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16 July 2011
Woodland Mortality from Land Application of Waste Hydrofracturing Fluid
The latest issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality contains a peer-reviewed research paper documenting the effects of flowback hydrofracturing fluid on a wood lot. The results reported in Land Application of Hydrofracturing Fluids Damages a Deciduous Forest Stand in West Virginia (Mary Beth Adams, USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station in Parsons, WV) indicate the effects of a June 2008 “frack water” dosing were swift and noticeable. From Adams: …
7 July 2011
USGS Raises World Lithium Estimate
Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni (Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons). As a college student around 1976 I took a general ecology class taught by Jim Strayer. There was much discussion of non-renewable resources and the inevitable prospect of running out of gas. We’d already experienced gas shortages in 1973-74. Mr. Strayer wanted us to think forward and prepare for significant changes in our consumer lifestyle. At some point, someone suggested electric cars …
27 December 2010
Tar Sands, Phosphorus, and Playing Chess with Gorillas
Athabasca River – Grand Rapids (Photo David Dodge, Pembina Institute) Under Pressure An unexpected surface discharge of brine has prompted a call for better groundwater mapping in Canada. Renowned limnologist David Schindler recently had this to say following the discovery of brine seeping up into a mined-out tar sand basin: “Concerns over the poor mapping of groundwater in the area have been voiced for many years, and this is an …
John Freeland earned a PhD in Soil Science (Pedology) at North Dakota State University and is a consultant working in the private sector. He has published soils research and taught at the high school and college levels. John is interested in wetlands, soil genesis, science communication, the intersection of art and science, and soil-water-landscape processes. John lives near the Ohio-Michigan border and plays bass in multiple music projects.