It is customary to mark anniversaries in years divisible by 5. EarthDesk makes an exception to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the Pale Blue Dot, and the late Carl Sagan’s timeless reminder that “in our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves . . . Earth is where we make our stand.”
There is no comprehensive plan for repair and replacement of America’s water infrastructure — the more than one million miles of pipe that deliver the nation’s drinking water and 1.3 million miles of pipe that take away domestic wastes
The Washington Post reports that EPA Administrator Pruitt ordered a $25,000 secure communications booth. Dr. Who fans will recognize the scheme right away. EarthDesk Radio appears monthly at Mid-Hudson News.
To prevent the discharge of untreated sewage during storm events, municipalities face enormous costs to repair and upgrade water systems. Investments in green stormwater infrastructure offer the promise of meeting regulatory requirements for clean water while enhancing urban sustainability and resilience.
If “historic” and “landmark” are missing from your dictionary, it’s no wonder. They could use a break. Kudos are being heaped from quarters far and wide about the outcomes of COP21. But there are also sobering times ahead, by some reporters’ accounts.
Environmental Policy Clinic Students at Work.
[caption id="attachment_14516" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Dr. E. Melanie Dupuis
Inspired by new scientific studies of the human body as a metabiome, Dr. E. Melanie Dupuis, Professor and chair, Department of Environmental Science and Studies, reimagines the American body politic through a new metaphor — digestion — opening social transformations to ideas of mixing, fermentation, and collaboration. In doing so, she explores how social activists can rethink politics as inclusive processes that involve the inherently risky mixing of cultures, standpoints, and ideas. Dangerous Digestion at Amazon.
