Solving the World Water Crisis with Icebergs?

An idea to tow icebergs to parts of world that need clean drinking water has surfaced some forty years ago after it was originally conceived ("How Hauling Icebergs Could Help Sustain the World's Thirstiest Regions," NBC News, August 7, 2018). An United Arab Emirates-based company will attempt a test of this technique employing "satellite imagery to scour the Southern Ocean for a suitable iceberg, lasso it with nets and chains, and then use a small flotilla of boats to tow it" later this year.

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to the world's fresh water supply at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• droughts
• groundwater
• water conservation
• water use
• water supply
• water consumption
• water resources development

A Thirsty Land: The Making of an American Water Crisis by Seamus McGraw
University of Texas Press, 2018
call number: 333.91 MacG

"As a changing climate threatens the whole country with deeper droughts and more furious floods that put ever more people and property at risk, Texas has become a bellwether state for water debates. Will there be enough water for everyone? Is there the will to take the steps necessary to defend ourselves against the sea? Is it in the nature of Americans to adapt to nature in flux? The most comprehensive--and comprehensible--book on contemporary water issues, A Thirsty Land delves deep into the challenges faced not just by Texas but by the nation as a whole, as we struggle to find a way to balance the changing forces of nature with our own ever-expanding needs." - publisher's summary excerpt

Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity by Sandra Postel
Island Press, 2017
call number: 551.48 Pos

"We have disrupted the natural water cycle for centuries in an effort to control water for our own prosperity. Yet every year, recovery from droughts and floods costs billions of dollars, and we spend billions more on dams, diversions, levees, and other feats of engineering. These massive projects not only are risky financially and environmentally, they often threaten social and political stability. What if the answer was not further control of the water cycle, but repair and replenishment? Sandra Postel takes readers around the world to explore water projects that work with, rather than against, nature's rhythms. In New Mexico, forest rehabilitation is safeguarding drinking water; along the Mississippi River, farmers are planting cover crops to reduce polluted runoff; and in China, "sponge cities" are capturing rainwater to curb urban flooding." - publisher's summary excerpt

High and Dry: Meeting the Challenges of the World’s Growing Dependence on Groundwater by William M. Alley and Rosemarie Alley
Yale University Press, 2017
call number: 628.1 All

"Groundwater is essential for drinking water and food security. . .But a growing global population, widespread use of industrial chemicals, and climate change threaten this vital resource. Groundwater depletion and contamination has spread from isolated areas to many countries throughout the world. . .Drawing on examples from around the world, including case studies in the United States, Canada, Australia, India, and Sub-Saharan Africa, the authors examine groundwater from key scientific and socioeconomic perspectives. While addressing the serious nature of groundwater problems, the book includes stories of people who are making a difference in protecting this critical resource." - publisher's summary excerpt

Study Suggests More Stalled Hurricanes and Massive Flooding Coming

After examining the traveling (or translation) speed of tropical cyclones from 1949 and 2016, a climate science concluded that storms slowed ten percent during that time suggesting more hurricanes similar to 2017's Harvey are inevitable ("Hurricanes Are Lingering Longer. That Makes Them More Dangerous." The New York Times, June 6, 2018). The complete study published in the journal Nature and the news article mention that global warming may have some part to play in storm stagnation.

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to hurricanes at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• hurricane damage
• Hurricane Harvey
• hurricanes
• severe storms

Extreme Weather Events edited by Marcia Amidon Lüsted
Greenhaven, 2017
call number: 363.34 Ext

"In the wake of every killer hurricane, devastating wild fire, severe drought, or once-in-a-century flooding event, it has become commonplace for scientists, politicians, and ordinary citizens to debate whether or not these severe weather events can be tied directly to climate change and global warming. The scientific consensus generally indicates that we are beginning to see upticks in extreme weather due to warming and the resulting shift in weather patterns. . .This anthology collects the strongest viewpoints from across the ideological spectrum and the globe and allows readers to evaluate the arguments and evidence for themselves before forming an educated opinion." - publisher's summary excerpt

Killer Hurricanes
WGBH/PBS, 2017
call number: DVD Nonfiction 551.552 Kil

"The program compares the 2017 hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria to the Great Hurricane of 1780. That typhoon devastated the island of Barbados and other locations throughout the Atlantic, causing close to 22,000 fatalities. Using historic documents and sediment core samples taken from the ocean, scientists attempt to find patterns to help them predict the severity of hurricanes." - School Library Journal review excerpt

Hurricane Harvey by the Houston Chronicle
Pediment Publishing, 2017
call number: 976.414 Hur

"Hurricane Harvey, from the staff of the Houston Chronicle, tells the story of this unprecedented storm. In 200 pages of breathtaking photos and compelling narratives, we document everything from severe flooding to rescues and evacuations, damage, and volunteer and recovery efforts." - publisher's summary

Teacher Strikes Expose Major Education Crisis

While all states but Vermont have some balanced budget process and tax cuts that are promised to boost state economies, education finance is getting major cuts ("We Don't Need No Education," The New York Times, April 23, 2018). The article goes on to state that "earnings of public-school teachers have fallen behind inflation since the mid-1990s." And so teacher protests are in the news.

Review selected hard copy/online library books related to teaching, public schools, and education finance at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Place Hold" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to request for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more information in the library catalog:

• educational change United States
• education finance United States

Education Reform

H.W. Wilson, 2017
call number: 370.973 Usn

"Articles will discuss different strategies in reforming primary and secondary education in the US. American students do not rank well compared to their peers in other countries. Every administration aims to improve education through a variety of means--increased regulation, funding, standards review and teacher professional development…This volume will cover all the current issues in the debate on education reform including teacher training and pay, class size, flexible scheduling and standardized testing." - publisher's summary excerpt

Addicted to Reform: A 12-Step Program to Rescue Public Education by John Merrow

New Press, 2017
call number: 371.01 Mer

"During his four-decade career at NPR and PBS, John Merrow reported from every state in the union, as well as from dozens of countries, on topics including America's obsession with standardized testing, the low standards of many teacher-training institutions, how corporate greed created an epidemic of attention deficit disorder, and Michelle Rhee's indifference to cheating in Washington, D.C....Chapters in this book include"Measure What Matters," "Ask the Right Question," and "Change Teaching." - publisher's summary excerpt

What School Could Be: Insights and Inspiration from Teachers across America by Ted Dintersmith

Princeton University Press, 2018
call number: on order

"Innovation expert Ted Dintersmith took an unprecedented trip across America, visiting all fifty states in a single school year. He originally set out to raise awareness about the urgent need to re-imagine education to prepare students for a world marked by innovation--but America's teachers one-upped him. All across the country, he met teachers in ordinary settings doing extraordinary things, creating innovative classrooms where children learn deeply and joyously as they gain purpose, agency, essential skill sets and mindsets, and real knowledge. Together, these new ways of teaching and learning offer a vision of what school could be—and a model for transforming schools throughout the United States and beyond. Better yet, teachers and parents don't have to wait for the revolution to come from above. They can readily implement small changes that can make a big difference." - publisher's summary excerpt