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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Water Shortage in the Middle East

Aerial shot of Lake Urmia

courtesy of Google Maps

Lake Urmia, in Iran, has decreased in size by 50 percent from 2,085 square miles in the 1990s to 965 now, and the Department of Environmental Protection of West Azerbaijan is concerned that it may disappear entirely. Scenarios like this are multiplying in the Middle East because the water table is becoming depleted. Persistent drought and high temperatures, in addition to poor water management and overuse, create a bleak outlook unless changes are made. A study by the Iranian Energy Ministry found the fate of the lake was more than 30 percent attributable to climate change.

Iran, Iraq and Jordan extract copious amounts of water from the ground for irrigation, and Charles Iceland, global director of water at the World Resources Institute, says, “They’re using more water than is available routinely through rain.” In Iran, a network of dams used by the agriculture sector uses about 90 percent of the nation’s supply. “Both declining rainfall and increasing demand in these countries are causing many rivers, lakes and wetlands to dry up,” Iceland says. As areas become uninhabitable in the future, political violence may emerge over how to share and manage rivers and lakes. Transboundary usage must be regulated and monitored if there is any hope to resolve the crisis.

Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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