LSP Environmental Studies Community Event Reports

On Thursday, September 25th at 6:20 PM, I attended a 2-hour academic lecture that was part of the Climate and Water series at New York University’s Puck Building, with Daniel Hillel as the guest speaker. As the Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University, Hillel proved that he was a valid speaker on preserving water resources throughout the world. He stimulated the audience after introducing his lecture as one that involves “perceptions of our environment,” by explaining that in his perspective, we are all droplets of water. The audience members laughed nervously and shifted in their seats, unsure of what to expect from this fragile, elderly man who hinted at his ability to turn on his x-ray vision. I realized that Hillel’s interpretation of water was drastically different than all of our opinions, as he proceeded to analyze the fundamental concepts of the free flowing substance in a scientific matter.

The main focus of this lecture was the use of water throughout various areas of the world, specifically the Middle East. Tracing the origins of this essential substance to the Fertile Crescent, Hillel reiterated the fact that water stems from the Bible and Koran. Also, other ancient texts by the Sumerians and Babylonians indicated that it was one of the most divine symbols of life, as human bodies are composed of 65% water. He threw out more fascinating statistics to catch our attention, attributing water to be responsible for 75% of our brains, 83% of our blood, 22% of our bones, 83% of our kidneys, and 76% of our muscles. Furthermore, Hillel explained some plans that were currently being carried out by governments in the Middle East in order to distribute water to their citizens. His smooth transitions from speaking about ancient to modern times ultimately showed us that he was one of the most qualified scholars on this topic.

Since the beginning of time, people in the rainfed region of the Fertile Crescent worshipped Bael, the god of rain. Mother Earth was also depicted as a goddess, fructifying crops and carrying water from her own essence to her people. Her natural cycle was considered a sexual mating of the sky and earth gods coming together to form one being. On the other hand, people of the pastoral domain worshipped animal gods, mainly because the humans relied on them for food and guidance. Hillel stated that “the Middle East was a transitional zone between maritime and desert climates.” People from both the rainfed and pastoral regions realized that their rapid attempts at agriculture triggered desertification of their precious land through the forms of sheet, rill, and gully erosion. Reversing the harmful effects of erosion required the use of terraces in their uneven land. However, these hillside lands were hard to maintain and completely void of soil with dry rocks. Another method that they used incorporated the divergence of water from streams by allowing water to spread to earthen dikes, as it was a type of runoff management.

Terracing

The three major river valleys in the ancient Middle Eastern region were the Indus, Southern Mesopotamia, and Nile. Later, the Southern Mesopotamia River split into what is known today as the Euphrates and Tigris. Hillel mentioned several problems with these wild rivers, due to instances of river flooding and sedimentation that led to water logging and salination. The Nile seemed to be one of the most consistent rivers, overflooding Egyptian land each year and irrigating the land naturally. As the water subsided, it drained the land and prevented water logging from occurring while infusing silt to fertilize the arid region. Thus, the Egyptian civilization rose to its prime and remained a stable society for 5000 to 6000 years. Since the climate has changed a bit over the course of a couple thousand of years, the Egyptians had to install a high dam to create an artificial, perennial irrigation system to sustain its population of 80 million people.

Presently, the Middle East is having trouble with water distribution, as Turkey has taken control of a significant portion of the supply in the region. The nation is in the process of creating thirteen hydroelectric irrigation systems in the upper basins of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, along with the Ataturk Dam that is being constructed on the Euphrates. However, Turkey’s water extraction techniques in the upstream area will affect countries like Iraq and Syria, as they surround the downstream region. Iraq’s water supply from the Euphrates is expected to decrease by 80%, while Syria’s groundwater resources will limit its agricultural industry.

Ataturk Dam in Turkey

Attending this lecture was a completely new experience for me, as I usually participate in events that incorporate a more hands-on approach to the topic. Daniel Hillel’s vast amount of knowledge encouraged me to do some more research of water supply on the Internet. I recently read an article in The Economist about China’s struggle concerning the acquisition of clean drinking water for the nation’s citizens. Water is something that Americans take for granted, but we must all reconsider our positions in this world by conserving our resources. Hillel also mentioned that the two most important considerations of our generation today concerning water are the economic means and the rapid human population growth. I related his lecture to our second lab assignment, where we had to analyze population graphs. Numbers on a piece of paper are insignificant, but hearing him speak about this heavy topic opened up my eyes to what we need to change in order to sustain our world.

After listening to Hillel analyze the importance of water, I realized that everything that we are learning in this class is extremely applicable in all of our everyday lives. Reading about water in a book may be dry at times, but Hillel truly glorified the concept of water conservation and distribution, ultimately crafting a more lively experience for the NYU students in his audience. There were a lot of questions for him at the end about the future of our generation, both in the United States and in the Middle East. Solutions are hard to form, but he mentioned desalinization on a small-scale since it is an expensive process that requires time and effort.

I believe that this community event was beneficial to members of the NYU community, as I saw faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduate students come together to listen to something that will impact all of our lives sooner than we all think. Before coming to NYU, I knew that there would be a few lectures, but I assumed that they were mostly related to politics or economics. This lecture that was part of the Climate and Water series seemed like an integral part of the project, as water is the main component of the Earth that we inhabit today. I was pleasantly surprised that there were about fifty people in the audience! I look forward to attending more lectures with speakers who focus on specific regions of the world.

Hillel stated that he wanted us to understand different people’s perspectives of water throughout the entire world. While we may easily drink and access tap water, people of developing nations may treasure a few droplets for their farms. He achieved his goal in educating the general public about this substantial matter, as I saw a massive group of people huddled around him after he answered a few questions. For future reference, NYU should promote these events through flyers and emails because I was not aware of this event before I visited the Environmental Studies Blackboard.

Overall, I enjoyed the lecture thoroughly because of Hillel’s focus on the Middle East. Also, his lecturing style was admirable because he traced the Middle East’s history from the beginning of time to the modern era. The transformation of our world today is mind-blowing, and we must all reconsider the way we see water, a limited resource in our expanding society.