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Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
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Permaculture Paradise: Edgewood Gardens Fruit Trees Planting – Part 1

E120, e130,

Study: Beijing sinking by up to 4 inches a year

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/26/asia/beijing-sinking-study/index.html

By Euan McKirdy, CNN

Updated 0226 GMT (1026 HKT) June 27, 2016

Hong Kong (CNN)Beijing residents have put up with choking smog, trash-filled rivers and toxic running tracks. Now they have another concern — sinking.

An international study led by Beijing-based researchers has discovered that the city is dropping by as much as 11 centimeters (4 inches) in some districts per year.
The thirsty city has depleted its groundwater, which the study identified as the cause of the sinking.

READ MORE: Inside China’s largest ghost town

Using satellite imagery and GPS data, the team analyzed topographical trends from 2003 to 2010 and found that the city, which has a population of over 20 million, was sinking at an alarming rate.
Its central districts are among the worst affected, the study says. The main subsidence bowls are distributed over the Chaoyang, Changping, Shunyi and Tongzhou districts. Chaoyang, in the eastern suburbs, is the worst affected, with subsidence of 11 cm per year.
Beijing is ranked as the fifth most water-stressed city in the world, the study notes, and as China continues to urbanize, the stress on subterranean aquifers is only set to worsen.
Living a nightmare in China’s city of sinkholes
In Beijing, groundwater is the main water source — two thirds — for everything from industrial and agricultural use to household consumption. China media outlet Sina estimates that the capital requires 3.5 billion liters of water per year….

…(read more).

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics

Belgium considers its own exit after Brexit

Al Jazeera English

Published on Jun 26, 2016

Belgium is home to the European Parliament but that hasn’t stopped many there questioning whether they should leave the EU. After recent attacks, there’s a groundswell movement wanting to cut ties with Europe.
Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler reports.

Global Climate Change
Environmental Justice
Environment Ethics