliable tap water. The working class community of Iztapalapa, with 1.8 million inhabitants, relies on municipal water trucks, which fill up water tanks or cisterns within buildings and residences. When municipal supplies run low, people pay private trucks to bring in water, and tapping water lines illegally is not uncommon. Water rationing programs are now expanding beyond such communities, with reduced flow (or water shut off completely on certain days) impacting 287 neighborhoods across the city. This is double the number of affected neighborhoods two decades ago.

Climate change is exacerbating an already challenging situation, as Mexico City’s average temperature has increased by 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit across the span of 100 years. This rate of increase exceeds the global average by a factor of two. In addition, “exceptionally hot days” have doubled in some neighborhoods of the city. The rapid increase in temperature, above what climate models alone would predict, reflects a heat island effect. Trees and wetlands are paved over with heat absorbing asphalt and concrete. At the same time, with heat intensifying thirst, water consumption rises beyond the tipping point.

Experts say that Mexico City does have means of addressing its water crisis, but they would require a long-term change in policies. Permeable pavement allows water to sink into the ground, while painting roofs white creates a reflective surface that reduces the absorption of light associated with high urban temperatures. When faced with a similar situation, Cape Town replaced water-needy invasive plants along the edges of reservoirs with species that were drought resistant. This significantly reduced reservoir losses. Other planners point to the example of Israel, which pumps desalinated water from the coast to inland residents, though this would be extremely expensive to set up.

[mikeo56]

In Mexico City, more and more residents are watching their taps go dry for hours a day. Even when water does flow, it often comes out dark brown and smells noxious. A former political leader is asking the public to “prioritize essential actions for survival” as the city’s key reservoirs run dry. Meanwhile, 2,000 miles south in the Colombian capital of Bogotá, reservoir levels are falling just as fast, and the city government has implemented rotating water shutoffs. The mayor has begged families to shower together and leave the city on weekends to cut down on water usage.

The measures come as a so-called heat dome sitting atop Mexico is shattering temperature records in Central America, and both Central and South America are wasting beneath a drought driven by the climate phenomenon known as El Niño, which periodically brings exceptionally dry weather to the Southern Hemisphere. Droughts in the region have grown more intense thanks to warmer winter temperatures and long-term aridification fueled by climate change. The present dry spell has shriveled river systems in Mexico and Colombia and lowered water levels in the reservoirs that supply their growing cities. Officials in both cities have warned that, in June, their water systems might reach a “Day Zero” in which they fail altogether unless residents cut usage.

[h1p3rn0v4]

Las sequías en la región se han vuelto más intensas gracias a las temperaturas invernales más cálidas y a la aridificación a largo plazo impulsada por el cambio climático. La actual sequía ha marchitado los sistemas fluviales de México y Colombia y ha reducido los niveles de agua en los embalses que abastecen a sus ciudades en crecimiento. Los funcionarios de ambas ciudades han advertido que, en junio, sus sistemas de agua podrían llegar a un “Día Cero” en el que fallarán por completo a menos que los residentes reduzcan el uso.

[gissellesschoolblog]

District 9 and its Paraellels

The film District 9 by Neil Blomkamp is set in South Africa, and while this film is fictional, it parallels real-life explorations of xenophobia and racism. In this film, aliens co-exist with civilians in poor conditions. It becomes evident very quickly that the aliens, or prawns, as they are called, are othered in this film as officials seek to displace them from the only home they have. Further, there is a representation of South Africans in this film, who are depicted quite poorly as criminals. It becomes clear that Blomkamp attempts to make social commentary on Apartheid, which continues to affect non-white populations in South Africa. The aliens' persecution is meant as a metaphor for the current conditions that the black population continues to be subjected to. The title District 9 itself paralleled what was happening in District Six in Cape Town, designated a white-only area, beginning in 1966. After this, non-white people were removed by officials and relocated to an underdeveloped area. The movie presents the aliens already living in poor conditions, surrounded by garbage in almost unlivable conditions, despite this government official still wanting the land. This parallels how, even before the removal of District 6, the government neglected the community, ensuring their marginalization.

It is clear that the othering and xenophobia presented in the film District 9 reflect contemporary issues of marginalized groups that are others. As soon as an individual is not viewed in the privilege class, such as the character Wikus, they begin to experience the everyday hardships of those others. While watching this movie, I could not help correlating different modern-day examples of marginalization that could parallel the movie. For instance, the documentary sheds light on Nike sweatshops in underdeveloped countries, where the company dumps their waste in the same neighborhoods as people working in the factories. Or, in the United States, the Flint water scandal, where members of the community ingested contaminated water due to officials seeking ways to reduce costs and did so in multi-racial communities as they believed nobody would care. Although they were not fully incorrect, while there was public backlash, there was no prosecution of the role of public officials in the crisis. Marginalized communities are targeted and reduced in their resources when privileged individuals determine that their land is now useful to them. District 9 parallels multiple instances of marginalization and xenophobia because there are constant themes of labor exploitation, environmental impact, and scapegoating towards minority groups. While there are flaws in how South Africans were represented in the film District 9, movies like these are essential in exploring social issues and highlighting the unequal treatment of marginalized populations around the world.

[newstfionline]

Monday, May 20, 2024

Accustomed to Disasters, Houston Didn’t See This One Coming (NYT) The storm that hurtled through Houston late Thursday surprised a city long accustomed to bouts of serious weather. The Astros kept playing baseball, even as rain and wind whipped into the team’s closed-dome stadium. Many people, following their evening routines, were caught unaware on bikes or at the gym. By Friday, all across town—but particularly in the dense and verdant inner loop neighborhoods that radiate from the city’s skyscrapers—Houstonians confronted a cityscape of debris left by winds of up to 100 mph, as strong as some of the hurricanes that have hit the city in recent years. Decades-old oak and pecan trees were ripped in two or knocked over at the roots, flattening fences or blocking roadways. Stop signs leaned at sharp angles. Highway billboards buckled. Residents spoke of horizontal rain and detritus swirling into the air, and wondered whether a tornado had passed through. “It was like we were in the middle of a blender,” said Martha Rosas.

Mexico City Has Long Thirsted for Water. The Crisis Is Worsening. (NYT) The groundwater is quickly vanishing. A key reservoir got so low that it is no longer used to supply water. Last year was Mexico’s hottest and driest in at least 70 years. And one of the city’s main water systems faces a potential “Day Zero” this summer when levels dip so much that it, too, will no longer provide water. Mexico City, once a water-rich valley that was drained to make way for a vast city, has a metropolitan population of 23 million, among the top 10 largest in the world and up from 15 million in 1990. It is one of several major cities facing severe water shortages, including Cape Town; São Paulo, Brazil; and Chennai, India. Many are the consequence of years of poor water management compounded by scarce rains. And while Mexico City’s problems are worsening, they are not new. Some neighborhoods have lacked adequate piped water for years, but today, communities that have never had shortages are suddenly facing them.

As killings surge, Haitians struggle to bury loved ones (AP) Dressed in black and white, the crowd of teenagers squeezed into a narrow street in Haiti’s capital carrying a coffin with their 16-year-old friend, Joseph, killed by a stray bullet during a gang attack. Finding closure for loved ones killed by gangs on a relentless rampage through Haiti’s capital and beyond is growing harder day by day in a country where burial rituals are sacred and the dead venerated. More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in just the first three months of the year, according to the United Nations. Victims of gang violence are increasingly left to decay on the street, prey to pigs and dogs, because a growing number of areas are too dangerous for people to go out and retrieve the bodies. Some bodies are never seen again, especially those of officers with Haiti’s National Police who are killed by gangs. Still, there are those like Joseph’s friends and family who brave the streets despite the danger of whizzing bullets so they can give their loved ones a proper burial.

Brazil sees aid measures from floods hitting its budget by at least $2.6 bln (Reuters) Brazil estimates aid measures taken by authorities after deadly floods in its southernmost state will cost at least 13.4 billion reais ($2.6 billion) from its budget, according to finance ministry data compiled by Reuters. Heavy rains, which have battered Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state since late April, caused historic floods that killed over 150 people, while nearly 100 residents are still missing and more than 500,000 have been displaced, official data shows.

Anger, anxiety, acrimony: Slovaks weigh what led to Fico shooting (Reuters) Slovak opposition party leader Michal Simecka, who described an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico this week as an attack on democracy, said on Friday that he, his wife and child had received death threats. His experience is not uncommon, a measure of the extreme political and personal animosities in Slovakia and across Europe that formed the backdrop to the shooting of Fico, who was still in intensive care, two days after being shot at close range. Slovaks like Lubos Oswald, a 41-year-old councillor in Handlova, Slovakia, where the shooting took place, felt a tragedy may have been in the making following years of deepening splits within the population and toxic political debate. “It can’t go on like this anymore: two neighbours hating each other for not having the same political opinions,” he told Reuters outside the shopping mall in the town where the assailant, a former security guard, fired five shots at Fico as he greeted supporters after an off-site cabinet meeting.

Russians Poured Over Ukraine’s Border. There Was Little to Stop Them. (NYT) Russian troops punched across Ukraine’s northern border with such speed and force last week that Ukraine’s meager fortifications offered almost no obstacle. Some Ukrainian soldiers, caught totally by surprise, fell back from their positions, and villages that had been liberated nearly two years earlier suddenly came under relentless shelling, forcing hundreds to flee in scenes reminiscent of the early days of the war. The stunning incursion into the Kharkiv Region lays bare the challenges facing Ukraine’s weary and thinly stretched forces as Russia ramps up its summer offensive. The Russian troops pouring over the border enjoyed a huge advantage in artillery shells and employed air power, including fighter jets and heavy glide bombs, to disastrous effect, unhindered by depleted Ukrainian air defenses. But the biggest challenge for Ukrainian forces is people. Ground down over more than two years of war, Ukraine’s military is struggling to come up with enough soldiers to effectively defend the 600-mile front line, even as Russian forces have swelled with thousands of newly mobilized troops.

Iran’s President Raisi and foreign minister die in a helicopter crash (AP) Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and others have been found dead at the site of a helicopter crash after an hourslong search through a foggy, mountainous region of the country’s northwest, state media reported. Raisi was 63. State TV gave no immediate cause for the crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. With Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

An airstrike kills 20 in central Gaza and fighting rages on (AP) An Israeli airstrike killed 20 people in central Gaza, mostly women and children, and fighting raged across the north on Sunday. The airstrike in Nuseirat, a built-up Palestinian refugee camp in central Gaza dating back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, killed 20 people, including eight women and four children, according to hospital records. Palestinians reported more airstrikes and heavy fighting in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli troops for months and where the World Food Program says a famine is underway. The Civil Defense says the strikes hit several homes near Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahiya, killing at least 10 people. Footage released by the rescuers showed them trying to pull the body of a woman out of the rubble as explosions echo in the background and smoke rises.

Israel’s Wartime Government Frays as Frustration with Netanyahu Grows (NYT) Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel’s war cabinet, presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an ultimatum on Saturday, saying he would leave the government if it did not soon develop a plan for the future of the war in Gaza. While Mr. Gantz’s departure would not topple the country’s emergency wartime government, the move would further strain a fragile coalition that has provided Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right government with a boost of international legitimacy, and it would make the prime minister even more reliant on his hard-line partners. “If you choose the path of zealots, dragging the country into the abyss, we will be forced to leave the government,” Mr. Gantz said in a televised news conference. “We will turn to the people and build a government that will earn the people’s trust.” Mr. Gantz’s ultimatum was the latest sign of pressure building on Mr. Netanyahu to develop a postwar plan. The prime minister is increasingly being squeezed—externally from Israel’s closest ally, the United States, and from within his own War Cabinet—to clarify a strategy for Gaza.

DRC army says it stopped attempted coup involving US citizens (Reuters) The leader of an attempted coup on Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been killed and some 50 people including three American citizens arrested, a spokesman for the Central African country's army told Reuters. Gunfire rang out around 4 a.m. in the capital Kinshasa, a Reuters reporter said. Armed men attacked the presidency in the city centre, according to spokesman Sylvain Ekenge. Another attack took place at the nearby home of Vital Kamerhe, a member of parliament who is tipped to become speaker, Kamerhe's spokesman, Michel Moto Muhima, and the Japanese ambassador said in posts on X. Ekenge named Christian Malanga, a U.S.-based Congolese politician, as the leader of the attempted coup. He said Malanga first attempted and aborted a coup in 2017 and that one of the American citizens arrested was Malanga's son.

Former South Africa leader Zuma promises jobs and free education as he launches party manifesto (AP) Former South African President Jacob Zuma Saturday lamented the high levels of poverty among black South Africans and promised to create jobs and tackle crime as he launched his new political party’s manifesto ahead of the country’s much anticipated elections. He told thousands of supporters who gathered at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg that his party would build factories where many people would be employed and provide free education to the country’s youth. He has also pledged to change the country’s Constitution to restore more powers to traditional leaders, saying their role in society has been reduced by giving more powers to magistrates and judges. In 2018, Zuma was forced to resign as the country’s president following wide-ranging corruption allegations, but he has made a political return and is now seeking to become the country’s president again.

Working the 5-to-9 Before the 9-to-5 (WSJ) Melissa O’Blenis rises by 4:30 a.m. for prayer and Peloton time before starting her job at the digital consulting firm Argano. “I just love checking things off my list,” she says. “I need that focus time away from Teams messages, email notifications and text alerts.” A mother with two sets of twins, O’Blenis, 48, often breaks for her kids’ afternoon sports without feeling guilty or judged. Colleagues jokingly call her Granny because her 9 p.m. bedtime makes the early starts possible. But Granny got the last laugh when she was promoted to a director-level role in March. Other professionals take a similar approach to their desk jobs, starting their workdays with a 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. shift. They are up before the sun to get a jump on the workday. Workflow software maker Asana reports that 21.4% of users are logging on between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. this year, up from 19.8% in 2021. About 12% of work tasks are completed before 9 a.m., the company says.

[enmusasblog]

Nya 10-spårs albumet “Songs in the Key of Collaboration” från Martin Høybye är ett soundtrack till en lång resa av interkulturellt samskapande och forskning. Albumet släpps 3 maj via Songrise Produktion. “Prompted by a serious water crisis in Cape Town, I set out to explore songwriting as a response to anthropogenic environmental impact, broadly speaking. The aim was to both explore how songwriting might shed light on lived experience, and to develop songwriting as a research practice, by making songwriting accessible to others and collaboratively share stories in this way”, säger Martin Høybye ”Songs in the Key of Collaboration" är en ny Songrise-produktion som släpps 3 maj 2024 genom Songcrafter Music. Albumet producerades av Dennis Ahlgren, och är en del av Martin Høybyes konst- och praktikbaserade doktorsavhandling ”Songs in the Key of Collaboration - Engaging with Anthropocene moments through personal and collaborative songwriting," (Aarhus University, 2023). Fem år senare ser han tillbaka på en uppsjö av möten i det projekt som gav honom en doktorsexamen från Aarhus Universitet 2023. Upplägget var inspirerat av konceptet "antropocen" - en term som antyder att mänskligheten har blivit en kraft som utövar global geologisk påverkan och skapar en framtid som inte alls är den vi hoppas på. “These crises will continue to impact the planet for generations to come. Droughts, floods, sea level rise, wild weather events, and resulting changes to sense of place and identity will follow. We may find ourselves grieving the loss of certain animals and plants, the loss of stability and familiarity. We may indeed experience a feeling described by environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht as solastalgia – when we feel homesick yet are still at home,” säger Martin Høybye Låtskrivandet fungerar som ett svar på den miljöpåverkan som han kallar "antropocenens överväldigande". Låtarna har skrivits i två olika miljöer. Under 2019 arbetade Martin med att mäta olika erfarenheter av miljöproblem i efterdyningarna av Day Zero-vattenkrisen i Kapstaden. Den andra miljön var Covid-19-pandemin i Danmark 2020–2021. Låtskrivarsamarbetspartners har kommit från Sydafrika, Danmark, Demokratiska republiken Kongo, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Ghana, England och Sverige. Tio av 35 låtar är presenterade på albumet. De omfattar möten mellan känslor och idéer från olika människor, länder och levnadssituationer. I samband med albumet släpps videon till låten “Dream of the Anthropocene” som ställer frågan om hur vi ska närma oss varandra när världen är i kris.

“Working with a team of artists and practitioners, I will work to spread this approach more broadly. To inspire others to share their practice, share their art. A song is a drop in a very big pond, but I believe in ripple effects and taking action by sharing ourselves, our experience, and knowledge. That may sound radical, but I believe inaction and non-sharing is actually more radical,” säger Martin Martin Høybye har släppt sju fullängdsalbum, senast "The Hourglass Sessions" från 2019. Han har skrivit låtar i samarbete med människor i Sydafrika, DRC, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Ghana, England, Sverige och Danmark sedan 2018. Martin Høybye har även skrivit två musikrelaterade böcker (2010, 2016). Tidigare släppta singlar är  “End of the World”, “Where the Water Was”, “Freedom Is a State of Mind,” och “We Can Change.” Diverse lovord om Martin Høybye:  'Årets låtskrivare' – SongIsland  Hederspris – Danish Songwriters Guild  Danish Music Award-nominerad (Årets låtskrivare)  Danish Music Award-nominerad (Årets album)  Vinnare av Unison Songwriter's Competition  Flera finalistplaceringar och hedersomnämnanden, (USA Songwriting Tävling, Internationell  låtskrivartävling, The Great American Song Contest, We are Listening).  För mer information om Martin Høybye https://xn--martinhybye-mgb.dk/co-write-with-martin/ För frågor kontakta: Anette Ståhl – Enmusa Music tel: 0707 180120 anette@enmusa.se

[gfablogs]

Wells in Africa and GFA’s Clean Water Projects

Drought, water scarcity and pollution are all contributing more and more to the water crisis in Africa, so it is becoming increasingly important to provide more clean water solutions like wells in Africa, BioSand water filters, and improved water infrastructure when able, to slow the trend. It may be difficult to understand how anyone could struggle to find enough water on a planet that has 71 percent of its surface covered by it. However, we must remember that 96.5 percent of that water is contained in the oceans and is undrinkable. And of the freshwater on earth, much more is stored in the ground than is available in the world’s rivers and lakes. Though much of the groundwater is within a half mile of the surface, it is much more challenging to collect from underground than from a stream.[1] The words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” ring true today more than ever: “Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.”[2]

Running out of water might seem like a problem relegated only to undeveloped regions of the world that have no indoor plumbing, but the issue affects big cities too. A 2014 study of the world’s 500 largest cities found that one in four of them were experiencing water stress, including Cape Town in South Africa, Sao Paulo in Brazil, London in England, Tokyo in Japan and Miami in Florida. Over a billion people worldwide lack access to water, and another 2.7 billion experience scarcity for at least one month out of the year. According to UN-endorsed projections, this crisis will only increase as it is expected that the global demand for freshwater will exceed the supply by 40 percent in 2030, thanks to a combination of climate change, human action and population growth.[3]The problem of water scarcity may seem distant—a problem for someone else—but it is impacting people in our own nations, and there is no guarantee that it won’t affect us next. Combating water scarcity is essential for us all.

With such a crisis, many organizations seek ways to tap into the large groundwater supply by providing clean water solutions like water wells in Africa and worldwide. However, as Jamie Skinner of the International Institute for Environment and Development in London puts is, “It is not enough to drill a well and walk away. … In the Menaka region of Mali, 80 percent of wells are dysfunctional. … In Northern Ghana, 58 percent need repair.” In total, an estimated 50,000 recent boreholes, pumps and wells installed with foreign aid are now derelict, defunct and contaminated for want of basic maintenance. That equates to $300 million of investment wasted. The key problems are badly designed wells, poor construction and a lack of maintenance. There is no point in creating a well and passing it over to the local community if they can’t afford or don’t know how to maintain it. It is then nothing more than a temporary aid.[4]

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[terandanna]

3. Cape Town Water Crisis (2017-2018):

The Cape Town water crisis in South Africa was a period of severe water shortage in the Western Cape region, most notably affecting the City of Cape Town. While dam water levels had been decreasing since 2015, the Cape Town water crisis peaked during mid-2017 to mid-2018 when water levels hovered between 14 and 29 percent of total dam capacity.

Historical Significance: The Cape Town Water Crisis, nearly reaching "Day Zero," highlighted the vulnerability of urban areas to water scarcity and the need for water management and conservation.

The relevance to contemporary issues that the crisis serves as a reminder of the challenges posed by water scarcity due to climate change and population growth.

[cavenewstimes]

Cape Town’s mayor urges devolution of rail, unionising taxi drivers or risk repeat of violence and chaos

The star of Cape Town’s young executive mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis continues to rise – with his leadership abilities seen to good effect during the adept handling of the city’s potentially debilitating taxi crisis earlier this month. Like the city’s water crisis between 2015 and 2018, lessons appear to have been learnt from the challenge. Hill-Lewis reckons these include the need for Pretoria to…