Pecologix Political Ecology Blotter

Last month, preparatory work began on the Xiaonanhai Dam, with more projects to follow. Within a few years, the Jinsha will slow to a sluggish pace and its temperature will drop as a series of large hydropower dams release cold bottom water from their reservoirs into the river. For species already threatened by the Three [...]

In the present investigation, the most commonly used pharmaceutical drug Ibuprofen (IB) was exposed to an Indian major carp Cirrhinus mrigala under static bioassay method to estimate its toxicological effects for a period of 35 days. The median lethal concentration (LC 50) of IB to the fish C. mrigala for 24 h was found to [...]

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced an agreement on an enforcement order to improve the overall water quality in New York Harbor waters. Under this agreement, the city will invest approximately $187 million during the next three years and an estimated $2.4 billion of [...]

Approaches are needed to better predict spatial variation in riverine Hg concentrations across heterogeneous landscapes that include mountains, wetlands, and open waters. We applied multivariate linear regression to determine the landscape factors and chemical variables that best account for the spatial variation of total Hg (THg) and methyl Hg (MeHg) concentrations in 27 sub-basins across [...]

► Indian estuaries receive huge nutrients from land drainage and agricultural fields ► Light limitation and fast flushing prevents potentially intense phytoplankton bloom ► Reduced discharge promotes intense bloom by enhancing stability and stratification ► Changing climate and more dam construction may potentially reduce discharge http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2012.01.005

The grey water footprint (GWF) is an indicator of aquatic pollution. We calculate past and future trends in GWFs related to anthropogenic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs into major rivers around the world. GWFs were calculated from past, current and future nutrient loads in river basins using the Global NEWS model. We present water [...]

Mountaintop mining is the dominant form of coal mining and the largest driver of land cover change in the central Appalachians. The waste rock from these surface mines is disposed of in the adjacent river valleys, leading to a burial of headwater streams and dramatic increases in salinity and trace metal concentrations immediately downstream. In [...]