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Fire and Oil: The Collateral Environmental Damage of Airstrikes on ISIS Oil Facilities
›As the United States, Russia, and others step up attacks on the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), there is concern over their direct and long-term environmental and public health impacts. Many air strikes have targeted lucrative oil installations under the control of ISIS, and these could have severe detrimental effects for Syria’s future, both environmentally and socio-economically. Questions around the effectiveness of these strikes, both from a military and political perspective, seem to be missing in the wider debate.
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From Gaza to the Euphrates, Alarm Bells for Mideast Water Resources
›The board of the United Nations’ lead organization on trade and development, called UNCTAD, released an assessment of Gaza’s development challenges during their annual meeting in Geneva this month and the news is not good. In 2012, the UN warned that a “herculean” development effort would be to keep pace with Gaza’s rapid population growth. Since then, more fighting with Israel has made things worse, particularly with regard to water and food security. Ninety-five percent of the water from Gaza’s coastal aquifer is unsafe for drinking without treatment, the report says. Contamination and over-extraction may even render it unusable by next year and damage may be irreversible if not addressed in the next five years.
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Catalyzing Cooperation: Disaster Diplomacy and its Potential to Short-Circuit the Climate-Conflict Link
›There is a growing chorus of voices claiming climate change will foster more conflict and violence. Books have been released on the impending age of climate wars, while media outlets dutifully report on research that purports to show how global warming will increase violence of every form, from the number of times pitchers bean batters in baseball to the rate of sexual assault.
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In Critical Year for Climate Change, Lack of Urgency is Worrying, Says Nick Mabey
›“After Ukraine, ISIS, terrorism…there are a lot of distractions in 2015,” says Nick Mabey, founder and chief executive of the environmental NGO E3G, in this week’s podcast. “Short term issues are important, but they’re not everything.”
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Lisa Friedman on a More Diverse Environmental Movement and the Critical Year Ahead for Climate Talks
›“If you care about climate change and international response to climate change, the first two weeks of December in Paris, France, will be your Super Bowl,” says Lisa Friedman, deputy editor of ClimateWire, in this week’s podcast.
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Safety and Security in the Global Youth Wellbeing Index
›Few would argue with the notion that socioeconomic development is contingent on peace, safety, and security. What goes for nations, goes for people too – especially young people.
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Peter Schwartzstein, National Geographic
Amid Terror Attacks, Iraq Faces Water Crisis
›November 5, 2014 // By Wilson Center StaffViewed from afar, the two-mile-long Mosul Dam is an impressive sight on the flat, sunbaked northern plains.
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What Can Iraq’s Fight Over the Mosul Dam Tell Us About Water Security?
›The fight for control over “the most dangerous dam in the world” is raging.
Since its capture by Islamic State (IS) militants on August 7 and subsequent attempts by Iraqi government and Kurdish forces to take it back, Iraq’s Mosul Dam has been one of the central components of the government’s surprising and rapid collapse in the country’s northern and western provinces. In fact, one might see the capture of the Mosul Dam as the moment IS ascended from a dangerous insurgent group to an existential threat to Iraq as a state.
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