Category Archives: Groundwater Protection Specialist

Groundwater Protection Specialist

Groundwater Introduction & Career Avenues

Most of us remember the simplified version of the water cycle we are taught in elementary school in which water from the ocean is heated and evaporated by radiation from the sun, transported over land where is cools and condenses to fall as precipitation before returning to the oceans via runoff. It is a tidy…
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What Is Sustainability and Why Is It Important?

Sustainability is a broad discipline, giving students and graduates insights into most aspects of the human world from business to technology to environment and the social sciences. Define Sustainability The definition of “sustainability” is the study of how natural systems function, remain diverse and produce everything it needs for the ecology to remain in balance.…
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Nuclear Energy 101

Out of all the ways we power the planet, nuclear energy may be the most divisive. When it first began as an offshoot of nuclear weapons programs, it seemed to promise unlimited electricity that would power a new atomic age. The first nuclear power plant came online in the USSR in 1954, followed three years…
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Hydroelectric Power 101

Hydroelectric power uses the kinetic energy of moving water to produce electricity. It's the most widely used form of renewable energy, generating 19% of electricity worldwide (1). While large-scale projects have had mixed results in the developing world, when done properly, hydroelectric is a cheap, clean and effective method of producing energy. Hydroelectric Methods Most…
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Drought Issues Facing the United States

What is Drought? The dictionary defines drought as “a period of dry weather” or “an extended shortage (1).” Drought has always been difficult to define because it varies based on location and associated impacts to the human and natural environment (2). In all cases, drought is temporary in nature, tends to be cyclical and results…
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El Niño and La Niña: Their Impact on the Environment

We know that there are many anthropogenic forcings on the climate, particularly the volume of carbon and greenhouse gases pumped into the atmosphere as a part of our everyday lives. Yet there are a number of natural processes that affect local weather, regional climate and global conditions. Some effects on our climate are a result…
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