This 2009 photo by Nature Iraq shows drying marshes with boats
stranded in the water. Conditions are even worse now. For more
photos, see the Facebook link on the story. The Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta is not the only major watershed experiencing water
shortages, sociopolitical tension and environmental degradation.
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers, source of Mesopotamia and the
world's Abrahamic religions, are also in sociopolitical and
environmental crises. “Mideast crisis” conjures up images of
U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan combating terrorists while
Israel and its adversaries seek a peaceful settlement of the
perpetual Palestinian problem. For Sacramento State Professor
Michelle Stevens, it means protecting the Tigris and Euphrates
watershed, upon which so many of the region’s residents depend.
Stevens has traveled to the region several times during the last
decade, meeting with her scientific counterparts and urging
collaborative actions to rehabilitate the Mesopotamian Marshes
in southern Iraq. A