RSN: Glock Lawsuit: Gun Biz Run Like the Mob, A $600 Million Fracking Company Sued Ohio Town for Its Water,

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Robert Parry | Ukraine's Oligarchs Turn on Each Other

Robert Parry, Consortium News
Parry writes: "Ukraine's post-coup regime is facing what looks like a falling-out among thieves as oligarch-warlord Igor Kolomoisky, who was given his own province to rule, brought his armed men to Kiev to fight for control of the state-owned energy company, further complicating the State Department's propaganda efforts."
READ MORE

Obama Says US, Israel Face 'Clear, Substantive Challenge'
Eyder Peralta, NPR
Peralta writes: "A significant disagreement between the United States and Israel was on full, public display at the White House on Tuesday."
READ MORE

Arizona Woman Cleared After 22 Years on Death Row: 'This Is Not Happiness'
Lauren Gambino, Guardian UK
Gambino writes: "Debra Milke describes her release as 'bittersweet' after 25 years served for the murder of her son, in a case that rested on the work of disgraced detective."
READ MORE

For Migrants in Arizona Who Call 911, It's Border Patrol on the Line
Puck Lo, Al Jazeera
Lo writes: "Critics say system of transferring emergency calls to border agents may contribute to needless deaths."
READ MORE

Why 2016 Contenders Might Be Taking Their Time Before Saying They'll Run
Max Ehrenfreund, Washington Post
Ehrenfreund writes: "With Sen. Ted Cruz's announcement on Monday that he'll run for president, the first major Republican candidate is officially in the race."
READ MORE

Glock Lawsuit: Gun Biz Run Like the Mob
Brandy Zadrozny, The Daily Beast
Zadrozny writes: "Gunmaker Gaston Glock allegedly hired a team to root out embezzlement-then turned on them when they found his own dirty dealings."
READ MORE

A $600 Million Fracking Company Sued Ohio Town for Its Water
Samantha Page, Think Progress
Page writes: "A tiny town in eastern Ohio is being sued by an Oklahoma-based oil and gas company that bought more than 180 million gallons of water from the town last year."
READ MORE

 

 

 

 

 

Striking graphs and figures!

It Takes HOW Much Water to Make Greek Yogurt?!

Dairy products require a whole lot of water—and many of them come from drought-ridden California.

—By Julia Lurie and Alex Park

| Mon Mar. 10, 2014

 

 

Impressive savings:

From: Andrew Burger, Triple Pundit, More from this Affiliate
Published March 7, 2014 08:01 AM

DOE Sets New Commercial Refrigeration Energy Efficiency Standards

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Following through on President Barack Obama's Climate Action Plan, the Department of Energy (DOE) on Feb. 28 issued new energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigeration equipment. Over the ensuing 30 years, it's projected that the new standards will reduce carbon pollution by 142 million tons — the equivalent of that produced by generating electricity for 14.3 million U.S. homes — while also saving businesses as much as $11.7 billion on energy bills.

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As Entertaining as a Simulated Exploding Cow

How much water do YOU use each day?
2013 Marks Record Year for Solar Power in US
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Clean Water Act protects Bristol Bay
Good news for Nepal's wildlife after another year of no poaching





As Entertaining as a Simulated Exploding Cow

Impressive graphics!

Click on link HERE.

It Takes How Much Water to Grow an Almond?!

Why California's drought is a disaster for your favorite fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

—By Alex Park and Julia Lurie

| Mon Feb. 24, 2014

 

 

 

California, supplier of nearly half of all US fruits, veggies, and nuts, is on track to experience the driest year in the past half millennium. Farms use about 80 percent of the state's "developed water," or water that's moved from its natural source to other areas via pipes and aqueducts.

This & That....

For the Love of All Animals shared The Cat House On The Kings.com's photo.

 

DUMPED AT THE CAT HOUSE ON THE KINGS ~ We hate seeing boxes outside our property, since it usually means someone's chosen to break the law and abandon animals out in the cold. Today, it was a shivering mom dog and her four puppies. Of course we've taken them in and we're ensuring that they are warm, dry and well fed. And when the time comes, we'll make sure everyone is spayed and neutered and placed for adoption. This is our THIRD litter of dumped puppies in the last few months, and we could use some donations to help. To donate cash, click here to donate: http://www.cathouseonthekings.com/contribute.php. To purchase items from our Amazon.com wishlist, go here: (puppy food would be awesome!) http://smile.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2H9UU3LYHWISQ/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Occupy Democrats

We definitely agree. Do you?

Thanks to DemoNews.org.

Occupy New Hampshire shared US Uncut's photo.

WinCo is an employee owned grocery chain which pays its 15,000 workers at least $11/hour, offers health and dental insurance-even for part-time staff, and inves...ts 20% of an employee's salary into a pension which has turned 400 cashiers and clerks into millionaires. They are Wal-Mart's worst nightmare.

SHARE if more companies should follow Winco and share the profits with workers!
LIKE our page US Uncut!
http://bit.ly/M51OV9

Urgent Dogs and Cats at the Garland Shelter, TX shared Inside the Divine Pattern's photo.

Share the shelter animals every day.

 

 

"Do one act of kindness each day of the year and change 365 lives." ~ A.D. Williams

 

 

 

Anti-Republican Crusaders shared Occupy Democrats's photo.

(cc)

 

When "Dubya" was fighting preemptive wars and implementing budget-busting tax cuts, none of the members of today's Tea Party batted an eyelid.

Image by Occupy Democrats.

 

 

 

Urgent Dogs and Cats at the Garland Shelter, TX shared LOTL Rescue's photo.

This is a puppy mill disaster story. Please adopt, don't shop.

 

 

MEET THE MOTHER OF A PET STORE PUPPY

My name is 109. I have lived in a puppy mill for 6.5 years. I have had 11 litters of puppies and made my owner over $30,000.

To show his gratitude, he has never bathed or brushed me....he has never placed a kind hand on me. I have never seen a vet or felt grass under my feet.

The only time I am out of my 2x3 crate is when I am bred by force. I get a little more food and a cleaner pen when I have my babies. I am happy for awhile, but by 4 weeks they take my pups away to sell them online and at pet stores and I am alone again back in my crate.

The wire floor in my crate has caused me to have permanent deep painful groves in my pads. My nails are so long I can't walk on a hard surface.

Today, we were rescued. I am so scared, but I experienced something I have never heard before.....a soft, gentle voice.

Please share to help spread the word & raise awareness about puppy mills!
Volunteer, Foster, Donate, Adopt...

 

 

Earthjustice

CALIFORNIA DROUGHT SLIDESHOW: The historic drought has dredged up old feuds over who can lay claim to water in a thirsty state. As the powerful agricultural lobby— already responsible for 80% of California's water use—cries for more to be pumped to their farms in the desert, just who would they leave high and dry?

Check out the slideshow! >> http://earthjustice.org/drought

The California Drought: Who Gets The Water And Who's Hung Out To Dry?

earthjustice.org

California's record-breaking drought brought many things long submerged back to light when the water line dropped. Long abandoned cars were...

 

 

California's Drought Could Be the Worst in 500 Years

And why it's too late for the rain.

—By Alex Park and Julia Lurie

| Mon Feb. 10, 2014

 

The remains of Cachuma Lake, the main water source for 200,000 people in southern Santa Barbara county. Ruaridh Stewart/ZUMA Wire

 

The Golden State is in the midst of a three-year drought—and scientists believe that this year may end up being the driest in the last half millennium, according to UC Berkeley professor B. Lynn Ingram. Californians are scared, with good reason: Fire danger in the state is high, and drinking water supplies are low.

But the drought will have repercussions outside the state's borders, as well. California produces a good chunk of the nation's food: half of all our fruits and vegetables, along with a significant amount of dairy and wine.

So how will this historically dry period affect Californians—and the rest of us? Here are a few important facts to keep in mind:

How bad is it?

According to The United States Drought Monitor, most of the state is experiencing "extreme drought," the second highest of six rankings. About ten percent of the state is experiencing "exceptional drought," the highest possible level. As of this week, seventeen communities are in danger of running out of water, forcing some to buy it or run pipes from other districts.

US Drought Monitor, Anthony Artusa

 

What do scientists say about the drought?

 

Scientists can't predict how wet or dry a specific season is going to be, but they can forecast drought trends over time, and they've been warning us for decades that the droughts will become more common. In 2005, Jacob Sewall, then a scientist at UC Santa Cruz, used computer modeling to predict that over the next 30-50 years, in North America, changing current patterns caused by melting sea ice would increase average annual precipitation by 40 percent in the northwest while decreasing it by 30 percent in the southwest. Sewall told Mother Jones last week that sea ice has been melting faster than predicted, which could speed up the precipitation changes.

With the recent rain, is it possible to make up the water we need this year?

Even though some rain has finally come, it would be nearly impossible for California to make up the water it needs. According to the Department of Water Resources, the state would need to experience heavy rain or snowfall every other day from now until May in order to achieve average annual precipitation levels. Dr. Peter Gleick, co-director of the water-focused research nonprofit the Pacific Institute, explained that because California’s reservoirs are already depleted from a dry past two years, "We need a really, really wet rest of the season. And that's statistically unlikely."

Are Californians being asked to conserve water?
Yes, some of them. So far, only a handful of cities have enacted mandatory water restrictions. Sacramento and Folsom are requiring residents to cut water use by at least twenty percent. Residents of Santa Cruz, Tuolomne County, and other municipalities and have been prohibited from watering their lawns and gardens during the day, refilling their pools, and hosing down their driveways and cars. Santa Cruz has barred restaurants from serving water unless diners request it.
Most water agencies have opted for voluntary conservation measures, asking consumers to take shorter showers, flush toilets less regularly, and sweep driveways and sidewalks instead of hosing them down. When Governor Brown announced in mid-January that the drought had reached a state of emergency, he urged Californians to reduce water consumption by twenty percent. It's too soon to tell whether people are actually taking his advice, because so many of the restrictions went into place so recently. But Gleick says that in past droughts voluntary restrictions have been "somewhat effective," depending on how seriously people take the drought.
Which crops are feeling the burn?

Many farmers who grow annual crops—those that have to be replanted every year—have been able to plant fewer seeds than usual in order to conserve water. But those who tend crops that grow on trees and vines are in a tougher position, because their plants have to be maintained year round.

The good news is that it usually takes more than one very dry season to actually kill a tree—but less water can mean lower production for at least a couple of years. In 2009, Ken Shackel, a tree-crop expert at the University of California-Davis, observed several dozen un-irrigated almond trees in dry soil for a year. The trees didn't die, but their yield was cut in half. The next year was even worse: Despite receiving normal water, the trees' yield was 90 percent below normal. It wasn't until the year after that their yields were up to normal again.
"However bad this year, it will be worse next," Shackel says of California's tree farmers today. "Really bad this year means really, really bad next year."
The most vulnerable crops, says Shackel, are probably stone fruits like plums, cherries, peaches, and apricots, which are adapted to wetter climates.
California's ranchers are also feeling the drought. Less water means less grass for beef and dairy cows to graze, forcing ranchers either to cull their herds or sell cattle in fire sales. One auctioneer on the Central Coast told the Associated Press he was selling up to 1,000 cattle per week, up to ten times the normal rate.

Will consumers see the effects of the drought in food prices?

 

The cost of food is on the rise, but it's hard to know whether this year's drought is contributing to the hike. Bouts of extreme weather have pushed food prices up in the past, most recently after a major drought in China and floods in Australia. Ag watchers expect shortages and possibly price increases for lettuce, broccoli, and citrus, and melon over the rest of the year, although the citrus shortage is due to both the drought and the deep freeze in the rest of the country.

 

What are the areas most at risk for fire?

 

Large swaths of Southern California—including the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, and Riverside—are most at risk. In fact, Cal Fire information officer Daniel Berlant says, "In Southern California, fire season really never ended." Seasonal firefighters in Southern California, usually employed only during summer and fall months, have stayed on staff all year long.

 

But what's made this year particularly unusual, says Berlant, is that wildfires have been igniting "up and down the state." Usually, the fire department only sees the occasional fire in Southern California.

 

Since the beginning of the year, nearly 500 fires in the state have burned more than 1,100 acres—more than ten times the usual burn total for January.

 

This month's rain has helped quell the current fires, but because the land is so dry, Berlant says, "By the time we get into the summer months, the chances of seeing larger and more damaging fires is going to be much higher this year."

 

Cal Fire is considering expanding inspections to check compliance with "defensible space" rules, which require that residents have 100 feet of space free of flammable materials (e.g. brush or other vegetation) around their houses.

 

What else is the drought screwing up?

 

Hydroelectric energy, which makes up about 14 percent of CA's power supply. With less water running through turbines, the grid may need to use more natural gas, which is more expensive. As a result, Californians' power bills may increase slightly in the coming months.

 

So now what do we do?

 

For starters, we should be taking the long view. In Gleick's words: "We have a long history of panicking over droughts and then forgetting about them as soon as it rains. We really have to change our mindset."

 

"Water resources aren't about 'what do we have this month?'" Sewell says. "They are about 'What can we expect to have next year, five years from now, ten years from now?' The planning and infrastructure involved take a lot of lead time."

 

During past droughts, coastal counties in Central and Southern California have taken up portable desalination plants to get the water they needed. It's an effective option, but the technology is expensive, and the plants require significant amounts of energy.

 

For individual Californians, Gleick suggests making changes that will make water conservation easier in the years to come. "There's a distinction between voluntary behavior and permanent, long-term improvements in efficiency," he says. "The first one is you let your lawn go brown. But the second one is that you replace that water-consuming lawn with drought-tolerant, native vegetation."

 

 

Alex Park

Editorial Fellow

Alex Park is an editorial fellow at Mother Jones. For more of his stories, click here. RSS | Twitter

Julia Lurie

Editorial Fellow

Julia Lurie is a Mother Jones editorial fellow. You can reach her at jlurie@motherjones.com. RSS | Twitter

Advertise on MotherJones.com

If You Liked This, You Might Also Like...

• 6 Scary Facts About California's Drought

  Conditions are getting severe, and dangerous, out west.

• Check Out This Shocking Map of California's Drought

  While large swathes of the country went polar, signs of ongoing drought point to a tough summer in California.

• MAP: Where Catostrophic Droughts and Floods Are Bound to Happen in the US

  America is running out of clean, cheap water, fast.

 

 

 

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/02/california-drought-matters-more-just-california

 

 

Water and Dirty Energy...Tar Sands

They don't have to clean up TAR SANDS SPILLS.  

Do we really need to know more?

 

Exxon's Mayflower, Arkansas Tar Sands Spill

Kalamazoo tar sands spill.....

 

 

 

THEY promise to bring it to a neighborhood near you....soon.....it matters.....

 

 

 

1,000,000 Strong Against Offshore Drilling shared DirtyOilSands.org's photo.

Today, Environmental Defence Canada launched the first of a series of hard-hitting reports on the impacts of the tar sands to counter all the spin we're fed by industry and the Canadian tarsands-loving government. The first report is: Reality Check: Water and the Tar Sands.

Check it out here: http://tarsandssolutions.org/publications/reality-check-water-and-the-tar-sands.

 

Today, Environmental Defence Canada launched the first of a series of hard-hitting reports on the impacts of the tar sands to counter all the spin we're fed by ...industry and the Canadian tar sands loving government. The first report is: Reality Check: Water and the Tar Sands.

Check it out here: http://tarsandssolutions.org/publications/reality-check-water-and-the-tar-sands

-------------
Decide for yourself whether Canada needs a reality check on the unprecedented pace of oil sands expansion.
http://oilsandsrealitycheck.org/factcategory/air-water/

This website was created as a resource for citizens, media, investors and decision makers who wish to participate in a more informed debate about the impacts of oil sands development. All facts are cited with sources and have been reviewed by a scientific advisory committee.

Each fact included in Oil Sands Reality check is carefully researched, referenced and reviewed by a scientific advisory committee. This website was created as a resource for citizens, media, investors and decision makers who wish to participate in a more informed debate about the impacts of oil sands development.
Visit: http://oilsandsrealitycheck.org/See More

THANKS TO FRACKING, TOWNS IN TEXAS ARE OUT OF WATER.

God Bless the President of the United States

THANKS TO FRACKING, TOWNS IN TEXAS ARE OUT OF WATER.
But the industry that does the fracking couldn't care less. See Dick Cheney was the Daddy of this industry and had the foresight to know it would be devastating to the environment so he made sure during the Bush administration that he would get the fracking industry protected and removed from any EPA power to regulate. Here are the consequences of lack of regulations, greed and corporate power over people and the environment. In other words, here is what voting for the GOP puppets of the 1% is costing us. Hey, TEXAS, ready to vote blue yet?

Imagine If There Were A Town In The USA Where You Couldn't Get Any Water. You Can Stop Imagining.

It is baffling to me that this is something that can actually happen and be legal.

Adam Mordecai

Texan drought sets residents against fracking - video

In Mertzon and Barnhart in western Texas, the worst drought in two generations is choking the water supply. Water shortages are raising tensions between locals and the fracking industry. Drilling for shale gas uses up to 8m gallons of water each time a well is fracked. Suzanne Goldenberg reports

More on this story

A Texan tragedy: ample oil, no water
Fracking boom sucks away precious water from beneath the ground, leaving cattle dead, farms bone-dry and people thirsty

Martha: Too busy running for Governor to do your job?

Attorney General Coakley:

While I realize that you're pre-occupied with running for Governor....I know! I know! It's just so time-consuming!

But maybe you could do your job?

The disqualification of Plainridge from holding a Slot Barn License raises FAR MORE QUESTIONS than were answered.

Your office ignored, then buried the ILLEGAL RAFFLE conducted by Plainridge for many years in clear violation of Massachusetts clearly written laws.

To allow

'we promise we won't continue to break the clearly written statute as we have for MANY, MANY years....'

is NOT ACCEPTABLE.....unless you want to soft-peddle BREAKING THE LAW.

Don't want to make waves in your run for Governor by upholding the law?

Don't want to put it in writing?

Let's just sweep this little puppy under the carpet!

Too many unanswered questions remain about the PLAINRIDGE CORRUPTION SCANDAL!

 

WHO IS ASKING? 

Just a few.....

1. What duties does the person in the 'MONEY ROOM' bear as far as disbursing Piotkowski's Piggy Bank?

2. If records were kept, who had access and was privy to those records?

3.Were taxes paid on Mr. Piontowski's CASH WITHDRAWALS?

4. Isn't the RACING COMMISSION supposed to audit the financial records of a race track? Who is?

5. If the CASH WITHDRAWALS were disclosed, who knew? who questioned? What's the governing statute?

6. If the Commonwealth is supposed to receive the FUNDS from Plainridge for disbursal, how was that accounted for? Who got short-changed? Was it the Commonwealth who was supposed be paid based on the 'HANDLE'? Was Plainville short-changed?

7. If this is CRIMINAL, can we count on more than 'we promise not to do it again' from the Attorney General's Office?

8. If Gary Piontkowski resigned in APRIL and the Town of PLainville negotiated and accepted a "Host Community Agreement" subsequent to that time, does that invalidate the Agreement? Doesn't that constitute 'NEGOTIATING IN BAD FAITH'?

9. Who is going to raise questions about the BLIND FAITH, LOYALTY and DEDICATION Plainville Town Officials seem to have placed in a bunch of CROOKS?

10. Plainville abutters were forced to endure MONTHS of endless BLASTING while Plainville Town Officials turned a deaf ear.....

The PEACEFUL ENJOYMENT of their property was superseded by Town Officials genuflecting to Plainridge as a PARKING GARAGE was erected in their backyards.

 11. Plainville lackS WATER, yet Joe Fernandes has dedicated himself to silencing questions and FACTS about WATER.  Doesn't he seem OVERLY DEDICATED to cramming ANY flawed deal through, surrendering any pretense of PROFESSIONALISM.

Where is the protection of Plainville's FUTURE?


Many more questions come to mind.....maybe you can interrupt your campaigning.....



 

Tar Sands

350.org

The tar sands are turning Canada's fresh water into toxic sludge.

They already use more water than Canada's largest city, and it's only getting worse. The waste can't be re-used for anything besides more tar sands mining.

Click LIKE if you agree that this is unacceptable -- we need to stop the tar sands, period.

http://e360.yale.edu/feature/with_tar_sands_development_growing_concern_on_water_use/2672/

Plainridge's Past Conduct Needs To Be Considered!

The past conduct of Plainridge has been particularly problematic and needs to seriously be considered during this process.

Please attend the Plainville Planning Board meeting MONDAY, AUGUST 5TH and raise your concerns.

If you live in Plainville or a surrounding community, it's important to recognize that the future EXPANSION of Plainridge into a Full-Blown Casino without amenities was discussed openly during an Educational Forum conducted by the Gaming Commission. 
Plainville Town Manager, Joe Fernandes attended that hearing, yet no provisions for future EXPANSION are incuded with the AGREEMENT. There are numerous other issues not included in the agreement as well - including WATER and WASTEWATER that will cost ratepayers dearly.

Plainville was told they lacked water and would be forced to buy water from Rhode Island. Suddenly, they have enough water?

There are too many unanswered questions, including those below that folks need to stand up and ask in a public forum.

NoPlainvilleRacino

• A letter from Plainville resident to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission about their upcoming decision as to the fitness of Plainridge to operate a gaming facility:
  
  Dear Commissioner Crosby,
  
  As you are making your decision about whether to allow Plainridge to move ahead in the application process or be disqualified because of concerns about the toleration of Mr. Piontowski's "cash withdrawals," I hope you consider these facts, as well:
  
  • Plainridge was in violation of the Massachusetts charitable gaming laws for more than a decade with their so-called "Plainridge Raffle." The Attorney General has recently concluded the investigation about the raffle, and Plainridge has agreed not to repeat their offense. Why the AGO has seen fit to treat the matter with such laissez faire is beyond me, especially when Plainridge — with their many lawyers always at the ready — must have known they were breaking the law. Moreover, while the AGO has found that no charitable monies were misspent, they ignored the fact that Plainridge used the raffle to ingratiate themselves to a town in which they have lobbied for expanded gambling almost since they opened the track. Plainridge received a great deal from running illegal charitable gaming — they garnered the goodwill and loyalty of residents who were not aware that laws were being broken on their behalf.
  
  The AGO refuses to give me anything in writing about the case. Perhaps they'll be more forthcoming for you.
  
  • As you know, Plainridge sued Thomas Keen, a resident of Plainville and a co-founder of No Plainville Racino, for defamation due to an anonymous posting on the group's Facebook page. Mr. Keen successfully defended himself in court, and Plainridge dropped their subsequent appeal, citing "more important matters" (around the time they were ridding themselves of Mr. Piontkowski).
  
  • In response to an inquiry about the projected length of blasting at the track earlier this year, residents who live on Harness Path (abutting Plainridge) were told that Plainridge is in possession of a 1999 Mutual Non-Interference Agreement between Francis Daddario and GTWO, LLC that could mean a serious lawsuit if anyone living on Harness Path dares to speak up against anything going on or anything that they fear might go on at Plainridge. The Mutual Non-Interference Agreement is a matter of pubic record (Norfolk Registry of Deeds, BK 13350, PG 416, recorded 99 Apr -2) and is attached here.
  
  The agreement says that the parties are "not to object to any such future development plans of the other by any of the following means: oral or written opposition to governmental permits, approvals, and or rezoning, at or in connection with hearings, town meetings, administrative proceedings and/or administrative or judicial appeals." The threat to use this Agreement against the residents of Harness Path to keep them from speaking at "hearings, town meetings, etc." when they live so close and are among the most affected from the addition of slots is a serious one, indeed, and should be considered when weighing the fitness of Plainridge to operate a gaming facility in our town.
  
  Respectfully,
  Mary-Ann Greanier

Putting Women in Charge

I loved this and had to share --

Women 'are the foot soldiers of climate change adaptation' - expert

Thu, 2 Aug 2012 13:18 GMT

Source: alertnet // Amantha Perera

A woman carries firewood gathered in a forest in the village of Rukam in the Batticaloa District of Eastern Sri Lanka. ALERTNET/Amantha Perera

By Amantha Perera

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AlertNet) – In 2006, when the Asian Development Bank (ADB) decided to launch a multi-million dollar rural water project in eastern and north central regions of Sri Lanka, there was one overriding requirement – women would be placed in key positions.

As a result, experts say, the $263 million program, aimed at providing drinking water to over 900,000 people by 2011, has been a particular success.

In the village of Talpothta, in the rural north-central Polonnaruwa District, the village women’s association is now central to the proper functioning of the new water supply plant provided under the ADB programme. Its members visit the over 200 users, read meters and more importantly advise beneficiaries on water usage when drought sets in.

“We know how much is needed. Women do most of the household work like cooking (and) washing clothes. We ask our members to limit use when we have problems,” said Sheila Herath, an association member.

Kusum Athukorala, one of the country’s leading experts on water management, agrees that women are key to adapting effective measures to deal with water challenges and changing climate patterns.

“Women are the foot soldiers of climate change adaptation,” said Athukorala who heads the Network of Women Water Professionals, Sri Lanka (NetWwater) and the Women for Water Partnership.
NetWwater’s efforts to create awareness among rural women on climate change, adaptation and water management have won support from Brandix, one of the island’s largest garment. That allows Athukorala to now travel the country, educating women on water management.

“One sixth of our water supply is from rural programmes managed by community-based organizations. If we don’t recognize the impact of over half of the population, these programmes will never succeed,” she said.

INDONESIA, CHINA AND FORESTS

In other Asian countries women also are playing crucial roles at the grassroots level in preserving the environment and making sure human-inflicted damage remains controllable. Avi Mahaningtyas, an Indonesian expert on forest management and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) told AlertNet that it was rural women who knew intimately the forest’s value to their lives.

“They know it by heart and by birth,” said Mahaningtyas, who heads the Environmental and Economic Governance Cluster of the Kemitraan-Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, a national body that works on good governance.

The same sentiment is true in rural China, says Xiaobei Wang, a China gender specialist with Landesa Rural Development Institute, an international organisation that works on poverty and land rights. Wang told AlertNet that as men increasingly migrated to cities looking for jobs, it was women, left behind in the villages, who took care of the land and the forests.

"In China most of men from areas near forests have left as migrant workers, making women the major labour force. About 60 percent of those working in forests and farm land are women. If their rights are not protected and enforced, there will be lots of issues in reducing poverty in forest areas and ensuring the sustainable management of forests,” she said.

Indonesia’s Mahaningtyas said that if a forest is to be preserved, like any other natural resource, it needs to carry a value. “A forest with a value will not easily be cut down. And it is the people who work within it who will know intimately that value.”

However, despite their importance, women are still being largely left out of the decision making, according to a new report by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI). The report - The Challenges of Securing Women’s Tenure and Leadership for Forest Management: The Asian Experience - found that gender discrimination is still rampant.

Arvind Khare, RRI’s senior director of country and regional programmes, said that women’s roles should not only be recognized but should also be enforced. He took the case of land rights in rural China, where women often find themselves losing land, due to cultural and social norms, despite laws that are gender neutral on paper.

“How can we look at climate adaptation and food security when those who do most of the work at ground level have no say?” he asked.

Indonesia’s Mahaningtyas feels that the continuing lack of recognition of the crucial role women play could be due to lack of scientific studies. “Gender documentation is quite low and we are still to quantify the impact of the role.”

Sri Lanka’s grassroots worker Athukorala sees a much more practical reason: lack of women in decision making positions.

“They are the foot soldiers, but how many female generals do we have in our countries fighting climate change?” she asked.

Amantha Perera is a freelance writer based in Sri Lanka. He can be followed via Twitter on @AmanthaP

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/women-are-the-foot-soldiers-of-climate-change-adaptation-expert