Water, Water Everywhere
Thank you for Peter Rogers’s timely article on the increasing threat to freshwater resources, “Facing the Freshwater Crisis.” I was, however, disappointed in the headline “Running Out of Water” and accompanying graphic on the cover. I speak frequently to the public about water and attempt to explain the hydrologic cycle. There are several bits of information that people have consistently told me were new to them, including that the cycle works on a global scale, that so little of the planet’s water is readily available for human use and that the total amount of water has been relatively stable for eons. Unfortunately, because many people do not well understand the global, cyclical nature of our water system, they believe that water is literally disappearing. We need to consistently emphasize that water availability is decreasing not because the amount of water has changed but because we are placing greater demands on the resource.
Kristan Cockerill
Appalachian State University

Starvation Solutions?
In addressing responses to hunger in “developing nations,” particularly in Africa, in “We Can Do More” [Perspectives], the editors advocate more effective aid programs (with policies to better ensure that aid reaches the poor, results in improved roads and farmer education, and affords better seeds, soil conditioning, irrigation, and so on), along with the eventual introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). But these steps taken alone will only exacerbate the long-term conditions of poverty, deprivation and ecological catastrophe. The editors leave out an essential part of improving human welfare in a sustainable manner: control of population growth. To create effective long-term assistance for the poor worldwide, you must first target aid to support government policies that promote family planning and responsible procreation.
Ed Middleswart
Pensacola, Fla.

GMOs are not the solution to Africa’s hunger. The editors’ support of their use is based on the faulty premise that there is not enough food to feed the world and if only we could increase crop yields, people would not starve. Hunger is primarily a political and economic problem. The original green revolution was an overall failure for the poor throughout the world, and I have little hope for a new GMO-based green revolution. Patented seeds and the chemical pesticides and fertilizers they require benefit the large agribusinesses and not the hungry of developing countries.
Catherine Clarkin
Long Beach, Calif.

Aura of Mystery
“Why Migraines Strike,” by David W. Dodick and J. Jay Gargus, claims that 30 percent of migraine sufferers experience an aura (illusions of sparks and lights, often followed by blind or dark spots in the same configuration), whereas 100 percent experience headache. For the past 30 years I have experienced the aura once or twice a year. But I never get a headache.
David E. Ross
Oak Park, Calif.

THE AUTHORS REPLY: As many readers have suggested, aura symptoms may occur without headache. With increasing age, it is not uncommon to retain the aura but lose the headache or to develop aura symptoms without a prior history of headache. This phenomenon has been referred to as “late-life migraine accompaniments” or “migraine equivalents.” The International Headache Society recognizes it as “typical aura without headache” and notes that some individuals, primarily men, only ever experience the aura.

3 Comments

1. 1. Bill Case 03:22 AM 12/12/08

   I couldn't help noticing that the authors coupled the fresh water supplies of Canada and the United States. It is a bad habit of American intellectuals which they should break. Canada's fresh water is not, let me repeat not, a source of water for the United States. Most Canadians have long rejected the idea, and would never support a Canadian Government that even contemplated routing water southward.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

2. 2. Laurasis2c in reply to Bill Case 02:09 PM 12/12/08

   Have you considered that there are purification systems that can be developed for individual use such as the STiri Straw and larger portable units that can purify water for entire communities. I'm just concerned that the issue of water becomes a fear based one rather than the real issue which is that local politics like to starve communities so there own power will be unchallenged. Keep it real all the way around. Water can be an issue to make people more fearful rather than exploring the solutions that already exist. Good luck.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this

3. 3. shopa 06:00 PM 12/14/08

   Please see my website www.electric-fluid-pipeline.com
   to see my invention of a new way to move water. It can be used to fight wildfires, and to bring water, electric power, and communications to regions suffering from drought.

   Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this