Dry in Australia

The April 2009 issue of National Geographic has a really interesting article on the severe drought that is affecting much of rural Australia. Crops have died or have not been planted at all. Rural populations are diminishing, and livestock populations have been sold off because the land is presently unable to support them. One of the difficulities in rural southern Australia is that much of the water is diverted from crops to urban areas along the coast, such as Adelaide. This creates a blending of environmental issues, the drought, as well as issues of water rights, agriculture, and urban water usage. Rural families often shower together and catch the shower water in tubs and pots. There are also some great photographs and maps with the article.

Please note that National Geographic is received each month in print by the North Metro Library and that past issues are kept for a period of two years.

The library also has a new book related to this issues entitled 'Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed' by Jared Diamond. This book deals with modern and ancient societies and their environmental challenges, which in the case of some ancient civilizations, led to their collapse. Diamond notes in his book that Australia is the most fragile of the continents, and discusses some of the modern day challenges that face it. The National Geographic article points out that European settlers did considerable damage to the water cycle by cutting down many native trees and attempting to farm the outback as they would England or Ireland.

Book Index with Reviews a database in Galileo, has some good reviews for Collapse. Search for the review by searching for Collapse as the title of the book.

Remember, you can get the Galileo password from your local Georgia librarian.

JWF