"Great Lakes Water Wars" Lecture

3.36.09

On March 26, I went to a lecture hosted by Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper at Buffalo State College. Peter Annin, the author of Great Lakes Water Wars, spoke about his journalistic specialty: the Great Lakes. Before the lecture started, Krissy and I answered questions about Riverkeeper's rain barrels as well as other upcoming Riverkeeper events. At around 7pm, Mr. Annin began his lecture to a group of about 50 Buffalonians, including myself. The audience was quite diverse in terms of age and background knowledge of the Great Lakes. There were several interesting points that Mr. Annin made throughout the lecture and I have tried my best to summarize these points below.

Surprisingly enough, only one percent of the water on earth is drinkable. With this in mind, many communities introduce diversion projects to redirect freshwater to other sources that may need it. Farming/irrigation is one of the largest uses of freshwater in many countries. Mr. Annin pointed out what he called the "poster child" of all diversion projects. The Aral Sea watershed (a watershed is defined as an area of land that drains into a body of water) located near Muynak, Uzbekistan was diverted for irrigation and other human needs. The diversion project allowed Uzbekistani farmers and community members to draw water from the Aral Sea with very few limitations. While the immediate consequences of this draw were favorable, the region now witnesses terrible long term issues such as drought. Fishing ships once bobbing about the sea in search of fish are now grounded on an endless sea of desert sand. Mr. Annin explained this to us and also pointed out some pictures he collected from his visit to the area. The purpose of his visit was to witness these realities first hand. In his opinion, primary accounts will allow us to decide whether or not this will be the destiny of our Great Lake's ecosystem.

Revisiting a previous comment that was stated above: only one percent of the water on earth is drinkable. The Great Lakes represent twenty percent of that one percent, or in other words, they are make up one fifth of our planets freshwater reserves where most of this one percent is frozen. It's also interesting that ninety-nine percent of the water in the Great Lakes is non-renewable. Once we use it up, it will be gone forever. How much are we cutting into this non-renewable resource? Currently, we do not have enough information to say for sure. To quote Mr. Annin, "we are entering a century of water, leaving the century of oil".

In a graduate study, 2.1 billion gallons of water per day was being diverted from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. After a quick calculation, I determined that that was equivalent to about 3,500 Olympic swimming sized pools worth of water each day(each pool holds about 600,000 gallons of water)! Mr. Annin argued that this water cannot be used by us or our ecosystems.

Besides shipping water from the Great Lakes to other areas of the United States, this resource has also been shipped internationally. In 1998, The Nova Group* shipped Great Lakes water to Asia. This set a precedent, and many people may argue, may have initiated many of the water projection policies we have today. Mr. Annin spoke in great length about the Great Lakes Compact of 2005. According to Wikipedia, the Great Lakes states of Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Canada's Ontario Province formed this compact to save the Great Lakes. It is an international policy "concerning water rights that protects the Great Lakes from distance states exploiting it." Basically, areas within the Great Lakes water basin can use its resource as long as certain limitations are followed. All others, as Mr. Annin said, "don't have a ticket to the dance". It should be noted that there are exceptions for straddling cities/communities and straddling counties. These areas must apply for permission and be accepted.

Mr. Annin spent some time talking about how climate change would impact the Great Lakes. He explained that diversity of studies. Some predicted that the Great Lakes would rise while most predicted a drop in water level; 6 feet and potentially 11 feet. With this, he said tensions over Great Lakes water would surly increase.

I learned quite a few interesting things during this lecture but one of the most important to me was the difference between surface water and ground water. The boundaries for the Great Lakes Compact are based on surface water. More specifically, the Great Lakes "soup bowl" is unchanging because it's based on landforms. Ground water boundaries (aquifers), on the other hand, can change.

Despite the enormity of work left to be done to protect the Great Lakes, Mr. Annin praise the Great Lakes Compact because the "environment had a seat at the table". This policy was "forward thinking and sustainable".

*When Mr. Annin mentioned this company, I could have sworn the name sounded familiar. It turns out that The Nova Group, also known as Nova, had operated many English teaching schools in Japan. While I was living in Japan, the collapse of this company was all over the news. Evidently, the CEO had embezzled quite a bit of money among other things. A few of my friends that had worked for Nova, lost there job and their last few paychecks.

Buffalo, the "Spring Break Desination Hot Spot"

3.13.09

Many people decide to take there spring break on a tropical island like Cancun while others, like my best friend Jon Newman, decide to come visit me in Buffalo. Jon even admitted several times that Buffalo is the "spring break destination hot spot". I was grateful he decided to come all the way from Atlanta, Georgia just to go on adventures with me!

Tillman Swamp in Clarance, New York

We found this little Leopard frog hopping around on the grass.

Jon found a nice walking stick.

Boardwalk into the Swamp

Jon and I stumbled upon about three of these large tee-pee structures in the middle of the swamp. I could only assume that they had been built by merit badge seeking boy scouts. Inside there would be just enough room for one or two people to sleep. Outside on of the shelters there was a fence-like structure that had been constructed using nails.

Alyssa, Bill, Jon and I enjoyed some delicious sushi at Wasabi Restaurant on Elmwood Avenue. Some of the menu items we ordered were: edamame (steamed soy beans), various sushi rolls, green tea, Japanese beer (Kirin), and tempura ice cream.

3.19.09

Buttermilk Falls in Ithaca, NY

The pebbles were perfect for skipping.

View of the stream just before it tumbled off the edge.

I tried skipping stones too, just like Amelie.

This little foam puff was trapped in an eddy and just kept spinning around and around. It was there the entire time we were. I learned form someone at Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper that contrary to popular belief, foam like this does not come from pollution. In fact, it is formed by natural minerals in the water.

Although it was naturally cut, this slate rock appeared as if it had been cut straight across with a saw.

After skipping rocks for a while, Jon and I started exploring the shoreline a bit more. While Jon was watching sticks and other natural debris cascade down the falls, I found these two owl pellets at the base of a tree. They were still wet and a little slimy to the touch. I was delighted to find them despite their origins. It was my first time seeing them in a natural setting.

Here I am pretending to drive a weathered old Plymouth. The grill was as shiney as new but the rest of the car was very rusty, as you can tell in the picture. On my backpack you might notice a bright yellow plastic bag. While I was walking along the path, I almost tripped over the verbebrae of some long dead animal. Their was no organs or fur left on the backbone but there was a little bit of cartilage that was kept damp by the forest floor. After some discussion, Jon and I thought it might be a deer vertebrae because it was too big to be from a cat or dog. I will have to remember to ask Robbyn.

Jon and I found clay along the trail and decided to mold it into pots and other shapes. We left them to dry in the sun. Maybe a woodland creature will find them useful. Petter Rabbit or Jerimiah Frog maybe?

They say the waterfall is called Buttermilk Falls because as the water churns, bumps, and bubbles down the slope, it resembles buttermilk. I'm looking forward to swimming at the base of this waterfall in the summer months.

Here, Jon is posing at the base of Buttermilk Falls. :)

A beautiful view of a waterfall from one of the many Cornell campus bridges.*

3.21.09

One last picture before Jon leaves to go home.

*See comments.

Shelter Building with Jerry & Sheila

3.7.09

Since returning home from Japan, I started volunteering at a local nature preserve and environmental education center called Reinstein Woods. Reinstein is actually a state funded park maintained by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). However, due to recent state budget cuts, they wouldn't be able to survive with the Friends of Reinstein Woods, a separate entity that helps to fund a majority of the current programs offered by the center.

My friend Jerry, who also works as an intern at Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, has been a volunteer at Reinstein for almost five years. It was his brilliant idea to hold a survival skills/shelter building class. When he asked me if I wouldn't mind helping out, I gladly obliged.

We decided to start with a short quiz on the "10 essentials" that you should always include in your survival pack. They are: map of the area, loud whistle, compass, flashlight with extra batteries, extra food, extra cloths and rain gear, sunglasses and sunscreen, candle and a fire starter, and finally, a first aid kit. This list is open to interpretation but basically echos the five basic needs a person must physically stop in their tracks, consider their surroundings, and plan a way to make it through their survival situation.

Next, we went over the five basic needs, in order of most important to least important.

(1) Attitude - The attitude you take and the decisions you make based on this attitude may mean the difference between life and death.  Remember to S.T.O.P or Stop where you are, Take inventory of your materials, Orient yourself to your surroundings, and Plan a survival strategy.

(2) Shelter - This is important because it provides protection from the weather, helps maintain your body heat, and reduces your tendency to panic (or walk around).  You should always try to remain where you are if you happen to get lost.  This makes it easier for search teams to find you.

(3) Warmth - Remember the Rule of 3's:  You can survive for about 3 hours in the cold, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food.  There are many ways to make a fire but the most important part is to keep it going.  Collecting wood, especially in below zero temperatures can be a very challenging task.  You need to save as much energy as possible.  You can build a fire using a tee-pee or log cabin design.  Some examples of natural fire building materials include:  dead leaves, paper-birch bark as well as pine branches, cones, and needles.

(4) Water - Be careful to make sure that your water source is clean and free of discoloration, oil slicks on the surface, or any other particles.  It is easy to get very sick from water that has been contaminated with parasites.  It maybe helpful to look for animal tracks leading to the water.  If you find them, this may indicate a safe drinking source.  The best thing you can do is treat the water yourself using treatment tablets or filters.  You can also boil the water for 20 minutes.  When you are rescued be sure to let the authorities know you may have potentially ingested contaminated water.

(5) Food - Surprisingly enough, food is the least important of your worries should you enter into a survival situation.  It's generally safe to eat any 6-legged insects, furry animals, or fish.  If you do catch an animal, be sure to cook it thoroughly before you eat it.

Jerry and I also explained how to go about making a solar still.  The idea behind it is very simple, not to mention, very interesting.  Basically, you dig a whole in the ground and place a potable container in the middle of the whole with a tube to let extra air in and out.  Next you cover the whole with a clear plastic sheet that you have weighted down using the extra dirt you removed from the whole.  You place a weight (i.e. stone) in the center of the plastic above the potable container.  As the sun beats down on your solar still, the ground will heat up and cause condensed water to collect on the inner plastic surface.  This water will then drip down into your container and is safe to drink, assuming your container is clean.  Those who typically rely on a solar still will built multiple stills and use them more than once.

A drawing of a solar still for water catchment.

Welcome to my half completed debris hut shelter. It needs to be built up around the sides and top. To do this I would place more branches along the sides and cover those with leaves, mud, and other debris.

There is just enough room inside for someone to curl up on their side next to that big cherry tree on the left.

Testing out our shelters. I was a perfect day to evaluate your shelter's ability to withstand rain and cold.

A couple in the group built this debris hut.

Testing it out.

If you are interested in learning more about survival skills, I would recommend any of Tom Brown's books.  Jerry and I used Tom Brown's Guide to Wilderness Survival for this class but I have heard that his other books are just as great.  Tom Brown also established a tracking school located in New Jersey.  Those interested in joining, should visit the school's website.

Shout Outs: On a totally unrelated note, I would like to encourage you to watch the promotional videos for a show that a few of my friends have created. The show is called Rememberin' You.