Welcome!
I'm a carbon-based lifeform, consisting for about 70% of water and a
handful of minerals living on the only habitable hot rock in this solar system
.
Therefore, it might not surprise you that water is one of my major fascinations. Even though it is the most important element for the survival of my species, we're terribly careless concerning its management:
- more people lose their lives in floods than in any other natural disaster
- one person in 10 worldwide lives less than 10 metres above sea-level and near the coast - an "at-risk zone" for flooding
... and yet at the same time:
- 884 million people lack access to safe water supplies
- every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related disease
Why is that? Do we not know these facts? Do we not know how to react to them? So, as much as water fascinates me, it is the water management and in end effect the decision making process concerning our most valuable resource where the real challenges lie.
The second largest fascination consist, of course, of the inner workings or ecology of our sole habitable planet and its preservation. Since this is the more general fascination of the two, I decided to become an ecologist first and specialise on the water aspect later. You'll find the pattern from broad and general knowledge to specific and more detailed knowledge recurring throughout the site.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not in it to save the world -well, maybe I was at first ;-) It's just that we're flying to the moon, discovering quarks, cloning animals etc..., so if we're doing ok there, the dilemma's facing mankind in the subject of ecology and hydrology must be more complex by far and thus more challenging...
A short note about the structure of this website: I'll try to put the most recent research/projects/events on top so you can 'scroll down' into history.