Category: Water Resources

The global inventory of fresh surface water resources is about 0.3% of the total water available on the earth. The major part of these resources (87%) exists in lakes and only 2% flows in rivers while the remaining (11%) is trapped in swamps. The remainder of the global freshwater resources, which amounts to double the surface water resources (i.e. 0.6%), exists in icecaps and glaciers (67%), and groundwater (30%). The global inventory of fresh surface water is conservative, i.e. constant, as the earth is a closed system in this respect. However, the quality of fresh surface water on the earth’s surface has gone through, and still, gradual degradation by the increasing waste and pollution as a results of growing population, consumption of natural resources and industrialization as well as severe lack of regulations for protection of global water resources. Also, groundwater resources are facing tremendous threats both in terms of quantity and quality. Freshwater resources management is essential for achieving sustainable socio-economic developments through implementation of best water practices in all society sectors. Existing and emerging competition on freshwater resources on national, regional and global levels, and the diverse interests among stakeholders in public and private sectors, call for Water Framework Directive to achieve good qualitative and quantitative status of all water bodies including trans-boundary waters and marine water up to one nautical mile from shore. There are constant needs for developing treaties, conventions, regulations and agreements on all levels, sectors and consumers. This involves taking in consideration the nature of local, regional and global cycles and their interactions with climate, environment, humans and the techno-sphere. Management of water resources has to consider the complex interactions of water sectors, stakeholders and consumers with all other society sectors, in particular energy, agriculture, industry and household sectors. Among important issues for achieving sustainable socio-economic developments world over is affordability and accessibility of safe water resources for all society needs.

Africa – Would Solving Poverty Lead to More Poverty?

How would new Africa look like? Africa is not the poorest continent on earth. Though there is poverty and hunger in Africa, it has a huge capital of natural resources, enough to provide sustainable socio-economic growth if properly managed. Trading Africa’s natural resources against its poverty and hunger is a shortsighted strategy. It would in the long-run lead to more poverty and hunger.
http://www.africaw.com/the-future-of-africa-the-new-africa

History of World Population

At the onset of the ancient Egyptian civilization the world population was somewhat more than 15 million people, i.e. the current population of the Netherlands only or fifth of the current of population of Egypt today. Ancient Egyptians had therefore enough natural resources to create a civilization on their own and within their boundaries. So, peak population had passed very long time ago!
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/history/world-population-growth.htm

The Chinese Need to Clean-up Is A Major Challenge

Everywhere on our planet, waste management is of major concern. Life quality is very much related to successful waste-management policies. Reducing, Collecting, Sorting, Processing and Re-cycling of human and industrial waste is becoming a major industry. But do we have proper scientific and technology approaches for such vital and important industry. Waste problems have costed humanity decades, if not centuries, to understand the enormous threats of waste and pollutions that have degraded all forms of life qualities of earth.
http://theferkel.co.uk/2012/05/30/worst-examples-of-pollution/chinese-migrant-workers-sort-through-industrial-and-household-waste-at-a-recycling-centre-in-beijing-china/

The Global Concern of Water and Consumer’s Responsibility

Water conservation is of global concern and water issues are not only about water scarcity. Quality is essential and without public awareness and the consumer’s responsibility one would expect many new additional threats for the environment, the ecosphere and for humans.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/default.asp?lang=en&n=344B115B-1#why

How Septic Systems Work

In many situations household can build simple systems for water “purification” through improving and developing the existing knowledge. These systems can be of interest for people that have limited access to public services, in remote areas and in cases of water scarcity where re-use of water becomes a necessity. http://www.clearchoicescleanwater.org/septics/septic-impacts/

Energy Use in Sweden

Cutting-edge technology, a wealth of natural assets and a high proportion of renewable energy – Sweden is in the front line as the world embarks on a shift to more sustainable energy systems. The journey of putting Sweden on more sustainable path started already with first global energy crisis in 1970. At that time Sweden was prepared to make the necessary shifts and transformation to move forward in the direct of creating the necessary policies for what is achieved today.
http://sweden.se/society/energy-use-in-sweden/

Ghana, Excellent Example of a Fast Growing African Nation

Ghana, the gate to Africa and a model of success! Unbelievable fast progress within many sectors of activities, energy, education, health, ICT, agriculture, tourism, … . An amazing safe and peaceful society with a high-level of democratization brought about by international trade, cultural exchange and expansion of small and medium enterprises.

http://www.theafricareport.com/component/option,com_videoflow/id,72/sl,play/task,play/

Appearing Soon “Sustain-Earth.com”

Coming Soon “Sustain-Earth.com”. An interactive BLOG with a global overview of the past, present and future progress of the concept of “Sustainability”. The evolution of “Sustainability from the very individual, narrow and fragmented understanding to a holistic and applied global prospective. Wandering of humans in the “Sustainability” landscape for secured living for themselves confronted with the very fundamental life processes on earth and resulted in major threats for survival of the earth-systems. The BLOG is organised in explanatory “Categories” for different society sectors and it will provide “Services” and “Noteboards” to Stakeholders.

Click to access ABOUT%20Sustain-Earth.com.pdf

Holistic Assessment Approaches for Sustainability

Holistic assessment approaches for developing and implementing sustainability strategies for shaping strategic policies are needed on all levels of different public and private sectors. Such approaches would require Key Performance Indicators for quality assessment analysis of the three main pillars of sustainability, i.e. social, environmental and economic. How would such approaches and indicators look like?

See, this example on a partial approach

http://reliabilityweb.com/index.php/articles/measuring_sustainable_change/

World Water Markets

The world water markets are facing several challenges. The growing population of the world is causing increasing pressures on food, energy and services related to basic consumption. Investment in water infra-structures around the world to satisfy the increasing needs will be different in different countries. Water is needs in all society and investments will vary from one country to another depending on existing conditions, technologies and needs. Countries in arid and semi-arid regions, and countries with high population will need relatively much more resources to invest in water infra-structures.
http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/Calion/world-water-markets

Why “Sustain-Earth.com”

Currently, sustainability is generally treated in a theoretical manner with demonstrations of the negative impacts of over-consumption and the miss-management of natural resources. However, in a world with increasing population we can hardly continue with “business as usual”. We need to go over to practical solutions, i.e. “Applied Sustainability”. Transformation to more sustainable approaches worldwide and in all society sectors will not take place over-night.

Sorry for poor updating and interruption in Blog activities.

You may have felt poor up-dating of the Blog “farideldaoushy.wordpress.com” and major interruptions in the activities. The wide-range of interests within the Blog “farideldaoushy.wordpress.com” made it necessary to up-date the layout and construction of the Blog. Also, to have own domain with representative name that reflects the content and extent. The new “Sustain-Earth.com” will also allow us to fulfill our wish to improve the communication with the visitors and readers and to provide new services. It will, also, provide platform for professionals and expertise within society sectors to share knowledge and contribute in topic discussions.

Change of Blog Address

This Blog “farideldaoushy.wordpress.com” will get a new address “sustain-earth.com”.
The change to the new address will take place within one week.

We have a new layout and construction of the Blog to make it easier to follow the Posts and the content much easier as well as to contribute in discussions as well.

The new construction will involve a number of new interactive functions where guest Bloggers, expertise and professional will contribute as well as interacts with the media to discuss and answer their questions. The Categories of the Blog are kept wide enough to deliver solutions and approaches in all society sectors.

With Peak Population and Peak Consumption already passed, is Sustainability Still Possible?

Even if we can ignore the reality, we can never ignore its consequences. Economic models and scientific discoveries have promoted an ever accelerating consumption of the earth’s natural resources with little consideration to population growth and the associated damage of all forms of life on the Earth. Depletion of important resources, the increasing waste and pollution combined with an accelerating population have caused poverty, disease, malnutrion and above all the definite fact of an approaching total annihilation of life on the whole planet. Survival of humans and newcomers has continuously forced impoverised people to destroy their environment. It is the very nature of humans, no one can go hungry without commiting a “crime” to fill the stomach!

But what is Sustainability and can we really achieve it, when we are regularly presented with a range of the so-called “sustainable” products and “green or organic” cleaning supplies to carbon offsets. With micro-economic markets keep supplying us with so much labeled as sustainable, the term has grown to become essentially a “bubble of sustainability”, at best indicating a practice or product slightly less damaging than the conventional alternative.

Sustainability can not be achieved by un-sustainable policies that are left over to the market without having appropriate instruments on all levels and sectors to strictly define, measure and control how sustainable is sustainable. How else can we can we achieve a goal that is not well-defined and regulated!

How enough is enough?

How enough is enough? How long can we afford to go on consuming and consuming? This is not high level mathematics and it doesn’t even need a Nobel Prize in economics. This is certainly not sustainable. Oil peak, water peak, collapse of the US dollar and end of the US!

Follow the story:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RN5BLQLA4FA